HR Strategy Questions of the Week
Tips for Getting the Most From Your HR Audit
HR Audit. No one likes to hear that word – audit. Review. Evaluation. Analysis. No matter what word you use, negative thoughts start to fill your head. We challenge you, however, to look at this event as a chance to review and renew. A properly conducted HR Audit can (and should) be a welcome review of your human resources function, helping you to remain the best in class or improve the function and services you provide. As with many things, how you prepare for an HR Audit will determine its effectiveness.
Why conduct an HR Audit?
An HR Audit involves an organized and structured review of your organization’s human resources practices. By reviewing policies, procedures, legal requirements, and processes, the HR Audit enhances the overall efficiency, compliance, and effectiveness of an organization’s HR practices – ensuring these are on track to focus your employees’ efforts in meeting your organization’s goals.
When conducted properly, the audit will reveal departmental strengths and shed light on gaps and areas for improvement. A skilled auditor will guide you through the findings and offer course-correcting recommendations.
Some reasons to conduct an HR Audit can be to:
- Ensure implementation of good and consistent HR practices and compliance
- Instill a sense of confidence in management and the human resources function
- Maintain or enhance the reputation of the organization
- Perform “due diligence” review for shareholders or potential investors/owners
- Establish a baseline for process improvement and enhanced customer service
How to prepare for an effective HR Audit?
How do you ensure your HR Audit is a constructive event resulting in improvements rather than demerits? The key to an effective audit is for it to be clearly defined and have the process work to your advantage. When selecting an auditor to review your human resources function, we recommend securing an individual or team that will work with you to make certain that you get what you want out of the review. To do that, interview those you are considering to take on the auditor role to verify that they understand your culture and your industry. Consider the following as you prepare for your HR Audit:
1. Define your desired outcome
What is the goal of your HR Audit? Is it a compliance-driven review? Is it a review of process and best practice? Some employers are confident that their compliance is on point and prefer a review of processes and best practices in functional activities such as recruiting, payroll processing, or even benefits administration. Others are solely concerned about compliance and keeping up with the myriad of changing legal requirements. Determine your desired outcome before you begin and tailor the review to meet those expectations on the front end.
2. Identify HR areas to review
Are you reviewing all of the functional aspects of HR or just one or two key areas? For example, some employers request an in-depth review of a specific area, such as their recruiting function, rather than a review of all areas. The audit would consist of an evaluation of both compliance and best practices in the recruiting process to identify areas of potential improvement surrounding their recruiting efforts.
Others prefer to have a review of all of the HR areas. In this type of audit, all functional areas under analysis would include recruiting and employment, recordkeeping, policy development, compensation, benefits, health and safety, communications, and payroll. These reviews typically involve a focus on compliance in these areas, but they also evaluate processes and procedures for each of the areas. The organizational effectiveness of the HR function can also be examined to ensure the department is meeting the needs of its internal customers.
3. Determine who should be involved
Will you only include human resources staff who regularly touch the function, or will you include your internal customers as well? For example, if you are doing a review of your recruiting and employment process, who will you include? Your HR recruiting staff is an obvious choice, but what about the hiring managers in the functional areas and/or those involved in orientation and onboarding?
4. Take action
The report provided at the end of the audit will include items that should be improved. Findings may include general compliance or regulatory items that need to be addressed or even a process improvement recommendation. Most audits help you to determine the high-priority items versus those of lower priority based on compliance concerns.
Once the action items are identified, it will be up to you and your team to prioritize the items and determine who will be responsible for implementing the changes. Determine how you will approach the “fixes” so expectations are clear at the onset. It’s unlikely for everything to be addressed immediately, so you’ll want to align on expected timelines.
To ease concerns ahead of time, be sure to prepare for an HR Audit with a well-designed plan and clear expectations. As experienced HR auditors ourselves, we encourage you to work cooperatively with your chosen auditor to make sure you are getting what you want out of the review so positive outcomes can be reached.
Thank you to Lorrie Diaz, MS, PHR, Senior HR Business Advisor, and Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Director of Business Strategy and Quality for sharing their expertise on HR Audits.
Clark Schaefer Strategic HR knows that keeping abreast of HR Compliance issues can be daunting, especially when the laws keep changing. We can conduct an HR Audit to identify trouble spots in your HR function and help to mitigate compliance issues. If you would like a customized quote, you can Request an HR Audit Quote.
What Are Unemployment Voluntary Contributions?
HR Question:
What are unemployment voluntary contributions? Can this benefit our company?
HR Answer:
Before we dive into voluntary contributions, let’s first address unemployment insurance. The US Department of Labor (DOL) explains that unemployment insurance is a federal-state program that is financed through federal and state employer payroll taxes. Typically, according to the DOL, employers must pay federal and state unemployment taxes if they pay wages to employees totaling $1,500 or more in any quarter of a calendar year, or if they had at least one employee during any day of a week during 20 weeks in a calendar year. It’s important to note that laws can vary among states, so you may want to check your state’s unemployment insurance requirements.
Employer unemployment voluntary contributions are financial contributions made by employers to their state unemployment insurance programs beyond their mandatory payroll taxes. These contributions are made voluntarily and are a way for employers to potentially reduce their unemployment tax rate.
By making these contributions, employers can help ensure that adequate funds are available to provide unemployment benefits to their employees if the need arises. While these contributions are typically not mandatory, they can be an important aspect of a comprehensive approach to workforce management and effectively managing the company’s budget.
How Unemployment Voluntary Contributions Function for Employers
First, you will need to confirm if your state allows unemployment tax voluntary contributions as not all states do. Employers considering voluntary contributions typically need to meet specific eligibility criteria set by the state unemployment insurance program. This may include factors such as the nature of the business and compliance with employment regulations.
If they meet the eligibility requirements, employers can choose to make voluntary contributions to the unemployment tax fund. These contributions are generally made to state government agencies responsible for managing unemployment benefits.
These contributions have the potential to influence an employer’s tax liability and, in some cases, result in reduced unemployment tax rates. This, in turn, can contribute to cost savings for the employer.
Advantages
Cost Savings: Making voluntary contributions can potentially lead to reduced unemployment tax rates for employers, resulting in cost savings over time.
Financial Predictability: Voluntary contributions offer employers the ability to plan and manage their finances more effectively as they can contribute based on their financial standing and business cycles.
Drawbacks
Financial Strain: While voluntary contributions can potentially lead to long-term savings, the upfront financial burden of making additional payments may pose challenges for some employers, especially smaller businesses with limited resources.
How To Decide What To Do
For employers, the decision to participate in unemployment tax voluntary contributions involves carefully weighing the potential benefits and drawbacks. While these contributions can result in cost savings and positive employee relations, they may also present financial challenges. Employers should assess their financial capacity and business needs before opting for voluntary contributions, ensuring that their decision aligns with their business and HR strategy.
Thank you to Marie Frey, SHRM-CP, HR Business Advisor, for contributing to this HR Question of the Week.
Ensuring that your HR Strategy aligns with your Company Strategy is critical to the success of your organization. Clark Schaefer Strategic HR has years of experience helping clients develop and implement their HR strategy and goals. Visit our HR Strategy Services to learn more about how we can help.
5 Key Points To Use Assessments in the Employee Life Cycle
What is so significant about the term experience? Experience is how we remember life. An experience awakens the senses and, for better or worse, leaves a lasting impression. Often, those impressions are shared with others, especially with the ease of the Internet and social media. Driven by this, organizations today strive to leave a positive impression on the experience of customers, clients, and employees. For our purposes, we’re going to focus on how employers can significantly impact the employee experience.
We often hear, “Timing is everything.” So, when should you focus on the employee experience? Successful organizations are thinking about the employee experience along every phase of the employee life cycle. The good news is there are many new tools and technologies to help organizations build a unique and impactful employee experience, and one that remains tried and true is the use of assessments across the employee life cycle.
Below are five key points in the employee life cycle where the use of assessments can make a lasting impression on your employees and play an important role in your organization’s ability to attract, develop, and retain employees.
1. Enhancing Hiring Decisions
Let’s start at the beginning of the employee life cycle – recruitment. Assessments used in this stage, such as pre-screen questionnaires, can significantly enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of the hiring process.
Try using assessments in two ways – internally and externally. Before you begin sourcing or searching for candidates, consider using assessments to help internally benchmark what you’re looking for in the role, including the competencies required. Are there skills or traits your current team is missing, or are there different perspectives that could help create diversity of thought? Once you identify these measurable competencies, you can highlight them in your job ad.
When the external search begins, assessments can provide additional insights that screening and interviewing may not be able to. Plus, assessments can provide unbiased and data-driven results that traditional screening methods can’t.
Whether it’s cognitive, personality, or behavioral assessments, you can glean valuable insights into a variety of different competencies. This can help your organization minimize bias, reduce turnover, and hire candidates who are more likely to succeed.
2. Identifying and Developing Potential
After a successful hire, your focus should shift to engagement and retention. From what we’ve learned about generational preferences in the workplace, we know that growth and development opportunities are among the top reasons employees choose to join an organization. This presents a great opportunity to use assessments to help identify and develop an employee’s potential within your organization.
Don’t believe us? Consider Estée Lauder’s example as they embedded the CliftonStrengths assessment into their culture, processes, and key metrics. When employees understand their strengths and how to leverage them for themselves, their team, and the organization as a whole, it can be a powerful realization for employees and a winning combination for employers. For Estée Lauder, by identifying and cultivating individual strengths, employees felt valued, empowered, and motivated to do their best work, thereby leading the company to award-winning heights.
Today’s expected employee tenure is already short – a median of just over four years, according to the BLS. However, when organizations leverage assessments and subsequent reports to support the employee’s career path within the company, it allows the employee to pursue roles that are more aligned with their interests and career goals. These growth and learning opportunities help to increase that tenure (and potentially turn employees into ambassadors for your organization).
3. Designing Training and Development Programs
On an organization-wide scale, assessments can empower HR to offer training and development programs that meet targeted and personalized needs. Depending on the kind of assessment (technical, cognitive, behavioral, skill, leadership, etc.), the appropriate training programs or providers can be brought in to support a team’s growth and learning in areas that are aligned with the desired organizational outcomes.
Assessments aren’t just for your human talent, however, they can and should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs as well. Pre- and post-training assessments can measure the impact of training, enabling organizations to assess knowledge gain, skills application, and overall program success.
4. Strengthening Career and Performance Management
Assessments can do much more than identify strengths and potential. By providing data-based assessments, employees and employers can work together to identify areas for improvement without the interference of human opinion, limiting the impact of ego and emotion in early performance conversations. Employees can understand where they scored, employers can understand where to support their team members, and both parties can agree on goals together.
By building in regular performance assessments, employees can also find motivation as they see their skills and competencies improve along the way. This can also empower them to reach for new heights within the organization, especially if those roles are benchmarked in similar fashions.
5. Building Effective Teams
Finally, don’t forget about the importance of building strong and competent teams. While this happens at all stages of the employee life cycle, assessments can play an integral role here. With assessment data and well-designed training, HR and management can build diverse, balanced teams across the organization, and even call attention to potential issues or challenges ahead of time to minimize interruptions and conflict.
For example, we have found the Everything DiSC® assessment to be a highly effective tool in helping people to work better together. The DiSC assessment, coupled with training and follow-up resources, helps employees to understand their own personalities, how they are similar or different from their co-workers, and how to improve communication and collaboration across different work styles. This has been a valuable tool to help people better understand themselves and those around them leading to decreased conflict and stronger, more productive workplaces.
When choosing team assessments, you’ll want to look for tools that align with your organizational goals, encourage self-awareness, and foster a culture of mutual understanding and respect. By understanding individual strengths and limitations, team members are better equipped to complement each other’s skills.
Assessments for the Win!
Building out a thoughtful employee experience along every phase of the employee life cycle is critical to support retention, productivity, and employee morale. When considering the employee life cycle, we highly recommend exploring opportunities to add assessments into the process that support your organization’s goals and help you to build a strong employee experience in a consistent and sustainable way.
Special thanks to Julie A. Johnson, PHR, SHRM-CP, Sr. HR Business Strategist, Melinda Canino, MS, Sr. HR Communications Advisor, and Samantha Kelly for contributing to this insightful article.
Do you need help identifying or implementing the right assessments for your employees and your organization? Don’t worry. The HR experts at Strategic HR can help you find the best employee assessment tools for you. We’re also an Authorized Partner for Everything DiSC®, so we’re happy to be your go-to resource for the DiSC assessment and training too. Contact us to get started!
How will AI impact the Human Resources function?
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked debate about its effect on a wide variety of industries and job roles—and the Human Resources function is one of them! Many have wondered if AI’s impact on HR will lead to a significant reduction or complete elimination of HR professionals. Surely, it’s not possible to take the “human” element out of “human resources.”
At Strategic HR, it’s our belief that while AI has the potential to streamline HR processes and provide more information to enhance decision-making, organizations will continue to need HR professionals who have a nuanced understanding of people to lead and manage their HR function. In fact, AI’s continued evolution actually provides HR leaders with a unique position to make a significant organizational impact in a few ways: by understanding, utilizing, and providing guidance within their organization.
How AI can impact HR and recruiting functions
In a world of labor shortages and an increased need for efficiency, many organizations are consistently looking for ways to do more with less. One way that AI can impact the HR function (or better yet, streamline the HR function) would be in the recruiting process. For example, advanced algorithms can swiftly analyze vast amounts of data and eliminate human bias in the initial stages of reviewing resumes. We’ve seen advances in areas such as writing job descriptions, suggesting interview questions, screening resumes, and analyzing hiring criteria. Some AI bots are even conducting initial screening interviews with candidates.
Because of AI’s ability to process and analyze large volumes of data rapidly, HR professionals can leverage AI-powered analytics tools to gain valuable insights into other HR areas such as employee engagement, performance, and overall organizational culture. By identifying patterns and trends, AI can assist HR professionals in making data-driven decisions that optimize recruitment strategies, training programs, and performance evaluations.
Whether AI is handling simple or complex tasks, the key in any HR situation is to empower HR professionals to utilize AI in ways that allow them to focus on more complex or nuanced issues, rather than taking the “human” element away.
Chatbots and ChatGPT have changed the game
AI chatbots are the latest game-changer to impact HR in the evolution of AI technology innovation. For example, some companies use AI chatbots to provide 24/7 support to employees, answering frequently asked questions and freeing HR professionals to focus on more strategic and interpersonal aspects of their roles.
While there are several versions of Chatbots available, the most recent emergence of ChatGPT, an open AI platform that interacts with users in a conversational way, has been highly notable. In addition to synthesizing content like a search engine, this technology also learns relationships between data elements and can reassemble responses in a meaningful way based on the prompt question. The output is as fast as doing an online search, yet the resulting data far exceeds the robustness and usefulness compared to many internet queries. This tool has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of HR professionals and employees alike by gathering and synthesizing meaningful data.
According to the Microsoft Work Trend Index Annual Report, far more employees (70%) would choose to maximize the use of AI to lighten their workloads compared to 49% of people who are concerned about losing their jobs to AI. As the world of work moves forward with an increased focus on workplace efficiencies, some use of AI may be inevitable. Perhaps one thing that HR professionals can do to allay employees’ concerns is to identify the skills needed to manage and augment the AI and provide the training, development, and growth opportunities to help employees succeed in the technology transition.
Ethical, legal, and security concerns
While it has great potential, there are still limitations, risks, and lingering questions about the use of AI. It’s important to recognize that many times AI lacks a nuanced ability in analyzing data. A human being who can consider various contextual factors, use intuition, and integrate empathy is needed before making final decisions. There are also ethical implications, legal considerations, and security concerns that must all be addressed before companies can fully take advantage of the technology. We’re not quite ready to let AI replace human judgment.
Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer of artificial intelligence, quit his position at Google so he could talk more openly about the risks and dangers of AI technology. According to Reuters, Hinton states his primary concern is that the technology could become too smart sooner than experts expected and create convincing false images and texts which would result in not being able to discern what is true. While this may sound like a risk far into the future, there are additional immediate concerns that need to be considered including:
- ChatGPT is currently based on internet information through 2021, so some recent happenings and facts are not reflected.
- The answers are based on internet information, so they are only as accurate as the data on the internet. The AI-technology does not have the ability to know what is true.
- AI systems use historical data, which raises concerns about potential biases. If AI were to take over HR departments entirely, the risk of perpetuating systemic biases could increase.
- There is the possibility of giving proprietary or personal information that the system may “learn” and repeat in another answer which could cause security and liability risks.
How HR leaders can guide AI adoption
Proactive HR leaders can provide guidance to their organization that can add clarity and peace of mind during a tumultuous time of change. Consider the following actions leaders can take to help frame the discussions and drive decisions in organizations:
- Understand where the organization is considering and/or could benefit from AI technology.
- Create a roadmap to define business uses and outcomes for AI technology with guardrails to limit risk.
- Identify the technology skills and resource gaps that need to be filled to effectively harness the AI options.
- Develop strategic principles and policies (considering security and accuracy) to aid in the evaluation of how/when to utilize different AI options.
HR Leaders can support and perform these types of activities rather than allow the technology to be introduced without intentional consideration. Helping organizational leaders to consider both the impact and risk of utilizing a framework and strategic actions will lead to more informed decisions.
It is clear that AI technology has the potential to revolutionize HR practices by automating and streamlining processes; however, it is our firm belief that it is highly unlikely for AI to entirely take over the HR department. The human element in HR—empathy, emotional intelligence, and nuanced judgment—remains indispensable for managing a diverse workforce. HR leaders who can maintain a balance between AI and human expertise will make the most significant impact. And, those organizations with leaders that prepare, provide guidance, and make sound decisions will gain a competitive edge and thrive in the AI-enabled future.
Special thank you to Becky Foster, Senior HR Business Strategist, for contributing to this Emerging Issues in HR.
