HR leaders are moving away from process-centric strategies, instead emphasizing more people-centric policies that recognize individual capabilities and contributions across the whole workforce. This shift has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Engaging more directly and deeply with employees is essential to build relationships, particularly as remote performance management and self-service strategies disrupt personal relationships. HR leaders need to focus on recognizing the individual needs of employees and providing face-to-face or individual attention in key processes.
Letting employees bring their whole person to work is crucial for enhancing the employee experience and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. HR policies need to move away from mechanistic skill and talent management and focus on building relationships between employees and their colleagues and managers for job satisfaction and performance.
To adapt to the "new possible," HR leaders need to rethink and adapt their policies to the new normal of hybrid working. Robust survey methodology can help assess organizational health and segment responses of employees with specific needs.
HR leaders can act as human capitalists, leveraging their unique position to create meaningful change that balances the needs of the business with those of the employees. This involves fostering growth and agility in the workforce and creating a working environment that is rewarding for employees on a personal and professional level.
As an HR leader, my focus has always been on enhancing the employee experience while ensuring smooth operations in the organization. While optimizing labor costs, compliance measures, and technology adoption has been a significant part of my job, I believe that neglecting the human aspect of HR can have detrimental effects. Lately, I have been questioning the replacement of creativity and innovation with processes and have been urging CHROs to adopt more people-centric policies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought an urgent need to move away from a process-centric approach and prioritize the well-being of employees. Let's explore how HR leaders are embracing a more human-centric strategy in the wake of the pandemic.
There is a strong focus on optimizing labor costs, compliance measures, and technology adoption in the HR industry. This shift towards people-centric policies has been precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers are recognizing that top-down bureaucracy can impede creativity and innovation which is necessary for thriving businesses. Additionally, employers are using data to understand how to leverage technology for better productivity, while also ensuring that employees' needs are being met.
Labor costs need to be optimized: HR leaders need to understand the direct impact of labor costs on their business's bottom line. The goal here is to find ways to balance cost-effectiveness with employee engagement and satisfaction.
Compliance measures must be prioritized: In today's age of globalization, employers face a myriad of regulations and laws related to labor compliance across different countries. Compliance must be seen as a priority so organizations can avoid legal troubles and reputational damage.
Technology adoption can improve HR functionalities: As technological advances continue growing rapidly, it has become important for HR departments to embrace them in order to stay competitive. Innovative software tools like recruitment automation platforms make it easier for recruiters to identify suitable candidates using smart algorithms while others like virtual collaboration streamline team communication.
Achieving balance: CHROs have a difficult task balancing between adopting new technologies and complying with regulations while avoiding compromising employees' trust or privacy.
It's important to remember that human resources departments still rely on creating personal relationships with employees. Virtual platforms have replaced these relationships with impersonal communication processes -- this is where focus on face-to-face attention helps build meaningful bonds between individuals and their colleagues. Technology cannot replace interpersonal connections that bring motivation & understanding among co-workers.
HR professionals suggest conducting surveys to segment various employee's response styles based on fulfilling specific areas of interest. Such segmentation-based survey methodology will enable employers/authors more comprehensive reports that outline the strengths and weaknesses of each department and how prospective changes or interventions can help to tackle problems.
Some effective suggestions that CHROs could adopt would be to get creative with compensation packages, embrace flexible work arrangements, empower employees so they can contribute their unique talents, rethink training programs according to employee interests, and focus on providing support & resources for mental health issues. These solutions enable employers to make meaningful change while ensuring company capabilities continue being developed and responding to current employees' needs.
In HR, replacing creativity with processes is like using a calculator instead of your brain- CHROs are starting to question this approach.
Traditional HR processes that replace creativity and innovation with mechanistic skill and talent management are being questioned by CHROs. The emphasis is shifting towards adopting policies that are more people-centric, recognizing individual capabilities and contributions across the workforce, while providing a sense of purpose to employees. COVID-19 has further emphasized the need for personal attention and relationships between the workforce. Remote performance management requires a reinforced focus on face-to-face interactions or individual attention in key processes to build relationships.
While HR policies pivot towards addressing the employee experience, it is also crucial to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Organizations must recognize the importance of relationships between employees and their colleagues and managers for job satisfaction and performance. As hybrid working becomes the new normal, CHROs must re-evaluate their policies continually through robust survey methodologies to assess organizational health while segmenting specific needs to respond accurately.
Historically, HR has been associated with managing processes and containing labor costs at every step in recruitment, development, promotion, retention or separation of an employee. However, today's CHROs seek to foster growth and agility in their workforce while balancing both business needs as well as those of employees; acting like human capitalists.
