Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Human Resources

We know HR. Read our Human Resources blog archives for stories and best practices from our work with real clients and personal experiences in the world of HR.

  • Change Management: Celebrating the Small Victories

    Change Management: Celebrating the Small Victories

    Change is never easy. I remind myself of this daily as I navigate some major changes in my personal life. And my experience has been a great reminder of why change is often viewed so negatively. It’s the unknown. While they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, the thought of changing that pattern and not knowing what the result will be is often petrifying.

    I recently started working with a client who is experiencing a great deal of change in their organization and as a result, is seeing a decline in employee morale. As part of the change management process, I have begun meeting with managers on a weekly basis. While part of the goal of these weekly meetings is to talk through issues or concerns they may have, the primary goal is to help them focus on the positive and then find ways to share those positives with employees.

    I start each meeting with one simple (yet difficult) question. “What went well this week?”

    The natural reaction to this question is to try to think of major accomplishments, but when experiencing change and a decline in morale as a result of that change, employees need steady reassurance that the change is having a positive impact on the organization. Without that reassurance, morale will continue to drop. By showing employees the positive impact change is having, even if a small impact, you’re easing their anxiety over the change and gaining their buy-in.

    So, after watching the managers struggle during that first meeting to answer my question, I gave them some guidelines:

    • Think smaller. It doesn’t have to be a major accomplishment to be worth celebrating. Instead of waiting until the completion of a project to celebrate the work done, set milestones along the way and celebrate when you hit each mark.
    • Celebrate the now. If it’s progress today, celebrate it. Even if it falls apart tomorrow. Deal with tomorrow then, but today it’s a small victory and deserves recognition. And there’s always that chance that it won’t fall apart down the road.
    • Tie wins back to change. If the win was a result of a change that employees viewed negatively, acknowledge that the win was a positive result of that change.
    • Decide how to share with employees. Is it a win that everyone should know about, or just a specific department? And how will you communicate it to them in a way that will ensure they receive it?

    Even though we have only met a few times so far, I have seen a shift in the managers as well. The first week they were hesitant to claim any wins, but during our most recent meeting, they walked into the meeting with a few to share.

    So, ask yourself what went well this week and have you shared that with your employees?

  • A Look Back On the Best Way to Thank Employees is to Make it Personal

    A Look Back On the Best Way to Thank Employees is to Make it Personal

    In 2015, we worked with a client where one of the company’s core values was relationships.  The value they place on relationships, with their employees and their customers, leads to a competitive advantage for the company. But I don’t think they do it because it creates a competitive advantage. They do it because it is just the right thing to do.

    One thing I learned from them is how this value actually plays out in the way that they recognize and reward employees.

    As an outsider looking in they:

    1. Get to know their people as people, not just as workers
    2. Set clear expectations for everyone in the company
    3. Reward people in a personal way when expectations are met. They are able to do this because they did step number one.

    Because they reward people in a personal way, their employees are more loyal, work harder and continue to meet and exceed the clear expectations that are set.

    For example, they have a high performing engineer. The guy loves anything to do with planes and flying. He did a great job last year. His bonus was flying lessons (and in case you didn’t know, flying lessons are not cheap).

    I have a book sitting on my shelf in my office that is titled 1501 Ways To Reward Employees by Bob Nelson. It is a good little book to get you thinking. It lists things like “provide a free makeover, give a full-day pass to a spa, give passes for bungee jumping, skydiving, hot-air balloon ride, whitewater rafting, provide lessons: golf, scuba, flying, rafting, tennis, horseback riding, cooking, painting…” and so on and so forth.

    All these things are cool, but if you give someone who is scared of heights skydiving lessons, that isn’t rewarding, that is scary to them.   I’d love a pass to the spa, but would my husband? Nope. And if you gave him a pass to the spa thanking him for a job well done, I think his first thought would be, you don’t even know me at all do you? Taking the time to know people on a personal level communicates to them that they matter and you care.

