Vijay Bankar

HR Professionals: The Seven Most Important Areas in 2026

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 01:47:00 +0000

It stands to reason that you have already prioritised your HR activities for the coming year. Obviously, no one can predict what may happen in the year ahead. This is especially the case given the unprecedented pace at which inventions and innovations are improving the HR tech landscape. The ‘alphabet soup’ is getting new ingredients with every product release from tech companies—case in point: AI, ML, DL, LLMs, GenAI, RPA, Agentic AI, MCP, and so on. This will obviously impact the recipe of our HR strategy for this year.

During the previous year, we have seen companies experimenting with AI pilot projects in several areas with varying degrees of success. Giving us immense insights into where we should and should not implement these new products. During 2025, we have also seen announcements from Google about adding AI agents to Google Workspace, and from Microsoft about adding agents to (Agent 365) Microsoft 365.

According to various HR tech analysts, we are moving towards integration. Essentially, determining the effective mix of human and machine intelligence. It offers an opportunity for HR professionals to rethink and improve our HR function, enabling us to become indispensable to the success of our company by moving from tactical support to strategic value creators. However, we hope that while implementing Agentic AI in the capacity of a Change Agent, HR professionals will not neglect their most important duty of being an Employee Champion.

We are considering seven important areas that will mainly impact various HR functional processes. Since the implementation of AI is now table stakes, the emphasis will shift towards redesigning work, leadership, and culture for an AI-based environment.

1. AI-First HR Model

The advent of artificial intelligence in general and GenAI and Agentic AI in particular has significant implications for organisations. We may have to reinvent our existing HR model for better efficiency and effectiveness, moving from administrative support to strategic value creation. While accommodating these new technologies, we have to think through various angles, such as our industry, products, culture, values, locations, etc., while achieving alignment with our organisational strategy. Also, streamline productization of our HR offerings, ensuring better and improved services to our stakeholders. Although consultancies are offering their impressive models, such as McKinsey, Gartner, etc. We could better devise a bespoke alternative to our unique situation. Dave Ulrich offers perspicacious and valuable perspectives on this point; see the link here.

One HR model (design or structure) does not fit all situations. The structure of the HR department should match the structure and strategy of the business. —Dave Ulrich

Various HR experts suggest developing 'Talent Orchestration Hubs' wherein AI-driven tools instantly match skills to projects and opportunities. It will provide the necessary impetus to address rigid hierarchies. We need to implement an 'AI-infused' structure, moving away from a transactional pecking order towards a transformative approach across the organization. It will also optimize the reallocation of resources, ensuring the structural evolution of the people function.

Various HR experts suggest several ways to steward this process, ultimately leading to the same objective. However, we have painted them with a broad brush below:

Evolved Centers of Expertise (CoE)

Monitor AI transformation across the organization, while ensuring strategic coherence and reducing risk.
Devise bespoke options, processes, and HR products for enhancing employee engagement and creating value for stakeholders.

AI-based Service Centres

Steward and improve AI systems to deliver services to employees and stakeholders.
Ensure sparing utilization of (human and machine) resources while delivering value for money.
Improve latency and scalability.

Augmented HR People Partners

Develop capabilities to leverage AI and deliver enhanced alternatives as strategic partners to leaders.
As talent value leaders, represent employee interest and enable human-centric transformation.

While businesses increasingly rely on AI tools, many leaders point to a lack of advanced technological solutions in people processes. Since these processes are not immutable, HR must modernize its anachronistic legacy systems. In doing so, HR should ensure clear ownership and defined service levels for new AI-based alternatives, leveraging the combined capabilities of humans and machines to enhance organizational efficiency.

In the days ahead, value creation will be achieved through the flawless integration of clean data, RPA, agents, and a human-centric, coherent system. Every day, employees are saving hours with the help of advanced AI copilots and agents. Appropriately utilizing this reclaimed time for capability development will be essential to value creation.

2. Redesigning Work

No organization is impervious to recent technological advancements. It has appreciable implications and impact on how work is performed. The workflows and processes are developed from the ground up for effective human and machine collaboration. However, instead of implementing any off-the-shelf tools, companies need to redesign the processes / workflow for AI-first implementation.

