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the impact of A STRATEGIC HR TEAM A GUIDE FOR GROWING BUSINESSES
the impact of A STRATEGIC HR TEAM
A GUIDE FOR GROWING BUSINESSES
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword: Operating with Intention
Chapter 1: The Evolution of HR
Chapter 2: Attracting and Hiring Top Talent
Chapter 3: Creating an Engaging Culture
Chapter 4: Retaining Exceptional Teams
Conclusion: Elevating the Impact
FOREWORD
Operating with
INTENTION
Operating with Intention
In 1987, I launched my career in HR. Or I should say, it ‘launched me’. After all, what do you do with an undergrad in Psychology?? I often share, ‘whatever you can’! Having graduated with a B.S. in Psychology and realizing that I was clear on what I did NOT want to do (which I always believe is equally as important in knowing what you DO want to do)—I did not want to go into clinical Psychology. Hence now, refer to the question above.
So with a year of retail management under my belt as a confident 23 year old, I decided I would apply for a job in the HR field—often still called personnel in some circles. I connected with a great firm and entered into the profession as an entry‐level recruiter and then was able to expand my skills as an HR generalist. My career path took off. Not because I was the best HR person, but because I got things done and was comfortable having direct conversations with people in order to ensure we were always driving towards results. Deciding that I actually liked the profession, I went back to school to get my Masters in Human Resource Management and continued my career path with increased levels of responsibility.
I have been fortunate to have worked with many great leaders in my career of both publicly traded and private firms. I learned to manage up and I believe my CEOs found that refreshing. The companies I worked for were all experiencing a state of transition. We experienced extreme growth and scaling, transition in executive leadership and employee and cultural integration due to acquisitions.
I found that the most successful organizations were the ones focused on building a positive culture of intention. The CEOs focused on optimizing employee engagement, were the ones who ran very successful and profitable firms. And quite frankly, they were the most FUN to work in. So much so that the word ‘work’ seems like a misnomer. The magic took place when HR was viewed as more than a transactional function. Like me, many HR professionals of a certain generation were ‘selected’ by the career as opposed to starting out going to school for it. HR began as a profession that was administrative and compliance oriented. It was initially about mitigating risk by minimizing employment litigation. Having had that foundation, it can sometimes be a challenge to make the shift to being a strategic partner—as thinking strategically requires one to take risk.
In my last corporate role as VP of HR for a technology company, my team and I hired more than 200 people in a short period of time when the technology market was HOT and talent was demanding 25% pay increases to change employers. We did this without the famous perks of BMWs as signing bonuses. Heck, we didn’t even have a foosball table! We were a pretty traditional organization and built an amazing culture holding true to our values, in spite of the crazed war on talent.
That fabulous culture was changed immediately when we were acquired by a company that had a very different culture. I am happy to talk about what I believe is a healthy culture of intention, and suffice it to say that I resigned my position as we no longer were able to maintain our amazing corporate culture. In 2001 that was the catalyst in launching what has become Helios HR today.
My mission continues to include working with exceptional leaders to create cultures of intention, which we define as cultures that allow you to hire, retain and engage, really exceptional team members.
Our interactive, hands‐on team approach is dedicated to helping businesses:
• Attract, Hire and Assimilate Exceptional Employees;• Engage and Retain High Performing Teams;• Train and Develop Effective Leaders; and• Enhance Infrastructure Efficiency for Greater Results.
I hope this e‐book will help you visualize and inspire the strategic impact the Human Resource function can have in your organization. While traditional, tactical HR duties are still critical to the foundation and operations of a business, the purpose of this e‐book is to help provide a vision and guidance on how strategic HR can elevate your business.
If at any point you have questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 703‐860‐3882 x102 or email us at [email protected]. We hope to hear from you and wish you all the best!
Warm Regards,
Kathy Albarado, President & CEOHelios HR
CHAPTER 1
The Evolution of STRATEGIC HR
The Evolution of Strategic HR
By Bryan Krinzman, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, HR Business Partner
For majority of the 20th century, Human Resources was typically referred to positions such as Personnel Manager, Industrial Relations or Labor Management. Fifty years ago, it was known as a role that focused on hiring employees, addressing benefits or salary issues, and ensuring that the holiday party went off without a hitch. It more or less was seen as the catchall for miscellaneous business activities an employer would have to address.
It wasn’t until the 1970’s that businesses even started to think about organizational behaviors such as motivation, attraction, diversity and training. As economies in the developed world have shifted to a reliance on knowledge workers, the industry and leaders continue to evolve the role, the terms we use, and more importantly, the impact it plays in business.
With this new role, the Human Resource Department has evolved to become a strategic business partner. Today, a senior Human Resources leader works in conjunction with the CEO and CFO to define the people strategy and direction as a core element of the business plan. Together, they define the goals, actions and processes necessary to achieve the objectives. HR also works with senior management to execute the business plan. By having a team approach, everyone understands one another’s departmental goals, holds each other accountable and accomplishes the overall business plan.
By aligning the HR function with the strategic and long‐term business goals, the organization can attract, motivate and retain exceptional candidates and employees which will greatly affect the bottom line. When an intentional strategy is in place, employees will feel more connected, or engaged, with the organization.
This also means HR is not just processing new hire paperwork, benefit changes and offboarding employees. Even though the Human Resources Department may still hold some tactical and operational responsibilities, it has evolved into a resource that can help an organization achieve its mission, vision and values. Taking advantage of what HR can do for your organization is what distinguishes the good businesses from the truly great.
Tactical Vs. Strategic HR
By Kathy Albarado, SPHR, President and CEO
“What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There”. Many will recognize Marshall Goldsmith’s transformational work when he spoke of the concept of being willing to let go of what may have once served you. As it is likely that what may have served you, no longer serves you going forward. Others have addressed this topic since Marshall’s book and among the noted authors we have Scott Eblin, who wrote on Next Level Leadership, with a similar spirit.
As our author Bryan Krinzman pointed out, HR as a profession, has evolved from transaction based administration (payroll, benefits administration, time keeping, etc.) into a role and function as strategic partner and trusted advisor. In fact, prior to being referred to as Human Resources, and now Human Capital, our profession was known as personnel administration. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) with over 250,000 members today, has only been in existence for 26 years! In fact, prior to 1989, it was known as American Society of Personnel Administrators (ASPA).
