Now is the moment to resolve traffic jams in your H.R. ecosystem.
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Are you among the 82% of companies that plan to hire this year? From manufacturing and healthcare to tech, 2021 has the potential to be a rebound year, according to the annual Future of Work report from Monster. Will your organization make a strong comeback or suffer from the same status-quo strategies that plagued it before COVID?
As a CEO and the author of Why Simple Wins, I’ve studied the effects of complexity on employees and leaders — and witnessed a familiar pattern, regardless of industry. New hires at all levels enter with high hopes and energy. For the first six months, they’re eager to contribute and willing to challenge any system or process that slows them down. But after a year or so, when they realize the full weight of the complexity they’re up against, they become increasingly frustrated and defeated. From here, it’s only a matter of time before they exit stage left.
If a constantly revolving door describes your company, explore the short Q&A related to Human Resources below. Organizations of any size can use it, from start-ups to multinational corporations, and it should be completed by the CHRO, head of H.R. or another relevant leader with the power to make change. Your answers will reveal how complicated your H.R. ecosystem is — and where the traffic jams are. From there, you’ll discuss with your team and determine solutions.
Start by answering the following five statements with either “Consistently,” “Sometimes,” “Rarely” or “Never.” Answer individually and be ruthlessly honest in your assessments.
1. I can explain my and my colleagues’ roles in one or two jargon-free sentences.
2. When I hire/my team hires a qualified candidate, excessive levels of approval are not required.
3. I believe that this organization rewards employees simplification efforts.
4. Performance reviews here are easy to complete.
5. Performance reviews here are meaningful and help employees improve their performance.
To tally points, use this scorecard for each answer:
· “Consistently” = 0
· “Sometimes” = 1 point
· “Rarely” = 2 points
· “Never” = 3 points
If you calculated 1 to 4 points, you’ve got pockets of complexity. Your H.R. department is functional but at least one “Rarely” or “Never” answer may be reducing productivity or complicating your onboard strategy.
If your sum is 5 to 9 points, your H.R. department is showing symptoms of complexity. Results and valuable work have lapsed into policies and processes, and if left unchecked, the red tape will creep into every aspect of H.R. and the rest of your company.
If you scored 10 to 14 points, your H.R. department has a major complexity problem. It’s likely that the entire organization is suffering from complacency, possibly even at the C-suite level, and core values have been replaced by frustration and fear. From meetings and hiring to incentive programs and technology, nothing is easy to accomplish.
Lastly, if you tallied a sum of 15, H.R. has officially reached dangerous levels of complexity. It’s paralyzed your ability to recruit talent and is likely affecting every other aspect of your business. Resources are presumably being wasted on a massive scale, yet employees are numb to it. Some aspects of H.R. may not be functioning at all, putting your entire business at risk of failure.
Now, share the diagnosis and five statements with your teams via email and ask them to generate the likely reasons why complexity has hijacked H.R. — and their ideas for simplifying. Then schedule a remote meeting to discuss both reasons and solutions, which should be captured on a virtual whiteboard.
After discussing the feasibility of solutions, take a vote on which to implement immediately — and do it. Examples of solutions might include “eliminate annual performance reviews” or “define roles by outcomes, not tasks” and “overhaul our onboarding program.” To establish accountability, publicly assign the tasks related to the solutions to people or teams along with completion dates.
The past year has been enormously draining on H.R. professionals. From keeping our employees safe and helping them navigate unemployment or transition to remote work, we owe H.R. a debt of gratitude. If you have the power to remove complexity from their work lives and simplify routine tasks, don’t hesitate. The benefits of improved morale and employee empowerment will have a ripple effect that starts in H.R. and spreads across your business.