Do you need help with developing your HR strategy and identifying the tools you need to get there? The experts at Clark Schaefer Strategic HR are here for you! To learn more, visit our HR Strategy Services page or contact us.
Building A DEI&B Roadmap
When considering how to implement a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) roadmap, many organizations may feel intimidated. It can feel like a mountain to climb when it comes to the sheer number of possibilities, programs, and efforts that you can undertake.
So, what’s a measured and structured way of implementing (or evaluating already established) DEI&B programs within your organization? We will share our recommendations for the steps you can take to develop your program objectives and goals, as well as how to create a Cultural DEI&B Roadmap to help you on this journey.
Step 1: Understand Your Purpose & Define Your Vision
The first step is to identify and define the overall purpose of your DEI program. For example, is your organization considering the program to remain on par with competitors in the market? Is the ultimate objective to establish and nurture an inclusive culture? Or potentially, is a DEI&B program on your radar because the organization lacks the diversity that you would like to see compared to the surrounding community?
There could be many reasons behind it – it could include all the reasons listed above, and more! Whatever your reasons for developing DEI&B programming, they should inform your program goals and objectives.
Step 2: Define Your Strategic Objectives
Before you can effectively build a plan for where you want to go, you must first understand where you currently are. To do this, you will need to do a statistical analysis to understand the makeup of your current workforce by analyzing employee data from your HR information system (HRIS) and/or payroll system. We also highly recommend conducting a confidential employee survey to gather honest feedback on your organization’s DEI&B status.
Once you’ve gathered the data and have a better picture of what your organization’s DEI&B landscape looks like, it’s important to establish a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timebound) goal to drive your strategic objectives. An example goal could be, “In order to accurately reflect the diversity of our community and to position ourselves as an employer of choice, we want to increase our organization’s racial diversity by 20% in the next three years.”
That’s a great goal! Now how do you achieve that?
Step 3: Create a DEI&B Cultural Roadmap
To build a comprehensive DEI&B roadmap to meet your goal, you have to define the strategic objectives that you will use to get there. To define those objectives, you should consider four key pillars: Attract, Belong, Promote, and Influence. Each pillar holds up a different aspect of a comprehensive DEI&B plan and together will help you to develop a cultural DEI&B roadmap.
There are four main pillars in DEI&B Cultural Roadmaps:
- Attract – Recruiting a diverse workforce – talent acquisition management
- Belong- Employee engagement, belonging, and retention
- Promote – Career pathing, career progression, learning & development, and succession planning.
- Influence – how are we operating an organization within our community and within the world? Includes community relations and volunteer opportunities. Includes do you have a DEI-focused vendor list?
You MUST include all 4 pillars, or your efforts will fall down just as a three-legged chair. And each one of those pillars, what we do is we roll up various initiatives underneath each one of those pillars over a several-year road map in order to get where we want to go long term.
Attract
If your goal is to increase the diversity of your workforce, it may seem obvious that you will need to attract a more diverse pool of talent. But how can you do this? An excellent place to start is by reviewing your job descriptions and scrutinizing whether any of your current requirements detract diverse candidates from applying. For example, are the education, background, and day-to-day requirements absolute “need-to-haves”, or are you willing to be flexible? Could your requirements be open to experience in exchange for formal education? Do they have to have a driver’s license, or do you just need to confirm that they have reliable transportation to and from work?
Belong
Belonging is one of the newer concepts to enter the diversity, equity, and inclusion conversation, but it requires no less attention. By appropriately promoting and creating the paths for promotion for our diverse team members, it allows team members of any background to see the potential for themselves in roles they may not have had access to before.
If they can see someone who looks like them, thinks like them, operates like them, lives like them in a high-achieving role, it can make an incredible impact. Or, if a high-level role isn’t attractive to some individuals, we can still achieve a sense of belonging by engaging mentors and advisors to help guide and educate our team. Having those individuals in our professional lives that have similarities with us, whether that’s culturally, physically, spiritually, or otherwise, can make it a lot easier for people to be motivated and incentivized to engage and remain with the organization.
Promote
So, how can your organization promote diverse candidates internally if your organization is already lacking diversity? Minority entities and groups of individuals who haven’t had the same access to opportunities may already be at a disadvantage when considering growing through the company.
How can the organization provide access to training or education to allow these groups the opportunity to grow within and through the company? Promoting from within requires this key action.
And while promoting from within requires a longer timeline in comparison to attracting diverse talent (potentially three years versus a couple of months), this action will set your organization up for success in the long run. If you’re looking for a truly successful promotion-from-within strategy, be prepared to take steps in these initiatives over five to ten years. Tactics for this strategy can look like career pathing and building lines of succession. By taking smaller steps towards inclusion under the “promote” pillar, you’re creating an even more inclusive environment that will retain the diverse talent that you worked so hard to attract.
Influence
When we consider “influence,” we may initially assume that we’re hoping to influence internally – whether that’s decision-making, culture, or inclusive conversations. And while those are absolutely areas that we should consider and impact through this process, the concept of “influencing” through your DEI&B roadmap actually applies outside of the organization. It involves asking questions such as “How can we show the community that we live and/or operate in that we promote and encourage and support particular minority groups?” Is it engaging in Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Month, Native American Heritage Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Pride, or more? And is that engagement something that we (as an organization) can continue year-round?
This external “influencing” goes hand-in-hand with attracting diverse team members – by getting involved and positively impacting community groups, then you’re positioning yourself as an employer of choice.
A successful DEI&B roadmap takes time, effort, planning, and funds. Whether your organization is still in the foundational stages of building a DEI&B program or reevaluating previously made goals for your current program, a roadmap can help guide the key players towards success in achieving the strategic level goals.
Special thanks to Mary Mitchell, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CHRS, and Samantha Kelly for sharing their expertise in this article!
Building a comprehensive and inclusive diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging plan can improve team morale, create a welcoming work environment, and position your organization as an employer of choice in a difficult labor market. If you need assistance or guidance in building this plan, visit our DEIB Consulting Services page or contact us today!
HR’s Role During An Economic Crisis
High inflation, rising interest rates, record-low unemployment, and strong consumer spending seem to have economists scratching their heads. In today’s economic uncertainty, HR professionals are preparing to pivot to meet the needs of their organizations should the economy go into recession.
HR professionals are no strangers to navigating and leading through turbulent times. Throughout the pandemic, HR was and still remains on the front lines – leading change and creating a culture and space that supported a massive transition to remote work and pandemic-safe work environments. HR professionals demonstrated skills that had not been relied upon by many companies in the past, creating a focus on minimizing costs while engaging staff during challenging times.
HR professionals found themselves providing staffing insights to navigate difficult business decisions, offering creative problem-solving, and managing talent and culture, more than they ever have in the past. In this article, we will highlight several ways in which human resources professionals can continue to pivot and develop creative approaches to help their organizations weather the storm of the current economic crisis.
Assessing and Addressing Talent Needs
It may be expected that HR’s role during an economic crisis would center around talent. As companies make critical staffing decisions, the evaluation of talent and the use of that talent becomes paramount. During cost-saving conversations, significant efforts must be made to make effective use of staff. HR leaders can address these priorities through performance evaluations, development tools, succession plans, and cross-training initiatives.
Despite predictions, unemployment remains at historic lows and the Great Resignation could be seen as the beginning of a long-term shift in the labor market. For many businesses, growth has been slowed because of workforce shortages. Fortune indicates that the U.S. workforce participation rate has fallen to 62.3%, which is down from 67% in the late 1990s. More than ever before, HR professionals need to focus on strategies to help their organizations attract, retain, and develop high performers.
As organizations strive to meet their attraction and retention goals, they are also faced with the realities of the current economic conditions. The soaring cost of living has placed pressure on employers to increase salaries as paychecks are stretched by the significant increase in the prices of household goods. HR’s role is to help the business remain competitive in the job market by developing total compensation programs designed to motivate and reward high performance.
In addition to ensuring compensation and benefits are competitive, employers are challenged with meeting the needs and expectations of a multi-generational workforce. In our experience, the top reasons that job seekers across all generations choose to join a company besides salary are the ability to enjoy work-life balance and having growth and learning opportunities. HR can champion programs that motivate all generations of employees by offering ample paid time off, flexibility, and learning and professional development opportunities.
By taking a multifaceted approach, today’s HR leaders have the opportunity to create the workplace of the future that is designed with successful talent attraction and retention strategies built in.
Reskilling for the Future
As technology rapidly advances, one thing is certain – many businesses are finding a skills gap with current employees, and this gap is hindering growth. During times of an economic slowdown, HR can shift the focus to the future and find ways to fill skill gaps with current employees through training and development opportunities.
This can be a win-win situation as it helps the business to better meet its needs, and it addresses the desire of employees who are looking for growth and learning opportunities.
Managing the Mood
Difficult times become the most integral time to “manage the mood” of the company. Another component of HR’s role during an economic crisis is to partner with the leadership team to encourage and embrace a culture open to flexibility, evolution, and giving grace to others.
Particularly during times of economic downturns or layoffs, it can be hard to maintain the psychological safety of the team. This is the time to remain transparent in communications on what is happening in the organization, as well as recognizing what is left unknown. Employees left in the dark can become disengaged, putting your organization at risk of fostering a culture of quiet quitters.
Supporting Mental Health and Well-Being
Economic challenges always take a toll on employees in one way or another, and consideration must be made for the mental health and well-being of those that are at the heart of your organization to assure a thriving and productive environment. Promote your Employee Assistance Plans (EAPs), take advantage of the co-pay waiver of many health plans for mental health, and provide regular communication to staff on financial offers from local banks and community resources.
It’s no secret – HR’s role in this economic crisis has shifted and grown. The current economic crisis has put pressure on HR professionals and business leaders to do more with less. Businesses across the board are all looking for creative ways to engage their workforce, reinforce productive and positive behavior, and retain staff – all while allaying employee concerns and fears.
Human Resource professionals can and should take this unique opportunity to play a significant role in leading their organization through this national crisis. By showing their support of the business and its employees through appropriate economic-driven actions, they can support both the organization’s vision/mission and its employees’ health and wellbeing.
Special thanks to Colleen Mahoney, PHR, HR Business Advisor, for contributing to this article.
HR plays an integral role in optimizing your operations during challenging times. Clark Schaefer Strategic HR can help with your leadership and HR strategy. For more information, please visit our HR Strategy page, or simply contact us – we’d love to hear from you.
Succession Planning: How Can We Prepare for Exits of Key Employees?
HR Question:
I’ve been hearing more and more about the importance of succession planning should any of our key employees or leaders resign. How can our organization make sure we’re appropriately prepared for succession planning so we are well-positioned if we should lose any key players?
HR Answer:
The exit of a key employee can certainly result in turbulence within a business. Lack of preparation in filling such an important role can fuel skepticism about the future of the company among both internal employees and external stakeholders. Organizations can help temper such concerns and instability through succession planning.
Benefits of Succession Planning
Thoughtful succession planning leads to numerous benefits. Organizations that hire their leaders internally may benefit from a better quality of hire than those who look externally. According to a study at the University of Pennsylvania, although internal hires are typically paid less than external hires, they tend to perform better and have lower turnover rates. The success of internal hires may be in part attributed to a deep understanding of the business and culture, along with cultivated relationships amongst the organization, its partners, and customers.
Succession planning also serves to foster goodwill among current employees who see the organization’s faith and investment in its internal talent. Especially considering the challenges in today’s talent market, succession planning may help to increase employee loyalty and tenure within an organization.
To begin succession planning, it is important to consider the strategic direction of the organization. You may pose the questions: what roles will we need to support the future goals of our organization? What kind of growth is expected in the next 1-5 years? Determining the trajectory of the organization will better inform the roles on which to focus your succession planning efforts. Executive leadership and directors constitute critical roles that typically merit inclusion in the process. However, organizations should also include key individual contributors who possess highly specialized skills or knowledge in their succession planning efforts.
Conducting a workforce assessment
Once critical roles are identified, it is important to conduct a workforce assessment to consider factors that may affect the stability of these key roles, such as incumbent retirement eligibility. During this portion of the process, it is also essential to identify members of the internal talent pool who may be able to fill these critical roles, with the right development opportunities. You should consider the current performance of these employees, as well as their future potential. Finally, when evaluating your internal talent pool, you will want to ensure that your pipeline of emerging leaders is diverse and can bring distinct perspectives to these key roles.
Identify gaps in knowledge and skills
Next, you will want to identify any gaps between the knowledge and skills possessed by the incumbents of critical roles and those in the talent pipeline to succeed them. Once these gaps are determined, leaders can begin creating career development plans in partnership with high-potential employees. Such career development plans may include shadowing a key employee, engaging in a mentorship program, or participating in a stretch assignment for exposure to new business functions, geographies, and customers. A career development plan may also include courses or seminars to help hone essential technical or soft skills. Finally, as part of their development process, high-potential employees could be invited to participate in board meetings for additional exposure to strategic planning initiatives.
It is important to note that succession planning is not a one-time initiative, but rather constitutes an ongoing process by which the internal talent pipeline is continually identified and developed. Organizations that implement thoughtful and strategic succession planning will benefit not only from increased stability during the exit of a key employee, but also from enhanced loyalty of employees who see the organization’s investment in its internal talent.
Thank you to Christine McLaughlin, HR Business Advisor, for contributing to this HR Question of the Week.
Whatever HR challenge your business may be facing, Clark Schaefer Strategic HR can help! Whether it’s by developing a robust internal succession planning process, creating or improving your performance management system, or developing a comprehensive strategic business plan through our HR Strategy services, our team of experienced consultants is waiting to partner with you. Contact us to talk through your HR Strategy needs.
Are You Ready For These Top HR Trends in 2024?
As we transition into a new year, the world of Human Resources is poised to undergo several transformative trends that reflect the evolving landscape of work. Some transformations are already at work, such as the continued integration of technology in HR processes, with the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and automation tools. These technologies are not only streamlining administrative tasks but also enhancing decision-making processes, enabling HR professionals to focus on more strategic and value-added activities.
Additionally, an emphasis on employee well-being is gaining momentum, with organizations recognizing the importance of creating a positive work environment that promotes mental health, work-life balance, and overall job satisfaction. Our team anticipates that remote and hybrid work arrangements will persist, prompting HR departments to refine policies and practices to accommodate diverse and flexible work setups that continue to support a diverse workforce with varying needs.
And finally, we expect diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives will also remain at the forefront of the HR landscape, as companies strive to create more inclusive and equitable workplaces. DE&I efforts go hand in hand with employee well-being and employee satisfaction. As employers work to foster diverse and inclusive workplaces, they are also challenged to be highly transparent in their communications and actions and to build a high level of trust, which leads to employee satisfaction and retention.
So how do we expect to see these HR trends play out in the coming year?
Generative AI & Upskilling
In a June 2023 survey by Gartner, 81% of HR leaders have already begun to explore and implement AI solutions within their organizations, with 52% exploring potential use cases and opportunities for generative AI. Indeed, the Future of Jobs Report 2023 indicates that by 2027, 43% of work tasks will be automated.
The Future of Jobs Report also emphasizes the growing focus on cognitive skills within the workforce – skills like creative and analytical thinking, technology, literacy, and socio-emotional attributes such as curiosity, resilience, and lifelong learning.
Upskilling in the field of human resources is expected to become increasingly important in the coming years and will play out in a variety of ways:
1. Technology Integration
The HR field is becoming more technology-driven with the adoption of complex HRIS (Human Resource Information Systems), AI-driven tools, and data analytics. HR professionals will need to quickly upskill to effectively utilize these technologies and leverage artificial intelligence for HR tasks such as recruitment, employee engagement, and talent management and development.
As HR professionals explore ways to weave AI into their daily operations, it’s also important to understand the ethical and legal concerns of AI adoption.
2. Data-Driven Decision-Making
HR professionals are increasingly relying on data to make informed decisions in areas such as workforce analytics, recruiting, employee performance, and strategic planning – even more so with the rise of AI. Consider providing data analytics training opportunities to help employees successfully engage and understand the results these technologies can provide.
3. Soft Skills and Emotional Intelligence
With the rise of remote work and digital collaboration, the importance of soft skills and emotional intelligence will continue to be sought after. HR professionals need to be adept at interpersonal communication, empathy, and understanding diverse perspectives – especially when so much interpersonal context is lost from behind a screen. Upskilling in these areas will be vital for effective employee relations, conflict resolution, and fostering a positive workplace culture.
4. Continuous Learning Culture
HR professionals should model and promote a culture of continuous learning within organizations. Reevaluating learning and development strategies, assessing training methodologies, and implementing ideal learning technologies will be essential to support the professional as well as personal growth of employees.
In summary, learning to utilize AI in beneficial ways, as well as upskilling across organizations, will create a mix of technical, interpersonal, and leadership skills that help employees adapt to the evolving workplace landscape and allow HR leaders to contribute to the success of organizations in highly valued ways.
Employee Well-Being
Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of employee well-being. The employee well-being umbrella includes mental health support, work-life balance and remote work initiatives, and wellness programs, in addition to providing meaningful work and opportunities for learning and development. The expectations of employers are growing by the minute!
The top 5 ways employers can support employee well-being in the upcoming year include a combination of physical, mental, and professional support:
1. Flexible Work Arrangements
Offer flexible work hours and remote work options to accommodate diverse employee needs. A flexible work environment allows employees to better balance their professional and personal lives, reducing stress and enhancing overall well-being. To learn more, check out Gallup’s article, “The Future of the Office Has Arrived: It’s Hybrid,” as well as Techopedia’s Remote Work Predictions for 2024.
2. Mental Health Programs and Resources
Prioritize mental health by providing access to counseling services, mental health workshops, and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Promote a culture of openness and destigmatize mental health issues to encourage employees to seek help when needed.