There is a veritable smorgasbord of options available these days for HR professionals to effectively organize work through automation. However, the actual concern is where we should and should not apply RPA or Gen AI + Agentic AI. Since it is a nascent technology, one can only advocate proceeding advisedly in that direction. There will be certain processes that will be better handled by human beings. However, the repetitive processes can be better managed through suitable alternatives such as RPA or Agentic AI.

To optimise human-machine collaboration, we can ensure strategic categorization as follows:

Automation - Automate repetitive tasks
Augmentation - Enhance human productivity with Copilot.
Redefinition - Optimise work for effective Human-AI collaboration

For redefinition, we need to consider work at the task level: who is doing what, how many times, and how each activity aligns with organizational objectives. Theoretically, for comprehensive analysis, we could consider 'job task analysis', mainly identifying daily tasks and requisite skills. However, to practically identify automation opportunities, 'Task intelligence' (aka 'Task mining') can provide valuable insights on the tasks suitable for automation versus human expertise.

To get a better and complete view, we can also consider skills data (available and essential). According to Dave Ulrich

"Doing worktask rather than workforce planning helps HR and business leaders focus on how to improve performance using AI. Ask: What work tasks can I now do better or faster using AI?"

3. Orchestrating Leadership for Transformation

Take any annual HR trends report from major consultancies and, unsurprisingly, you’ll find leadership listed as an important topic. This can largely be attributed—among other factors—to issues such as attrition and leadership transitions, which affect the development of leadership bench strength.

It has become a strategic necessity due to the unprecedented pace of change, not to mention its impact on organizational adaptability due to continuous and overlapping disruptions. Gartner suggests that in 2026, 'Your leaders must normalize — not just inspire — change.' They emphasise that leaders should help employees see change as a normal process while developing intuitive responses to new situations. Taking this approach helps organizations succeed while also ensuring employee wellbeing. It also enables the healthy implementation of change.

“Leaders are not born; they are grown,” as Peter Drucker observed. Developing leadership bench strength is always a pivotal mandate for HR professionals. No one can gainsay the fact that it is a sine qua non for successful strategy implementation. This is primarily due to the indispensable part leaders play in demonstrating and shaping culture, values, and norms, as well as in their day-to-day engagement using proven tactics to cultivate intuitive responses to change.

McKinsey suggests that, while developing leadership capabilities, we should not let technology lead our organisation. In this new era of work, we should prioritize investment in human capabilities. We need leaders to provide robust support showing empathy and genuine care for our employees, while also actuating them to enhance their productivity.

Does the organization have exceptional leaders, consistently across all levels, who inspire confidence, make smart decisions, and boldly steer the organization toward success? - Mckinsey

Mckinsey

To effectively steward this process, we can leverage AI coaching and develop the following leadership capabilities:

Coaching and mentoring

Training teams to manage bots - agents.
AI interaction to monitor and evaluate output.
Develop analytical thinking.

Creating a secure environment

Ensure stability in technological uncertainty.
Demonstrate empathy and genuine care.
Employee appreciation and recognition.

Strategic Nimbleness

Decentralization of decision-making.
Investing in data-based decisions.
Foster innovation and creativity.

Improved judgement

Clarify ambiguity and enhance sense-making.
Develop systems thinking and managing change.
Pattern recognition and contextual awareness.

Decisive initiative

Action orientation and shaping culture.
Assessment of employee potential.
Devise and implement development interventions.

4. Culture in the AI era.

Authenticity in culture is non-negotiable, according to McKinsey. An incontrovertibly authentic culture is pivotal from a strategic implementation perspective—especially when stewarding an AI-first transformation. According to Great Place to Work, the success of transformation depends less on technology and on how well organizations engage, support, and help their people. That is to say, while implementing advanced technologies such as AI, we must not neglect our people.

A people-first culture prioritizes employee wellbeing, development, and engagement, based on the belief that when employees thrive, the organization thrives. A vibrant, healthy culture boosts morale, drives productivity and performance, and ultimately improves the bottom line. Forward-thinking companies will integrate technological advancements in ways that reinforce a robust people-first culture. Consider this open-source approach —an innovative and new way of stewarding culture.

