Innovative HR Solutions, LLC

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

What is Employee Engagement and How to Make the Survey Process Successful?


Potential clients will often approach our firm and indicate that they want to conduct an employee survey to find out what the employees are thinking.  The motives of the Human Resource leaders in making this inquiry are based upon a need to discover what is happening in the trenches and take action where necessary.  Even though the HR leaders want to do what is right they often get lost in the process and don’t take the long-term perspective. 
In order to have a successful outcome we recommend that our clients follow a four step process to determine if an employee survey is the most appropriate means of evaluating satisfaction and engagement.  Here are the recommended steps to ensure a successful survey:

1.     Define engagement and inform the employees what this means and how engagement supports the business.  Our definition of engagement is as follows:  Employee engagement is the relationship between an organization and its employees.  An engaged employee is one who subscribes to the values and goals of the organization and works to ensure success.” Engagement varies by industry and employer and much like a mission statement, engagement should have the support of the organization by being published and marketed through-out the company.

2.     An engagement index is a numerical value that quantifies engaged employees that are aligned and fully support the success of the organization in contrast to those that are disengaged.  Organizations that score high are typically successful and have a dynamic leadership team with high employee engagement.  They also have a clearly defined operational succession plan, a supportive administrative infrastructure, and programs and policies to support enhanced productivity.  These engagement indicators are interdependent – good leaders make good business decisions; progressive compensation and benefits programs attract and retain employees; employee engagement drives income and productivity.  Ensure that the leaders of the organization understand how these values impact productivity and the bottom-line.  Only with the leaders buy-in of an engagement index with the survey process be successful.

3.     An engagement survey is not an isolated event but rather the process to improve employee satisfaction and make your company an employer of choice.  While measurement is key to the program’s success the action planning process will make or break the initiative.  If managers are not held accountable, assume responsibility and be held accountable for improvement this program will not be successful.  HR needs to transition from “running a survey” to supporting the needs of the business by working with key leaders to develop action plans and accountability measures based upon the data collected during the survey process.

4.     Ensure that a process for following-up on the agreed upon action plans is adhered to and becomes part of the company culture.  If a consistent process is not established the survey process will be lost by newer initiatives, a business crisis or change in personnel.  Our experience has shown that if quarterly meetings are scheduled to ensure accountability the process is much more successful.  In addition, follow-up surveys to evaluate trends and long-term employee satisfaction and engagement will support progressive business practices.
In conclusion, employers today face extraordinary challenges with respect to managing the business and at the same time meeting the needs of their employees.  Human Resources leaders need to take the long-term perspective with respect to engagement and the survey process.
 

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

What is Important to the Employee Today?


One of our key goals over the past year has been to share with our subscriber’s information to assist you in making quality business decisions by providing current information on what is happening in the work environment.  Sharing how progressive companies deal with their challenges will hopefully offer you solutions for the future.  One important area for HR is to determine what is important to the employees.  In reviewing the data three key areas are deemed to be more important that other areas.  These include:

Employee Management Relations

With respect to employee management relations, employees gave this area an importance rating of 84.6 (using a 1 - 100% scale). A great many respondents believe that their manager will listen to their point of view and assist them in growing professionally, are an excellent mentor and coach.   In addition, the survey results indicate that management treats and respects all individuals. The data also suggests that diversity is encouraged and has become a part of the corporate culture.

Fair Compensation

Compensation is valued by employees at an 84.5% rating (using a 1 - 100% scale).  This rating suggests that as business becomes more profitable employers will need to respond to the pressure from their staff to increase merit pay.  If not, companies may see a rise in turnover due to poor pay practices. The data suggests that progressive compensation practices are a key indicator of a productive organization.  Ensuring that a company’s compensation program remains competitive is an important issue that employers will need to address in the near term, especially in circumstances where employees’ workloads and responsibilities have increased due to reduced staffing levels or the realignment of the business. 