3. Professional Development Opportunities
Invest in employees’ professional growth by offering training programs, workshops, and opportunities for skill development. Providing clear pathways for career advancement and continuous learning not only enhances employees’ job satisfaction but also contributes to their overall well-being.
4. Health and Wellness Initiatives
Implement comprehensive health and wellness programs that address physical well-being. This can include fitness classes, wellness challenges, health screenings, and initiatives that promote a healthy lifestyle. Consider providing wellness benefits such as gym memberships or wellness reimbursements.
5. Regular Check-ins and Feedback
Conduct regular one-on-one check-ins between managers and employees to discuss workloads, career goals, and any challenges they may be facing. Foster open communication and create a supportive environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their concerns.
Check-ins allow for the opportunity to course-correct, as needed, and to ensure that employees have the resources they need to do their jobs successfully. In addition, providing constructive feedback and recognition for accomplishments contribute to a positive work experience.
These strategies collectively address various aspects of employee well-being, creating a holistic approach that considers both personal and professional needs. Employers need to tailor these initiatives based on their workforce’s specific characteristics and preferences, promoting a culture that values and prioritizes the well-being of employees.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEI&B) initiatives are more than passing HR trends, but rather, essential for creating a workplace that is welcoming, inclusive, and representative of all individuals. In 2024, employers can take several actions to support and enhance their DEI&B efforts:
1. Establish Clear DEI&B Goals and Metrics
Clearly define and communicate DEI&B goals that align with the organization’s values and mission. We recommend using a DEI&B roadmap as you build your diversity initiatives. Establish measurable metrics to track progress and hold the company accountable for achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives. Regularly assess and report on these metrics to demonstrate transparency and commitment.
2. Cultivate an Inclusive Workplace Culture
Foster a culture of inclusivity where all employees feel valued, respected, and heard. Encourage open communication, apply inclusive decision-making principles, and create platforms for employees to share their experiences and perspectives. Implement training programs to raise awareness about unconscious bias, microaggressions, and other barriers to inclusivity.
3. Diverse Hiring Practices
Implement inclusive hiring practices to attract a diverse talent pool. This includes using diverse interview panels, removing bias from job descriptions, and actively seeking candidates from underrepresented groups. Consider partnerships with organizations focused on diversity recruitment and outreach to expand your talent network.
4. Professional Development and Mentorship Programs
Provide opportunities for professional development and mentorship, particularly for employees from underrepresented groups. Establish mentorship programs that connect employees with mentors who can guide and support their career growth. Ensure that these programs are accessible and inclusive.
5. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Establish or enhance Employee Resource Groups that cater to specific communities within the organization. These groups provide a platform for employees to connect, share experiences, and contribute to the development of a more inclusive workplace. Support and actively engage with ERGs to ensure their success and impact.
6. Equitable Policies and Practices
Regularly review and update policies and practices to ensure they are equitable and unbiased. This includes performance evaluation processes, promotions, and compensation structures. Strive to eliminate systemic barriers that may disproportionately affect certain groups within the organization.
DEI&B initiatives require ongoing commitment and effort. Employers should listen to the needs and concerns of their employees, continuously educate themselves and their teams, and adapt their strategies based on feedback and evolving best practices. By taking a comprehensive and proactive approach, employers can contribute to building an inclusive workplace that reflects the diversity of the global workforce.
For ideas to enhance your DEI&B programs, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers “4 Ways to Promote Authentic DE&I Practices.”
As we stand on the brink of a new year, the field of Human Resources is on the cusp of significant transformations, mirroring the dynamic nature of the modern workplace. Employers play a pivotal role in steering organizations toward a progressive and thriving future. Recognizing our employees as the cornerstone of success, we can aspire to cultivate environments that prioritize well-being, embrace diversity and inclusion, a new digital world, and adapt to the evolving needs of our workforce.
As we navigate these HR trends and challenges, let us collectively champion a workplace culture that not only reflects the spirit of the times but fosters growth, innovation, and lasting success for individuals and organizations alike.
Thank you to Collen Mahoney, PHR, and Cassie Whitehouse, M.Ed., for contributing to this HR Question of the Week!
Need help tackling your HR Strategy for 2024? Let our team of HR experts assist in building your plans for the new year. Please visit our HR Strategy page to learn more, or simply contact us – we’d love to hear from you.
Why Is It Important To Get An Employee’s Signature?
Have you ever had an employee question an employment agreement or say they didn’t mean to agree to a term of their employment? Why is it so important to get an employee’s signature?
This is a critical question for all employers, and the answer applies to more than just employment agreements! At its root, a signature is used to show the intent of an individual to bind oneself to a contract or make a written representation.
Why is an Employee’s Signature Important?
In the case of a new hire’s employment agreement, the signature here binds both the employee-to-be and the company to the agreed-upon terms such as salary, benefits, schedule, etc. – all items you don’t want to have to argue over after the employee has already started.
There are other instances where having an employee’s signature can help to protect your organization beyond the employment agreement. For example, when memorializing a performance conversation, it may be important to have an employee make a written representation of the fact that they were there, they understand the conversation, and they’ve agreed to any future action discussed during the meeting.
Obtaining an employee’s signature on documents such as these not only helps to clarify expectations, but it can also be an important part of your organization’s risk mitigation.
Employee Signature Best Practices
These signed documents are used should the agreement, the conversation, or actions be called into question, whether that’s internally or in a court of law. To eliminate additional confusion, there are best practices when gathering employee signatures.
A signature in ink is recognized as the standard for executing documents. However, should in-person not be an option (as many organizations have experienced a significant increase in remote workers), other legally recognized methods of signing are effective. These may include a scanned PDF of a signed document with an original signature or obtaining an electronic signature using software that is legally recognized, such as DocuSign, Adobe, certain payroll services, etc.
All in all, it goes back to showing intent to sign should anyone ever question that an agreement was created.
What Doesn’t Count as a Signature?
What you want to avoid is a question of fraud or whether an individual intended to enter into the agreement. Just typing a name using script font instead of using an original signature is typically not sufficient because it is easier to claim that it was created by someone other than the named party.
Additionally, simply cutting and pasting a picture of a person’s original signature into a document, as is sometimes done on letters, isn’t recommended because it can be more easily used to create counterfeited documents (or alleged to be counterfeit by a party not wanting to be bound by the agreement). Having said that, it is slightly better than typing in script font.
In the end, it is important to protect both parties – the employee and the company – with original or well-documented signatures in the case of disagreements or audits. By taking a little bit of additional time upfront to ensure that you’ve gathered an employee’s signature correctly, you can prevent a significant amount of wasted time and money later down the path.
Special thank you to Emily Smith, JD, General Counsel for Clark Schaefer Hackett, and Sammie Kelly for contributing to this Emerging Issues in HR.
Although maintaining proper recordkeeping practices may not be everyone’s forte, it is a critical piece to help protect both your organization and your employees. But don’t worry, Clark Schaefer Strategic HR are here to help! We can conduct an HR Audit to review your HR policies, procedures, documentation, and systems to identify any areas for improvement or enhancement in your HR function. To learn more, visit our HR Audit page or Request an HR Audit Quote.
What is HR’s Role in the Mergers & Acquisitions Process?
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) are a complicated process affecting every facet of an organization – most importantly, its people. Because employees are the key to ensuring the success of any organization, it is critical to develop a thoughtful and strategic human resources-focused approach in the M&A process. This requires HR leaders to be involved from the beginning – as Forbes reminded us of several notable failed M&A attempts when employees were not factored into the process from the start. Through early and ongoing inclusion in the M&A evaluation, planning, and integration process, human resources can play an important role in strategic planning, change management, effective internal communication, and cultivating/transitioning culture.
HR’s Role in the Five Phases of M&A
We have found that most mergers and acquisitions include the following five phases, and we have identified how HR professionals can and should play a role in each phase to result in a successful merger.
Phase 1: M&A Evaluation
The first step in the M&A process is for the interested parties to start discussing the possible merger or acquisition. The name of the game here is discretion. Due to the sensitive nature of M&As and the data that will be shared, both parties will need to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to ensure that no information is leaked before the appropriate time.
These preliminary talks are often highly secretive because they may/may not lead to a merger, so there is no need to cause alarm. Although the level of confidentiality that’s needed can vary, its importance is heightened if either party is publicly traded. It’s critical for HR to be involved early to understand the HR landscape at a high level, including information such as the number of employees and managers, locations, whether or not a union will be involved, etc.
Phase 2: Third Party Engagement
Third parties help both the buyer and seller navigate the process. These third parties are usually lawyers, accountants, investment bankers, financial planners, business coaches, or M&A advisors. These individuals will be involved in the development of the structure and content of the legal agreement.
A merger or acquisition can happen quickly or take months. Although the timing varies, it is not too early for HR to start looking into what management changes need to take place when this deal closes, potential cultural problems, redundancy issues, and what key employees need to be retained. Having thought through these issues early in the process will improve the outcome.
Phase 3: Prep Time and Due Diligence
In this preparatory phase, HR should become even more involved. Initially, as an HR expert, you will want to get as much information as you can from the seller to begin your analysis. This information is usually provided in a secure data room and may be provided in general terms without any names, but it will give you an idea of the “HR side” of the organization. This could include:
- Leadership compensation
- Organization chart
- NDAs
- Employment agreements
- Payroll records
- Benefits that are offered, including 401k/retirement, compliance with ERISA, carriers for the plans, costs, last 2 years’ data
- Pending legal issues
- Financial documentation
At this point, the parties will sign a letter of intent signaling that they are all in agreement with the business framework for the deal. Now the due diligence begins. All documents are carefully reviewed by HR and finance to ensure that there are no unexpected surprises that could derail the deal.
Phase 4: The Agreement
In this phase, the finer details and price become the top focus. There are books written about how valuation is calculated in various industries, so we won’t go into that here. The most important thing is that both parties will come to an agreement on the price and legal documents will be drawn up. Be aware that negotiating the finer details of the acquisition may take longer than you would think.
Once the agreement is reached, there are some filings that need to be completed including with the secretary of state, tax documents, workers’ compensation, and other government bodies who will need to be notified of the event. At this point, the information will soon be public, and you should have a communication plan ready.
Once everything is signed, the integration of the two entities begins and management and HR must now bring the two workforces together.
Phase 5: Integration
HR is now tasked with ensuring the new company is fully integrated. The integration phase includes:
- Communication strategy
- Combining the organizations and cultures
- Determining redundancies
- Formulating strategy
- Ensuring the retention of staff
The “people” side of the acquisition is extremely critical at this point. HR must find ways to retain key employees and keep employees engaged.
How HR Can Ensure Successful Integration
To weave together a new organization, HR will need to keep an eye on many different threads – first among those is culture. Cultural compatibility issues often arise when bringing together two or more organizations in the M&A process. The M&A integration always has a degree of misalignment, regardless of the perceived similarity between the two organizations. Cultural alignment has been identified as the top challenge in M&A transactions, therefore we recommend HR professionals be prepared to address it early on.
Additional areas of focus, as reflected in the diagram below, include combining policies and procedures, identifying and retaining key employees, conducting talent assessments, combining compensation and benefits, and implementing a well-developed communication strategy.
Identifying and Retaining Key Employees
Retention of key employees will be critical to the success of the M&A. To retain key talent that will help make the new organization successful, HR and/or management should communicate its intentions to the “star performers” as early in the process as is legally possible to help ensure retention. This will involve requesting access to conduct confidential interviews with key employees in advance of the actual closing date.
HR should advise management to be very careful not to under-commit to these key employees, or they will consider other employment options. Star performers know who they are and understand their personal and professional marketability.
Combining Policies and Procedures
HR will need to look at the policies of both organizations and consider how to handle the differences. You may choose to retain only the buyer’s or seller’s policies or combine the best pieces from both organizations. You will also need to determine how to handle any changes that would cause employees to have less than what they currently have (i.e., PTO, cell phone, etc.). In the end, you may decide to grandfather those items or provide compensation.
Conducting Talent Assessments
HR will need to identify and manage redundancies and reductions. Be prepared to allocate a significant amount of time to assess employee knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to determine which individuals will be retained and who will be let go. Your strategy may include terminations, early retirements, and a longer-term plan to simply not fill certain positions as they are vacated. A careful strategic approach will be key here – the ways in which these talent management decisions are made will be as important as the actual decisions themselves, as they’ll communicate a great deal about the new organization’s values.
Tips on how to approach talent assessments:
Go through your organizational chart and identify key people. Don’t limit yourself. Consider everyone, not just management. For example, are there key people in your hourly staff?
For each key employee provide:
- A short summary of their main responsibilities
- Years of service, specific experience, and retention risk estimate
- Criticality of the role/employee for the continuation of business and operations
- Any specific agreements with the employee not included in the data provided (i.e., education, training, bonus, perks)
- Development ambition/potential for next steps or succession candidate for other roles within the company
- Other comments to be highlighted by management
You may find a 9-box tool to be helpful in this analysis.
Combining Compensation & Benefits
Depending on the circumstances of the deal – and the compensation policies of the combining companies – HR will likely be called on to splice disparate payment plans into a compensation program that fits the new organization.
It goes without saying that all employees, new and old, will be concerned about what is happening with their pay. Be sure to provide full and early disclosure about the changes being considered to put their minds to rest. Also, members of the senior management team will be anxious to see what types of special arrangements (i.e., stock options, special retirement provisions, severance agreements) will be offered to them given the high-profile nature of the new positions.
In addition to developing compensation programs, HR will likely be required to assess and make recommendations on employee benefits. You can follow a similar process to how you combined policies and procedures for the organization by retaining only the buyer’s or seller’s benefits or combining the best pieces from both organizations. You should also decide if there are any options for which you choose to grandfather in or compensate.
Similar to compensation, employees are sure to be concerned about possible changes to their employee benefits coverage and will want to be informed about “the new package” as soon as that information is available.
Implementing a Well-Developed Communication Strategy
Having a well-planned communication strategy in place is critical throughout the M&A process. It is important to control the message, delivery, and timing, especially when it comes to who gets the information first (i.e., employees, clients, media, investors). When preparing your communication strategy for employees, HR and company leaders should use a concise people-related strategy.
You should include:
- The shared vision for the new company
- The nature and progress of the integration and the anticipated benefits
- The outcomes and rough timelines for future decisions
- Compensation and benefits
- Key policies, rules, and guidelines to govern employee behavior and related workplace expectations (i.e., attendance, time off, harassment, drug testing, privacy, etc.)
Communicating clear, consistent, and up-to-date information not only will give employees from both organizations a sense of control by keeping them informed, but it also can increase the coping abilities of employees and minimize the impact of the integration on performance.
Five Tips for a Successful Communication Program:
- Establish multiple routes of communication (i.e., one-on-one meetings, group sessions, newsletters, intranet updates).
- Focus on the themes of change and progress by highlighting projects that are going well and action items that are being delivered on time.
- Repeat the common themes of the M&A to increase employee understanding of the rationale behind the transaction.
- Provide opportunities for employee involvement and feedback.
- Ensure that employees understand there will be problems, but give a commitment that the problems will be identified and addressed as early as possible.
The Importance of Transparency and Compassion
The success of your integration hinges on how your restructuring is implemented. As a result, the highest priority for the acquiring company is to be transparent and straightforward about what is happening and what is planned. Even when the news is bad, the one thing employees of newly acquired companies appreciate most is the truth. This includes being able to say “we don’t know” about certain areas or “we have not yet decided” about others. Being honest also includes sharing information about when and by what process a decision is expected to be reached.
Once decisions are made about functions and people, HR and company leaders must treat those employees who will be negatively affected by the transaction with dignity, respect, and support. Not only is this approach the humane thing to do, but it also is a powerful way to show those who remain what kind of company they are now working for and can help them to begin to develop positive feelings toward the new organization.
Thank you to Cecilia Vocke, MS, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, for sharing her expertise in this article.
Ensuring that your HR Strategy aligns with your Company Strategy is critical to the success of your organization. Clark Schaefer Strategic HR has years of experience helping clients develop and implement their HR strategy and goals. Visit our HR Strategy Services to learn more about how we can help to assess your organizational design and HR processes to effectively plan for the future.
Strategies for Managing Change in Your Organization
Change – it impacts us at work and in our personal lives. Sometimes it happens suddenly and swiftly where no pre-planning can occur. We find ourselves scrambling to process what’s happened, what it means, and how it will affect us. We are forced to pivot and determine what to do differently so “the change” becomes the “new normal.” Sometimes change is planned for; individuals and organizations create change to improve something. Whether big or small, planned change is enacted because there is a belief that it will produce a positive outcome. Unfortunately, all too often, individual reactions to change or the level of effort needed for change to be embraced is underestimated or overlooked altogether. Managing change can be difficult!
What is Change Management?
According to the Society of Human Resource Management, change management is “the systematic approach and application of knowledge, tools, and resources to deal with change. It involves defining and adopting corporate strategies, structures, procedures, and technologies to handle changes in external conditions and the business environment.”
There are a variety of models for managing change that can be applied when facing a change initiative. Some models focus on an organizational response to change, while others focus on individuals and how people respond and react to change differently. No matter the model you chose to follow, consider these tools and recommendations to smooth anticipated bumps in the road.
Organizational Response to Change
When change occurs within an organization, it’s not unusual for there to be a decline in performance, morale, or overall productivity. Employees tend to enjoy and expect a certain level of status quo. When a major change is introduced, performance drops as individuals react to the change. Even in the best of circumstances, productivity levels aren’t typically perfect right out of the gate. There may be glitches, unforeseen challenges, and learning curves that must be overcome. It takes time for the organization to adapt to the change.
Adaptation Strategies
What can be done to help an organization ‘adapt’ faster? Research shows that organizations can move from ‘adapting’ to ‘thriving’ quicker if the following occurs:
- There is regular communication and understanding of the changes occurring and desired outcomes & benefits.