We have many conversations with leaders that want us to help them define and visualize the difference and the impact of a strategic HR function. According to Deloitte’s 2015 Global Human Capital Trends, EY research and PWC’s US CEO Survey, to name only a few, Human Capital ranks as the #1 Challenge for CEOs GLOBALLY. Top concerns include the inability to find the right talent, the skills gap, developing high potential employees and building leadership capacity.
As the need for a strategic HR function has evolved, so has the profession. A strong HR team works with the CEO to ensure these areas are addressed in creating a sustainable culture that attracts, retains, develops and engages exceptional people.
Stepping Up to Become a Strategic Partner“Nine years ago we retained Helios for what we intended to be a garden variety search for a Director of Human Resources. The first thing Kathy did was challenge us to expand our thinking and force us to recognize how impactful the right leader of the human capital function can be when they are provided a wide sphere of influence. It wasn’t easy, but she was persistent and she finally broke through. As I look back, this was the single most valuable service that any professional has ever provided to our company. Helios found the perfect individual who has since led our human capital function (and much more) as we have weathered the worst recession of a lifetime and grown nearly fivefold. I recommend Helios HR without reservation.”
‐Gary Bowman, President, Bowman Consulting
CHAPTER 2
Attracting & Hiring
TOP TALENT
Your Employer Brand Vs. The Employee Value Proposition
By Amy Stark, Practice Director, Talent Acquisition
Just as the way in which you make buying decisions has evolved through the use of technology by reading reviews and the ability to make comparisons, a candidate today has the ability to research and “shop” for a potential employer. The ability for an organization to attract, retain and engage talented professionals to their organization is now largely dependent upon their Employer Brand and their Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
What’s the difference between Employer Brand Vs. Employee Value Proposition? In the simplest terms, your employer brand is what people say about your organization. In contrast, the EVP is what you want people to say about your organization.
What is the Employer Brand?Your employer brand is defined by how people see you as an employer and what people say about your organization. Every organization has a brand—whether or not your organization manages it, whether accurate or misguided, positive or negative. As mentioned previously, your employer brand is visible through online company reviews on sites like Glassdoor or Indeed. It is how your alumni and current employees speak about your organization, and it is how candidates who have applied to your organization feel about their experience.
What is the Importance of Employer Branding? It’s no surprise that when 18,000 fully‐employed professionals across 26 countries were asked by LinkedIn, “What is the most important factor when picking a new employer?” the respondents said, “the organization’s reputation as a great place to work” or in other words, the talent brand, as the deciding factor. By aligning talent strategy with client retention and long‐term business needs, organizations propel to success.
The Applicant Experience —a Major Component of the Employer BrandA candidate’s experience encompasses all of the interaction that a potential employee might have with your organization. From the corporate website to careers page; from the employment brand, company culture, and social media to social reputation; and on to recruiting, interviewing, onboarding and retention – applicants have many touch points. It’s important to make sure they all convey the cohesive message reflecting the organization’s desired identity. In order for an employment brand to be trusted it has to be consistent and demonstrated in each interaction.
Technological advances are rapidly changing how candidates apply and interact with a organization’s brand. Mobile device usage continues to be prevalent—candidates are increasingly viewing jobs and applying to them via mobile devices. If organizations are not incorporating advanced technology into their strategy, they could be losing good talent.
What is the Employee Value Proposition?An Employee Value Proposition is what an employee can expect from an organization in return for their own contribution. The EVP also widely known as total rewards package, encompasses the benefits, compensation and opportunities in exchange for the efforts and contributions the employee will make in their role. There are tangible things like compensation, benefits, bonus plans, professional development and flexible work scheduling. There are also the intangibles which don’t go directly into the employee bank account, but are of equal importance. These include things like the chance to be mentored and work with other great professionals, an employee‐centric culture, and the opportunity for fast growth/promotion or an appealing organizational mission.
An organization’s EVP must be unique, compelling, and relevant to successfully attract, retain and engage talent in a competitive labor market. An organization’s EVP must also match the reality of the employees’ experience. Otherwise, what can result are disgruntled employees who feel they have been sold a false bill of goods. Looking to increase your candidate referrals? A strategic EVP can also help new employees engage more quickly and may make them more likely to refer others to the organization.
What are the advantages to a strategic EVP?With the use of strategic EVP, organizations who deliver on the promised EVP can realize benefits such as the ability to attract and retain top talent and increase employee engagement.
A Review of Your Total RewardsBy Sarah Shepherd, PHR, SHRM‐CP, Associate HR Business Partner
I’ll never forget the first time I got a Total Rewards statement offer. I remember looking at it thinking, “The benefits I get from these people is worth how much?!” At the time, I was young in my HR career, still working to understand the difference between an FSA and an HSA, so seeing this blew my mind. When it comes to total rewards, surprises mean we didn’t do our due diligence to educate and communicate with our candidates and employees about the benefits of working with us.
The things employees crave, like career development, flexibility, recognition, and work‐life integration, are intangible – you might not pay money for it, and even if you do, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of your budget. They are still valuable benefits that should be highlighted as part of your Total Rewards program and the value communicated to your prospective (and current) employees. A typical Total Rewards program will include five key areas.
5 Key Components of a Traditional Total Rewards Program:
1. Compensation: In general, most people regardless of title or role within the organization have an expectation regarding their compensation. There are a range of pay strategies that provide incentives and encourage retention. Following are ideas of pay that can be distributed in ongoing, short and long‐term increments.
• Fixed pay —generally, this is the base pay offered to a new hire. It usually is determined by the organization’s pay philosophy and structure and should be competitive based on the economy and other organizations with similar positions.
• Variable pay — this is pay that varies and changes in accordance with the level of performance or results achieved. This may be a one‐time payment such as a bonus, which must be re‐established and re‐earned each performance period.
• Short‐term incentive pay — this is another form of variable pay. It is implemented as a way to focus and reward performance over a period of one year or less.
• Long‐term incentive pay —a form of variable pay, long‐term incentive pay is designed to focus and reward performance over a period longer than one year. Typical forms include stock options, restricted stock, performance shares, performance units and cash.
2. Benefits: Health and dental insurance are what generally come to mind when discussing employee benefits. There are also value‐added benefits that can be offered within the insurance plans. Employee assistance programs, discounts on fitness programs, and health incentive programs are also ways to expand the offerings to candidates that you want to bring onboard.
3. Work‐Life Benefits: Leaders are continually recognizing the need for employees to have opportunities to enjoy personal time off. Whether you incorporate social activities within the work day to provide the feeling of down‐time while still on the clock or give employees the option to work remotely or have a flexible schedule, prospective employees will feel appreciative of this benefit.
