If you’ve been following my last three articles, by now you have a strong recruitment and induction process which looks to engage employees even before they set foot over the threshold. But grand beginnings don’t make for happy ever afters unless day to day interactions are designed solely with good results in mind.
In my last article, introducing culture, I suggested that this next offering would look at some of the ways in which HR can influence the culture of an organisation including documenting expectations and monitoring employee welfare. But there is such a rich vein here that I’m going to break this topic down into a number of articles starting with the basic information which every HR department holds. And I’m going to start with a question.
What are you doing to turn metrics into engagement? Of course, in asking a question like that I’m assuming that you do actually collate some form of statistics. But even if you don’t carry out any specific investigations, the HR department sits at the centre of a vast web of information covering areas such as employee churn, sickness, overtime, promotions and so on. And you can file it away or you can use it as a force for good. Let’s look at a few examples:
Employee churn. When employees start leaving there is always a good reason. And whilst a few may be for genuine reasons such as a family relocation there are other instances in which a departing employee signals a failure on the part of the organisation. Are they moving to a post in which they will have more responsibility or a greater challenge; then why was that individual’s developmental needs not recognised and catered for within their current role? Are they leaving simply to gain a higher salary; well yes it can be hard to overcome salary constraints but if the employee was valuable to the business then were any other avenues explored such as flexi-time or employee benefits? Are they leaving because they are unhappy; then why was that unhappiness not recognised and dealt with?
In an ideal world HR should be at the forefront of the drive towards engagement, helping line managers to recognise signs of something being amiss and taking preventative action. But even when people do leave, having a thorough exit interview can help to pinpoint and act on trouble spots.
Sickness records. When seasonal flu hits an organisation then it is time for policies to kick in which help to prevent its spread and ensure customer service is affected as little as possible. But outside of these times when those who previously had a good sickness record start to take odd days off, when departments start suffering with strange malaises then it can be a sign that the culture is awry. Take action against the individuals and you will further disengage them; take action to improve the culture and you strengthen engagement.
Overtime. In far too many instances HR views overtime records as merely an adjunct to pay; something which needs to be controlled and reduced. But look behind the statistics and there is a vast wealth of information which can point to action being required. Why is one department working overtime constantly whilst others go home on time; is that department overstretched in which case should resources or tasks be reallocated or is the leadership of the department lacking? Why does everyone in a department leave at the same time; is it because the leader is imposing a cut off on extra work or is their leadership such that employees are afraid to leave before the leader does? Are employees constantly logging vast numbers of excess hours and if so why and what is the long term effect on their health?
In summary the choice for HR when faced with metrics is simply this; you can file them away and ignore them or you can look for the story behind the statistics and use that story to create a proper happy ever after for employees and the organisation.
