Business as usual isn’t going to cut it
Welcome! Join us as we dive into the dynamic and crucial, yet often misunderstood and barely tolerated world of human resources (HR).
THERE is no doubt that the experience of the last two years has forced those of us who were lagging behind to evolve with the way we did HR.
Well…it should have. Hopefully it has.
So much about the way we lead and work looks different, and in this era of The Great Resignation, for sure many of our company’s HR-led activities should be looking very different than they used to.
Similar to the overused words ‘pivot’ and ‘new normal,’ The Great Resignation is a phrase that many of us are very tired of hearing, but would be foolish to ignore.
Beyond the obvious downsizing that has occurred across several industries and companies, many people have chosen to intentionally change jobs and careers.
The effects of the pandemic have forced many to re-evaluate their (work) lives and reorder their priorities — family obligations; better work-life balance; health and wellness; working conditions; job satisfaction; quality of life; earning potential. The list goes on.
So what does it mean for HR?
It means that it can’t be business as usual.
It means that many of our programmes, especially ones like recruitment and onboarding, should be looking very different than they did a couple years ago.
How so?
Let’s take onboarding, for example. So we’ve found and hired the right talent, now what?
In this new hybrid world of work, the realities of increased turnover rates, and where the stats show that in many instances it’s becoming more and more challenging to find and bring in the perfect talent, it is important that companies are creating an effective employee onboarding experience that helps drive retention from the get-go.
The pandemic has no doubt created many challenges, but it has also created the space for new and more effective ways of doing things, so it cannot and should not be business as usual.
Onboarding should no longer look like getting all the newbies together on their day one, putting them in a room to run through the company manual, showing a few slides and then sending them off into the wild blue yonder — good luck and God speed!
Instead, we should be considering things such as, how can we create the kind of experience that helps to build a ‘long-term’ relationship? One that helps folks feel like a part of the culture; that make them want to stick around, contribute and grow, and not just be there for six months always on the lookout for another opportunity because they don’t feel fulfilled.
It’s expensive to target, hire, onboard and train talent, so an effective and successful onboarding experience should be aimed at making our new team members feel connected, engaged and satisfied from the outset.
What do we want them to experience in the first 30, 60, 90 days?
How do we want them to be educated about their jobs, the company and the culture, for instance?
Remember, these are the folks who are representing the company, our brand and are interacting with our customers and clients.
THEY WIN. YOU WIN.
Undoubtedly, as a company you are, in reality, constantly fighting a slew of macro trends — the gig workforce, for example.
However, it is functionally better for any company when you can keep people, and also better for your customers and clients when the people they interact with are happy and engaged; they’re committed, adding value and driving innovation.
The key performance indicators of many companies who are consistently winning show that it’s very often directly related to the fact that they’re winning with their people.
It’s all about the people and how well we can cultivate our human resources, and not just in theory and with lip service.
They win – you win. You win — they win.
So, what could a great onboarding programme look like in this new world of work? We’ll get into that in our next conversation.
Talk more soon,
Carolyn.
My name is Carolyn Bolt. HR happened upon me seven years ago, and there has been no turning back from this challenging, critical, very rewarding and often frustrating matter of people since then. Reach me at peoplematter.s21@gmail.com.