4. Performance and Service Recognition: There was a time when employees worked their entire career for one employer. Although those days are long gone, employers are still seeking ways to recognize performance and loyalty to the organization.
5. Career Development: These are opportunities for an employer to grow individuals while they are with an organization. The individuals will also recognize that these skills can be used to propel them to new levels in their career.
The purpose of your Total Rewards program is to align your team with your strategic initiatives and company culture, and to then attract, retain, and engage team members through transparency surrounding compensation and other rewards. Think about what you do to show appreciation, to make your team members’ lives easier, or even to make life after work more comfortable.
Top 10 Tips to Attract the Best Talent
By Lori Shearin, Senior Recruiting Consultant
Hiring can be a time‐consuming and difficult process for many reasons. As the Leader of an organization, you hate to see a good employee go. Or maybe you’re happy to see an employee go; however, there is a lot of work left in that absence. Hiring, firing, laying off, and resignations are all emotional and as the Leader, you are left to pick up the pieces and solider on.
Now comes the hardest part of hiring ‐ finding the right candidate. Top talent has an impact on your organization’s success. When introducing new talent there is always the risk of throwing off the balance of what you have worked so hard to create. Here are our top recommendations to attract and hire top talent (and hopefully make hiring less painful).
Top 10 Tips to Attract and Recruit the Best Talent
1) Make your company career website sizzle. If your career page is non‐descript and boring, then candidates will assume your company is boring. Grab the candidate’s attention immediately or risk losing them. Make your job descriptions pop; no laundry list of skills. Your career page should focus on what makes your company great and why people would want to work there.
2) Social networking is the recruiting tool de jour. Expand your LinkedIn network, encourage your team to share things about your company on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Add videos and testimonials to all of your company’s social networking pages.
3) Create an employee referral plan. One that is robust your current employees will have lists of people for you to hire. Send out blast emails or texts to your employees informing them of the jobs that are open. Give rewards to employees who have referred a successful hire. Reach beyond your team to clients, vendors, associates and networking events. You have already hired great people and work with great clients and they will know more great people.
4) Optimize key search words through content marketing. Show your company’s impact in the community, your corporate culture and knowledge in your industry by blogging as much as possible. Then, make sure to focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to make finding your website and career opportunities a breeze for people searching online.
5) Get out there and meet people. Not all great talent is looking for a place to call home on the job boards (such as Indeed or CareerBuilder). Some are out at networking events that add to their knowledge and expertise. Go and meet these people before the interview stage ever happens.
6) Hold an open house event. Showcase why your company is THE place to work. This is your chance to highlight your company’s enlightened culture, state of the art work space and mission/core values.
7) You don’t need to hire a lot of people if you hire the best. Consider hiring one superstar at a high salary rather than two mediocre candidates at lower salaries. That one superstar will have a larger and more lasting impact on your organization.
8) Have a magnetic employment brand. Attraction tops recruitment time and time again. That said, when you are faced with a situation when you must hire, ensure your employment brand is top notch. If candidates feel your organization is top notch, they will be flocking to you instead of you having to hunt for them.
9) Make sure all hiring managers are trained on how to interview. Once you find a candidate, make sure your hiring managers are not only equipped with the proper interviewing skills and techniques, but that they know how to properly sell your company. Develop training programs for managers on the best ways to conduct interviews and sell the company.
10) Be patient. Hiring is a marathon not a sprint. You WILL find the right person, but be patient because you don’t want to find yourself reviewing these tips two months after your new hire has been made.
Common Recruiting Problems to Avoid
By: Ryan Yelinek, Recruiting Consultant
Recruiting can be found at the heart of almost any organization. In order to grow, you have to have the ability to bring in top talent that is going to perform for your company. This is no easy task. Recruiting is an industry that is always changing and is becoming more and more competitive. Candidates have many options and a lot of power and they know it. There are various things that can go wrong along the way from the time a position opens up until your new employee’s first day. In order to mitigate risk and make the process as easy as possible, there are a few things we can do. Not all problems that arise are in our own control, but we can help reduce or eliminate some of the common pitfalls found today in recruiting.
Common Problems to Avoid When Recruiting New Employees
• A strong relationship between you (the Hiring Manager) and the Recruiter is key. Whether you are working with a Recruiting Firm or have a full‐time recruiter on staff, it is important that when you take on a new role that you set expectations from the beginning. If either party goes into a relationship with lofty goals that are in no way achievable, there is a huge risk of the outcome being successful. You need to be able to communicate effectively either on the phone or in person about what is needed for a position(s) and allow time for questions in order to set everyone up for success.
• There is no such thing as a “Purple Squirrel”. I’ve seen pictures, heard people talk about them, and probably have seen one in a cartoon at some point, but I think you and I can both agree that they don’t exist. We use this same expression in recruiting: purple squirrels still do not exist. For example, if you want someone with the experience of an HR Director in seven different areas of HR, but want to compensate and label them as a HR Generalist you are going to have difficulty filling the position. You may never find someone with every proficiency in the skills of a position, instead, determine what skills are essential and what can be learned.
• Work with a sense of urgency. The best talent never stays on the market for long. Having a pipeline comprised of passive candidates that you can call upon can prove beneficial. If you have a position that is perfect for them and they are currently employed, you have the luxury of a little more time. You may be working on a role that is very high in demand and the candidate knows this.
Time typically will not be on your side and you need to let everyone know that is involved in the process the sense of urgency. A big part of keeping passive candidates engaged is giving feedback in a timely and polite manner. Always try to give feedback to the candidate within 24‐48 hours and deliver it in a way that still leaves them with their dignity.
• Have an open mind. You may have a specific amount of experience and/or skills you would like someone to possess. However, even if you find the candidate that fits that particular criteria, it doesn’t guarantee they will be a cultural fit. As a leader you want to build teams in your organization that are capable of working as a unit. If presented with multiple candidates, you may find the right fit in someone that lacks the years of experience or junior in some skills, but seems to have the right attitude and understanding of the corporate culture.
• Don’t fall in love with a candidate. Things can change quickly during the recruiting process. A candidate could get an offer from a competitor, your offer may not be enough, or the candidate might have gone through the process hoping for an offer so they could get a counter offer from their current employer or a competitor. The point is if something like this happens, you need to be ready to move on to the next candidate knowing they probably will not be the exact match as the previous choice.
Recruiting is not a simple process. However, by being aware of the biggest challenges, you will decrease many if not most of the obstacles that you are going to face when searching for the right candidate. Remember to keep an open mind and reach out to recruiting experts if you need a little help making the next right hire.