Over the coming years, it will become increasingly clear how AI is radically reshaping the way we work. To navigate this transformation effectively, organizations must foster healthy human connections—where employees feel cared for, nurtured, valued, recognized, and appreciated for meaningful work. To realize our company’s AI vision, HR professionals can conjecture future skills requirements, lead upskilling and reskilling initiatives, and cultivate a culture that galvanizes employees to be enthusiastic about AI.

A growth mindset, conveying that people can grow and improve with effort, good strategies, and good mentoring: We call this a “culture of development.” — CAROL DWECK

Developing culture is a perennial, evolving process. As an organization grows, leaders initially establish the culture and then continuously evolve it. Leaders must clearly demonstrate and exemplify cultural norms and values at every level of the organization.

Establishing a sustainable culture requires leaders to devise clear processes, mechanisms, and unequivocal guidelines that foster a healthy work environment. Robust cultures mold behaviors, mindsets, and beliefs, shape how people work, and influence workplace interactions.

Design onboarding and orientation processes that ensure cultural absorption of the company’s values and history through manuals, videos, and internal communication channels. Support this with mentorship initiatives, pairing seasoned employees with new hires to ensure integration. To reinforce culture, consistently recognize and celebrate desired behaviors and actions.

Because culture is an ongoing process, it requires periodic maintenance and fine-tuning. To take stock, organizations must assess the existing culture using a multi-pronged approach that blends quantitative data with qualitative insights—numbers with stories, data with anecdotes. According to Achievers, there are seven effective ways to measure culture: employee surveys, performance management tools, people analytics, exit interviews, behavior observation and recognition, focus groups, and organizational assessment systems.

5. Establishing Skills-Based infrastructure

Whether we are hiring or developing our people, skills have now become the currency of work, and skill-first talent management is gaining traction. The advent of technological advancements has magnified inconsistencies between the skills required and those possessed by the workforce. To address this mismatch, companies essentially have to hire or develop these skills. It is not uncommon for them to rely on structured internal mobility strategies to address the issue and even reduce hiring costs.

Certain vital positions in every organisation may still require hiring. As skills have become the new currency, LinkedIn suggests that "skills-first hiring isn't simply an industry trend; it's the new competitive advantage." By shifting attention to potential, this approach also democratizes access to jobs, expanding the talent pool to include individuals without formal degrees. While we cannot predict the jobs of the future, we do know the skills they will require. According to LinkedIn, 93% of talent acquisition professionals believe that improving the quality of hire requires greater accuracy in skills assessment. The good news is that AI can support this process by prioritizing skills in résumé screening, automating assessments, standardizing interviews, and reducing bias. Explore how LinkedIn is developing the agentic future of recruiting.

Vendors such as Darwinbox suggest implementing a “talent marketplace” to enable skill-first talent management, foster internal mobility, reduce hiring costs, and improve retention. Based on skills and talent data, it allows employees to move vertically, horizontally, or across functions by developing bespoke career paths for them. However, companies need to invest in AI-based tools, skills taxonomies, a culture of managerial support, and reskilling options geared toward employees.

Developing employees through upskilling and reskilling is an equally essential element of skill-first talent management. AI-based solutions address this need through bespoke content recommendations, AI coaching, and the ability to locate suitable mentors within the organization. However, it is incumbent upon HR professionals to develop and foster a learning culture ingrained in the flow of work.

Organizations can also provide the necessary tools, resources, and opportunities to develop core skills, as well as adjacent and complementary skills. Ultimately, the onus lies with employees to drive their growth. According to HiBob, companies can cultivate AI-first, skills-based learning to realize the potential of every employee, ultimately helping organizations adapt, thrive, and create a better future of work.

As discussed earlier, there is a discernible trend toward a shift from skills- to task-level insights. This granular approach emphasizes concrete, observable, and relatable tasks. AI-based task intelligence provides a continuously updated and validated view of skills and tasks across the organization, delivering a live feed through dashboards for leaders.