The pandemic has reminded us that behind every job title, there's a person with unique needs and experiences - and it's HR's job to address them.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgency to adopt more people-centric policies to ensure employee wellbeing. CHROs are emphasizing optimizing labor costs, compliance measures, and technology adoption while questioning the replacement of creativity and innovation with processes.
Disruption of personal relationships due to remote performance management and self-service strategies highlights the need for face-to-face or individual attention in key processes to build relationships. Furthermore, the focus is on recognizing individual capabilities across the whole workforce and letting employees bring their whole person to work. This pivot from mechanistic skill and talent management to addressing the employee experience includes a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and an employee's sense of purpose.
To pave the way towards the "new possible", HR policies need rethinking and adapting to the new normal of hybrid working. A robust survey methodology can assess organizational health, segmenting responses from employees with specific needs. As human capitalists, CHROs leverage their unique position to foster growth and agility in the workforce while balancing business needs with those of employees creating meaningful change.
A true fact: According to global talent research studies by McKinsey & Company in 2021, prioritizing employee well-being leads to improved job satisfaction as well as higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy.
Building relationships takes more than shared memes in a company Slack channel – face-to-face interaction is key.
In today's world, HR leaders have recognized the need to move away from simply managing processes and focus on engaging more directly and deeply with employees. This involves recognizing the individual abilities and contributions across the workforce. Working remotely and the use of self-service strategies has disrupted personal relationships between employees and organizations, but face-to-face or individual attention can build better relationships. According to sources such as Deloitte, the focus on recognizing individual capabilities and contributions across the whole workforce will lead to better overall employee engagement and productivity. It's time to go "back to human" in HR practices.
The emergence of remote performance management and self-service strategies has led to a significant disruption of personal relationships at work, impacting employee engagement and productivity. As a result, there is a growing need for face-to-face or individual attention in key HR processes to build lasting relationships. CHROs are increasingly recognizing the importance of recognizing individual capabilities and contributions across the entire workforce, as employees bring their whole person to work. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified this sense of urgency, prompting HR leaders to adopt more people-centric policies that prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives while addressing the employee experience.
To foster authentic connections amidst this disruption, organizations must focus on building strong relationships between employees and their colleagues and managers. This involves pivoting from mechanistic talent management towards recognizing the unique strengths and attributes of each individual within the workforce. Compounding this need for relationship-building is the challenge of adapting HR policies to accommodate hybrid working - organizations must rethink HR practices, engage with employees' needs through surveys or other feedback mechanisms to ensure organizational health.
Overall, CHROs have a unique position to promote growth and agility within their organization by striking a balance between driving business goals and prioritizing employee satisfaction. By challenging process-centric approaches in HR functions in favor of deeper employee engagement centered around personal relationships, organizations can empower human capital for success in the new world of work.
(Source: 'Back to human’: Why HR leaders want to focus on people again')
Virtual meetings can save time, but nothing beats the impact of an in-person interaction when it comes to building relationships.
Building and maintaining relationships in the workplace has become difficult because of remote performance management and self-service strategies. The need for face-to-face or individual attention in key processes to build relationships cannot be underestimated.
Human resources departments must focus on creating personalized experiences that recognize individual capabilities and contributions across the workforce. Employees feel valued when they receive individual attention, which is essential for their job satisfaction and performance.
To achieve this, HR professionals should implement various tactics such as:
regular check-ins with employees
setting up one-on-one meetings to discuss progress
providing constructive feedback
organizing team-building events
promoting communication channels to enable real-time feedback
It is necessary to prioritize relationship-oriented managerial techniques that emphasize:
listening
empathy
respect
diversity initiatives
customer-focus training
skill-building
and coaching for managers
Moreover, HR leaders must address not only what employees are good at but also who they are as individuals. This requires them to pivot from mechanistic skill and talent management towards addressing the employee experience holistically.
As individuals' aspirations change over time and during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic which easily disrupt lives both personally and professionally; they look for organizations where their broader identity can be accepted beyond their work skills or role within the organization.
The same approach is crucial in developing the increasingly hybrid working arrangements that most organizations have shifted towards since the pandemic's outbreak combined with robust survey methodologies designed around unique needs assessments by adopting pulse-survey techniques coupled with mapping out critical interventions quickly in response to identified areas of concern.
Finally, by allowing employees to bring their whole selves into work while balancing organizational needs (the "new possible") we 'act as human capitalists.' Herein lays an opportunity for CHROs leveraging their unique positions fostering growth and agility in their teams by building communities around shared goals helping drive business forward while ensuring meaningful transformational change occurs that results in increased engagement across broad-based talent segments within an organization.