How to Hire for the Right “Fit”By Monica Berkstresser, Recruiting Consultant
What is the right fit when hiring for an organization?
In The Psychology of Behaviour at Work: The Individual in the Organization, Adrian Furnham wrote “a fit is where there is congruence between the norms and values of the organization and those of the person.”
When interviewing for your organization, it would be rare to hire a candidate whose mindset is to join for only three to six months before moving on to something else. To the contrary, when time, effort and money have been put into onboarding a new employee, you want to think about their lasting power with the organization.
“The right fit is important to the organization and the individual. Everyone wants to be successful, and the key to that is listening, debating, and conversation about similarities as well as differences. A common culture and set of values unifies your workforce but without different personalities and skill sets, you have one big mass of the same, which won’t be of much use in the long run. Differentiating your workforce is important – the right employee for one position won’t necessarily be the same for another position. Your job is to find the right assortment of individuals for overall organizational success.” – HR Matters
Why is it important and how it can impact the organization?
Good cultural fit is associated with many positive outcomes. In a meta‐analysis reported by Kristof‐Brown, employees who fit well with their organization, coworkers, and supervisor had greater job satisfaction; identified more with their company; were more likely to remain with their organization; were more committed; and showed superior job performance.
Six Steps to Hiring a Great Fit
Other studies across many countries have also found a relationship between cultural fit and mental and physical health — so if your job fits your personality, you’re less likely to exhibit signs of depression, anxiety, and you might even live longer. Below are six best practices to keep in mind during your hiring process.
1. Be Cautious of the “Desperately Seeking” Types: For many, the downturn in the economy came in like a thief in the night and stole many people’s stability, homes, hopes, and dreams. Instead, it left in their place desperation and the “I’ll take anything” mentality. We often see candidates who find themselves in that unfortunate situation that are willing to take anything for “the now.” However as recruiters, it is our job to remind the hiring managers about the long term and hiring a senior‐level candidate for an entry‐level position almost never lasts. Think about it: you wouldn’t hire a used car salesman to be a preschool teacher just because there is a need.
2. Prepare with a Purpose: A good starting point to hiring the right placement is to first understand the company's goals and then envision the kind of employee(s) to help fulfill those goals. Certain skills are vital, equally as important, is the potential a candidate possesses and the motivation to accomplish the company goals. The main question should not always be if the candidate can do the job, but if they will do the job successfully.
3. Paint a Realistic Picture: Analyze the qualifications and responsibilities desired in your impending hire to create the most realistic picture of the job and all that it entails. Clearly identify the strengths and skills you will need in your placement before even posting the job.
4. Perfect the Selection Process: Where and how you recruit employees can play a big role in successful hiring practices. For roles that you continually recruit, you can save time and effort by building a talent community (AKA pipeline) of candidates in similar industries who are passively looking for change or advancement. Those candidates may not be available immediately for placement, however staying in contact with them can pay off big when you least expect it. Additionally, studies have shown that referred candidates from current and former employees are five times more likely to get hired than other candidates. Having a well‐designed referral program produces a high percentage of candidates who are not only capable of doing the job, but also fit the company culture.
5. Implement an Effective Interview Process: Develop an interview process that includes behavioral based questions and listen closely for signs of character flaws that could interfere with your business. Create interview questions that draw out the truth about a candidate's work ethic and dedication to deadlines. Incorporate experienced‐based interview questions by asking the candidate to provide you with examples of previous experiences in specific situations. Prepare interview questions in advance and check professional references in a timely manner which will allow you to gather all of the information that you need before making an informed offer.
6. Ask the Right Questions: Paperclip in a Blender, Anyone? It’s trendy and tempting to ask off‐the‐cuff questions. If you do, make sure you know why you are asking and what you are looking for in an answer. It’s typically best to leave the creative approach to the experienced interviewers. If you are new to interviewing, the best thing you can do is prepare by asking and answering a few questions before the interview. Questions that address what skills are essential, what a good fit looks like for your team, and for you as a manager, etc.
Try to be vigilant, ensuring the candidate you are hiring fully understands your organization’s values and culture as this will have a tremendous impact on whether or not they will be a good fit. Provide the new employee(s) with the information/tools they will need to be successful. Organizations that make good hiring decisions tend to train and treat them well. As a result, the new hires not only produce good results, but also tend to stay with the organization longer. As such, the organization’s initial and ongoing investment in them is well rewarded.
CHAPTER 2: REVIEWIt Starts with Attraction
By Kim Moshlak, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, Sr. HR Business Partner
The next section of this e‐book is on how to get employee engagement. Sounds kind of funny, right? The fact is, engaging people are actually out there in the marketplace, and you can “get” it through hiring the right people.
Before we move on, let’s review Chapter 2:
• Protect Your Employer Brand. Keep in mind that it shouldn’t be easy to get in the door of your organization, regardless of what type of industry you are in.
• Revamp Your Employee Value Proposition and Total Rewards Package. Does your total rewards package clearly articulate that you want to attract and retain the best talent out there? Do you have a defined compensation philosophy that explains how and why you pay the way you do? If so, how do you communicate it to your candidates (and employees)? If not, you may want to do a little work to make these areas differentiators for your organization.
• Review Your Interview Process to Hire for Fit. Want to know if someone is driven by a culture of learning? Ask them to give you an example of how they portrayed this in their past. Behavioral interviewing is an excellent predictor of future behaviors as you will gain an understanding of how the candidate has handled situations in the past.
All of these processes speak loudly about the type of employee you are trying to attract and retain. By directing your recruiting process to capture that data, you will put yourself one step closer to engaged employees.
CHAPTER 3
Engaging EXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE
How to Measure Employee Engagement
By Kim Moshlak, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, Sr. HR Business Partner
Once you have the right employees, how do you make sure they stay as excited about their work as they were the day they started? This is a question we are asked regularly at Helios. Measuring engagement isn’t as tricky as you might think.
First, how does your organization “feel”?
Are you hitting your financial goals? Does your productivity measure up to your competition? Are you ahead of your competition in innovation? Do your employees have smiles on their faces? Do you have a hard time getting help when you ask for it? Do people readily volunteer their thoughts and ideas for improvement and
innovation?
All of these areas, along with many others that may be specific to your organization, can help you gauge the satisfaction of your employees. When you look at your organization, if you do not have these areas covered, you may want to use a tool to decide where to start. The tools below can be used individually or in combination:
• Employee Opinion Surveys: These surveys focus on the overall experience of the employee and may include sections on culture, benefits, working environment and the like.