Job Satisfaction

The data suggests that over the past several years job satisfaction has become more important to employees.  Enhancing and maintaining this satisfaction with one’s job is critical to retaining talent and keeping employees engaged in the success of the business.  Job Satisfaction is valued by employees at an 84.1% rating (using a 1 - 100% scale).  This rating suggests that management will need to focus on activities that challenge, enrich and support the development of the staff.  This will not only increase job satisfaction but better support both the internal and external the customer.

In conclusion, employers today face extraordinary challenges with respect to managing the business and at the same time meeting the needs of their employees.  Human Resources is up to the challenge and we will continue to be a partner with the business.

For a complete review of functional areas that are important to employees please see the chart below:
 
 
 


 

 
 
 
 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

What are the Trends in Employee Management Relations?

One of our key goals over the past year has been to share with our subscriber’s information to assist you in making quality business decisions by providing current information on what is happening in the work environment.  Sharing how progressive companies deal with their challenges will hopefully offer you solutions for the future.

The Human Resource profession is now driven by metrics.  Using metrics provides the professional with an excellent barometer of how satisfied and engaged employees are in the success of the business.   When metrics are utilized and historical HR patterns are revealed executive management can better respond to the challenges that front-line managers are experiencing on the job.  Executive management can then hopefully create an environment where managers develop into leaders and act as change agents for our organizations.  A key goal for Human Resources is to ensure that managers are meeting the needs of their subordinates and leading their departments.  Managers need to be coaches, conduct quality performance reviews that challenge, ensure that a creative and innovative work environment is maintained, hold people accountable and communicate the goals of the organization by sharing the strategy for the future.  These are just a few of the duties and responsibilities of a high-performing manager.  However, how do we measure their successes and challenges?  One of the tools used to evaluate manager performance and effectiveness on the job is the employee survey. 

Based upon our survey data areas of employee satisfaction with management are varied; however, several common positive themes surfaced when examining the data.  In general, employees are satisfied with their jobs.  They understand and appreciate that management is operating the business efficiently, the respondents are treated with respect and their manager is generally a good coach.  The respondents also believe that the work environment is safe.  With respect to the statements focusing on employee management relations, the respondents gave this area a satisfaction rating of 3.89 (out of a 5 point scale) and this indicates moderate levels of satisfaction.  The great majority of employees believe that their manager will listen to their point of view and assist them in growing professionally.   In addition, the survey results indicate that management treats and respects all individuals. The statement, "My manager treats people the same regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity or other differences" was given a question satisfaction rating of 4.21 or high levels of satisfaction.  The data suggests that diversity is encouraged and has become a part of the corporate culture.  Areas of improvement include eliminating favoritism, management listening more and increasing communication and sharing more information about the challenges and successes of the organization.  The respondents would also like to learn more about the business strategy and how management plans to expand the business.

In our next post we will discuss areas of employee satisfaction with respect to improving employee communication.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

How Can HR Metrics Help Me?


We all know that the past couple of years have been very challenging.  Some of us experienced reductions in staff resulting in colleagues losing their positions along with budget cuts and a stronger focus on expense control.  This reevaluation of organizational objectives has led to greater stress on the job along with very difficult Human Resource decisions.  As a profession, we are also learning that understanding our business, partnering with the leaders within our industry and changing our tactics is critical to our remaining relevant.

Once again we need to re-adjust our approach as the paradigm has shifted from retrenchment to expansion.  Preserving our company’s competitive edge by retaining our high performers along with the use of HR metrics will allow us to be better positioned as the recovery continues.  As HR professionals one of our goals for the remainder of 2014 and beyond will be to retain talent by looking for alternative ways to respond to the current business climate, offer our employees value and provide management with the support to make quality business decisions.