- Managers are working closely with their teams and aiding throughout the change process.
- There is a focus on employee training and development; individuals are provided with the tools, knowledge, and materials to operate in the new environment.
- Individuals are given time to work through the emotional ‘roller-coaster’ that can be part of a major change.
Leadership’s Responsibility When Managing Change
According to a study conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, they identified 9 critical leadership competencies of successful change efforts and change-capable leaders, later divided into “the 3 C’s of Change.”
- Communicate: including the “why” behind the change, rather than focusing only on “what” is changing, creates stronger buy-in and urgency for the change.
- Collaboration: leaders can increase their employees’ interest and investment in the change by including them in the decision-making process early on.
- Commit: Change can be scary but waffling back and forth on change can intimidate and confuse employees even more. By remaining resilient and dedicating themselves to change, leaders found themselves more successful during the adaptation process.
Individual Response to Change
Charlie Baker, former Vice President at Honda R&D Americas, described how individuals experience change is similar to how people experience grieving. Many are familiar with Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. For anyone who has gone through grief, most will tell you it’s not a linear process. The same concept applies to the change curve, which includes: denial, resistance, commitment, exploration, and commitment. For some, it may be a quick process; for others, they may linger in one stage longer than another. It’s also possible for some to travel backward through the curve if the change isn’t managed well.
Strategies to Move Toward Acceptance
What can be done to help move people to the acceptance stage of change? There are multiple activities to consider:
- If employees are in the Denial phase, supervisors should be in information mode – providing as much information as possible about the change and communicate a clear business case for why change is occurring. Management needs to “own” the change themselves and reinforce the company’s (or their own) vision for the change.
- In the Resistance phase, supervisors should be in empathy mode. To help their employees overcome resistance, supervisors need to be active listeners while allowing employees to express their feelings and thoughts and acknowledge/normalize them.
- In the Exploration phase, supervisors should be in facilitation mode. Employees need to see some specific, concrete changes – particularly those that will affect them. This may include providing new organizational charts, new tools, new metrics, or setting short-term goals to allow employees to practice operating under the changed environment and seeing immediate results & benefits. It’s important for supervisors to provide support and clear direction so employees understand what is expected of them in the future. Training, as needed, is most applicable in this phase since employees are over denial and resistance and can concentrate on learning new things.
- In the Commitment phase, employees have overcome most of the obstacles and supervisors should begin setting longer-term goals. Employees should continue to be provided with support and encouragement, but supervisors should continue to eliminate barriers and opportunities for learning. It’s important to promote and celebrate the successes that have been achieved, as well as identify and communicate any additional benefits that were not anticipated.
Throughout the change process, supervisors should be doing their best to actively support their employees in potentially difficult times. It’s also important to reinforce the “what’s in it for me” – the benefits of the change for the employees, as well as to the team and organization.
Effectively dealing with change is a critical skill area for all employees at all levels – whether you are an employee who needs to embrace change, a manager who needs to embrace and manage change, or a leader who must embrace, manage, and lead change! Having a better understanding of the challenges and using a variety of strategies to address them can greatly improve your success at managing change in your organization.
Special thanks to Terry Salo, Senior HR Consultant with Strategic HR for contributing to this edition of Emerging Issues in HR.
Now more than ever, managing change in your organization requires a coordinated, strategic approach. Strategic HR can help with your leadership and HR strategy through organizational changes – no matter how big or small. For more information, please visit our HR Strategy page, or simply contact us today!
Mental Health Concerns in the Workplace
In today’s chaotic environment, many American workers have been searching for ways to cope with the “new normal.” Between the pandemic, civil unrest, a divisive and contentious election, and frequent changes in their day to day life, it’s no surprise that mental health concerns in the workplace are on the rise. What impact can your employees’ mental health have on your organization?
In a recent study of 12,000 employees conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, individuals with better mental health were about two times more likely to maintain or improve their productivity when compared to those who were experiencing worse mental health during the pandemic. When surveyed about their mental health needs, TELUS International found that roughly 80% of workers would quit their current role if a new position provided more support for their mental health needs.
In this unique moment of increased remote work, additional challenges have presented themselves. In that same study, four out of every five workers indicated that they found it difficult to separate their work life and home life when working remotely due to the pandemic. Between the longer days and later hours resulting from a lack of structure when working from home, the mental strain led to an inability to maintain a positive work-life balance. This trend can be very difficult to sustain on a long-term basis, eventually impacting employee productivity and the quality of their work.
So how can HR and business leaders partner together in this remote/hybrid work environment? The same TELUS survey allowed employees to voice the changes they would most like to see implemented.
Encouraging the Use of PTO
Roughly 97% of those surveyed believed that taking vacation days is important to their mental health. In fact, over half of those surveyed have taken a “mental health day” since the pandemic began. Without the ability to travel or get away for vacation, employees may find themselves hesitant to take time off. Leaders should encourage the use of available PTO to disconnect, recharge, and relax – even if it’s within their own backyard.
Creating Flexible Scheduling (Without the Extra Hours)
Nearly nine out of every ten respondents agreed that a flexible work schedule would positively impact their mental health. This would allow employees to take mental breaks during the day, catering to children’s school schedules and family needs while reducing the guilt associated with “not being available.” When implemented correctly, this gives employees a feeling of control, reduces turnover, and boosts morale.
Provide Professional and Personal Interaction
Many employees would benefit from additional coaching or “reach outs” through the week from their managers or leaders. By connecting up and down the ladder and across departments, these unstructured check-ins can allow employees to fill the social gaps they lack from the isolation that naturally comes with remote work. In fact, many businesses have also implemented virtual “happy hours” to have their team gather for social interaction. Be sure to strike a careful balance here to avoid “Zoom Fatigue” by bombarding each other with video calls and check-ins.
Implement Telehealth Initiatives
There has been an increased demand for remote counselors or therapy sessions. In fact, the American Psychology Association has indicated that telehealth counseling can be just as effective as in-person counseling especially for younger generations that are used to using technology. It also allows for easier scheduling, lower costs, and a more private environment than the traditional face-to-face setting. Connecting employees to resources that provide this kind of remote support can allow individuals to work through their stress and develop coping mechanisms with trained professionals.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the ongoing conversation around mental health and highlighted the importance of taking care of ourselves, both in mind and in body. HR professionals and business leaders have an opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives and the health of their employees by building bridges for interaction, implementing mental health initiatives, and guiding employees to utilize the resources they have at hand. Strategic HR created this extensive compilation of mental health resources as an easy-to-use reference for employers to support the mental wellbeing of their employees. By encouraging frequent conversations, utilizing available resources without attaching stigma, and establishing positive practices surrounding mental health, businesses can see themselves and their employees through these uncertain times with success.
Special thanks to Mike Coltrane, Talent Acquisition Consultant, for contributing to the Emerging Issues in HR!
Your employees face challenges every day. We can help you to ensure that your company policies and benefits best support your employees’ overall well-being. Visit our Benefits and Compensation page or our Health, Safety, & Security page to learn more. Or, better yet, contact us.
The ABC’s of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I)
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~ Joseph Campbell
“…and not being penalized for it.” ~ Robin Shabazz, JD
By Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP:
Last week, I had the honor of emceeing the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce’s Top Talent event – “The ABC’s of DE&I.” I can confidently say it was by far one of the best events I have ever attended; and one of the timeliest. As we virtually gathered to discuss how we as a business community could embrace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we all felt the weight of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the ensuing protests across the country. Ready with notepads and a willingness to learn, all 50+ attendees were on the edge of our seats, taking copious notes as we listened to the powerful group of speakers that day.
Robin Shabazz, JD with The Eastledge Group LLC kicked off the event with an extremely informative and impactful keynote on DE&I and why it matters. Then, she facilitated a dynamic panel of representatives: Arlene Koth former Director of HR for Triversity; Juan Herrera, Head of Diversity and Inclusion for American Modern; and Julie Heard, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Cincinnati Opera.
The lessons these four speakers shared with us echoed in my head throughout the day, prompting me to quickly connect with my team just to share the immediate impact of the event. A week later, with continued reflection, I want to share some of the key take-aways that will have a lasting impact on our DE&I approach.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
First, Robin Shabazz shared her definitions of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
“Diversity includes all the multiple identities of employees across visible and invisible characteristics. Inclusion is how we leverage the experiences of our diverse workforce. Equity is the systemic elimination of barriers, providing fair treatment, access and opportunity for ALL to succeed.”
HR individuals and leaders have been working to implement diversity initiatives for years. Not to say that those efforts aren’t outstanding and necessary; however, to truly eliminate racism, we also need to take action towards equity – helping each individual (regardless of their race) truly belong. Robin made it perfectly clear: belonging matters.
HR leaders need to create a culture of belonging where everyone feels they are not only an important member of the group, but that they can be diverse and still respected. Belonging is not just “fitting in.” Simply “fitting in” means that a person is being who you want them to be, rather than themselves. The true meaning of belonging, and the one we need to all embrace, is actually being who you are and being valued for it.
A Powerful Panel
As Robin and the panelists continued to share their personal insights, they left us with key action items that leaders can take in order to prepare themselves for conversations with employees about racism and how it’s affecting the world. Leaders need to evaluate themselves and see what changes they need to make first. In particular, when leading a discussion, white leaders should start by recognizing “I don’t know what it’s like to be black.” This can help start the conversation and show that they are open to learning from perspectives outside of their own. In those conversations, ask “what else can I do for our team?” Listen, and respond with the tools that they may need to answer their questions.
But action cannot be limited to just leaders. Each individual has the opportunity to make a positive difference, even if it is as simple as saying “I’m sorry” when mistakes are made, and learning from it. By surrounding ourselves with others who are different from us, and by admitting vulnerabilities and learning from them, we begin to break down the biases that stood in the way in the first place.
As we approach and work towards successful change for all, one of the biggest challenges we will face is our biases. Not all biases are bad – in fact, a bias only becomes “bad” when it starts to oppress others. When biases begin to twist the outcome of even our best intentions, it is critical to address negative bias every single time. This isn’t easy. It takes work – internally and externally. And while we can’t change other’s biases, we can help others become aware of them and ask others for help to ensure our biases don’t impact us negatively.
Steps Forward
In our organizations, it is important to go beyond diversity and to place equal emphasis on equity AND inclusion. A diversity initiative often means setting goals and committing to meet them. For example, if you want to hire a diverse workforce, you need to create an environment in which diverse individuals not only come to work for you, but want to stay working for you because of the welcoming and embracing culture you enact. To create this culture, you’ll need every team member to play a role in making the change and making it stick by holding everyone accountable. Then as you hire, you’ll need to “de-bias” your hiring practices by creating clear job competencies as well as building a diverse pool of candidates. Hire the best candidate using diversity as one factor but not THE only factor. As an organization, it is critical to recognize that diversity benefits both employees and the organization while continuing to work towards removing barriers that may be present. The panelists made an excellent point: DE&I is not a program or initiative that will go away when the next “shiny object comes around.” Rather, this is an initiative that is here to stay – and needs to stay.
When we as a society can work together to create a culture or a world supported by diversity, equity, and inclusion, we will all benefit. For many organizations, leaders and employees must be willing to be uncomfortable and have uncomfortable conversations. But by leading those conversations with an eagerness for learning, development, and understanding, the benefits to an organization that values diversity, equity, and inclusion are limitless.
Strategic HR has had the privilege of working with a number of outstanding individuals with a passion and skill for DE&I. As you evaluate what you and your organization can do to make an impact, feel free to reach out to us. In the meantime, the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce has made the recording of this two-hour program available to the public for a fee of $35. We’d encourage you to set aside two hours to view an amazing and inspiring program.
Systemic Racism: How Can I Fight It?
HR Question:
The longstanding systemic racism and racial injustice against Black Americans is causing turmoil in my community – with my friends, with my family, and with my coworkers. What can my organization do to activate solutions to promote progress against systemic racism? How can I be a part of the solution through my workplace during these tough times?
HR Answer:
It is no secret that our nation has been rocked by heartbreak, by demands for change, and protests within our cities. As communities nationwide have processed and protested the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and more, we have seen a swell of companies speaking out against the social injustice that we operate in as a country. While these injustices are rooted as far back as 1619, if not further, we believe there is hope. Corporate America has the ability to have significant impact on improving and changing our landscape which has been sculpted, in part, by systemic racism. Now, more than ever before, it is the time to be aware of our sphere of influence to expedite action to correct misinformation and systems that do not support inclusion and belonging of Black Americans – and to do so at a faster pace than we have in the past. How do we get started?
In her Ted Talk, “Color Blind or Color Brave”, Mellody Hobson addresses the need to speak openly about race and impresses the importance of diversity in hiring. In fact, she points out that the most successful companies are the ones who make an active effort in recognizing all races, by being color-brave, not color-blind. Inspired by Mellody’s Ted Talk, we have compiled internally- and externally-focused color-brave actions that employers and individuals can take and lead, research, ask about, and/or be involved with for positive change.
Internally:
- Ensure inclusive leadership with accountability for progress on Diversity & Inclusion efforts. Leadership, management, and HR set the boundaries and example for respect and equity in the workplace. The first question to ask as leaders: are we having the difficult conversations with employees? Do we need to start having those conversations? And how do we do so? The first step in this may be embracing Crucial Conversations – but if there are only a handful of questions that we can answer, here are a few:
- Are we creating opportunities or forums for employees to dialogue about pressing social concerns?
- Are we providing the tools and training to have crucial conversations?
- Are we listening to everyone’s voice?
- Do we have the right policies in place?
- Are we communicating with compassion and focusing on human connection with our team?
- Create opportunity for self-reflection and development. We all have biases – conscious and unconscious. Provide exercises for self-evaluation and training programs (like cultural competency, unconscious bias, and respectful workplace training) to help determine personal strengths and opportunities. Bravely be willing to dialogue with others about this topic. Some good practical guidelines are: admit vulnerability and that you may say or do something that is contradictory to your intentions; be open to any feedback or comments; seek to understand instead of seeking to be understood; listen in an effort to learn another point of view and withhold judgments; and express respect and professionalism.
- Evaluate equity in the talent lifecycle. Ensure equal opportunity through measurable targets in talent attraction, talent engagement, and talent development efforts. Some examples of best practices include creating a network of sources to recruit a diverse candidate pool and have metrics around the “funnel” effectiveness throughout the hiring process; having mentoring and sponsorships for minority talent; creating metrics for retention and promotion of minorities; and ensuring individual development plans are in place and being implemented.
- Support a culture of openness and belonging with psychological safety. Tackle microaggressions that may exist in the workplace – or maybe define microaggressions in the first place. Have assessments in place to assess and reward each other as you live the standards/values. Create a welcoming environment free of posturing and aggressive competitiveness, where team members are comfortable being who they are and feel valued through a sense of psychological safety.
- Create ongoing feedback loops through focus groups (i.e. ERG’s or general) and surveys. This provides the ability to stay on track with goals and keep a finger on the pulse of what’s happening internally specifically related to inclusive practices. During emotionally charged times like these, it’s important to connect with team members quickly and create opportunities to share thoughts and feelings as soon as possible and on a regular basis. Then, create action planning and implementation of initiatives/changes.
Externally:
- Advocate for legislative changes and support political candidates for office that support advancement of pro-minority agendas.
- Assess Corporate Social Responsibility policies and practices. If none, create them. Ensure supplier diversity targets are measured and evaluated.
- Donate to funds and organizations that support the black community and social justice. Examples might include: Chambers, Foundations, United Way, and Minority business start-up ecosystem.
- Donate time and intellectual capital to support actionable solutions in the community.
- Create ongoing feedback loops with customers, partnerships, and suppliers to assess needs and experiences with the organization.
By being color-brave rather than color-blind, organizations and corporations can activate and mobilize change in communities, workplaces, and beyond to bring an end to systemic racism.
HR Strategy in Diversity & Inclusion will impact the bottom line for your business. After all, the employee experience, supplier/partner experience, and customer experience impact the bottom line. It’s more important than ever to optimize your inclusion practices during the global health pandemic and racial turmoil. Strategic HR receives numerous requests regarding diversity and inclusion strategies. We can help. For more information, please visit our HR Strategy pages.
Do I Need HR?
HR Question:
As a business owner, how do I know when I should engage someone to help me with our human resources needs?
HR Answer:
The quick answer is the typical rule of thumb is to have one HR professional for every 100 employees. However, depending on the scope of the role and how proactive your organization is, this number may be more like 1.5 HR professionals per every 100 employees (Bloomberg Report).
But not all businesses have over 100 employees, and you can’t wait until you are at 100 employees to address human resources in your business. When you hire one new employee beyond yourself, your journey down the human resources lane begins. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are ready to hire a full-time HR person; but rather, you need to do some basics to get your business in shape to have employees such as:
- Setting up workers compensation
- Obtaining a payroll solution
- Posting mandated posters
- Creating employee files
- Developing a recruiting process
- Creating an onboarding program and required forms
- Setting up how an employee will be paid in compliance with various laws
- Identifying benefits–not just health, but also holidays, PTO, and programs
- Setting expectations for employees through policies in an employee handbook
Once you have your HR function set up, you may be comfortable handling your human resources function internally yourself, through your management team, or even an office manager. But, be sure you have a lifeline to an HR consultant and/or attorney to help you, should an issue arise.
As your business grows, you will also see other triggers that may tell you it’s time to get more formalized help with your HR function such as:
- Business growth
- Employee turnover
- The need for more formal policies and procedures
- Gaining or maintaining a competitive edge
- Change that is impacting your employees
- Conflict with responsibilities
- Compliance
Compliance with federal, state, and local laws is critical for you to stay on top of as your business grows, which again is why it’s important to at least have a lifeline to an HR consultant and/or attorney. Check out this general list of the federal labor laws by the number of employees you have on your team. This list links to details on the actual law. But, there are also many unique state and local laws that may apply to your business too.
