21
Anyone who works in a global
company doesn’t need to be
told that their job has changed
enormously in the past few years.
Even if their job title – and sometimes their job
description – remains unscathed, the number of
people they work with, the amount of information
they use to make decisions, their day-to-day tasks,
and the technology they use have all changed quicker
than at any time in their careers.
The changing nature of work is one of five trends
CEB’s research shows will shape global business in
2015. And, given the function’s role, this shift in how
work is accomplished means a lot of change for HR
professionals. Heads of HR and their teams should
take five steps in particular to help their firm make the
most of the new work environment.
FIVE PRIORITIES FOR THE HR FUNCTION
1.
Attract and retain “enterprise contributors”:
Data from surveys of HR and line managers show
that the average company needs to improve
employee performance by 27% just to hit the
revenue and profitability targets senior managers
have set. HR teams should look beyond conventional
performance management based on improving
individual performance and develop a cadre of
“enterprise contributors”. These are employees who
perform well individually and who accomplish tasks
by working effectively with and through others.
In fact, firms with enterprise contributors
outperform their peers by 5% and 11% on year-
over-year revenue and profit growth, respectively.
This means that the average Fortune 500
organization can increase profit by $144 million
and revenue by $924 million. HR should not make
the mistake of thinking that most employees aren’t
ready or willing to be enterprise contributors. They
are, but they’re stymied by structure and culture of
their firms. Instead of trying to motivate employees
to be enterprise contributors, HR should help
their firms reconcile four paradoxes at the heart of
performance management.
2.
Don’t make yourself appealing to all job
candidates, just the good ones:
The volume
of people applying for jobs has risen by 33% in
the past three years but the quality of applicants
has not improved at all. In response, many firms
launched employment branding campaigns to
establish their company as “a great place to work,”
and attract higher quality candidates.
But this strategy – called “branding for appeal” –
produces pools of applicants of whom only 28%
could be classed as high quality. This is because
firms just add yet more to the mass of accessible
corporate information. And all these conflicting
messages – some of which are false – means that
61% of applicants say they are more skeptical of
what employers say about themselves than they
were three years ago.
Instead, HR teams should take a “branding for
influence” approach to attract the best candidates.
Instead of releasing a(nother) YouTube video full of
smiling faces and an uplifting theme tune, savvy
firms spend time and money on messages that are
relevant to the most important talent segments,
and that challenge applicants’ thinking rather
than highlight anything good about the company.
Those firms that brand for influence almost double
the proportion of the applicant pool that can be
classed as high quality.
3.
Teach employees how to learn, not just what
to learn:
Given all of the above, firms must keep
improving their learning and development activities.
Most employees are now well aware that constant
development is essential and think that the learning
and development provided at their firm is sufficient:
84% say their “L&D solutions” are satisfying.
But despite this, and the estimated $145 billion
spent annually on training, fewer than half those
investments result in tangible returns. In response
to these poor figures, many firms provide more
opportunities for development, across more
channels, and advocate that employees take
responsibility for their development. But it doesn’t
work. Nearly three in four line managers report
employees with high learning participation lack the
right skills, and the extra learning activity creates a lot
of waste. Every day, employees waste approximately
11% of their time on unproductive learning.
Leading firms increase employee awareness of how to
learn (not just what to learn) and use learning technology
that help employees develop learning behaviors, and
not just consume content. This approach doubles the
number of employees with high learning capabilities,
and makes it more likely that employees will be
equipped or the new work environment.
4.
Make the HR team more valuable:
Even
though most senior executives are keen to stress
how important their “people are to the business,”
HR teams still struggle to provide the necessary
support. Less than one-fifth of line managers rate
HR as an effective partner.
Many heads of HR have invested heavily in
developing their HR teams to improve this sad
statistic but most over invest in improving individuals
and don’t do enough to change the organizational
culture in which their teams must work. In
particular, there are four organizational barriers that
prevent HR business partners – those that support
the line – from doing their jobs effectively. Remove
these and firms can nearly double the number of
effective HR business partners they employ.
5.
Don’t mistake high-performing employees for
high-potential employees:
CEB data show that
firms with stronger leaders enjoy twice the revenue
and twice the profit growth. Yet a high-potential
employee (HiPo) program, which is many firms’
main investment to develop their future leaders, is
statistically more likely to fail than succeed. Data
show that 50% of HR managers lack confidence
in their programs, and a staggering five in six HR
managers are dissatisfied with the results.
Despite evidence to the contrary, many firms still
wrongly assume that a high performer is also a
HiPo. In fact, only one-in-seven high performers are
HiPos. The reason mistakes are so often made is
that there is rarely an objective selection process in
place; decisions are rarely backed by any science.
Those involved in the HiPo selection process should
assess employees based on their ability, aspiration,
and engagement with the firm.
HR
Featured Report
How employees get their work done has changed remarkably quickly; unsurprisingly HR needs to change too
5 Priorities HR Can’t Ignore in 2015
by CEB HR
CEB is the world’s leading member-based advisory company.We have a unique view into what matters — and what works — when capitalizing on drivers of business performance.With 30 years of experience working with
top companies to share, analyze, and apply proven practices, we begin with great outcomes and reverse engineer to help you unlock your full potential.
. Reprinted with permission.