    If you are going to reward people, make sure what you are doing is actually rewarding. This means that giving the same reward to everyone company-wide, is oftentimes not rewarding to most.   A ham at Christmas is nice, but do all your employees like ham?

    And before you go saying, well money is rewarding to everyone, just give everyone money as bonus, stop and think about that for a minute. I just had a conversation with someone that is willing to take a pay cut for more flexibility at her job. Money isn’t rewarding to her, the flexibility is.   She will work harder for the boss that gives her more flexibility in getting her work done than she will the boss that pays her more.

    How do you personalize your rewards? When you do, what results do you see?

  • Enhancing Workplace Culture

    Enhancing Workplace Culture

    Written by guest blogger: Steve Graham

    A workplace culture is unique.  There are similar cultures, however, each one has individual attributes.  Great, good, bad, or downright horrible, each culture makes a statement about your organization.  In today’s highly connected society, word spreads fast about your values, mission, and the way you treat the people who work for you.  Culture will exist absent of a specific focus. Even the worst workplaces have a culture. These are often classified as, “toxic workplaces”.

    There is no shortage of literature about great workplaces, work culture, and even the toxic places.  In this article, I will explore those attributes common to the best work cultures. My goal is to offer ideas that will enhance the workplace environment.

    Culture is not a one-size-fits-all concept.  If you are trying to be Google, please stop!  Your industry sector, available talent, and even the geographic location are all influencers that help shape culture.  According to ERC, an HR consulting firm, allowing your culture to develop naturally, is one of the biggest mistakes organizations make.

    Leaders are the bedrock in shaping workplace cultures.  They set the tone for how culture is created.  People need to feel connected in their workplace. On average, most of us spend more time at work than at home.  Organizational Psychologist agrees, that workplace culture must provide the six universal human needs to thrive: respect, recognition, belonging, autonomy, personal growth, and meaning.  In his book, Connection Culture, Michael Lee Stallard comments, “An organization’s culture reflects the predominant ways of thinking, behaving, and working.”

    As you think about these six universal human needs, reflect on how each connects to workplace culture:

    1. Respect: An environment that encourages open communication.
    2. Recognition: An environment that values accomplishments.
    3. Belonging: An environment that cultivates engagement.
    4. Autonomy: An environment that is free of micro-management.
    5. Personal Growth: An environment that promotes career development.
    6. Meaning: An environment that allows the expression of purpose.

    When exploring the attributes of enhancing culture in the workplace, there are commonalities that are present in organizations known for being great places to work.  In a recent article from Huffington Post, Dr. Michelle Rozen identifies seven characteristics of successful company cultures.  Dr. Rozen starts the list of characteristics with purpose.  Having a sense of why you do what you do is essential in a successful culture.  She comments about the role of purpose, “Purpose is an inspirational driver for engaging employees and communities. When a leader establishes a clear purpose for the organization, it will become the inspirational driver for engaging employees and so provide them with a concrete source for motivation.”

    Her list of characteristics also includes: communications, diversity, engagement, teamwork, and growth/development.  If the workplace has a focus on these characteristics, it is a foundation for a successful culture.  Take each of the characteristics and compare it against the six universal human needs. Are you balanced in your approach to each?  If not, this is a great place to start working on enhancement.

    The organization, Great Place To Work, recently published a book titled: A Great Place to Work For All.  Their publication illustrates the connection between great cultures and the impact on their bottom line. The importance of leadership in shaping culture was also discussed: “In the emerging economy, leaders have to create an outstanding culture for everyone, no matter who they are or what they do for the organization. They have to build Great Places to Work For All.”  Creating a culture that maximizes the human potential accelerates performance.   The research compiled by Great Place To Work is a powerful resource for creating an exceptional work culture and demonstrating how it is worth the investment.

    Enhancing workplace culture takes time.  It also takes a commitment to prioritizing resources to achieve the desired outcomes.  If you keep your people central to the mission, you will design a culture that works best for your organization.  There is nothing wrong with borrowing ideas from other organizations that have an exceptional culture.  Borrow it, but customize to fit your environment.   A workplace culture is like a personality, where authenticity is essential.  A “one-size-fits-all” or “cut and paste” approach will not work in the long run.