• Culture Surveys: These surveys are different from Employee Opinion Surveys in that they focus on the mission/vision/values and culture of the business only. Much can be gained from these comprehensive surveys.
• Focus Groups: These are meetings with a handful of employees to “deep dive” into areas of interest.
• Town Halls: Similar to Focus Groups, these are an open concept‐type meeting in which employees may discuss any areas of concern they may have.
• Breakfast/Lunch with ___ (a member of the HR and/or the Executive Team): These meetings can be similar to Town Halls and Focus Groups with the addition of food. Seriously, the addition of food can be an impactful change, as these meetings tend to take on a more informal approach, and help to build stronger relationships between the moderator and the employees.
• Exit Interviews: These interviews are usually completed by a conversation between a member of HR and an existing employee. Another method is to issue a survey during the last week of an employee’s tenure. This can sometimes provide a more thorough and comprehensive set of answers. This is entirely dependent on the culture that exists in the organization, however.
• Stay Interviews: A stay interviews is a conversation that each manager has with each direct report. The single focus is for the manager to determine how he can enhance the employee experience. Through a structured questioning process, managers identify retention risk and discover how to reengage if employees may be disengaging. These are influential for two reasons: (1) they help the employee know you care about them and are invested in them staying with the organization; and (2) they give you foresight into areas of concern.
• Productivity/Metrics: Looking at how well your employees are accomplishing their pre‐established metrics and any other key productivity indicator you can use are effective at measuring engagement. As mentioned above, the more engaged an employee is, the more productive they are.
Any of the tools above will provide insight into the thoughts and experiences of your employees. The key is to act on the information you receive. It is helpful to walk into these tools knowing that action may be needed by management. The most successful leaders know the only real differentiator between the competition and your organization are the human resources who work there. If you are not able to act on the recommendations and suggestions of your employees, be prepared to give an explanation as to why. Failing to provide this information to them could easily result in a decay of your culture.
Why a Culture of Intention is Critical
By Amber Pereira, Associate HR Business Partner
Culture is an integral part of the work environment; it is the spirit of your office. Interestingly, executives tend to share the vision of the culture, while employees will give you the reality of what it is. It is vital that companies live by their values in order to create the culture they want to cultivate. The culture is ultimately set by office behavior and the belief of “how things are done around here.”
Now that you have a basic understanding of what culture is. Why do you think it is important to your business? Let’s think about this for a minute. Have you ever worked in an environment that was just bad? Perhaps it made you anxious about going into work or eventually caused you to leave. HR professionals have coined those cultures “toxic” because they are simply unbearable for a healthy, sustainable business.
What do you risk if you have a toxic culture?
• Unfocused Employees. A toxic culture may cause employees to lose focus and become distracted at work. They may not feel as motivated and their productivity level could plummet costing the organization valuable time and resources.
• Communication Problems. A toxic environment can impair many key components to achieving success. One of the most costly being communication. Certain employees may not want to communicate with others they deem toxic or vice versa causing an interference of communication and a slowdown in productivity.
• Bad Reputation. Eventually, word will get around. Whether it’s by employee ratings on websites such as Glassdoor or in‐the‐field gossip, a toxic environment could cost an organization its positive reputation. Ideal candidates may not apply for openings and high performing employees may not be able to withstand the negative environment. A bad reputation can increase employee turnover and thus, result in an increase in the costs associated with recruiting, training and retaining employees.
• Increased Likelihood of Lawsuits. Toxic environments create toxic employees which can release a bevy of lawsuit opportunities. An organization that ignores situations caused by toxicity in the workplace are more likely to be sued by an unhappy employee who feels victimized. Regardless of whether or not the lawsuit comes to fruition, the matter itself is enough to cause distraction and discord in your workplace.
As the CEO, you are the most visible leader. Your direct engagement in all facets of the company’s culture can make an enormous difference, not just in how people feel about the company, but in how they perform and how likely they are to refer others to work there too. It is up to the leaders of the company to set the example and to live by it. It’s easy to say what you should do, but to live it is a greater triumph. An encouraging culture will make employees feel safe, and as a result, it will inspire your employees to produce their best work, achieve elevated goals and spread the word that it’s a great place to work. By partnering with a Strategic HR leader to focus on your culture of intention, you can attract, engage and retain happy, productive employees for your business.
The Difference Between Varying Levels of Engagement
By Kim Moshlak, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, Sr. HR Business Partner
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” These words said by leadership consultant and author Ken Blanchard, speak volumes about employees and the need to get them engaged in their work. Let’s face it…you can have the most creative and innovative strategy in the world. If your employees cannot see and buy into your vision, it’s not likely to bring the success you seek. So how in the world do you get there?
Employee engagement is one of the hottest topics today. Successful organizations find engagement to be a critical component in achieving their corporate goals.
You can have the best.
Engagement can be defined in a multitude of ways. To level‐set our understanding of the definition, we will define it as a process by which we ensure employees are committed to the organization’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to organizational success, and at the same time are able to contribute to their own sense of well‐being.
Engaged Vs. Not‐Engaged Vs. Actively Disengaged Employees
Engaged EmployeesLet’s define the different levels of engagement. First, we have the engaged employee. These are the people in your organization who drive innovation and move the organization forward. They are usually seen working passionately, and they feel a connection to the organization. They love what they do, and they love how their work impacts others. The operate with energy, have an outcome oriented approach and are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals and the organization’s mission.
Not‐Engaged EmployeesNext, we have those in the “not‐engaged” category. These employees may be doing their work, but probably not with the same enthusiasm as the engaged employees. This is not the same as doing repetitive work…it’s the level of energy at which they apply into the work they do.
Actively DisengagedConversely, there are employees who are “actively disengaged.” These employees are not just failing to accomplish their work – they are actually working against the organization. They tend to suck the positive energy right out of a room. They waste valuable working hours, may be complaining or gossiping about their frustrations, rather than proactively working to resolve any concerns they have. They refuse to take accountability for their poor actions and instead blame situations or other people. Whether it’s playing victim, whining or even worse, spreading toxic poison around to other team members, actively disengaged employees undermine the organization’s success. They drag us down!
What makes engagement a topic at the forefront of business today? It likely has to do with the research that says organizations with engaged employees are more successful, more productive and more profitable than organizations without engaged employees. We all have stories and know employees who do just the opposite ‐ they bring energy into a room. They are delightful, optimistic, helpful, caring and willing to do what it takes. These are the people we want to spend more time with.