Some vendors are experimenting with a skills intelligence layer—a systemic approach that connects and unifies various HR technologies while concurrently ingesting and standardizing their skills data (and feeding the data back into those systems). Rather than replacing the existing tech stack, it enhances the stack with a unified skills language supported by an AI-driven skills layer.

A core competence represents the sum of learning across individual skill sets and individual organizational units. — HAMEL AND PRAHALAD

6. Total wellbeing - Health and Work-Life Balance.

Workforce wellbeing is no longer a ‘nice to have’; it is a core driver of business performance and competitive advantage, according to McKinsey. Now more than ever, total wellbeing is a strategic necessity, especially when leading an AI-first transformation. Drawing on the extensive discourse on this topic, it is clear that these developments have significant implications for our conscientious employees. These technological advancements demand constant change and adaptability, while also creating uncertainty—impacting employee health, wellbeing, productivity, absenteeism, engagement, morale, and work–life balance.

It stands to reason that a healthier workforce drives higher productivity. To navigate an increasingly uncertain environment and develop organisational resilience, companies must prioritise investment in employee health. This requires a holistic approach—supporting physical wellbeing, mindfulness, stress management, financial wellbeing, family wellbeing, spiritual wellbeing, and social wellbeing. McKinsey emphasises that employees with robust health consistently demonstrate superior performance, greater innovative behaviours, and improved work–life balance, with these benefits sustained over time.

To ensure our company stands the test of time, we must adumbrate a clear action plan. Yet, amid the proliferation of available options, important questions arise: Where do we start? Which interventions deliver the greatest impact? Which are the easiest to implement? To address these questions, McKinsey analyzed 115 evidence-based workplace interventions. Their rigorous, reductionist analysis offers perspicacious insights into the most effective interventions for improving organisational outcomes and employee health and wellbeing.

To improve multiple dimensions of health and enable employees to survive and thrive, McKinsey identified a set of proven, evidence-based interventions. These interventions:

Reinvigorate basic enablers such as coworker support, adaptability, job autonomy, and visible leadership commitment.
Integrate support into the flow of work, increasing participation and ensuring sustained impact beyond initial implementation.
Are accessible and scalable when there is limited dependence on specialist expertise, thereby supporting widespread acceptance and sustained outcomes.
Deliver compounding benefits by melding physical and social elements, improving coworker connections, promoting physical activity, and enhancing physical and spiritual health.
Analyse outcomes for employees and the organisation, enhancing credibility and leadership support through demonstrable, sustainable impact.

People are happy when you give them what they ask for. People are delighted when you anticipate what they didn't think to ask for. It's proof that they're wholly visible to you as people, not just as workers from whom you're trying to squeeze productivity. — LASZLO BOCK

Employers increasingly recognise the importance of wellbeing initiatives and prefer to invest with precision and scale. However, success depends on designing a compelling employee experience informed by design thinking. This includes offering benefit alternatives that enable employees to choose options—or bespoke benefits—based on their individual needs and preferences. Achieving this requires a disciplined focus on outcomes, prioritising areas of maximum impact, and developing initiatives that integrate seamlessly into the flow of work.

In this new wave of AI transformation, we are moving from generative AI toward agentic AI—where intelligent agents can:

Identify individual needs
Provide bespoke, context-aware support
Manage tasks around multiple systems
Deliver timely nudges and prompts
Coach and guide employees and managers
Support everyday decisions to improve wellbeing
Continuously learn from feedback to enhance support over time

[HR Professionals, please read]

Dave Ulrich once said that the cobbler’s children should not go unshod. Read his blog on this topic.

7. People Analytics and Agentic AI

Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured gets managed.” Software and apps of every description now inherently provide analytics capabilities, with dashboards ingrained with graphs and charts. People analytics, once considered a luxury, is now evolving into a necessity for delivering perspicacious insights. AIHR suggests analytics software and tools to support our people analytics team.

Earlier analytics tools (e.g., SQL) required meticulous queries and knowledge of data science, and mathematics. The advent of Generative AI has culminated in the democratization of data science in general, and people analytics in particular. With simple and intuitive interfaces and a shallow learning curve, Generative AI allows access to valuable insights through asking the right prompts. Instead of waiting days, employees can instantly obtain perspicuous explanations along with actionable recommendations that even a layperson can understand.