The Human Resource profession over the past decade has become very sophisticated by utilizing metrics to examine employee trends in order to better anticipate future challenges and opportunities.  When we use HR metrics and evaluate historical patterns we are better able to respond to the challenges we face on the job.  A key challenge is determining if our reward and benefit dollars are being used wisely.  Metrics are a common measurement across all professions and are used as a way to retain, challenge talent and hold people accountable.  The analysis and subsequent data following an employee survey is a key tool in determining employee satisfaction, engagement and management effectiveness.  As companies expand, talent retention is often critical to its very survival.  Understanding and responding to these employees’ concerns and questions are important components in ensuring that success.
 
In the past, our clients have often requested that we create norms that would provide a benchmark against their industry or region in the country. Today, however, we have begun to see a shift from benchmarking within one's own industry toward benchmarking against other “best places to work”. This is particularly true with regard to benchmarking in the areas of organizational climate, culture, engagement, management and leadership.  Our review, as outlined below is based on data collected from over 60,000+ respondents and from organizations representing a broad cross-section of industries and regions of the country.

Today, employees are satisfied with their jobs.  Employees appreciate that management is operating the business efficiently, often under conditions of uncertainty and with limited resources.  Employees also believe that the work environment is safe and opportunities for advancement will occur as long as performance is maintained.  Key challenges for the future include:

 

n  Maintaining effective employee management relations

n  Ensuring that a team environment is supported and encouraged

n  Maintaining a progressive compensation program

n  Supporting a leadership team that is decisive

n  Opportunities for career advancement

n  Benefit programs that offer security and protection for the employee and eligible dependents

 Illustrated below is a chart summarizing the data:
 
 
Over the next several months we will be sharing data with our subscriber’s specific data with respect to employee satisfaction and engagement.  Our goal by publishing this data is to assist our client’s in gaining more knowledge about the workforce which will enable them to make sound business decisions.  In our next post we will discuss areas of employee satisfaction and challenges for the future with respect to progressive employee management relations. 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

HR Certification: What is Going On?

Recently the Society for HR Management (SHRM) announced that they were withdrawing their support for the HR Certification Institute an organization they founded almost 40 years ago.  This decision to no longer support this independent organization and create a new certification process along with a new testing program should be of a concern for all HR professionals that have pursued the certification process.
 
In SHRM’s press release outlining these changes the organization summarized the reasons for this change this way: 
“We believe this competency-based certification is the new standard for HR professionals around the globe—and is needed for the ever-evolving demands of business. We are seeing an increasing number of colleges and universities, and other SHRM global partners, transition to a competency-based curriculum. Businesses have been asking—almost demanding—that employees have specific behavioral competencies to be successful in the workplace. As the leading HR professional society, it is SHRM’s responsibility to stay ahead of these trends and better serve the HR professional.”
 
What is troubling is that the organization has provided little information to support their decision.  Based upon communication from HRCI and various SHRM affiliate chapters, SHRM has managed to confuse and dilute the certification process by changing the rules and offering no alternative to HRCI.  SHRM has agreed to outline a new replacement program at the annual conference this June; however, this is yet another example of the organization not discussing and obtaining the support from the membership prior to the roll-out of a new program.
Another issue that should concern all HR professionals is how this will be perceived by our employers, colleagues and the greater business community?  How will this impact our relationship with our manager who has supported the certification process by paying for additional training; specifically the SHRM Learning System and the certification test?  For years SHRM has been promoting the certification process as a way to improve our profession, add credibility to our work and add value to our role within our companies.  This abrupt change in their support for certification process would appear to call into question their years of promoting this key business tool.  As a result of this decision by SHRM, we will need to explain to our company leaders the reason for this change, how it impacts our ability to support our employees and the whether certification is necessary in today’s business environment.
 