Clearly having engaged team members make us want to come to work every day, not dread it. Do you look forward to coming to work every day?
Why Employee Engagement is Best for Business
By Bryan Krinzman, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, HR Business Partner
Now that you’ve learned the different levels of engagement, here are five reasons why having an engaged workforce is best for your business.
5 Reasons Why Engaged Employees are Best for Business
1. 2x the Income: Engaged employees can assist in achieving twice the amount of annual net income for your organization compared to those who aren’t engaged. Yes, you read that right – twice the amount of net income! This is a significant number because we aren’t talking about the gross amount, but the net income –the amount you have left over after all of your expenses are deducted and Uncle Sam collects his share. Additionally, engaged employees are able to help organizations obtain two and a half times the gross income of their competitors.
2. Improved Quality: As you can see from the statistics provided above, engaged employees are able to deliver from a financial perspective and they also help your organization achieve its other business goals as well. Your engaged employees are coming up with ideas such as to how to improve the quality in your products, create a better company culture, or increase customer satisfaction. Without hitting these non‐financial targets, your organization would not be able to achieve its financial objectives.
3. Ability to Focus on Strategic Initiatives: Experts have estimated it can cost upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement. The amount of time and money you have to invest in hiring a new employee and then training to keep your customers happy and that the quality service/product is consistent, can really add up. Instead, your organization could be focusing on strategic initiatives – like rolling out a new product/service, entering new markets or partnering with other organizations.
4. Outperform Competition: Companies with engaged employees outperform those without by 202 percent according to Gallup. Have you ever wondered why organizations like Google and Facebook continue to outperform their competitors? It’s largely because their employees are engaged in the organization’s mission, vision and values. Both of these firms are intentional when reminding their employees about the values of the organization and how their contributions impact end users and the bottom line.
5. Impact the Community: Engaged employees will care more about and support the community in which their products and services are sold. Meaning, engaged employees will understand how Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives make a difference in the community and an organization’s triple bottom line – profit, planet and people.
CHAPTER 3: REVIEWThe Steps to Successful Engagement
By Kim Moshlak, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, Sr. HR Business Partner
If only there were a perfect formula for engagement. The fact is it is completely dependent on the organization and the people who make it up. What works in some organizations doesn’t work in others. If you find a program that you want to bring in to your organization, be sure to “try it out” with your employees to ensure you get buy‐in. In most cases, an engaged workforce will tell you what they want.
Remember these 3 steps to a more engaged workforce:
1. Gather the data. Use one of the tools above to determine what your employees are experiencing. Listen to your employees…they really are the key to your success.
2. Develop action plans. Work on action plans to help employees get what works for them (while still maintaining your organizational vision and culture).
3. Create a strong mission and communication plan. Ensure the employees know what the mission of the organization is and how their work impacts it. Communication is the most common organizational issue in business today. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Good luck with your journey toward a more engaged workforce. I leave you with this thought from Jack Welch, former CEO of GE: “There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.”
CHAPTER 4
Retaining ReallyEXCEPTIONAL PEOPLE
Showing Appreciation with Rewards and Recognition
By Sarah Shepherd, PHR, SHRM‐CP, Associate HR Business Partner
Imagine it’s your birthday. Some of your friends or family members are excited to see you; they take you to lunch, maybe give you a gift just for being you. Some, however, may not notice. You might get a few belated, “Oh yeah, happy birthday!” utterances, and that’s only if they remember at all. Now, take those two types of people and apply them to the workplace. Which type of leader do you think makes members of your team feel appreciated and pleased to be at work each day?
We’ve heard it time and again that employees just want to feel like people and not numbers. Many rewards and recognition programs are about showing team members that the things they do to make organizations great are appreciated. When developing a rewards program, it’s important that we are strategic in doing so by:
• Tying back to your core values and goals; • Measuring, recording and analyzing; • Being universal, consistent and centralized for easy reporting; and • Clearly defining the process for recognition.
Furthermore, these types of programs allow employees to have a better understanding of organizational objectives enabling them to better achieve those objectives. These programs also allow for feedback that normally an employee would not receive from management. As an added bonus, companies have reported that their turnover rates have dropped significantly.
Like any program, it is important that we measure our return on investment and of course, to be specific. Examples of how to measure this include:
• Productivity;• Customer/employee retention;• Employee engagement;• Return on profit margin; and• Return on equity.
Showing Appreciation with Rewards and Recognition
Organizations that use these metrics when analyzing their recognition programs found an increase overall in how engaged the employee was in the organization.It is highly recommended that you keep in mind what employees really want from these programs – to feel valued and respected by management and their peers. While everyone is different in what makes them feel valued, most employees agree that the most important elements are to have fairness, clarity and consistency when it comes to employee recognition programs. If this does not exist in your recognition program, you will not see positive results and employees will “lose faith” in the value of the program and any feedback that comes with it. Recognition programs need to be thought through carefully with a clear purpose and guidelines of what is expected in order for an employee to receive recognition. These programs should be available to all employees.
As mentioned before, having your rewards tied to the mission and values of the organization will motivate employees to be more engaged. The key to creating a truly effective program is to ask your employees what they want from work and what types of rewards engage them. You will be surprised at how many simple and inexpensive opportunities employees will suggest!
Managing Performance and Individual Growth
By Sarah Shepherd, PHR, SHRM‐CP, Associate HR Business Partner
Take a moment and join me on a trip down memory lane. Think back to the best performance management meeting you ever had. Maybe you got a little bonus, or found out that your boss thought you were doing well. Now, think back to the worst performance management meeting you’ve ever had. Chances are it started with you being surprised by the criteria you were being evaluated against. We’ve all been there –we leave our performance evaluation feeling like we don’t know where we’re headed, how our year ended, or what to expect.
Hearing feedback for the first time during your performance review – good or bad – is not a best practice. Most often, when business leaders think of performance management, they think of the traditional annual performance review. However, performance management is a constant, ongoing cycle of providing feedback in regards to a team member’s performance ensuring there are no surprises during the performance review.
Why is performance management so important in the overall success of an organization?
No doubt during your career, you have found communication to be your friend and your arch nemesis. Regular and constructive communication can assist in the alignment of your workforce and the organization’s goals. Performance management is communication with a specific purpose: to discuss an individual’s work performance throughout their tenure and should be initiated by the manager on a weekly basis. This is not communication that has to be documented or formal, but an opportunity to discuss what is going well and what could use improvement, if anything. Through continual communication about how each employee is connected to the organization’s vision and strategic plan, management has a better chance of ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
It’s important to point out that in the scheme of performance management, a manager’s job can take on a couple of different roles, that of a coach or a mentor. What’s the difference, you ask?