As James Thurber said, “It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” This insight has become an indispensable capability, paving the way for the emergence of the Prompt Engineer position. To effectively harness the actual potential of Generative AI for deriving accurate and meticulous insights, one must ask the right prompts. Providentially, well-crafted prompts can now be generated with the help of Generative AI itself.

The AI today is now able to show you the data and prompt you the next question, because the purpose of analytics is not to answer questions, it’s to get people to ask better questions. — PAUL RUBENSTEIN

HR professionals are striving to develop an analytics culture predicated on a data-based HR function. As data can now be accessed easily from anywhere, it saves time, effort, and valuable resources. However, obtaining clean and reliable people data remains a major concern for improving accuracy and analysis. Creating such a culture within the people team is an evolving process that requires continuous effort and fine-tuning to normalize evidence-based decision-making at all levels.

Nevertheless, it helps us better understand our most valuable asset—our people. In pursuit of this objective, we can implement various tools, including interactive dashboards, trend analysis, and predictive modeling. AIHR suggests five dashboard software tools to equip our team. Despite the plethora of HR tech applications, the need for upskilling remains a constant concern—particularly in data interpretation, analytical thinking, and change management. This presents an opportunity for HR professionals to support business leaders in achieving their objectives by simplifying complex and irreplaceable human elements such as creativity, empathy, and human judgment.

Developing an impressive data-based HR function indubitably requires compliance with the laws of the land. Countries are increasingly legislating to secure data privileges for their citizens, particularly through recent regulations related to AI, algorithms, explainability, pay transparency, data privacy, and data protection. HR must strive to foster ethical AI through reducing algorithmic bias and ensuring compliance with these evolving requirements, while establishing clear data governance and visibility through integrated systems. Typically, vendors secure sensitive data through protections such as RBAC combined with rules-based access. This ensures that employees can access only the information pertinent to their position and authority.

The most important question now is: which direction are we moving in—particularly with respect to the future of work, analytics, and agent-driven insights? Many progressive vendors are developing capabilities such as multi-agent orchestration, leveraging the Model Context Protocol. This approach improves the quality of agent-driven insights by delivering comprehensive analysis—not only what is explicitly asked—consequently reducing unnecessary prompt-and-response exchanges. It works like a human data science professional at your beck and call, perspicuously expatiating the complete analysis with the depth and judgment of an experienced analyst. This represents the culmination of agentic systems—those that anticipate, reason, and amplify human intelligence.

Conclusion

Despite the significant hype surrounding AI transformation, much ink has been spilt on this subject, and the jury is still out. Since it's a nascent technology, one can only advocate proceeding advisedly in that direction. While pursuing sublime AI-first talent management, we should place less emphasis on technology itself and instead generously invest in cultivating human capabilities. That is to say, invent empathetic processes that foster a caring organizational culture. Leaders will disseminate verve and enthusiasm among employees through empathy and genuine care, while also enhancing their productivity.

It will stand us in good stead to strike the right balance between human and machine intelligence while pursuing AI-based transformation. While holding brief for employees as an employee champion, HR ensures their betterment, development, and growth through targeted interventions. Concurrently, galvanizing them to achieve organizational objectives through enhanced productivity. This approach positions HR to become indispensable to the organization, transitioning from a provider of tactical support to a creator of strategic value. It is incumbent upon HR professionals to rise to the occasion and provide the necessary impetus to ensure effective implementation—at which point, the world genuinely becomes their oyster.

One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of ONE extraordinary man. — ELBERT HUBBARD

Talent optimization through the talent marketplace

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 03:45:00 +0000

According to Gartner research, the most significant emerging HR technologies for 2023 are skills management (51%), learning experience platforms (41%), and internal talent marketplaces (32%). Skills-based HR initiatives seem to be the bellwether, and cognoscenti suggest that the talent marketplace fits the bill to jump on the bandwagon. As per Gloat's report, essentially, it's a gateway to skills-based strategies to thread the needle between skills and opportunities. A Gartner report prognosticates that by 2025, 30% of large companies will implement a talent marketplace for optimizing talent.