So what can you do as a certified professional?  Three key actions can be taken immediately to register your concern with this decision:
1.     Contact Amy Dufrane the Executive Director at HRCI to indicate your support for the institute and find out what you can do to better understand SHRM’s decision and the ramifications for your certification.  HRCI’s telephone number is:   (866) 898-4724.
2.     Contact Henry G. Jackson the CEO at SHRM to indicate your concern for this decision.  SHRM’s telephone number is: (800) 283-7476.
3.     At the SHRM Annual Conference in Orlando hold the SHRM Board and staff leadership accountable for their decision by challenging them, ask them to explain their rationale and their research around specific behavioral competencies and the reasons for not wanting to work through the existing partnership with HRCI.
To learn about the HRCI’s response to this decision by SHRM please follow this link:
To learn more about the reasons behind this decision by SHRM please follow this link:

 
 
 

 
 
 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

What Can Management Hope to Achieve by Conducting a Pulse Survey?

Pulse surveys offer management a unique opportunity to check-in with their employees after a key event or milestone has occurred at the company.  This survey provides a quick snapshot of your employee's satisfaction level and attitude towards the organization. Typical reasons why companies conduct a pulse include:

§  To assess employee attitudes following a merger or acquisition.

§  To determine the company's success in reducing turnover.

§  To evaluate employee satisfaction following the completion of a total compensation project.

§  To better align the benefit plans with employee needs.

The Company Check-Up demonstrates to employees that their opinion and views are considered important. This will help motivate employees and improve productivity.  Key to a successful outcome is the ability for management to communicate the results and take action to “move the dial”.  Methods for holding managers accountable for their department results include:
§  Incorporating the survey results in their performance review and tie either their merit increase or bonus plan to an improvement in their overall satisfaction rating.

§  Conduct quarterly reviews with the department managers to ensure that the agreed upon action items are being addressed.

§  Working with each leader to provide coaching and support based upon the results.  Leaders need to be encouraged to engage their staff and support the overall company strategy.

To learn more about the challenges of the survey process check out this site for additional information:
http://researchindustryvoices.com/2014/05/12/employee-engagement-surveys-evolution-or-extinction/

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Why Conduct an Exit Interview in Person?


Today with technology impacting so many facets of the Human Resources function many employers today are migrating away from the in-person exit interview.  This trend, may save time and be the most efficient way to collect data but it is not always the best decision from a talent retention perspective.

An in-person exit interview should always be conducted with those employees that either have a long history with the company or have demonstrated excellence on the job or both.  Based upon the criteria established by the Human Resources department, key leaders in the HR function should make effort to follow this four step program to evaluate the reasons behind the employee’s departure.

Step #1 Evaluate the Departing Employee’s Work History

Following the receipt of a letter of resignation Human Resources should conduct a mini-audit to review the background of the departing employee to include work history, performance reviews and career progression.  If the employee has a long history with the organization and/or has exhibited excellence on the job, the employee should be encouraged to have a one-on-one meeting with Human Resources.  This meeting would be in addition to taking the web-based off-boarding survey.

If the departing employee has been a marginal performer then the on-line exit interview may be sufficient. 

To ensure consistency if any employee regardless of performance or tenure wants to have a one-on-one meeting this request should always be afforded to the employee.

Step #2 Prepare for the Interview

Preparing for the exit interview is key to obtaining information from the employee.  By reviewing the departing employee’s performance reviews, career history and salary progression the HR conducting the exit interview will be a better position to ask probing questions, understand the complexities of the job and learn more about the challenges the departing employee faced each day.  Good preparation by HR can also lead towards the departing employee having a positive impression of the company and allow for any issues to be explored and documented.

Step #3 Conduct the Exit Interview

Critical to conducting the exit interview is the ability to deviate from the standard questions and explore the reasons behind the employee’s departure.  Often times it is not just one work challenge but a combination of reasons that resulted in the employee resigning.  Listen to the employee, do not interrupt their responses to your questions and ask follow-up questions to ensure your understanding.

The longer service employee will also bring a perspective as to what has changed of the years and how has management addressed these changes.  The employee that has excelled in their career at the company will often share that a lack of recognition, engagement, accountability or shared values were possibly an impediment to their success.  Finding the reason why an employee is departing will allow you to learn more about what motivates and keeps employees engaged.