    The first step in enhancement is an evaluation of what you are doing and not doing.  Also, observe your competitors. What can you learn from them? Do they seem to have better talent? Do they experience lower turnover? Do they have a better public perception?   Resist the temptation to be something your organization is not.  A great culture is not about the perks.  This quote from IDEO, an international design and consulting firm founded in Palo Alto, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, sums it up: “Often, people want to write culture off as a slew of perks you might find at tech companies. But really, culture is about creating an environment that makes it possible for people to work together to come up with innovative products and ideas—the same products and ideas that drive revenue.”  Here is a suggested path to follow if you want a better workplace culture:

    1. Define who your organization is and live it every day!
    2. Establish an environment built on trust. If trust is not a core ingredient nothing else matters.  A Forbes article from Glenn Llopis, Design Your Workplace Culture To Go Beyond Engagement And Fuel Trust says, “Leaders who develop intimacy build trust by developing relationships with their people and placing employees at the center of an organization’s growth strategy.”
    3. Encourage open communications—break down barriers that impede progress.
    4. Develop people. Have a strategic focus on talent development.
    5. Offer flexibility. Offer an environment that meets the needs of your people.
    6. Recognize people the way they want to be recognized. Be consistent.
    7. Celebrate successes and support your people in failures.

    Workplace culture is important and takes time to develop.  Approach the process of enhancing workplace culture as ongoing.  It is never a completed task. Cultures must also evolve.  Keep the six universal human needs at the heart of your design.  Leaders are curators of culture. Be authentic. What works in Silicon Valley does not translate everywhere.  Workplace culture has a real connection to the bottom line, so treat it with the importance it deserves.  Observe your direct competitors. Often, they are most like you. There is value in understanding what works and does not within your competitive set.  Define your authentic self as an organization. Keep trust as a key element in designing the right culture. This will lead to innovation and a holistic relationship between your people and revenue.

     

    About the author: Steve Graham serves as Vice President for Marketing, HR Business Partner, and college instructor. He holds graduate degrees in management and higher education. As a life-long learner, he has additional graduate and professional education in executive & professional coaching, health care administration, and strategic human resource management.

    He is a certified HR professional with The Society for Human Resource Management, a certified coach with the International Coach Federation, and a Global Career Development Facilitator. His professional memberships include: The Society for Human Resource Management, the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, Association for Talent Development, and International Coach Federation. LinkedIn.com/in/hstevegraham

  • Top 10 Recruitment Quotes

    Top 10 Recruitment Quotes

    10. “Recruitment IS marketing. If you’re a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as a marketer, you’re in the wrong profession.” – Matthew Jeffrey, Global head of sourcing and employment brand at SAP

    9. “If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait until you hire an amateur.” – Red Adair

    8. “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” –Jim Collins, Good to Great

    7. “Hire character. Train skill.” –Peter Schutz

    6. “If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants.” –David Ogilvy, advertising executive

    5. “Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.” –Henry David Thoreau

    4. “Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions, and a healthy dose of curiosity.” –Richard Branson

    3. “Hiring people is an art, not a science, and resumes can’t tell you whether someone will fit into a company’s culture.” –Howard Schultz

    2. “What is a modern recruiter? Someone who is honest first, knowledgeable second, consistent third, humble fourth, helpful fifth, and personable sixth.” –Steve Levy, Principle: Recruiting, Talent, and Social Media Consultant at Outside-the-Box Consulting.

    1. “Nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies.” – Lawrence Bossidy, Former COO of General Electric

  • Five Elements of a Great Onboarding Experience

    Five Elements of a Great Onboarding Experience

    You found the perfect candidate, made them an offer they couldn’t resist, and now they’re ready to start work. While you’ve wowed them up to now, your onboarding and orientation experience is critical to keeping them and to your reputation as an employer of choice.