Stop seeing employees as cogs in a machine and start celebrating their unique skills and talents.
Organizations are shifting away from a process-centric approach and moving towards recognizing individual capabilities and contributions across the entire workforce. Companies recognize the need to adopt more people-centric policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CHROs question the replacement of creativity and innovation with processes, emphasizing the optimization of labor costs, compliance measures, and technology adoption.
Engaging deeply with employees has become vital in building relationships as organizations implement remote performance management strategies. Attention is needed in recognition of individual abilities, performance contributions across all workforce segments. HR leaders focus on pivoting from mechanistic skill and talent management to address an employee's sense of purpose, diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI), and prioritizing relationships between employees and their colleagues/managers.
Thus creating a new possible way of working that organizations must embrace while focusing on meaningful change through balancing business needs with consumer needs. Creating social capital within organizations emphasizes fostering growth and agility in organizations through HR leaders leveraging their unique positions. Balancing both entities streamlines recognition of individual capabilities by several businesses helps engaging more directly with employees forming strong crucial bonds for optimal productivity.
Embrace the uniqueness of each employee and watch their true potential unfold.
As an HR leader, it's essential to recognize that employees are more than just their skills and talent. Instead, we need to consider the whole person when they come to work. In recent years, many companies have shifted their focus from a mechanistic approach to skill and talent management to address the employee experience.
In this section, we'll discuss the importance of prioritizing employees' diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their sense of purpose. Additionally, we'll explore how meaningful relationships between colleagues and managers can impact job satisfaction and performance. Being attuned to the whole person, rather than just their skills, is essential in creating a more fulfilling and productive work environment.
Companies are shifting their focus from mechanistic skill and talent management to prioritizing the employee experience. This pivot includes incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, recognizing individual employee contributions, and fostering meaningful relationships between colleagues and managers. The emphasis on optimizing labor costs, compliance measures, and technology adoption has led CHROs to question the potential loss of creativity and innovation through process-centric HR policies. The urgency to adapt people-centric policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic also highlights the need for face-to-face communication in key processes and deeper engagement with employees.
As companies continue to pave the way towards a "new possible" of hybrid working environments, robust survey methodologies are being utilized by CHROs to assess organizational health and segment the responses of specific employee needs.
It's worth noting that this pivot towards addressing the employee experience is not just about increased job satisfaction but also about fostering growth and agility within the workforce. As reported in 'Back to Human': Why HR Leaders Want to Focus on People Again', CHROs are leveraging their unique positions as human capitalists to balance business needs with those of employees, creating meaningful changes that benefit both parties.
CEOs who prioritize DEI strategies not only showcase their company's values, but also see increased financial success and employee satisfaction.
The shift towards a more people-centric approach in HR management has led to an increased focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the employee sense of purpose. The HR leaders are emphasizing the importance of understanding the unique capabilities and contributions of their employees across the whole workforce. Additionally, they are acknowledging that personal relationships between colleagues and managers are critical for job satisfaction and performance. This realization has led to a pivot from mechanistic skill and talent management to addressing the employee experience, which includes recognizing individual differences in backgrounds and perspectives. Indeed, CHROs recognize that DEI must be prioritized to ensure parity amongst all employees while creating a nurturing environment that promotes creativity, innovation, agility, growth mindset, resilience and meaningful change.
Moreover, organizations have recognized that ensuring employee well-being is not just good for individuals but also beneficial for businesses as it drives productivity up while maintaining customer satisfaction ratios. Establishing customized programs that support employee needs such as mental wellness programs further underlines corporate's commitment toward DEI.
To carry out DEI initiatives effectively will require diverse research methodologies capable of generating fact-based insights driven by primary data collected through procedures that ensure privacy and anonymity when processing results to segment responses of employees with specific needs.
As workplaces adapt to hybrid ways of working post-COVID-19 pandemic disruption-era trends centered around people-centered initiatives such as DE&I will continue to focus on empowering the workforce to understand their work's purpose beyond mundane tasks assigned but also contributing toward positive social impact through innovative ideas.
Sophisticated HR professionals can leverage technology advances in AI-powered sentiment analytics tools blended with intuitive agile feedback culture as a way of standardizing DE&I policies throughout geographically dispersed workplaces while fostering an inclusive corporate culture that acts as catalysts for stable financial growth.
Strong relationships in the workplace lead to stronger performance and happier employees - it's not rocket science, it's human nature.