Managing Performance and Individual Growth
A Manager’s Role in Performance Management: Mentor Vs. Coach – What’s the Difference?
MentorA mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor, usually a peer or senior to the employee. In most organizations, these employees are matched to enhance career development. A mentor has some, if not all, of the answers and provides advice and counsel to the employee. The mentor is seen as someone who has “been there and done that.”
CoachPer the International Coaching Foundation’s techniques, the employee him/herself comes up with the plan based on questions asked…the coach doesn’t provide the answers. The coach is seen as someone who provides support and challenges employees to see things differently. There are formal and informal approaches to coaching, and they both have the same goal.
The decision to coach or mentor an employee usually depends on the purpose of the relationship. If the employee is being developed in their career, it usually would fall under mentoring, while leadership and interpersonal skills usually are best served by using a coach. It’s important to note that both are effective tools in performance management.
Planning for the Future: Succession Vs. Replacement
By Bryan Krinzman, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, HR Business Partner
Planning for the unexpected and determining where the company needs to be in the next five, ten or fifteen years are two of the largest challenges facing managers and leaders. Having worked with managers and leaders who address these challenges every single day, the lines between these two areas often gets blurred and confused. Below we will address the differences between planning for the unexpected and determining where the company needs to be in the long term.
Succession Planning Vs. Replacement Planning
When we discuss where a company needs to be in the long term, we are talking about succession planning. At its most basic level, succession planning is a “deliberate and systematic effort by a company to ensure leadership continuity in key positions, retain and develop intellectual and knowledge capital for the future, and encourage individual advancement” (Rothwell). This is an organization’s proactive attempt to come up with a succinct plan of action to ensure continuity in business operations, at all levels of an organization, by cultivating talent from within the organization through planned development activities. This means reviewing your strategic plan for the organization, reviewing the capabilities of the human capital currently on staff and making a determination of what additional development activities these individuals need to help the organization move forward with the strategic plan.
Planning for the unexpected is replacement planning. According to Rothwell, replacement planning “is a form of risk management…. the chief aim of replacement planning is to limit the chance of catastrophe stemming from the immediate and unplanned loss of key job incumbents”. It is the typical, what would happen if Johnny or Susie, who happen to be our CEO, gets hit by a bus on their way to work. While this is an extreme example, the likely scenario your company will face is the unexpected departure of an employee who is an important contributor to a team, department and the organization.
So what can you do now to plan for the future through a proper succession planning process? One of the first things you can do is to map out your entire organization. You do this by creating an organizational chart or start an excel spreadsheet that lists employees by name, title, and supervisor. This becomes the organization’s employee roster. The next steps are as follows.
Planning for the Future: Succession Vs. Replacement
• Review strategic plans – Have an updated list of the strategic objectives for the organization by department or line of business. Having these strategic plans handy will help you decide if your current staff has the KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) to achieve your strategic objectives.
• Review key positions –Go through your employee roster and identify your key positions not only on the senior management team, but throughout your organization. There is probably one position that is the key cog in the wheel for a department or team. Identify the top 5‐10 percent of the positions your organization cannot function without. Remember don’t focus on the people, but the positions!
• Ensure everyone has an updated resume – Beyond your senior management team, your organization should have some sort of updated resume or skill set tracking mechanism to determine what KSA’s are currently available within your organization to include senior management and executives. While it takes time to compile this information, the more accurate information you gather, the chances of creating a successful succession plan increase.
• Analyze the data– Review the people in the various positions. Who is currently in each positions and what skills are necessary if this person leaves the organization? Do we have the resources within the organization that could take over if this key employee were to leave? Begin analyzing what you have, what you need, and the path forward.
• Talk to your employees –One area that employers tend to miss in the succession planning process is not engaging their key employees to find out what they want from a career. While you don’t have to tell the employee they are on a list of “key” employees, managers or senior executives should be having conversations with the individuals on this list to determine if their career path is what the firm has in mind for them. If it’s not, there might not be a point in providing vast amounts of training or job responsibilities to an employee who has little interest in becoming the next Managing Director, COO, CFO, or even CEO.
• Begin creating a road map –After speaking to the key employee, create a road map for the types of KSA’s this employee will need for their next role. Keep your list short and don’t get into too many details at this point. You can fill in the details later as your firm strategy continues to take shape and changes over time.
• Continue assessing – Continue assessing employees to see if they are still on track for their next assignment. If they are on track, continue providing them opportunities to advance their KSA’s. If they are not, is this person still a viable candidate for the next level in the organization or does the project road map for their career need to be tweaked.
Remember, going out to the market to find an employee is not succession planning. That is replacement planning at its most basic form. Succession planning takes time and effort and should be carried out in a methodical manner to ensure you have the right people, in the right role, doing the right things.
CHAPTER 4: REVIEWRetaining Exceptional People for Years to Come
By Kim Moshlak, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, Sr. HR Business Partner
When you work so hard to find great talent, and then you train and invest in them, you want to keep them. The reality is turnover can be quite distressing. It often creates a gap of institutional knowledge, is disruptive to your clients and even your team morale. It’s costly to boot.
In the case of voluntary separations, you want to measure and track your turnover statistics to keep them low. As leaders, it’s important to understand why your team members are leaving and make the strides to retain their valuable talents as long as it makes sense for your business. Average turnover statistics vary depending on the industry, but in general, aim to retain your team members for about 4.5 years, which is the national average tenure.
At Helios, we recommend our clients implement engagement check‐in’s or stay interviews with the managers and employees. These quarterly conversations are a good way to get a pulse check on how satisfied your team members are in their roles, whether a risk is present and how managers can keep their employees engaged longer. This forces organizations and their leaders to become more intentional in developing retention plans for each employee.
Perhaps they are experiencing personal family issues, struggling financially, seek greater career advancement or have a conflict with someone internally. Make sure your organization is capturing this data and noticing any trends. It may be time to revisit your salary structures to make sure they are market competitive, benchmark your benefit offerings, train your managers to become effective leaders or simply tweak your company policies to reflect the appropriate spirit and philosophy behind them. Whatever the case may be, many voluntary separations are preventable.
CHAPTER 4: REVIEWRetaining Exceptional People for Years to Come
Here is a recap of three ways you can retain exceptional people for years to come:
1. Give Thanks. Create reward and recognition programs that celebrate your employee’s accomplishments and show them they are valued members of your business.