Too often, we see businesses wait until a problem occurs: if it isn’t broken, why fix it? When it comes to HR, you are better to be proactive than reactive to avoid losing key employees, receiving penalties for violating a law, or litigation.
Strategic HR can help you with any of your human resources needs, whether you are hiring your first employee or your 1,000th. With our customized, a-la-carte approach, we can support exactly what you need. We can conduct an analysis of your HR function, establish your HR function, become your HR function, or help with key components of HR. Want to learn more? Request a Free HR Consultation.
How to Tackle the Challenges of Scaling a Business
The path of an entrepreneur isn’t an easy one, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. Although the journey can be filled with challenges and obstacles along the way in scaling a business, it can also be filled with fabulous opportunities that create a rewarding career. To share the lessons that she’s learned and some of the secrets to her success, Robin Throckmorton, president of Strategic HR, spoke in a Talent Magnet Institue Podcast about her experience of scaling her company up from a one-person consulting business to a thriving outsourced HR consulting firm with 20+ employees and contractors.
As we celebrate Strategic HR’s 25th year in business in 2020, it feels apropos to look back on how Robin led us to this moment. Typically, our “Emerging Issues in HR” consists of a written article, but for this edition, we’d like you to hear from Robin, in her own voice, as she talks about her experience in scaling a business.
In this podcast, Robin shares:
- How she got the guts to become an entrepreneur to have flexibility as a young professional and a new mom
- The gender and age bias she faced and what she did to build credibility
- How she reacted to someone telling her his client wouldn’t work with her because she is female and too young
Robin did not let discrimination set her back. In fact, she says, it pushed her to get involved with more leadership programs centered around empowering women.
The interviewer, Mike Sipple, and Robin discuss the challenges of scaling a business, and share these tips:
- How to find the right advisors
- How to let go of control
- The book and the team building activity that transformed her business
The final portion of the podcast transitions to a discussion of the challenges of finding balance as a leader of a business. Listen NOW to get tips on how to maintain the fine line of balancing work and life well.
We look forward to celebrating our 25th year of business in many ways with you as we travel through 2020 together!
How Your Corporate Social Responsibility (Or the Lack of It!) Will Impact Your Business
Be smart. Do good. That’s a simple, yet powerful message for companies that want to have a positive public image. Particularly in today’s world, your company’s brand, reputation, and involvement in the community play an important role on your current and potential consumers’ interest in doing business with you. In addition, your company’s community involvement, or lack thereof, is playing an increasingly important role in your ability to attract and retain talent.
Why is Corporate Social Responsibility important?
There seems to be a growing cultural shift recognizing the importance of giving back to our communities and an expectation that companies take the lead. You’ve seen community service incorporated into high school graduation requirements, and you’ve likely participated in a 5K, donation drive, or a happy hour event supporting a worthy cause. People are leveraging the influence and power that they can have through how they spend their time and dollars. Today, it’s no longer enough for a company to provide great products and services. Now more than ever, consumers are factoring in a company’s behavior and actions in the local and broader community as they make their purchase decisions. Many consumers expect companies to purposefully make a positive impact on their communities and to take a stand on key issues facing society. If you don’t, they are likely to spend their dollars elsewhere.
In a recent Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Study, Cone Communications found:
- 7 in 10 (70%) Americans believe companies have an obligation to take actions to improve issues that may not be relevant to everyday business operations
- 87% said they’d purchase a product because that company advocated for an issue they cared about
- 87% of consumers consider it important that a company invest in causes in their community and around the globe.
The Cone CSR Study also found that when a company supports a social or environmental issue, 92% of consumers say they have a more positive image of the company and 87% are more likely to trust the company. In a day and age when consumer trust seems to be waning, this should perk up the ears of business owners as an opportunity to shine.
How Corporate Social Responsibility impacts talent attraction and retention
Today’s job candidates and employees are interested in working for companies that have strong values and a strong commitment to the local and broader communities. Companies with corporate social responsibility initiatives that provide opportunities for employees to make a positive impact in their communities are better positioned to attract new talent and to retain those who are aligned with your values. Your corporate social responsibility opportunities can strengthen your employees’ connection with what’s important to them, which in turn helps to strengthen their connection to your company.
A recent Cone Communications’ Employee Engagement Study, found that 58% of U.S. job seekers assess a company’s corporate social responsibility behavior when making employment decisions, and over half of U.S. job seekers are not willing to work for a company that doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility initiatives. This survey also noted that employees find their jobs to be more fulfilling when they have the opportunity to make a positive impact on social issues at work, and they are more likely to be loyal to their employer because of it.
What is also notable from this study, and can be seen in the chart below, is the dramatic increased intensity of millennial’s views on corporate social responsibility. If recruitment and retention of millennials is part of your company’s talent acquisition strategy, then having a robust corporate social responsibility strategy must go hand in hand.
Chart adapted from Cone Communications 2016 Employee Engagement Study
Getting started with your Corporate Social Responsibility
If you want to get started with the development of your corporate social responsibility initiatives and you have an interest and commitment to sustaining your initiatives, it’s important that your corporate social responsibility be incorporated into your business model. Also, do your research! There are plenty of successful corporate social responsibility initiatives currently being implemented, so you can learn from the success of others to help shape how you may want to impact social, environmental, or community issues.
Consider creating an employee-led social responsibility team that can brainstorm and help to steer the direction of your corporate social responsibility plan. This group can also lead the organization of company-wide volunteer events, donation drives, fundraisers for community causes, etc. It’s also wise to guide this team’s direction to ensure that your corporate social responsibility efforts are in line with your company’s interests and values, in addition to those of your employees.
Companies of all sizes can (and should!) implement corporate social responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility opportunities are not reserved for large companies alone, rather small and mid-sized organizations can build corporate social responsibility into their business models as well. There are many ways to implement your corporate social responsibility activities. Some companies encourage employees to leverage their own unique skills and knowledge, and to share their professional expertise with organizations that can benefit. For example, those with design or technical skills can be connected to non-profit organizations that can benefit from their expertise by designing or enhancing their websites. Some organizations have developed foundations or scholarships to support their employees’ community involvement, while many others organize company-wide volunteering events. Below I’ll share some corporate social responsibility initiatives that we’ve either seen or implemented ourselves in hopes that these provide some inspiration for developing your own initiatives.
Volunteer Time Off (VTO)
An emerging benefit that is gaining popularity is the concept of Volunteer Time Off (VTO). This can be a great way for companies to show their commitment to social responsibility and to the individual interests of their employees by providing paid time off for employees to volunteer toward the non-profit causes of their choice.
Community Service Endowments, Scholarships, and Foundations
Some organizations have chosen to create scholarships or endowments to provide financial support to their employees who are working hard to make a difference in their local or global communities. We’re proud to shine a spotlight on one of our clients, Oxford Physical Therapy Centers, for creating the Bill Walker Community Service Endowment. This prestigious financial gift is awarded annually to an employee who lives out the mission of Oxford Physical Therapy Centers by serving their community and has a desire to engage in community service or mission work with a focus on Healthcare.
Other organizations have developed foundations to help sustain their corporate social responsibility initiatives. For example, InfoTrust (another amazing client of ours) has developed the InfoTrust Foundation. Their mission is to leverage their own growth as an opportunity to give back to their local communities and beyond. It is their hope to lead by example to inspire more small businesses to find meaning and value in giving back, all the while creating an awesome culture.
Company-wide Volunteer Events
If you’re looking for ways to engage your employees and to build strong teams, company-wide volunteer events can be an excellent choice. What better way to build relationships and strengthen teams than through working together to make a positive impact on your local or broader community? Not only can the act of volunteering be a team building activity, but engaging employees’ in the process of choosing the organizations and causes that you will support can also be a great team development opportunity. Also, by allowing your employees to help drive the decisions about your corporate social responsibility efforts, it will increase their connection and commitment to your organization and the causes that you support.
There are countless non-profit organizations leading worthy causes that you can consider supporting. Make sure that you choose to support corporate social responsibility activities and organizations/causes that are in line with your company’s values and mission. Make choices that make sense for your company. If you’re using an employee-led corporate social responsibility team, hopefully, this will also help to drive your corporate social responsibility efforts in a direction that positively impacts what your employees care about too. Another factor in choosing your volunteer experiences can be logistics. The size of your group can sometimes drive the volunteer work that you can do.
At Strategic HR, one of our core values is to positively impact our community by helping those in need. We live this value by coordinating several corporate social responsibility activities throughout each year. We have organized donation drives to support school systems, families in need, the homeless, and various non-profit organizations. We have also coordinated company-wide volunteer events that have accommodated both small and large groups including:
- Ronald McDonald House of Greater Cincinnati- Taste of Hope: This is a great volunteer opportunity for groups of 4 – 12 people to help prepare and serve meals to the families who are staying at the Ronald McDonald House, allowing parents more time to focus on their critically ill children.
- Pack Shack’s “Feed the Funnel Party”: This is a high energy event where you pack thousands of delicious, healthy meals for local families in need. This is a fabulous event for groups as small as 25 and can accommodate up into the thousands! Pack Shack makes this a turn-key process to plan. All you need to do is secure an indoor venue, provide tables, funding for the meals, and volunteers. They take care of turning it into an energizing party filled with music and fun! Because we found a venue that could accommodate a lot of people, we invited our clients to join us as well. This turned out to be a fantastic bonding opportunity not only for our internal team, but also for our clients! It went so well during our first year in 2018, we’re doing it again in 2019!
- Matthew 25 Ministries: This is an amazing international humanitarian aid and disaster relief organization helping more than 20 million people in need each year. We have enjoyed volunteering here because we value supporting their mission, and they do a great job of selecting volunteer tasks that are appropriate for the age ranges of your volunteers. They can work with groups of 4 – 100 people.
Don’t keep your corporate social responsibility a secret!
Let people know about the good you are spreading, and be sure to let them know why you’re doing it. You can share stories, pictures, and video from your corporate social responsibility events on your website and through your social media. This helps your employees, prospective candidates, and consumers to see and understand the role that your organization is playing in the world beyond your company walls.
There is so much potential for good to be done in our local and global communities. If you already have a well-established corporate social responsibility strategy, great! Keep it up! If you haven’t mobilized your corporate social responsibility initiatives, then we hope you can use the ideas shared in this article to launch your initiatives to do good!
Developing a Retention Strategy
Question:
We know that finding and hiring good talent is a real challenge. Fortunately, we don’t have many open positions right now, but how do we keep the talent that we have? What can we do to prevent our employees from leaving and improve our retention?
Answer:
This is an excellent question! And one that all employers should be asking themselves and directing time and resources to address retention. Like most strategies, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ solution. There are, however, a number of things that organizations can do to engage (and hopefully, retain) the employees they have.
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- Identify your high performers and high potential employees and actively re-recruit them to ensure retention. Consider those employees who consistently exceed expectations, deliver results, the positive influencers in your organization or those in mission critical positions. Dedicate time to solicit their feedback, understand their challenges, remove barriers that may be hindering their success or satisfaction level, and provide regular opportunities for growth and development. These steady performers often get the least amount of time and feedback from their managers, while poor performers oftentimes suck up the bulk of time. Managers should make a regular habit to change that.
- Make sure your compensation and benefits are competitive. According to a Glassdoor survey, nearly half (45 percent) noted that salary was among the top reason for employees changing jobs, followed by career advancement opportunities, benefits and location.
- Survey your employees to gain a better understanding of what’s important to them and solicit their ideas to improve your work place. Annual surveys can be a great way to get input from your employees on key issues (i.e. engagement, benefits, leadership, etc.) to help you develop a retention strategy. One word of caution…. it’s imperative that organization be transparent about the results and be ready to act upon the feedback that’s given. To maintain credibility, share survey results (the good and the bad) with employees and prepare an action plan to work and improve on the areas you can make a positive impact.
Instead of an annual survey, many organizations have begun the use of employee pulse surveys. These surveys are often just one or two questions that employees are asked to answer more frequently (i.e. monthly, weekly). They are short and very specific, helping give you an immediate picture of what is happening in your workplace. These surveys allow you to get deep into the issues at hand for quick and immediate response. One of our favorites is TinyPulse but you can also create your own on a tool like SurveyMethods.
- Train and develop your managers. How often have you asked someone why they chose to leave a good organization, only to find it was because of their immediate supervisor? Supervisors have the greatest impact on the work environment. To be effective, first line supervisors need to be as adept at people-managing skills as they are in their technical capabilities. Communicating effectively, identifying how to motivate diverse individuals, approachability, and showing a genuine interest and caring about their direct reports – are all just a few of the skills needed to create a positive workforce. No matter how strong your benefits and compensation packages may be, a poorly skilled supervisor can have devastating effects on morale and to your turnover.
A key component of your HR Strategy includes understanding your employees. This means taking the pulse of your employees through employee surveys to identify what you are doing well and where you could improve. Strategic HR can help you by creating a custom survey to meet your needs and facilitating the survey as a neutral third party. Visit our Employee Surveys page to learn more about how Strategic HR can help you.
Make Your Strategy Work
Question:
I’m an HR practitioner consumed by the day to day, how can I be strategic in my role?
Answer:
To answer this question, let’s begin by clarifying strategic human resources. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), strategic human resource involves a future-oriented process of developing and implementing HR programs that address and solve business problems and directly contribute to major long-term business objectives. At first pass, this definition seems like it involves a lofty and time-consuming process because we assume that a well mapped out plan is required. While a “Strategic HR plan” is a great goal to set and strive toward, it is NOT necessary to focus on the big picture every day.
As illustrated by the wheel to the right, the Company Strategy and HR Strategy are surrounded by activities HR practitioners address daily. If your “To Do” list includes items such as: developing a training plan for an individual manager, deciding about a worker’s compensation case and screening five candidates for the hot open role – approach it a little differently. Rather than taking each of these tasks (or any other set of tasks) independently, focus instead on how your actions and decisions will impact the success of the organization overall.
Ask yourself some reflective questions like:
- Are the outcomes going to increase the likelihood of success for Human Resources?
- Do they add to or detract from the success of the organization?
- Do the outcomes align with the overall company strategy?
By asking yourself these questions before acting, you are placing a lens of HR strategy that will produce better outcomes and make you a strategic partner.
You can be strategic in all areas of Human Resources every day by taking a brief pause and evaluating alternatives and potential solutions before executing the work. If you really want to be challenged, here are a few additional ideas on the applying strategy daily:
- Whenever possible, use data. It is the language of leaders and you are one too! (Hint: It is always possible to use data.)
- Assess the organizations readiness for change
- Understand the business metrics
- Determine the organizational risks
HR strategy isn’t always about planning for the future. Sometimes it means responding to current issues and making sure they fit with the mission, vision, or goals of the company. That can be difficult to do if you are uncertain of your strategy. If you don’t have your HR and/or Corporate strategies defined, or need help tying those to your mission and vision, we can help. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn more about how Strategic HR can help you meet your goals.
10 Key Areas of HR to Review as You Begin the New Year
As we roll into the New Year, it’s a fabulous time to do a quick audit of your HR function. This will help you start your year off on the right foot with a plan. Too often the day to day grind keeps us from planning and being strategic. This year, let’s change this!
Handbook
Your handbook can work for you or against you. It’s always a great idea to revisit your handbook at least annually to ensure you are following the policies you’ve set forth in your handbook and that nothing has changed throughout the year that needs incorporated. Think of things like the legalization of medical marijuana and any new state leave laws in your area. Your handbook sets the expectations for your employees. And, if anything in the handbook isn’t how you do things, you may have a hard time using it as a defense in any type of claim from an employee.
Job Descriptions
Much like the handbook, your job descriptions can work for you or against you. Many jobs today evolve quickly and it is hard to keep your job description up to date. Again, the job description helps you set expectations with your employee on the job and can be a defense tool in any claims by the employee (i.e. legal, workers compensation). Ask your managers to take a few minutes to just review the job descriptions for accuracy for the new year. Also, be sure you have included physical and mental requirements for the job. This will assist when you are trying to work with an employee requesting FMLA, disability, or workers compensation leaves.
Employee Files
What’s in your employee files? What shouldn’t be in your employee files? Start the new year off right by getting everything filed. Create a checklist of what should or shouldn’t be in your file and either audit all your files or do a random sampling.
I-9 Forms
Where do you keep your I-9s? It’s suggested to keep them all in a binder separate from the employee file. And be sure the form is fully completed including signatures. If anyone is employed through work authorizations such as an H1B, check to make sure that an update is not required due to expired documentation. In addition, be sure you are purging terminated employee I-9 forms according to recordkeeping guidelines.
Effectiveness of Your Recruitment Sources
What are the metrics on your recruitment sources? How many candidates from each source? How many candidates were interviewed from each source? How many were hired from each source? What’s the retention from each source? Can you make any changes on your recruitment based on these metrics? With the challenges of recruitment today, be sure you are making the most of your efforts and determine what is working and what is not.
Turnover
What was your turnover last year? Were there any trends by position, level, department, manager, or tenure? What actions do you need to take to minimize this same impact in the new year? If you have not taken the time to do exit interviews, start this process in the new year! Valuable information can be obtained from these quick sessions that may help with turnover going forward.
Company Reputation
What’s your company’s reputation online? Glassdoor? Facebook? Google? Another “must do” for 2019. Make sure you are looking at your company online and the reviews and comments you are receiving…everyone else is!
Harassment
Do you have an up to date harassment policy in your handbook that all employees have received? Have you trained your employees on the policy? In the wake of the #MeToo, it’s highly recommended to conduct harassment training annually or at a minimum, once every two years. Make sure your staff knows what is acceptable behavior and how to address concerns if they have them.
Compensation
With all the changes to minimum wage, are any of your employees affected by the changes and need compensation adjustments? Many experts suggest that the Department of Labor will revisit the Exempt/Non-Exempt definitions in 2019. Be sure you are ready to re-tackle that issue with exemption status and compensation levels.