Developing strong relationships between employees, colleagues, and managers is crucial to enhance job satisfaction and performance. According to the 'Back to Human' article, HR leaders are recognizing the need to develop an employee experience that pivots from mechanistic talent management to address the individual needs of employees. It involves acknowledging their contributions, offering support during uncertain times, and fostering a sense of community. When employees feel appreciated and connected with their peers and superiors, it increases their engagement level and productivity.
In addition to recognizing employee contributions, HR leaders should also consider implementing strategies that encourage face-to-face interaction within remote work settings. While self-service platforms can promote workplace efficiency, it's easy for individuals to feel isolated within this system. Providing opportunities for relationship-building through video conferencing or events can help establish a sense of camaraderie among employees.
Furthermore, companies should embrace diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) initiatives as they play a critical role in maintaining positive employee relationships. To further improve job satisfaction levels in the organization- regular feedback sessions should be conducted between managers and their subordinates where both parties come together discussing individual goals/expectations while building strong understanding.
Overall, company culture plays an essential role in shaping the quality of interactions among colleagues. Leaders should create opportunities for free communication; emphasizing camaraderie as a way to treat each other like humans versus machines which leads towards better-performing workplaces where individuals are encouraged to advocate for themselves with ease. HR is paving the way to the new possible by adapting policies to hybrid working and prioritizing employee health and needs.
As we transition towards a "new possible," HR leaders recognize the need to shift towards more people-centric policies and approaches to accommodate the current hybrid workforce. It’s time to rethink and adapt HR policies to better engage and support employees working in the hybrid space, which prompts consideration of the right technology, flexible work arrangements, and more.
Organizations must also measure the effectiveness of their policies through a robust survey methodology that allows for the segmenting of responses by each group of employees that have specific needs and issues that impact their performance.
Let's dive into how paving the way to the new possible means new possible approaches for HR leaders.
As organizations embrace hybrid working models post-pandemic, there is a need for HR leaders to rethink and adapt HR policies to suit the changing work dynamics. The emphasis must be on ensuring an equitable and inclusive work environment that prioritizes employee well-being while aligning with business objectives. In implementing these policies, it is imperative to leverage data and analytics tools to ensure effective communication, collaboration, and decision-making processes.
Companies must consider adopting a technology-first approach that supports the needs of remote workers while tracking performance metrics aligned with organizational goals. To promote authentic engagement in a hybrid work environment, HR leaders must prioritize building strong personal relationships with employees and providing them with face-to-face or individual attention when required.
Empowering employees' sense of purpose should also be a key focus area for HR leaders. This can be achieved through initiatives that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), promoting teamwork among colleagues, and fostering emotional connections between employees and managers.
Pro Tip: In adopting new technologies or rethinking remote working policies, companies may want to provide upskilling opportunities aimed at enabling employees to learn about emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain. This will help develop future-ready skills that are critical for organizational growth in the long run.
Survey says: addressing specific employee needs leads to a healthier organization.
Using a comprehensive approach to assess the well-being of an organization and identify employees' specific needs is crucial for HR leaders. To achieve this, a robust survey methodology can be employed to determine organizational health while segmenting feedback based on employee requirements. The data collected will enable employers to pinpoint areas that require improvement, develop effective policies, and prioritize resources where necessary.
Benefits of Robust Survey Methodology
Description
Improved Employee Satisfaction
The methodology enhances job satisfaction by accommodating varied employee needs.
Enhanced Employee Retention
A clear understanding of what drives employee engagement results in improved retention rates.
Better Identification of Areas That Need Improvement
Deep analysis by segmentation allows employers to prioritize key areas requiring policy development or changes.
Assessing organizational health is not enough; organizations must go further than just process and prioritize individuals' experiences. Innovative companies now recognize the importance of developing policies incorporating empathy towards their employees' mental and physical well-being, running from recruitment through post-employment stages. This strategy builds loyalty with employees who feel recognized and appreciated beyond their contributions at work.
One company consistently surveys its employees using robotic survey agents that help analyze open-ended responses for employer review. The program aided the identification of required policy changes easily, improving onboarding processes, enhancing training effectiveness resulting in better productivity rates.
CHROs must balance the needs of the business with those of the employees to cultivate a workforce that is both agile and empowered.
After looking at the data, it's clear that many CHROs are taking the lead on molding their organizations to be better focused on the needs of their employees, rather than solely on the needs of the business. This sub-section looks further into how HR leaders are acting as human capitalists, leveraging their unique position to foster growth and agility in the workforce. By balance the needs of their employees with the needs of the business, meaningful change is afoot. I'm excited to learn more about how these leaders are turning things around.