Step #4 Communicate the Results

Key to conducting an in-person and/or electronic exit interview is the need to act on the findings.  Results by department should be evaluated and measured against previous data.  The goal of spending the time conducting an exit interview and off-boarding survey is to reduce turnover and improve employee satisfaction and engagement.  If Human Resources communicates the findings then management can take action and improve the work environment.

Each of the steps outlined above are intended to allow the HR professional to conduct an effective exit interview and improve the processes for collecting data which can lead to employee retention.

To learn more about the benefits and stages of the exit interview process check out this site for additional information:

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

The Structure of the HR Organization and Will there be HR Generalists in the Future?



Recently there has been some discussion in social media as to the future of the HR Generalist role and is this type of position needed today?

Organizations are constantly reviewing whether to centralize their HR professionals or decentralize the Human Resources function.  There are typically three approaches regarding the structure of HR.
Decentralized:  If you have talented individuals that are resourceful, knowledgeable and are skilled in the process of explaining the HR programs and policies then the closer they are to support the business the better it is for the company.  Decentralization is the optimum approach with respect to building a partnership between HR and the business.  It is also the most costly from a budget perspective.
Blended:  If the HR staff lack the depth of experience then the goal is to train these individuals and hire “specialists” that can share their knowledge with the newer employees.  While these employees remain close to the business their lack of skill can often be an impediment to their success.  This structure also takes time to build and commitment from the leadership team is critical to maintaining this type of organizational platform
Centralized:  A centralized structure is a skilled and talented staff that are pro-active, reach out to the business units and provide sound advice from a call-center or centralized corporate office.  This approach is being used by an increasing number of companies that have 500 employees or more.  With employees becoming familiar with the self-service approach to obtain information about pay, benefits, promotions and career paths the need to have an intermediary is becoming less necessary
Today, organizations are looking for cost effective talent to support and partner with the business.  With budgets being scrutinized and HR metrics becoming an even more important part of the performance process the future of the HR Generalist particularly in larger organizations is very uncertain.
The future of the HR Generalist in larger companies (employers with 500 employees or more) will ultimately go away and be replaced with experts in a call center or corporate office.  The business units will only have an HR Generalist if they are willing to pay for this personalized support.  In our opinion, the business leader will determine that the HR Generalist is redundant and unnecessary.  Furthermore, the laws are changing rapidly at the state and federal level and with many companies having a global reach the need for “specialists” is even more important in today’s work environment.  The HR Generalist role is often one of sharing information that is provided by the corporate HR function anyway.  The timely sharing of information is critical to meeting the needs of the business and any follow-up action is often delayed as the skills of the HR Generalist are at times not as strong as the specialist.  This requires that the HR Generalist reach out repeatedly to the skilled expert in the corporate office to obtain clarification.  This takes time and costs the organization additional expense.
The future of the HR Generalist in smaller companies (employers with 499 employees or less) is a very different story.  These skilled professionals will continue to be relied upon, typically report to the CEO or COO and have significant influence on the organization.  They will also have between 3 and 5 subordinates which provide specialized services to the company.  Further career opportunities in this area will continue to grow and expand.
To learn more about what is best for your company Human Resource departments are often conducting employee surveys to evaluate department performance, establish year-over-year metrics, review the success or failure of the established programs and policies and finally how to best meet the needs of the organization and staff.  Consider conducting an employee survey to discover what your employees are thinking.
 
 
 

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Why is a Values-Based Company Culture So Important?

Company cultures are very important in the process of acquiring top talent and the retention of high-performing employees.  A company devoid of a culture will often result in an environment where the organization has no purpose, little alignment between the local community and customers and a strategy that can’t be sustained for the long-term.

A strong values-based culture will allow the company to grow and prosper because there is an alignment between the employees and the values of the organization.  Strong values-based cultures often rely on three key components to support this important alignment and include:

1.     The history of the company which supports a respectful environment between staff and management and a tradition of valuing all employees.  Company’s do not have to have years of business experience only the organization needs to demonstrate their commitment to the established culture.