Marijuana in the Workplace
What’s the state law regarding marijuana where your workplace resides? How are you going to handle a positive response on a drug screen from a candidate? Employee? Make sure your policy is up to date and it has been communicated to your testing facility and to your employees.
A Few Bonus Reflections…
- What were some of your key challenges last year? What can you do different this year to minimize the impact of similar challenges?
- We can’t over communicate with our employees. What is something different you are going to do this year to improve communication with your employees?
Finally, what can you do to find 30 minutes a month each month this year to reflect and take a more proactive approach to your HR? Think about it, this would just be six hours out of the 2,080 hours to help keep you on the right track in a more proactive manner. Don’t let those “little” HR items turn in to bigger issues during the year. Tackle them today and get the New Year off to a great start!
A special thanks to Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP and Patti Dunham, MA, MBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP with Strategic HR for sharing their insights and recommendations. If you have any questions or would like to share your comments, contact us at info@strategicHRinc.com.
Project Management for HR Projects
Many HR professionals have experienced working on a project and struggling to finish the job. This could have been the result of resources that were only available part time, scope that changed after the job was started, or a timeline that was way too ambitious. As HR professionals, we are regularly presented with assignments that need to be completed. These assignments routinely are full projects that need project management strategies applied. Several examples include:
- Annual benefits renewal,
- creating and issuing total compensation statements,
- hiring several new roles for the company,
- developing a new performance management solution, and
- orchestrating the formal company holiday party.
Each of these assignments follow a similar pattern of requiring “definition” of the work to be done, identifying the resources available to complete the tasks, executing the work, and closing the job when complete. These steps normally fall into five phases of a project management:
- Project Initiation
- Project Planning
- Project Execution
- Project Controlling
- Project Closure
With respect to HR project management, these five phases can be defined as the following:
Project Initiation: This is the start of the project and the creation of the initial definition of work to be accomplished.
Project Planning: The scope or definition of the work to be done is turned into a project plan to set out how the work will be done. This is an important phase of the project. The old adage applies that “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”. Without a good plan of how the work will be accomplished, the likelihood of a successful project diminishes. Scope changes, not the right resources, cost overruns, or not having the work complete when it is due are just a few of the results that happen with poor planning.
Project Execution: In this phase, the work that was planned is begun and completed.
Project Controlling: This phase is the monitoring component that goes along with the execution of the work. Regular monitoring allows the project team to make mid-course corrections as necessary to ensure that the project completes as planned.
Project Closure: In final phase, the project is completed and documentation is finalized. For HR professionals, the end of a project many times will result in some maintenance of the resulting work. For example, implementation of the Human Capital Management system results in the HR team managing the data and using the system regularly. In these cases, the documentation plays an important role to ensure the original work is used as designed.
Across all of these phases, a critical aspect is communications. Communications is the glue that allows the team to work collaboratively and for the rest of the organization to remain in sync with the team. When the communication breaks down, the team can fall into disarray with members chasing different goals or management becoming out of sync with the goals of the team. Both can lead to disastrous results. Many times a daily standup is used inside the team to ensure the flow of communication. For outside the team, status updates on a regular schedule tends to be the best method, and can be combined with other methods like status reports, dashboards showing progress/results, and walk up conversations.
To understand these principals in a greater level of detail, we can use an example to illustrate each phase and the corresponding actions. In this example, I will look at creating Total Compensation Statements for a company for the first time.
Under Project Initiation, what is the scope of the project? Where will the data with respect to earnings and deductions be obtained? Can it be exported from the payroll system or does it have to be rekeyed? Can the information be at an aggregate level or line item level? As you can see, in the definition stage, questions abound and each answer can lead to additional questions. The end purpose is to draw a clearly defined outline around the scope to be delivered. Equally important is defining the items that are NOT in scope. For example, in the above situation, confirming the addresses are correct for each employee is out of scope.
With the scope in hand, Project Planning will now flush out the details of the work. This should result in a task list to be accomplished with dependencies between tasks where possible. The nature of the questions will somewhat change, leading to When and How and Who rather than What and Why from the previous phase. Who will extract the data from the payroll system? How will the statement be formatted? Will there be a CEO statement that goes along with the total compensation statement? Will the statements be mailed to the individual homes or hand delivered at the office? How is the data in the statement verified?
During this stage, the dependencies are also identified. The data extract needs to occur before data can be imported into the statements. The format of the statement also has to be defined before the import can occur.
Additionally, during this phase, the resources to accomplish the work are identified and committed. In many HR projects, the unfortunate nature of business is that these resources have other jobs and they are only part time on the project.
With the resources assigned and a task list created, the Project Execution begins. Tasks are assigned to individuals and work is accomplished. Throughout the Project Controlling phase, in parallel, will be tracking progress and looking for issues to be resolved. We all know that issues occur, the trick is identifying them early and taking corrective action quickly.
For HR project management, one issue that regularly impacts timeline and effectiveness of the project is the part time nature of the resources allocated to the jobs. The day to day job of operationally running the business gets in the way of dedicated time to the project, such as: the employee relations issue that has to be resolved, problems with payroll have to be addressed, and resigning employees need to be replaced. Identifying these problems when they happen and resolving them quickly is key to a successful project. Sometimes, getting outside help is the answer; other times it is juggling assignments to others on the team.
Eventually, the project comes to an end and the delivery is complete. At that point, documentation of the end deliverables is necessary for the running of the business. In our example, inevitably, someone will question their Total Compensation Statement six months after the fact and allege that a calculation was wrong. In this situation, you need to be able to reconstruct the data sources and prove that the information was correct or clearly identify what was wrong in order to close off the issue.
In summary, it is important to go through all of the phases in order to manage the expectations of management and successfully deliver the project. As illustrated above, the nature of HR project management is somewhat unique based on the resources that are typically assigned to them. These unique characteristics require a much more vigilant monitoring of the project as it progresses, both the resources as well as the scope.
Thank you to John Throckmorton, MS, SPHR for sharing his expertise on this topic.
Why Overcoming Unconscious Bias Is Key to Your Organization’s Success
Question:
One of the focus areas in my organization is promoting diversity and inclusion, and we would like to expand our current program to include more issues that have a real impact to our team and our community. I have heard about “Unconscious Bias” but don’t know much about it. Should this be a topic I’m including in our diversity initiative?
Answer:
Diversity and Inclusion initiatives are critically important to not only ensure that your workplace is free from discrimination and welcoming to all, but have also been shown to increase profit, employee engagement, and employee retention. Expanding your program beyond the traditional training topics can be the key to unlocking collaboration among your team members and showing that everyone is respected and has valued input.
One new topic for you to consider adding to your Diversity and Inclusion training toolkit is Unconscious (or Implicit) Bias. Unconscious bias refers to the associations that our brains make involuntarily and without our awareness based upon people’s membership in a particular group, such as:
- Gender
- Race
- Religion
- National origin
- Age
- LGBTQ
We all have unconscious biases, and these biases can be very detrimental to the workplace if not properly addressed and eradicated. A recent study by the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business and nonprofit company MDI found that people with disabilities encounter a great deal of implicit bias in their job search.
Companies like PwC have taken notice and have started tackling implicit bias head-on through a series of online training videos as well as their CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion” initiative.
Diversity and Inclusion programs can be powerful tools that can set the unique tone of your workplace culture. Expanding the focus areas of your company’s initiative to include Unconscious Bias and other meaningful topics can help improve your business metrics and the satisfaction of your employees!
Would your organization benefit from a training program on “Overcoming the Unconscious Bias?” Strategic HR has a dynamic presentation that is engaging and thought provoking and will have an impact on your team. Let’s talk about how we can offer this program for your organization. Contact us now and our President will be in touch with you right away to talk in more detail.
Understanding the Importance of Organizational Analysis
HR Question:
Our business needs and demands have grown dramatically as a result of the pandemic, and this is putting a strain on our employees. I want to make sure that we approach the growing and changing needs strategically rather than using a band-aid approach for quick fixes. What do I need to do to make sure we have the right people in the right places to continue our success?
HR Answer:
You are not alone in navigating through a changing business environment as more businesses reopen or ramp up at the same time consumer confidence and demand increases. While having a business that’s growing gives reason for celebration, it often comes with challenges as well. The changes you are navigating can bring about strategic challenges that you hadn’t anticipated, so being thoughtful about how to address them and determining the necessary steps to best manage your growth and achieve your desired business results is key.
A simple framework to think about change is “Strategy > Structure > People”. These are sequential steps, since the first informs the other, and often helps you get to root causes versus putting band-aids on problems. A very effective tool you can use to assess and understand your business and staffing needs holistically is an Organizational Analysis. An Organizational Analysis can help you to determine how your current organization structure is supporting the business results. It will also help you to further identify if your structures, processes, and people strategy are optimal as you move forward.
How to conduct an organizational analysis
An Organizational Analysis begins with an in-depth review of your high-level organization initiatives and structure, including:
- Vision
- Mission
- Strategic goals
- Financial goals & metrics
- Business operations
- Organization values
- Organization chart
How employee surveys and focus groups can help
To ensure a comprehensive perspective, it can be beneficial to conduct employee surveys and/or focus groups with key team members to get to a deeper understanding of what’s driving your organization, in addition to identifying barriers or inefficiencies. Those closest to the work can often tell you where pain points are, provide suggestions for improvements, or tell you the work that is value add versus not.
Identify gaps and take action
By reviewing all of the data mentioned above, it will present a complete picture of what your organization is doing right and shine a light on gaps or areas that could be improved. From there, specific actions can be identified to create complete alignment throughout your organization and to ensure that you are able to not only maintain but expand upon your current success.
Your organizational analysis could reveal necessary actions such as:
- Realignment of your organizational structure
- Redefining operating norms, processes, and procedures
- Addressing potential root causes which can help improve operations
- Redesigning job functions and descriptions
The Institute of Organizational Development gives 7 reasons why organizational development is of critical importance to grow business, and an Organizational Analysis is a powerful tool to keep you focused on the big picture and making smart strategic decisions while building your organization from the inside out.
HR Strategy often involves thinking ahead to the future and making plans for the growth and development of key players. Strategic HR understands the balance between company strategy and people strategy and can assist you with both needs. Not only do we have the expertise to help you develop a strategic plan for your company, but we also have resources to help you develop your people leaders. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn how we can assist you with your company strategy.
What Is the Business World Doing to Support the Sandwich Generation?
Question:
With so much focus lately on Millennial’s, I’m curious what employers are doing to support another group of employees — the Sandwich Generation?
Answer:
For employees in the Sandwich Generation who are caring not only for their own children, but also for their aging parents, they often will trudge along to care for the people who matter most. According to the Northeast Business Group on Health “Care-giving Landscape” whitepaper, caregivers miss an average of six days of work each year due to care-giving responsibilities, are less productive because of personal distractions, and are in poorer health than non-care giving colleagues.
The following are some examples of benefits that give the Sandwich Generation the support they need to succeed in and out of the office:
- Flexible Work Schedule: For employees with personal obligations during the typical 9-to-5, flexibility allows them to accomplish everything they need without having to take off to catch up.
- Child Care Benefits: Employers can help alleviate the financial burden of child care by subsidizing care options, including backup care.
- Senior Care Benefits: In addition to helping find care options for the day-to-day, providing tips and guidance gives caregivers confidence to navigate this new role.
- Financial Planning Assistance: As if managing personal finances wasn’t hard enough, this generation may have a mortgage, while also helping pay college tuition and managing their parents’ estate. Access to financial planning allows employees to work care-giving related costs into their plan and better prepare for the future.
- Household Help: Employers can ease the burden of simple household tasks by providing meal prep, house cleaning and laundry services.
- Access to Elder Care Experts: Senior care needs often arise suddenly, so providing information (through webinars, on-site seminars or simply by giving local expert contact information) can be extremely helpful to employees.
It’s in the employers’ best interest to provide the tools employees need to manage their personal lives so they can do well – and excel – at work. Employers who offer these types of benefits to employees show they care about the Sandwich Generation employees and want to do what they can to help.
Thank you to Alisa Fedders for providing the content for this HR Question of the Week. Alisa is a Senior HR Consultant with Strategic HR She has nearly 20 years of practical HR experience, working for private companies in HR leadership positions, in addition to her most recent HR consulting experience.
HR Strategy often involves thinking ahead to the future and making plans for the growth and development of key players. Strategic HR understands the balance between company strategy and people strategy and can assist you with both needs. Not only do we have the expertise to help you develop a strategic plan for your company, but we also have resources to help you develop your people leaders. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn how we can assist you with your company strategy.
How Can HR Impact the Bottom Line?
Question:
What are some tactics I can use to show the Executive Suite how HR impacts and contributes to the bottom line?
Answer:
Getting the respect from the C-suite that HR is a value added partner won’t happen overnight; it takes time, patience, and lots of work. There are some key competencies that you need to develop and demonstrate to gain respect from the leadership team – business knowledge, credibility, strategic planning, and metrics.
For executive management to respect HR, they need to see that you really understand all aspects of the business such as the organization’s products and/or services, competitors, customers, financials, and the strategic goals and objectives. Take time to learn about each of these areas so you can communicate accurately inside and outside the organization. Keep in mind, these things change and you’ll need to make sure you are staying up to date on business developments inside your organization and within the industry.
Understanding the business overall helps, but this needs to be coupled with establishing credibility in the organization as well. You will need to:
- Be responsive (answer your phone and return calls in a timely manner)
- Keep commitments (show up and be on time to meetings)
- Share insights on issues being discussed (even if your view is different)
- Demonstrate the value of human resources activities (we can be a cost saver too)
- Interface with management whenever possible (build those personal relationships)
- Be ethical!
For the HR impact to be aligned with the company goals HR also needs to set strategic goals that are directly tied to the business. To do this, you need to use the organization’s strategies and develop a list of the human resources strategies that would support each one. For every activity that human resources performs, you should ask, “Which business strategy does this support?” If you can’t answer the question, ask yourself “Why not?” or “Are we missing a business strategy/goal?” If your organization doesn’t have a strategic plan, HR can take the lead by developing one for HR.
The HR impact on the bottom-line is about metrics…HR needs to be able to measure activities and show cost savings and benefits to the organization. Numbers speak very loudly to management and being able to share HR’s numbers will speak volumes. Some examples: How much is the new program saving you on turnover or absenteeism? What is a lack of training costing the company?
Lastly, we recommend that you take additional steps to ensure that you are positioning yourself to be viewed as a strategic partner. Some ways to do this may include:
- Getting more involved (participating on employee task teams)
- Participating in the organization’s strategic planning session (invite yourself or offer input)
- Walking the talk (be a company champion and lead by example)
- Volunteering to lead a company wide activity (not just the company picnic)
As with any strategy, careful planning and thought need to go into each of these activities. You’ll need to create a plan outlining what you need to do, how you are going to do it, and when it will be accomplished. Putting the plan to paper will help you stay on target and meet your goals. Don’t give up…it can take a lot of time and patience, but eventually the executive team is going to see the HR impact and the value brought to the bottom-line.
In summary, a HR Zone article notes: When you strip everything back, it is fair to say that a business is only really as good as the people working within it. Without people, you simply don’t have a company (in fact, the literal definition of a company is ‘a group of people’), and it is HR that is responsible for those people – attracting them, developing them, and strategically organizing them in a way that enables the business to perform at its best.
HR Strategy involves thinking ahead to the future and strategizing to meet goals and objectives. It also entails working cohesively with the corporate strategy. Strategic HR knows how integral human resources is to the success of an organization and can assist you with HR strategy needs. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn more about how we can help you create your strategy and align your HR needs with the corporate strategy.
Why Should We Provide Civility Training at Our Company?
Question:
What is Civility Training and should I be offering it at my work-site? I have done the typical harassment, communication, and customer service training – is Civility Training different?
Answer:
Civility Training is a new approach for training. It is workplace training that includes:
- Harassment,
- Bullying,
- Cultural sensitivity,
- Diversity, and
- Professional Etiquette – all rolled into one.
Yes, Civility Training is similar to those you have been offering in the past but this training folds all of those issues together and provides learners with practical tools for creating respectful, inclusive, and professional work environments – ultimately leading to improved employee relations and less harassment complaints. These types of programs not only speak to behaviors, but also challenges the attendees to look introspectively and develop a self awareness of their own actions and communication styles with those around them.
There are some things to keep in mind according to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) regarding Civility Training. Jonathan Segal, an attorney with Duane Morris in Philadelphia and New York noted: that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel has said that the following rule, which some employers may want to implement as one way to promote civility, would in fact violate the NLRA: “Be respectful to the company, other employees, customers, partners and competitors.” The general counsel has found that this rule would potentially interfere with employees’ right to engage in protected concerted activity. Civility training should be conducted with NLRB decisions in mind.
It is also important to note that in October 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced that it would be offering two new training’s for employees that appear to be what would be considered “Civility Training”. These training’s are expected to move away from the traditional harassment definition training and move more toward the promotion of inclusion and respect in the workplace. These are exciting training alternatives in the workplace and will definitely open up discussion and communication on workplace behavior.
HR Strategy often involves thinking ahead to the future and making plans for the growth and development of key players. Strategic HR understands the balance between company strategy and people strategy and can assist you with both needs. Not only do we have the expertise to help you develop a strategic plan for your company, but we also have resources to help you develop your people leaders. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn how we can assist you with your company strategy.
Understanding The Options Like a PEO, ASO, or HRO to Grow Your Human Resources Function
Question:
As a growing employer, we are getting to the point that we need someone to take over the human resources function. As the Controller, I have been handling payroll and benefits but as we get bigger, it is becoming more difficult to handle. I have had a few colleagues recommend using an outsourced HR option like a PEO, ASO, or HRO . What does that mean and how would that impact our company?