Implementing a talent marketplace offers a convenient option for companies of consequential size working from numerous locations to proffer internal opportunities (gigs, projects, assignments, etc.) to their employees. Concurrently it also facilitates employees to reskill and upskill themselves to stay ahead of the curve with felicitous mentoring and career pathways through the talent marketplace. It offers better agency choices to employees and prevails upon them to follow a bespoke career path devised by AI recommendation. And offer numerous skills-based options compared to the traditional ladder-type progression based on the pecking order within the company.

This concept came down the pike around 2017-2018, first materializing in the 2018 Gartner hype curve for Human Capital Management Software. According to experts, in the formative period, few start-ups were experimenting with a minimum viable product, MVP, a concept from the scrum. It was a product with abecedarian features, markedly improved with feedback. The collective development of this project took place under the aegis of forward-thinking companies like Unilever, Schneider, and others. Subsequently, it led towards scaling up in various stages culminating in metamorphosing into the talent marketplace. Please note that this concept burgeoned amid the circumstances in the preceding three years. Since it worked well during the testing times, HR Tech analysts expect it to flourish in the days ahead.

The leading HR Tech analyst Josh Bersin opines in his succinctly well-wrought article during May 2023 that the talent marketplace segment is around $300-400 million in size and is growing at 5-times the rate. He further elaborates that even ServiceNow is launching Employee Growth and Development (EGD), a new offering in this segment. The following table enumerates purveyors and their products according to the '2023 Gartner - Market Guide for internal talent marketplaces.' (Link to Reviews and Ratings)

Vendor	Product Name
365Talents	365Talents
Beamery	Talent Marketplace
Ceridian	Ideal Talent Marketplace
Cornerstone	Cornerstone Talent Experience Platform
Degreed	Degreed LXP+
Eightfold	Eightfold Talent Management
Fuel50	AI Talent Marketplace
Gloat	Gloat
Jitjatjo	Network by Jitjatjo
Neobrain	Talent Marketplace
Oracle	Oracle Talent Management
Phenom	Phenom Employee Experience
ProFinda	Opportunity Marketplace
Reejig	Reejig
SAP	SAP SuccessFactors Opportunity Marketplace
SeekOut	SeekOut Grow
Whoz	Whoz Talent Cloud
Workday	Workday Talent Optimization

Gartner's report spells out vendor product offerings differentiation based on their skills taxonomy, AI capabilities, internal & external data sources, and user experience. According to their recommendation, companies that intend to implement a talent marketplace may prefer to compare vendors based on these parameters.

According to the Gloat report, usually, it takes well-nigh 13-15 weeks for implementation. Implementing a talent marketplace can be one of the first steps toward embracing a skills-based approach. To get our ducks in a row, we can develop a scrum team of various stakeholders to strengthen our implementation. We must form this team before the selection of the vendors. The team could include process leaders, change leaders, business leaders, IT experts, and COE leaders. Getting stakeholders' buy-in and commitment and involving them before commencement is crucial for collaboratively achieving our objectives.

"Be sure to involve people who will be engaged in implementing change initiatives and whose acceptance is necessary for ensuring a successful change effort."

— K S Cameron

There are numerous use cases for value creation through the talent marketplace. Similar to a multitool that we can repurpose according to our specific requirements. Essentially every company is different, e.g., industries, businesses, geographies, workforce demographics, etc. Hence their requirements differ considerably, including value-creating initiatives, e.g., attrition, reskilling, upskilling, or creating compelling employee experience. Nevertheless, it is essential to identify our three chief value-creating initiatives. Especially those initiatives that easily benefit most from our implementation to bring home the bacon. Concurrently we must select the pockets within our company for the pilot, for example, HR and a few high-value departments. Then we can develop our assiduously crafted implementation strategy.

Fortuitously, we do not need to figure out our internal skills data or job architecture to put a stake in the ground. We need to let the system work for us. Providentially these systems create prodigious data in the process. They also map pertinent skills to roles and update them instantaneously. It automatically imports existing employee data, e.g., job title, function, and level, from our HR system. Simultaneously it can parse employee data from resumes or LinkedIn profile uploads. Also, employees can manually add or emend data to correctly manifest their capabilities and skills.