    • A study by Glint showed that employees who had a poor onboarding experience were eight times less likely to be engaged in their work, with 40% of those employees reporting disengagement just three months after hire. Those same employees reported that they would not recommend the company to others.
    • According to a 2014 study by SHRM, one company surveyed reported that new employees who attended a structured orientation program were 69% more likely to remain with the organization for three years.

    One of my favorite tasks in HR has always been designing and implementing onboarding and orientation programs for organizations. I love working with organizations to learn what processes they have in place, helping them determine where they need to make improvements, and then following up after implementation to see the results.

    So what makes a great onboarding and orientation program?

    1. Communication. As with most things, a great onboarding and orientation experience begins with communication. Even before a new hire’s first day, there is often communications that need to be sent out to them. This may include new hire forms, information on where they need to report on their first day, or even just a welcome email from the leadership team. Make sure this communication is welcoming, informative, and easy to disseminate. If you require new hires to fill out paperwork prior to their start date, provide clear and concise instructions on how to complete and return the forms. Try to think like a new hire, anticipate what questions they may have and answer them proactively.
    2. Preparation. The worst experience I ever had as a new hire was walking in on my first day and being asked to put together my own orientation packet! And it only got worse when I was shown to my office only to find out I had no desk, no computer, and a room full of storage boxes (and they had a month to prepare). Being ready for your new hire to show up on their first day goes a long way. Be ready to greet them at the front desk when they arrive, have their desk, computer, and any other equipment they need ready for them, along with all of their access and login information. Make sure that you communicate their start date with leadership and anyone else who may be involved in their onboarding and orientation so that they are not caught off guard. And maybe even have a few goodies waiting for them when they arrive that first day or plan to take them out to lunch.
    3. Elimination of downtime. One of the worst things I think you can do on a new hire’s first day is leave them alone. Think back over your first day experiences, were you ever left to your own devices? If you answered yes, chances are you also remember wondering why they weren’t prepared for you, why they didn’t have your first day scheduled out, and when someone was going to come to rescue you from your infinite boredom. There are so many tasks to accomplish when a new employee starts, so there really should be no reason to drop them in a room or at a desk and leave them. Designing a standard orientation schedule for their first day, and even their first week will help ensure that there isn’t an excessive amount of downtime for new hires. Consider what paperwork they need to complete, what policies and procedures you should review with them, what training should be completed and who will present it, and who they need to be introduced to. Consider establishing a mentor or buddy program where a tenured employee is paired up with new hires to help them get acclimated to the organization, then have that mentor or buddy help walk the new hire through orientation.
    4. Follow through. Onboarding and orientation are often used interchangeably, however, they are two very different things. While your organization’s orientation may take a day or even a few weeks, onboarding an employee may take up to a year. So what’s the difference? Orientation involves tasks like the completion of paperwork, reviewing company policies and procedures, introductions to team members, and introductory training to understand their role. Onboarding goes well beyond that and includes more in-depth training and management involvement. It is the process of helping the new employee get their feet wet and learn how to become a contributing member of the team. While orientation may be a very formal process, onboarding is often much more informal. Don’t drop the ball after the initial orientation. Make sure that the new hire is being provided with the tools, training, and resources they need to understand and be successful in their role.
    5. Follow up. Designing and implementing an orientation and onboarding program can be a huge undertaking. But all of that effort could be wasted if the program is not effective, so a critical step in the process is to evaluate the results. A great way to do this is to have new hires complete a post-orientation survey and provide feedback on what worked well, what didn’t, and what they felt was missing. I also recommend having a touch base conversation with the new hire after they’ve been with the company for 60-90 days and had a chance to get settled. Use the feedback from the survey and touch base meeting to continue to improve your organization’s onboarding and orientation programs. And as noted in the statistics listed above, another measurable indicator of an effective onboarding program is an increase in employee retention.

    Based on the five elements of a great onboarding experience, how would you rate your organization’s program?