Answer:
First congratulations on your growth! It is fabulous that you are growing but with it comes significant challenges for your human resources function. The good news is there are lots of options and considerations as you move into this next stage. A brief summary of the options is included below. Regardless of the direction, be sure you do your homework – ask lots of questions and get references. Not all PEO, ASO, or HRO agencies look / act the same – you need to make sure you know the difference and what services you are getting.
One option is a PEO – a Professional Employer Organization. A PEO handles most of the administration of certain HR operations such as payroll processing, health insurance administration, state unemployment insurance, and worker’s compensation.
Reasons a PEO may be a good solution for your business are:
- If you need to offer health insurance but are either too small to get reasonable rates or have a high risk workforce.
- If your workers compensation costs are too high and you need a group rated program to help obtain the coverage at a reasonable rate.
Issues to consider with a PEO:
- The PEO will employ your employees and lease them back to you.
- Your organization will need to comply with employment laws based on the size of the PEO not the size of your business (i.e. if you are under 50 employees, you may have to comply with laws required for companies over 50 such as FMLA and ACA)
- Most PEOs are purely administrative and do not help with employee relations coaching and recruitment of key talent.
Another option is using an ASO – an Administrative Services Organization. An ASO will handle the administrative aspects of your business. For example, you may hire a payroll provider that will process your payroll and payroll related taxes. You may also hire an ASO for benefits management, workers compensation, or unemployment compensation. Things to consider with an ASO is that they are handling the administrative tasks only, you will still be responsible for “feeding the information” to the provider to get the job done which in many cases is half the work.
A third option is using an HRO – an Outsourced HR Solution to assist with the management of your human resources function to allow you to focus on the strategic initiatives of the business rather than the operations of HR. Just like any large organization with an HR Team, an outsourced HR provider should align with your strategy through the management and administration of all aspects of HR such as:
- Recruitment
- Onboarding
- Training and Development
- Employee Surveys
- Compensation and Benefits (i.e. job descriptions, compensation structure, benefits, and workers compensation)
- Communications (i.e. employee handbook)
- Employee Relations
- Recordkeeping (i.e. processing payroll in-house or with a provider)
- Health, Safety and Security
- Workplace Compliance
All three options: PEO, ASO, or HRO will help take some of the duties off your plate, they just do them in different ways and in varying levels. Be sure you understand the cost and impact of all of these options before diving in. Many become a commitment for at least a year so step lightly.
When you are in the infancy stage of an HR Department, oftentimes your “strategy” is to just get things up and running. There is so much to Human Resources Management that it can be difficult to know where to start while being confident you aren’t forgetting something important. Strategic HR feels your pain having helped many small companies start or grow their HR function. Let us share our years of experience getting HR “off the ground”. Visit our website today to learn more.
How To Turn Reactive Solutions Into Necessary Change
Question:
I get complaints at times that I am too reactive to situations and that I need to be more strategic in my thinking. I feel like reactivity is necessary, in my job. Who is right?
Answer:
Well, you both are right. In human resources, we are required to react in many situations that arise…every single day. In fact, our handling of those situations is what others expect from us and doing it well is how we become a respected and admired member of the team. There is a difference, however, between being reactive and making decisions off the cuff and being reactive but using our knowledge of the organization, culture, and situation to come up with a solution.
Using our knowledge and experience, we can actually make a difference with those incidents and ensure those “reactions” are very well thought through solutions that we can turn into opportunities. In many instances, these events provide us a moment in time to advance a business case for something we were trying to get accomplished…a “strategic initiative”, if you will. These moments provide the best opportunity to move forward and change something that was in need of change. Experienced HR folks are able to link the reactive solutions to a justification for change in the future.
So, reactivity is not necessarily good but it is many times necessary. The key to success is knowing that your reactions are well thought through and that you take the advantage to further a cause in need of change.
HR Strategy isn’t always about planning for the future. Sometimes it means responding to current issues and making sure they fit with the mission, vision or goals of the company. That can be difficult to do if you are uncertain of your strategy. If you don’t have a clearly defined corporate or HR strategy or need help tying that to your mission and vision we can help. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn more about how Strategic HR can help you meet your goals.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Question:
My new VP is focused on Corporate Social Responsibility and I’m not really sure what that means. Can you explain what that means and how HR has a role?
Answer:
Corporate Social Responsibility is a broad term for self-regulating oneself in terms of ethical responsibility and compliance. The term can refer to both internal and external activities that an organization can take part in to improve itself as well as the communities and environments in which it works. Strategic HR Leaders should take an active role in Corporate Social Responsibility. HR can take the lead by linking the identified corporate initiatives and tie them to bonus programs, development plans, retention, not to mention recruiting. These identified initiatives can become measurable results for the entire organization.
In many organizations HR still struggles to find a place at the leadership table. By thinking strategically and relying on proven business practices and tools HR can show value and become a partner with the leadership team. Strategic HR knows how difficult it can be to integrate practices with the overall business strategy. Let us assist you with your strategic initiatives – visit our HR Strategy page to learn more.
An Internal Review of Human Resources – The HR Audit and Organizational Analysis
The end of the year and beginning of the new year always seem to be a time of personal reflection and the same is true of our organizations! When we hear the word audit, most of us immediately think “finance” or “accounting,” not Human Resources. However, as HR continues to evolve into the role of a business partner and strategic partner in organizations, the HR function is one that should be audited and analyzed. A properly conducted review of your HR processes and systems can provide measurements that show support of the department’s objectives and shows contributions to the company’s bottom line.
What audits should I do and how are they different?
When you are involved in a review of your Human Resources function, there are typically two distinct components: the HR Audit and the Organizational Analysis. Whether conducted together or separately, these reviews are different in their focus and yield highly actionable recommendations.
In the HR Audit, the focus is compliance and processes but should include all areas of HR such as:
- Recruitment
- Training and Development
- Benefits and Compensation
- Communications
- Employee Relations
- Recordkeeping
- Health, Safety and Security
- HR Compliance
Document reviews and interviews during an audit process will allow an auditor to review what an organization says it does (the policy/procedure), what it is doing (actual practice), and what should be done (best practices).
In the Organizational Analysis, the focus is on how HR contributes to the success of your company: checking the health of your HR function, diagnosing what’s getting in the way of the results you need and identifying specific interventions to make improvements in your system and the structure of how work gets done. Information reviewed includes:
- Company strategy and business goals
- Current organizational structure and organization chart(s)
- Information on all business sectors or partners
- Historical information on the business.
What can I expect when I do an HR Audit and Organizational Analysis?
To begin either review, start with information gathering, including applicable HR policies and procedures, forms/templates, current organizational charts and other important documents. The review will only be as good as the information you provide to the auditor so the results will be limited if you aren’t honest or don’t provide all of the information requested. After a thorough document review, the interview process will begin and will include anyone involved in Human Resources including internal customers within your organization (such as hiring managers and C-level executives).
After the document review and interviews, the auditor will create a report that will show specific recommended actions. For the HR Audit, the report should indicate the reason for the recommendation (compliance, best practice, etc.) and make suggestions on how to improve the area identified. The report should allow you to organize the information and create priorities for areas of improvement. Finally, the report should also include an overall assessment of the alignment of HR systems with the organization’s goals and recommendations for improvements in that area, if necessary.
For the Organizational Analysis, the report should include details on the findings regarding current functioning and recommend actions to enhance and improve your HR results as a key part of the organization. The recommendations may include assessing design elements such as organization structure or addressing operating norms and potential root causes which need to be further evaluated and addressed to help improve operations.
We do annual physicals on ourselves. Evaluating the physical health of our human resources function should also be done each year. Overall, these reviews will provide your organization with an objective evaluation of the Human Resources function as well as a road map for growth and continued improvement.
Thank you to Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR, SHRM- SCP and Brianne Waugh, MA for sharing their insight on HR Audits and Organizational Analysis. If you would like to learn more about an HR Audit for your organization, you can Request an HR Audit Quote. Or, if you would like help getting started with your Organizational Analysis, give us a call at 513.697.9855 or contact us online.
Leader vs. Manager
Question:
What is the difference between a Leader and a Manager?
Answer:
According to Peter Drucker, “Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing things the right way”.
For an organization to achieve strong results, both leadership and management need to be present. Management allows for leadership, and leadership invites development as people stretch toward the new vision and its inherent possibilities.
Many wrongly assume that leaders are somehow “better” than managers or that managers should try to be leaders. Both have their value in an organization. In many companies, employees who master the management responsibilities in a given role are seen as promising candidates for the next level, especially if they offer ideas and strategic suggestions beyond their area of responsibility. However, leadership is not simply an advanced form of management. Often when a promotion comes, a difficult transition process begins when the newly promoted employee must prove value and competency at the next level. To do so, the new leader must let go of managing the very processes and functions on which his or her reputation had been established.
It is extremely beneficial if organizations recognize the challenges of building a strong leadership pipeline. Understand that leadership is not simply an advanced form of management — they are actually separate skill sets, actions, behaviors, and competencies.
Although some people are predisposed to being either a leader or a manager, that’s not to say that an employee can’t acquire the skills to be one or the other. The following are some examples of personality traits and qualities that make leaders and managers predisposed to be one or the other.
LEADERSHIP TRAITS MANAGEMENT TRAITS
Big Picture / Detail Oriented
Strategic / Tactical
Vision, Strategy, Execution / Goals, Projects, Tasks
Effectiveness / Efficiency
Forge Vision / Follow Vision
Right Brain-Lateral Thinking / Left Brain-Linear Thinking
People-focused / Task-focused
Internal Frame of Reference / External Frame of Reference
Intuitive / Sensing
Visionary, Dreamer, Romantic / Level-headed, Realistic, Practical
HR Strategy often involves thinking ahead to the future and making plans for the growth and development of key players. Strategic HR understands the balance between company strategy and people strategy and can assist you with both. Not only do we have the expertise to help you develop a strategic plan for your company, but we also have resources to help you develop your people leaders. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn how we can assist you with your company strategy OR visit our Career Coaching page to learn more about leadership development.
Competency Based Culture
Question:
What do I need to think about when creating a competency based performance management system?
Answer:
As with any type of new program being introduced to your employees a lot of planning needs to go into creating a performance management system.
- Start with a clear idea of the business challenge or problem you need to address. What is the business impact in terms of lost revenue, staff retention, performance and productivity, culture, and decision making.
- Identify what is working well and what needs improvement. You’ll want to keep what’s working and change what isn’t. Articulating your company’s strengths will help identify competencies needed to measure performance.
- Keep a separate to-do list of other areas that may come up as you create your plan. It’s not unusual to flush some of these things out as you dive deep and you can then make choices about what to work on when.
- Revisit the company’s mission, vision and purpose to provide a refresher on why the company exists.
- Review the annual business plan with the goals and determine whether or not you have the talent to deliver the results needed.
- There can be many options and opinions when creating desired competencies. Try to involve HR – someone with experience in performance management, talent management and/or strategic planning to help guide the process. Be sure to describe behaviors and results. It might be helpful to ask:
- Who are the existing employees demonstrating the kind of top performance needed to deliver business goals?
- What does a top performer look like?
- Identify competencies that span all positions in a company – it sets a common standard and helps create a company culture that drives performance and results.
- Drill down under each competency to identify specific behavior for performance standards.
- Define the spectrum of performance from the ‘top’ (exceeding expectations) through the ‘bottom’ (needing improvement). Typically a 3 point or 5 point range is used.
- Determine the frequency of performance reviews with every employee having at a minimum an annual review. Ideally, real-time feedback is given as it occurs, with more formal checkpoints occurring via monthly or quarterly meetings with their direct manager.
- Involve a select group of employees to give input on the competencies before finalizing. They may provide additional insights and facilitate quicker adaptation of the new system.
By following the suggestions above you will be well on your way to creating a solid performance management system.
HR Strategy isn’t always about planning for the future. Sometimes it means responding to current issues and making sure they fit with the mission, vision or goals of the company. Dealing with a company’s culture can be a touchy subject – especially when you tie that to performance management. Strategic HR can help you with a variety of issues related to culture. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn more about how Strategic HR can help you meet your goals.
Getting Through Change
Question:
Our company is going through a lot of changes lately… any ideas for how to best deal with these changes?
Answer:
There is so much change taking place in the workforce today, we can’t escape it. But it can’t just be ignored, we have to decide how we are going to handle or cope with each change. It’s normal for the ‘current’ way to feel more comfortable and the ‘new’ way to feel uncomfortable – and no one likes to feel uncomfortable. But change is unavoidable in today’s work world, so we have to find a way to accept the “new normal”.
Change evokes all types of responses – anxiety, fear, irritability, resentfulness, overwhelmed AND excitement, opportunity, growth, newness, fresh. It is important to identify how you respond: positive or negative; constructive or destructive; engaging or defensive. Once you know your response, you can then work toward responding more positively. Here are a few tips for getting through change:
- Pay Attention – Notice signs that change is needed and/or going to happen. If we anticipate a change, we can better prepare ourselves.
- Knowledge – Knowledge is power. Whether change is happening or imminent, seek information to help you understand it. It’s easier to cope with something if you have a little information.
- Communicate – Everyone involved is going through the change and likely having mixed emotions. As you share, you’ll find out you are not alone, and together you may be able to identify ways to cope with the change in a positive way.
- Embrace – Imagine how it will feel once the change becomes the “new normal”. Get involved in the change and encourage others to accept the change through positive talk.
- Coping Skills – During a stressful time, our bodies all respond differently. Some possible coping strategies may include:
- Exercise – If you exercise keep doing it and if you are not exercising try adding some.
- Distractions – Do something for yourself that gets your mind off of the change for a little bit each day.
- Goal Setting – Establish goals that will help walk you through the change process so you feel more in control of what is taking place.
- Reflection – Think about past changes you’ve gone through that you survived, and even thrived as a result.
Change is inevitable so we must find ways to accept change. As noted in Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change by William Bridges, “The only certainty is that between here and there will be a lot of change…There’s no way to avoid it. But you can manage it. You can. And if you want to come through in one piece, you must.”
For a company to grow it often involves a lot of change. HR Strategy isn’t just about planning for the change, sometimes it means coping with the aftermath of creating change. Given the individual nature of humans there is no cookie cutter answer for dealing with change; the solution is as individual as each person in the organization. If you are struggling with change in your organization we can help. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn more about how Strategic HR can help you with your strategy for change.
Human Resources Assistance Needed
Question:
I need help with human resources – what are my options?
Answer:
The role of human resources covers a variety of areas such as:
- Recruitment
- Training and Development
- Benefits and Compensation
- Communications
- Employee Relations
- Recordkeeping
- Health Safety and Security
- HR Compliance
The type of human resources help you may need depends greatly on which of these areas where you most need the assistance. The typical rule of thumb is having one HR person to every 100 employees, however; if you have a very pro-active culture and environment, you may see a more pressing need for full-time HR help.
Below are a few options you can consider:
- Hiring an HR Generalist
- Typically, an HR Generalist is going to have the skills and education to provide any aspect of HR for your business. A typical salary for an HR Generalist with about 5 – 7 years of experience will range from $45,000 – $80,000. Keep in mind, as a generalist, the individual may have some strengths and weaknesses in the field of HR, some of which are not as developed or favorable for your specific situation. Choose your HR generalist to have strengths based on your specific needs.
- Professional Employers Organization (PEO)
- As defined by Wikipedia, a PEO is a firm that provides outsourced employee management tasks such as benefits, payroll, and workers compensation. Some PEOs will provide additional HR functions while others are limited to these key areas. You’ll definitely need to investigate to make sure you are getting the right skills needed for your organization. When using a PEO, they become the employer of record for tax and insurance purposes by hiring your employees.
- Outsourced HR
- By outsourcing your HR function, to someone like Strategic HR, you get a great deal of flexibility. Using this model you get the HR assistance you need, whether it is everything related to HR or only small pieces or projects. You have the option of having assistance provided on-site or off-site, which is great if you don’t have the space for additional employees. For small organizations, or organizations in a growth mode, this can be the perfect solution to ensure you are attracting and retaining the best employees. An outsourced HR provider can help establish your HR function by creating an employee handbook, job descriptions, performance reviews and more. Plus outsourced HR can provide recruiting, employee relations coaching, training, and other HR related project needs.
Are daily HR issues interfering with your ability to focus on the strategic matters of your company? Do you know you need help but don’t know what type of help is best for your situation or your budget? Strategic HR knows how integral human resources is to the health and growth of your organization and can assist you with all of your HR needs. To learn more contact us at 513-697-9855 or visit our website for details on all of our services.
What is an HR Scorecard and how is it implemented?
Question:
What is an HR scorecard, and how is it implemented?
Answer:
The HR scorecard is a method for Human Resources to position itself as a strategic planning partner with line managers and executives within an organization. A detailed and excellent book on this topic is The HR Scorecard, by Becker, Huselid, and Ulrich. This book is available on either Amazon.com or the Society for Human Resource Management‘s website.
The premise for an HR scorecard is that HR can and should develop metrics to demonstrate how HR activities impact profitability. The process we recommend is:
- Identify the critical deliverables for Human Resources.
- Identify HR’s customers (for the deliverables).
- Define HR activities that provide the critical deliverables (such as high-talent staffing or a retention initiative).
- Conduct a cost-benefit analysis of activities that provide deliverables.
Lastly, it’s important to ask the right questions to determine if HR is providing the appropriate deliverables. Examples of these questions are:
- How many exceptional candidates do we recruit and retain for each strategic job opening?
- How many hours of results-oriented training do new employees receive annually?
- What is the differential in merit pay between high-performers and low-performers?
In many organizations, HR still struggles to find a place at the leadership table. By thinking strategically and relying on proven business practices and tools HR can show value and become a partner with the leadership team. Strategic HR knows how difficult it can be to integrate HR practices with the overall business strategy. Let us assist you with your strategic initiatives – visit our HR Strategy page to learn more.
