We all know that we’re living in uncertain and challenging economic times. Supply chain pressures, input cost rises, staff shortages and rising pay demands, are putting pressure on every business. A slash and burn approach is totally counter-productive, to drive future growth you need a strategy that will see you through not just the short term challenges, but allow for future growth.
So what does this mean for HR managers and business leaders?
According to a 2023 Gartner survey*, the top three priorities needed to tackle the current challenges and meet the objectives of engaging and retaining talent are:
- Leader and Manager Effectiveness
- Organisational Design and Change Management
- Employee Experience
In a series of three articles HR Now’s Becky Hill will look at all three priorities and suggest how Jersey HR Managers and business leaders can tackle them.
Leader and Manager Effectiveness
What you need to Know
It’s obvious that since the pandemic, the workplace environment has changed. This isn’t just a physical issue of where people are working, it’s also a relationship issue. Leaders need to be ‘human-centric’, that means they should develop authentic relations with their employees, showing empathy and transparency.
What does that mean exactly?
It means that whereas before the main traits that were valued in our leaders were professionalism and efficiency and their focus that of the work needs of employees; now leaders need to see their staff as people with individualised needs and that to get the best from them they need to enable safe self-expression. In other words, we need to embrace the diversity of our work force and recognise their personal needs in order to build the most effective team.
What you need to Do
Gallup** have devised several strategies for 2023 which will help you to engage and retain your employees through more people-centric leadership. Before deciding which strategies resonate most, look at your people data. What are your people telling you? What are they telling you when they leave?
- Have a meaningful conversation once a week with each employee
Schedule it into both your calendars and get to know them and how things are going for them both personally and at work. This will help with both retention and productivity.
- Include employees in hybrid work expectations
Dictating top-down hybrid rules can have a negative impact on your recruitment and retention. Employees should be involved in setting the expectations, based on business needs. You might not always be able to accommodate them, but understanding the business needs and their personal situations will help to make that decision.
- Help employees apply their strengths to every aspect of their job
We all want to be good at whatever it is we are doing. It motivates us. Discover each employee’s strengths; and use coaching to bring out how best to make small changes to the way they work to make big differences.
- Identity Signs of burnout
If you’re doing no. 1 then this will be easier. Burnout is a career and productivity killer. Find out how they are managing their time and workload, and remember that each employee has a different style and support needs.
- Discuss Wellbeing at work
Wellbeing is almost as important to job seekers as is their pay, but remember that their needs are not the same. Ask them about their career, financial, social, community, and physical situations. Different age groups will have different priorities.
What does more human-centric leadership mean for HR Managers?
- You need to understand how more human-centric leadership aligns with your business’s current leadership model and styles.
- You need to balance investing in leadership development programmes with other business requirements.
- You need to identify current and potential leaders who would benefit from and excel in this style of leadership training.
- Ask your leadership team to commit to this strategy as a way to address not only the hiring and retention of staff, but also productivity improvements.
- Don’t forget to assess your own strengths and development needs as a human-centric leader!
HR Now can assist you with how best to ensure your leaders are effective and human-centric. We can provide bespoke training and expert advice to ensure your leaders have the right skills to do their jobs well. 10% discount for all existing clients on our training programmes. Get in touch with us today: Email us: hello@hrnow.je or call: 01534 747559
* https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/what-will-hr-focus-on-in-2023
** https://www.gallup.com/workplace/