2.     The values of the company are supported by and practiced by the leaders of the organization.  Exhibiting the values of the company in the decision making process and ensuring transparency will support a values-based culture.

3.     A values-based culture needs to be communicated and all employees need to be held accountable in the support of the principles of the agreed upon values.  Employee buy-in and support for a values-based culture will ensure an alignment between the leaders, staff and customers.
When an organization's values are clearly communicated and aligned, they become the compass or reference point for the company and its employees. When they are well ingrained in the organization, they are also reflected in the environment, in the employees' professional behavior and guide the decision making process.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

The Employee Survey is Done…Now What?

Employee surveys, originally introduced into organizations around the middle of the last century, were developed to measure employee job satisfaction.  Employers wanted to know how satisfied their employees were because “satisfied workers would be more productive workers.”  Research over the past 35 years has found that job satisfaction while very important is but one indicator of organizational effectiveness.  Although the early assumption that satisfied workers are more productive, there is a body of research which suggests that organizations that are in tune with their workers can motivate them to do a good job and enhance the work environment for all.  Many current studies have identified that relationships between employee groups, the satisfaction of customers serviced by employees, organizational performance and job alignment are key to maintaining high levels of employee engagement.  The end result is improved organizational performance.

Today, employee surveys have taken on additional applications.  Managers have realized they can ask employees about a broad range of important issues such as leadership, benefits, job satisfaction and compensation to name a few.  With this information, organizations can fine-tune their communication strategies, work to increase employee buy-in and even decide to modify corporate policies.  The employee survey provides the means for linking employee behavior with company success. 

The question then arises as to what happens following the survey process. The goal of any employee survey is to measure current satisfaction and engagement levels and establish benchmarks for the future.  The key to a successful survey is to follow-up in a timely and collaborative manner using this six point process targeted for the HR professional:

1.     Explain the survey results to all employees either through webinars, newsletters or face-to-face presentations.

2.     Answer any questions that employees may have about the survey process and department results.

3.     Working with the leadership team draft two to three corporate action items that the leadership team can agree upon.

4.     Working with the department managers assist them in developing their two or three department action items that the work group can agree upon.

5.     Include these action items in the annual performance plan.

6.     Ensure that a quarterly action planning process occurs to ensure that the process remains credible and that managers are held accountable.

Employee surveys are an excellent tool to monitor employee satisfaction and engagement and a metric to hold people accountable.

Friday, February 7, 2014

What Is a Key HR Metric for the Future?

As we begin 2014 it is very important that we learn from the past so that the business decisions we make in the future are based upon facts and a coordinated strategy.  We all know that the past several years have been challenging; as some of us experienced reductions in staff resulting in colleagues losing their positions. Budget cuts, a stronger focus on expense control and the necessary reevaluation of organizational objectives all have led to greater stress on the job.  As a result, the Human Resource profession is under more scrutiny by management.   One of our goals over the past several years has been to retain talent by looking for alternative ways to respond to the economic crisis through furloughs, job sharing, reduced work weeks and early retirements.

Preserving our company’s competitive edge by retaining our high performers along with the use of HR metrics will allow us to be better positioned as the recovery begins.  The Human Resource profession over the past decade has become more sophisticated by utilizing metrics to examine employee trends in order to better anticipate future challenges and opportunities.  When we use HR metrics and evaluate historical patterns we are better able to respond to the challenges we face on the job.  A key challenge is determining if our reward and benefit dollars are being used wisely.  Metrics are a common measurement across all professions and are used as a way to retain, challenge talent and hold people accountable.

One key metric that is being used by thousands of HR professionals is the employee engagement survey.  The analysis and subsequent data following a survey is a key tool in determining employee satisfaction and management effectiveness.  With so many people in transition, the retention of a company’s remaining employees is often critical to its survival.  Understanding and responding to these employees’ concerns and questions are important components in ensuring that success. 
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