Should I be worrying about employee retention?
Question:
Should I really be worried about employee retention during economic downturns when unemployment numbers are so high?
Answer:
YES!!!
It is still a shock to the system when we give presentations to HR professionals and small business owners and ask “what are you doing about retention?” and we get these looks like “retention” why would I need to do anything about retention? And there is always someone in the crowd that announces out loud “we are all just lucky to even HAVE jobs”. Dare we repeat the recent survey results by the Harvard Business review that found 25% of the top performers at companies are saying that they plan to leave their companies within the next year?
Do you find that hard to believe? Better start believing it…it is a reality! We’ve had a number of managers call and report it is already happening to them. To make matters worse, managers feel their hands are tied because their companies are taking the defensive position ”let them quit and try to find another job someplace else”. Guess what? They did…and, the ones leaving WERE the top performers! Can you afford to lose your best employees?
So, to ask again “what are you doing about retention?” Yes, some people may be lucky to have a job, but in other cases YOU are lucky you have them as employees. It’s time to start treating your employees in a manner that shows they are indeed valuable. Your business may not be in the position to reinstate the salary you had to cut, give the raise you put off, or offer the 401k match you eliminated, but can you do some things to improve the work environment? Easy things, such as:
- Providing recognition for sticking with the company during these rough times.
- Sharing the plan of where an employee fits into the big picture going forward.
- Seeking the opinions of employees when it comes to helping the company move forward and grow.
- Setting and sharing some milestones for what it may take before an employee can see an increase in salary again.
- Asking what is important to the employee that keeps him/her at your company.
- Determining if you have the right people managing the employees to keep everyone motivated and excited about being a part of the company going forward.
- Doing things that differentiate between the good employees and the mediocre employees to show that it matters.
Turnover is expensive. It can cost your business as much as 50 – 150% of the annual salary of your lost employee. Can you afford that as your business recovers? What are you doing to manage your employees in the current economy to avoid losing your star performers?
Are daily HR issues interfering with your ability to focus on the strategic matters of your company? Do you find yourself at odds with the directives of the leadership team? Strategic HR knows how integral human resources is to the health of your organization and can assist you with HR strategy needs. Visit our HR Strategy page to learn how we can assist you with your strategy and help align your goals.
How to Develop a Strategic Plan for Your Business
Creating a strategic plan for your business or new division is like creating a map for an exciting, but unfamiliar, journey. This map will help to keep you on course if you start going in the wrong direction, but it isn’t so stringent that you can’t check out different roads along the way. As a business owner, I use this process each year during my strategic planning sessions: I map out where I am, where I want to go, and how I think I can get there. During the year, my map is both a guide for what I should be focusing on, as well as a resource to help me “check where I am” whenever I am tempted by something new and different. Sometimes, I rewrite my plan based on unforeseen changes (i.e., technology, COVID, economy, emerging trends), but many times it has helped me realize what is most important for the business and make the right decisions with various opportunities and threats to ensure my long-term goals are met.
There are many formulas or formats used for strategic planning, but for the most part, they cover the same points and reach the same goals. Below is an overview of the process that I use personally, as well as what we use with many of our clients.
How to Complete Internal and External Analysis
Part of mapping out your journey requires you to take a strategic look at your business. Your first step will be to determine where you are in the market by doing a “SWOT” analysis — identifying your internal Strengths and Weaknesses as well as external Opportunities and Threats.
Internally, this includes assessing both the strengths and weaknesses of your human, financial and technological resources, as well as the culture and values of the organization. The best way to do this is by brainstorming. Create two columns — one for strengths and one for weaknesses — and begin writing down anything that comes to mind as a strength or weakness to your business. For example, one of Strategic HR’s strengths is the “ability to be a change agent — very flexible and adaptable as needed” while a challenge is “managing our team’s growth.”
An external analysis requires you to evaluate what’s going on “outside” your business and how it may affect you. As discussed in Christine Keen’s book, Effective Strategic Planning: A Handbook for Human Resources Professionals, you should consider issues in the following four categories: economic (i.e., unemployment, interest rates, recession), political (i.e., current or pending legislation or court cases), social (i.e., values, lifestyles, and demographics) and technological. For example, from my external analysis, an opportunity was “Volunteer opportunities with complementary organizations” and a potential threat was “Growth of individuals starting to do human resources consulting.”
Gathering this internal and external information will give you a snapshot of where you are now — the starting point on your journey. However, a starting point, by itself, will not enable you to achieve your goals. Like going on a trip, you need both a starting point and a destination. This reminds me of my favorite quote from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:
“I just wanted to ask you which way I ought to go?”
“Well, that depends on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“It really doesn’t matter…” said Alice.
“Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
Developing Your Vision and Mission
Next, you’ll need to determine your destination — in other words, your Vision or preferred future. A Vision can be summarized in a short statement that is quickly and easily understood by anyone; it describes something different for the organization. As a sample, below is Teach for America’s Vision statement (at one point in time):
“One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education!”
Next, you need to develop your Mission statement or a statement explaining why you exist. Like the Vision, the Mission is also a short statement. But, a Mission statement describes what the organization does which will help it progress toward its ultimate future, the Vision. For example, Tesla’s Mission statement is
“To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
As you begin to develop your Vision and Mission, you will find it easier if you brainstorm again. This time, think about what’s important to you and to your business — who are your customers, what makes you different, how would your clients describe you, what can you contribute or offer to others, what would you like to do or be tomorrow? Developing the Vision and Mission are the most difficult. Initially, this may take a number of rewrites with input from others. For additional examples, check out HubSpot’s 17 Truly Inspiring Vision and Mission Statement Examples. Once you have both the Vision and Mission clearly defined the rest of your plan will fall right into place.
Create Specific and Measurable Objectives
Now to answer Alice’s question to the Cat… Once you know where you are and where you want to go, you can then map the directions for getting there. In other words, you can identify the key objectives that must be met after this planning period to progress toward your Mission and Vision. Generally, your objectives should be specific and measurable. In addition, they need to be ambitious but realistic, and only focused on what needs to be done rather than how. For example, an objective may be:
“Develop a partner program to help grow business referrals.”
Your list of objectives will quickly grow but you have to narrow down the top four or five that help advance your business toward meeting your Vision and provide you with a competitive advantage. If the list is too long, your plan will quickly become a “dead” document rather than a “living” document that you can use and refer to throughout the year.
Develop an Action Plan for How to Meet Each Objective
For each of your objectives, you will then need to create a detailed action plan identifying “how” you will meet the objective. I’ve had the most success with this by completing the following formula for each objective:
Desired Results
- What are you hoping will happen or your desired result if the objective is met?
- How will you benefit?
Potential Obstacles / Barriers
- What might prevent you from completing this objective?
Supports
- What resources, people, or tools are available to help you with this objective?
Process
- What steps must we take to achieve this objective?
- Be specific on each step indicating who will do what and when.
Evaluation
- How will we know when we’ve successfully met this objective?
This may seem like a lot of work for each objective, but if you map out the answer to all five of these steps, you will have a very clear and unquestioned plan for how your objectives will be met.
Implementation and Evaluation of Your Business Strategic Plan
The hardest step in this process is the next one — implementation! Don’t let yourself do all of this planning and throw the end product on the shelf until next year. If you do, where will you be at the same time the following year? Will you be any closer to your preferred future? (Hint — the answer is no!)
To help ensure that you are proactively working toward these goals, you need to check back on your business plan often — at least quarterly or when anything significant happens to change your plan (i.e., pandemic, economic shift). Has anything changed? Are you on target? Do you need to modify any of the plans? The strategic plan for your business is a living document, so it may change; this is okay as long as you are aware of the changes and make them yourself rather than them being made for you.
Developing a strategic plan for your business isn’t an easy process and can be extremely exhausting. But, if you create an effective and realistic strategic plan for your business, you will begin to focus resources today toward meeting your goals for tomorrow. Plus, you will have a tool to help you minimize the threats and maximize the opportunities. One of the most important benefits of effective strategic planning is that it provides you with a fresh start by clarifying where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. You should re-evaluate your strategic plan on an annual basis using a planning horizon between 2-5 years. Each year, you may find that a great deal changes but your preferred future will stay status-quo until you reach it – and you will!
Thank you to Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, HR Consultant Emeritus, Retired Shareholder in Charge for sharing her expertise on Strategic Planning.
Need help tackling your HR Strategy for the rest of the year? Let our team of HR experts assist in laying out your road map. Please visit our HR Strategy page, or simply contact us – we’d love to hear from you.
Performance Management Plan: The Individual Strategic Plan
Performance management has become an ever-increasing critical tool to success for businesses. Regardless of what is happening in the economy and other external factors, the success of any organization is always about its people! AND, as humans, we are typically far more productive when we have clear goals, expectations, and feedback.
“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where-” said Alice
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
– From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
If you have had the opportunity to attend one of my strategic planning sessions, you’ve seen me use this quote in reference to developing a company or department’s strategic plan. But, a strategic plan is a waste of time and effort if it does not get communicated and tied to the performance of all employees through Individual Strategic Plans. Whether this is a formal or informal process depends a great deal on your particular organization.
Start with an informal process
If your organization can effectively communicate and link the strategic goals of the organization to each individual’s goals AND regularly provide feedback to an employee, then you may be able to succeed without a formal performance management tool. Even with an informal process, you will need to develop a system with specific checkpoints to be sure the communication is constant and two-way to ensure that the employee is on-track and getting both positive and constructive feedback in a timely manner.
Developing a formal performance management plan
If the world were perfect, I would encourage everyone to use an informal process; however, time seems to get the best of us. Without a formal process, goals are unclear at best, and feedback is rare. To facilitate a process that is successful for both the employee and the organization, a formal performance management system can “work for you.” A well-designed performance management plan should make your job easier; not more cumbersome.
To begin developing a system or any new program or initiative, I like to use Development Dimension International’s (DDI) six Checkpoints for Implementation:
1. OUTCOMES — What results am I looking for?
For your performance management system, you’ll need to think about what you hope to gain from the system. For example, increased productivity, improved retention, increased employee morale, and improved communications.
2. BENEFITS — Why is this important? What’s in it for me?
Both the company and the employee need to know why they are doing this in order to feel ownership for the system. Your organization may see the benefits as some of the outcomes listed above, as well as a method for linking individual performance to the organization’s performance. Individuals may see it as a way to continue to develop and grow with the organization while adding value back to the company. Remember, lack of growth opportunities and meaningful work are two of the top reasons employees leave their jobs.
3. BARRIERS — What might prevent me from being successful?
In order to ensure the success of your system, you need to anticipate any barriers and identify what you will do to prevent or minimize the impact of those barriers. Some examples may be: resistance to change, time constraints, or lack of management support.
4. SUPPORT — What resources are available?
You’ll need to clearly identify what resources or individuals are available to help you develop and implement the system. Once you have identified your resources, you’ll want to include them in the process as much as possible in order to obtain their buy-in and benefit from what they can offer. Some examples of support are: top management, employees, expert consults, other organizations, budget, and customer needs.
5. APPROACH — What steps must I take to achieve my goals?
By identifying the outcomes, benefits, barriers, and supports, you will be better able to begin mapping out the approach for developing and implementing your performance management plan. It will be important to be specific, including the who, when, duration, etc. Some questions you may want to consider include:
What’s needed to facilitate goal setting, feedback, and documentation?
Many times organizations assume performance management is the evaluation at the end of the review period. However, an effective performance management plan begins with the development of a performance plan at the BEGINNING of the evaluation period. This performance plan or individual strategic plan is a living document that may need updating throughout the plan year.
In general, systems should include both competencies and goals. With most of our clients, we develop a group of core competencies or behaviors that mirror the values of the organization. Plus, we develop individualized goals for each employee that are tied to the goals of the business. There are many canned and customizable systems out there that can help you identify what you want to include in your system. To help you generate ideas, you may want to seek samples from other companies or resources such as these performance appraisal templates. Be sure any piece of information you include on the form adds value rather than creates work for others. Plus, be sure the form is a tool not a rule!
How often do you need to formally or informally discuss goals and feedback?
Like your business plan, a performance plan is a living document and the goals and feedback should be ongoing and constant. However, it often takes a formal get-together for this to actually happen. If your organization is not one to proactively meet throughout the plan year, then a formal meeting, even if short, should be arranged at least quarterly to ensure an employee is getting timely feedback and still supporting both their individual and the organization’s strategic plan(s). Plus, if you summarize this quarterly meeting your end of the year review will be a breeze.
Who needs to be trained on performance management and coaching?
We all could benefit from training on performance management and coaching. Even if you are the best manager, a refresher on performance management simply helps you continuously grow as a proactive manager. Formal training can also help ensure all managers are working with the same set of tools, including assistance with the seeming struggle about how to be a manager and a coach at the same time. Learning what has been successful and not successful with others will help everyone in the organization succeed.
What will you do to involve both employees and management in the process?
Employees and supervisors will not take the time for performance planning and reviews if management does not support it. Management has to realize the value added (i.e., increased productivity, improved morale, retention) of performance management and demonstrate their support of the system to all employees. This may require involving a key management player in the development and implementation of the system.
Like management, employees will be more encouraged to take the feedback and direction of performance management seriously if they are involved with the development of the system. To do this, you can either survey employees to identify their needs or include them in a team tasked to evaluate and develop a program. Clear and open communication will be critical to the success of this process.
How will the system be tied to compensation?
Of course, any system is going to be much more open and honest when there is little or no connection to pay. The catch is you need to have some way to measure employee performance, in order to provide performance-based increases. You’ll need to develop a clear philosophy and supporting policy for merit increases. Because this will depend on your budget and values, each organization may have a totally different philosophy and policy on pay increases. By making this policy clear and communicating it up front, the link to compensation will have a better chance of being both objective and effective.
6. EVALUATION — How will I know when I’ve reached my goal?
Too often this last checkpoint in implementation is skipped. It is very important for you to constantly evaluate your program. Some ways you can do this is through focus groups, employee surveys, or interviewing management. The key is to schedule it and just do it!
Remember, you don’t want your employees feeling like Alice did in “Alice in Wonderland.” You need to be sure you are communicating the expectations and goals of the organization and tying them to each employee’s Individual Strategic Plan in order to realize success. Whether this is a formal or an informal process doesn’t matter as long as you are doing it!
Thank you to Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Clark Schaefer Strategic HR Retired Shareholder in Charge for sharing her vast expertise on this topic.
Strengthening your people and their performance should be one of the pillars of your HR Strategy. And having a well-designed performance management system can help you to achieve it. If your organization could use help developing an effective performance management plan, contact us.
The Balanced Scorecard Approach
Question:
Someone recommended that I take a “balanced scorecard” approach to HR management. What is a “balanced scorecard”?
Answer:
The authors of the book HR Scorecard, Dave Ulrich, Mark A. Huselid, and Brian E. Becker), coined the phrase “balanced scorecard”. It refers to a 7-step model that outlines an approach for HR practitioners who wish to become business partners in their organization. The seven steps are:
- Clearly define the business strategy – this involves learning more about the organization’s strategic objectives and goals. The HR Department should be in a position to align its objectives and goals with those of the organization. To do this the HR staff must get to know the management team and their challenges, barriers and constraints. After leaning about the needs of your managers, HR needs to conduct an audit of the HR function to determine if it has the competencies and skills necessary to help the company achieve its Mission, Vision, and Strategic Objectives.
- Build a business case for HR as a strategic asset – many managers perceive HR to be an administrative function. HR must make a proative effort to educate the leadership team about the potential HR has as a strategic business partner. It may be help to use a ‘return on investment’ (ROI) approach to HR activities. This entails looking at activities undertaken by HR as necessary to solve a business problem or need, helping to determine the cost of the business problem, recommending and implementing solutions, determining the cost of the solution(s), and calculating the savings to the company (the difference between the cost of the problem after HR interventions and the cost of the solution).
- Create a strategy map – HR needs to provide a value proposition for its activities and change the perception that HR is overhead, strictly an expense generating department. HR should take the time to map out each of their processes, such as benefits administration, to ensure that the processes are streamlined, provide a quality product or service, and are targeted to meet specific organizational objectives.
- Identify HR deliverables within the strategy map – this requires distinguishing between qualitative and quantitative deliverables. Tangible deliverables might be saving $485,000 a year in turnover expenses following an HR intervention such as supervisory coaching. The types of deliverables that are more qualitative, and therefore difficult to put a solid number on, are those like time savings for managers who must handle conflict among direct reports. If their direct reports receive training and assistance to handle conflict themselves, this results in less time for that manager, who is then free to engage in other activities that might be more productive for the company.
- Align the HR architecture with HR deliverables – often HR’s education and training focuses on HR’s role as “the police”, people who hire and fire, or administrators whose job is simply to keep personnel records. Take steps to recruit and hire HR staff that take a strategic, wholistic approach towards the HR functions. HR competencies are expanding all the time – problem solving, decision making, strategic planning, business acumen, etc. are critical HR competencies.
- Design the strategic measurement system – identify appropriate measures for your unique organizational needs by looking at other companies. Don’t make the mistake of benchmarking against companies in an entirely different industry or in a different growth stage.
- Implement management by measurement – HR leadership needs to be diligent in first selecting, and then consistently measuring, the appropriate success criteria. It may be helpful to set process checkpoints at three or four times during the year to honestly discuss how HR staff is doing in relationship to their strategic objectives.
Our thanks go out to HR guru Linda Gravett for sharing her insights into the HR Scorecard and strategic planning for Human Resources.
In many organizations HR still struggles to find a place at the leadership table. By thinking strategically and relying on proven business practices and tools HR can show value and become a partner with the leadership team. Strategic HR knows how difficult it can be to approach integrating HR practices with the overall business strategy. Let us assist you with your strategic initiatives – visit our HR Strategy page to learn more.