2. Give Feedback. Manage individual contributor performance on an on‐going basis, not just once a year. Managers should hold regular one‐to‐one meetings to find out what their direct reports are struggling with and give feedback on how they can improve. This exercise is fundamental in helping them grow and develop, and builds trust between the manager and employee.
3. Give Opportunity. Most rock star employees will highly desire moving up within the organization or learning new skills. Plan ahead and think of how you can further one’s growth and development within your organization. Whether it’s starting with something as simple as a stretch assignment or leading a volunteer drive, give them opportunity and think forward about the skills you need for the future.
CONCLUSION
Elevating the
IMPACT
Moving Forward in Your Evolution
By Bryan Krinzman, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, HR Business Partner
You might be wondering by now why some leaders haven’t progressed towards this evolution. As HR Business Partners, we are fortunate to work with some really exceptional organizations that provide us insight into what works with the progression and what can become detractors. We have noticed that personal agendas, changes in competitive environments, poor communication and lack of integration all refrain an organization from moving forward from a good to great state.
Personal Agendas vs. Organizational Goals
Personal agendas are the antithesis of how organizations continually fail to move from a good to great state. This occurs for a number of reasons. First, employees still do not understand the link between their personal goals and that of the organization. As leaders, this is not a conversation that should be had only once a year during an employee’s performance review. This focus should be communicated and encouraged on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Without this constant reminder on what everyone is working towards, employees will continue to determine their own personal agenda instead of your organizations’.
Staying Innovative and Flexible in Competitive Environments
Second, we allow personal agendas to dominate how we run a business. By that we mean, when a manager who controls a large part of the organization puts their department or division ahead of the organization, they undermine the overall strategic goal of the organization. For example, we have Bill, a senior program manager whose $10 million program accounts for 35 percent of the organization’s overall revenue and profit margins. His division’s profit margins have continued to decline over the past eight quarters because they have not kept up with outside competitors who utilize a new technology that is rapidly changing the industry. Bill refuses to listen to outside and inside support for a shift in product development, and instead is quite comfortable continuing to pursue business as is and doesn’t see the need to change the strategy of his division. Instead of doing what is best for the company and make this product update, Bill doesn’t feel this is necessary and continues to argue that this new technology is nothing but a fad.
Finally, we allow employees whose personal agendas dominate the organization in a negative way to continue working for us when it’s clear they are not in alignment with the organization.
Moving Forward in Your Evolution
This goes back to not having difficult conversations with employees, and instead we falsely believe that people like Bill will one day see the light. Instead of thinking about the future, we focus too much on the right now and how much of an impact a departure like Bill’s would cost an organization. We don’t think about the larger picture and how Bill’s decision not to evolve his product, or lack of evolving the organization overall, could one day lead to the organization’s demise because the product or service is outdated and no longer in demand.
Poor Communication Like personal agendas, poor communication can derail managers from moving forward. This can happen in three ways.
The first is not effectively communicating to our direct reports what it is we are looking for regarding performance. By that we mean not being specific and direct. An example of this could be a report or project that Jim needs to provide to his boss, Sally. Sally says to Jim, “I need our return on investment report on my desk by the end of the week.” While this may seem like an explicit instruction, Sally has not conveyed how she would like the report from a formatting perspective, what exactly she is looking for in the report (is it the same or different from past reports), and if it requires any other input or review from other parties. By not effectively communicating what exactly Sally needs, she may cause Jim to create a report that is not what she wants and throws off her entire schedule for delivering the report to the Board of Directors. Additionally, Jim made assumptions about what was required instead of asking questions to manage expectations.
The second way in which poor communication can derail managers from moving forward is missing deadlines and the impact they have on the rest of the organization. As in the example mentioned above, let’s say Jim’s salary is $100,000 and Sally’s salary is $150,000. Without knowing exactly what Sally is looking for, Jim may spend two weeks developing the report. Sally then takes one week to review the report and determines that Jim has not correctly compiled the information she needs. Thus, Jim needs to take an additional two weeks to redo the report and it takes an additional week of Sally’s time to review the report. Together, Jim and Sally have taken a month and a half to create a report and spent at least $14,000 creating one report.
The third and final way poor communication can derail managers from moving forward is not having the ability to determine the skills necessary to help potential leaders become the leaders of tomorrow.
Managers need to be able to hold two way conversations with their direct reports to effectively understand where an employee is in their development and the ways in which the manager can help the employee grow as an individual and as a future leader for the organization. Without this two way conversation, managers may not be aware that an employee has the experience necessary for a higher level role. Yet, an employee may not want to advance their career beyond their present role. Two way conversations, where active listening occurs, allows for both the sender and receiver of information to hear the message as it is intended.
Proper communication is a skill that can be cultivated through continuous use. Taking the preceding items into consideration, managers will find it easier to move their organization forward in a positive direction.
How HR Can Evolve Your Business
By Bryan Krinzman, SPHR, SHRM‐SCP, HR Business Partner
By now you’ve heard about several outcomes your organization can achieve if they partner effectively with strategic HR leaders. From attracting top candidates, to implementing programs to recognizing high engagement and retaining top performers to become your future leaders, your HR Business Partner can help you build and sustain your culture of intention.
We recommend that your HR team keep a repository of the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) necessary for success in each role and determine what KSAs each employee has and what type of training or experience they need. This repository, typically stored in a HR Information System (HRIS) can save time and money when the need to replace an employee arises or when looking for future leaders. The HR team is critical in defining the success factors and competencies necessary for developing high potential employees in your business. Employers today look for employees with certain skills when they bring employees onboard and employees look for their employer to provide them opportunities to develop and advance skills they currently have or will need in the future.
Having a defined career path is of extreme importance for Millennials. Gone are the days when we can ‘speak to’ the stories of how Sally Jones or Joe Smith were promoted into their role after ‘doing what it took to get the job done.’ People today crave role clarity, want to ensure they know exactly what is expected of them and can visualize a clear path for how they can advance their career.
When you have a strategic approach to your people plan, you will see your business evolve in a variety of ways:
1. Significant cost savings from decreased turnover;2. Positive team morale and overall work environment;3. Improved quality, productivity and service;4. Increased competitive advantages; and5. Client loyalty and new business referrals.
What got you here as your organization emerged through various stages of growth, may not serve you today. Leveraging your HR team in a strategic capacity will help ensure you are able to attract, retain, engage and develop exceptional teams in order to continue to scale, meet your organizational objectives, and keep your clients satisfied.