With a focus on people, CHROs are uniquely positioned to foster growth and agility in the workforce. By prioritizing individual capabilities, employee experience, and relationships between employees and colleagues, CHROs can adapt HR policies to the new normal of hybrid working. Leveraging their position as human capitalists, they balance business needs with those of employees to create meaningful change. Robust survey methodologies assess organizational health and segment responses of employees with specific needs. 'Back to Human' highlights the urgency for CHROs to act quickly in addressing concerns around labor costs, compliance measures, technology adoption and remote performance management while simultaneously cultivating a positive employee experience.
Creating meaningful change involves balancing business needs with employee needs. CHROs are leveraging their unique position to foster growth and agility, focusing on recognition of individual capabilities, building relationships, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and employee satisfaction. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, people-centric policies have become crucial. Disruption of personal relationships due to remote performance management necessitates face-to-face or individual attention to build relationships across the whole workforce. Organizations need to rethink and adapt HR policies for hybrid working and assess organizational health using robust survey methodology. Acting as human capitalists requires balancing the business needs with those of the employees to bring transformative change.
✅ Many HR leaders have been focused on optimizing labor costs and reinforcing compliance, which has led to a loss of creativity and innovation in attracting and developing talent. (Source: Team Research)
✅ The COVID-19 pandemic has made HR leaders more aware of the need for a human-centric approach, as employees demand more support for their physical and mental health. (Source: Team Research)
✅ HR leaders want to engage more directly and deeply with employees, moving away from self-service solutions and focusing on building personal relationships. (Source: Team Research)
✅ HR leaders are shifting from mechanistic skill and talent management to addressing the employee experience in a more targeted and dynamic way, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their sense of purpose. (Source: Team Research)
✅ HR leaders want to act as human capitalists, taking a fresh, broader view of the workforce and recognizing the individual capabilities and contributions of all employees, including partners and contingent workers. (Source: Team Research)
For years now, human-resource leaders have found themselves on a cost-efficiency treadmill that applies analytics and big data to existing HR operating models. Their departments have lived by a worthy but uninspiring mandate: to optimize labor costs, reinforce compliance using standardized measures, and support the adoption of technology beyond IT. Even in the areas of HR traditionally imbued with meaning and cultural significance—recruitment, and learning and development—the emphasis has been on productivity and how to measure it.
The "back to human" model is what CHROs want to shift to. The COVID-19 pandemic—which accelerated employee demands on HR to meet physical and mental health needs, as well as intensified moral concerns about a company’s overall impact on society—lent urgency to their view that some core human element has been lost in all these technological advancements. The crisis also turned talk of creating more agile HR models into reality, as the C-suite looked to HR for both day-to-day crisis management and strategic thinking about workforces. CHROs say they want to keep that momentum going, particularly as employees register concerns about the future of hybrid work.
Many European CHROs said that they wanted to transform their functions to engage more directly with the workforce and to move away from self-service solutions. They stressed that key processes should always be undertaken face-to-face or at least with enough individual attention to make remote interactions feel like personal ones. These processes should not only continue to include negotiations on salaries and promotions but also extend to the onboarding of new employees, brainstorming and innovation, coaching and mentoring, and other ways to build relationships.
Hidden champions are employees who contribute more quietly, yet still in a significant fashion. HR leaders need to identify these employees and create policies that foster a sense of recognition of individual capabilities and contributions across the whole workforce. CHROs whose organizations work with partners and contingent workers said they would extend their attention to those groups as well. As one CHRO from a leading consumer-goods company told us, “Proximity with employees is key to identifying potential people-related challenges, as well as future leaders and the hidden champions who contribute more quietly, yet still in a significant fashion. HR will have no real impact if we do not know our people.”
HR leaders can shift from mechanistic skill and talent management to addressing the employee experience in a more targeted, dynamic way by engaging not just with contractual moments and employees’ safety but by taking a broader view of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and their sense of purpose. McKinsey research has shown that companies are rethinking the employee experience in ways that respect individual differences, while they also adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. When they drill down to find employees who need more and varied types of support, they can also act in ways that create widely shared feelings of well-being and cohesion across the workforce.
To build organizational resilience and generate value, CHROs and their teams must connect insights from mastering technology to improve standard HR processes and develop insights through advanced analytics with the business in four ways, including engaging more directly and deeply with employees, letting them bring their whole person to work, paving the way to the "new possible," and acting as a human capitalist. HR leaders should use robust survey methodology to assess organizational health and then segment responses of employees with specific needs. As hybrid working becomes the new normal, challenges will persist.