We do not need to have skills taxonomy to launch our talent marketplace. According to HR Tech analysts, we can develop our core skills taxonomy. They further assert that there isn't any need to be too detailed about it. We can utilize the inferred data. The vendor's report suggests that the systems augment and fill the lacuna in our data. Invariably they are championed by AI with self-evolving skills data. It allows us to define and measure connections between employees, jobs, and skills. Unlike manual processes, they instantaneously identify and ingest fresh data. It also obviate our worries about configuration, updates, or cleansing activities.

However, Josh Bersin suggests that skills taxonomy is a tad convoluted matter. According to his recent article, there are off-the-shelf taxonomies available. However, developing our skill taxonomy may not be a viable option because it is time-consuming. Alternatively, he suggests to start with identifying problem areas and then developing part of the taxonomy. And develop suitable procedures for governance and design and ascertain the tools that work well for us. In his recent podcast, he provides a heads-up about vendors' proclivity about touting the implementation as an easy process. As stated by Louis Gerstner, "Often a root cause of inadequate competitive analysis is asking the innkeeper how good the inn is." It is better to proceed advisedly with proper deliberations with HR Tech analysts.

Leadership support goes a long way to underpin our implementation. They can effectively communicate 'why' does the company investing in the talent marketplace and 'what' is expected from employees. As suggested by Cameron & Robert, when people know why the change is necessary, most of their resistance subsides. Indubitably the enabling culture would provide the necessary tailwind for effectual implementation. And successfully address the momentous concern expressed by mavens about talent sharing by line leaders. Eloquent leadership communication plays a vital role in setting expectations. It must edify line leaders about the benefits and incentives of internal mobility. Concurrently we should encourage our inquiring employees to intrepidly express their interest in new opportunities without worrying about ramifications from their managers.

We can identify key result areas for effective implementation as part of our streamlining efforts. We need to identify areas of improvement while monitoring our progress. And immediately address those areas with corrective actions. We should assiduously scale up the system throughout the company with diligent teamwork. At the same time, we must celebrate our quick wins to develop momentum. With indefatigable efforts, we ought to disseminate every success story to coax our employees and line managers to give it a whirl.

Benefits:

Implementing a talent marketplace improves our efficiency and also enhances our employee experience. Essentially it is a win-win solution that addresses mutually beneficial concerns for employers and employees. It also serves as a skills insight and information engine.

While developing a nimble workforce, we can portray it as a robust employee value proposition of the employment brand. It can help us to attract scarce talent and passive candidates by alluring them with a glimpse of numerous jobs and opportunities in addition to the position they are applying for in our company.

To effectively face the testing times talent marketplace provides on-demand access to qualified talent we can deploy instantaneously for gigs, projects, and assignments. It will pave the way to facilitate meticulous workforce planning and succession management. We can deftly track the demand and supply of requisite validated skills. And figure out the lacuna in existing skills and then initiate our buy vs. develop approach based on the analysis.

It is a remarkable tool for engaging our employees and retaining them. Especially by offering them development assignments with befitting on-the-job learning opportunities. Mainly through learning recommendations, including projects, micro-learning content, macro-learning courses, credentials, etc. The bespoke recommendations can help employees gain perspicacious insights about available career paths beyond their team, department, or unit. These insights recommendations consider employee skills, adjacent skills, interests, and preferences. To improve their employability, employees can enhance their attainments with upskilling and reskilling through bespoke recommendations in the flow of work.

An appreciable benefit of implementing a talent marketplace is fostering a culture of inclusion and parity. We can get bias-free and AI-driven talent insights to create a proper mix of employees. We can assuage the otherwise prevalent bias and discrimination with inclusive hiring practices and equal access to training & development opportunities as part of our DEIB initiatives.

Conclusion:

As suggested by various HR Tech experts, successfully implementing talent marketplace platforms will incontestably improve skills-based talent management. As highly intelligent platforms, they capitalize on complex AI-matching algorithms to connect employees to opportunities and democratize mobility and access to development prospects. Employees receive bespoke recommendations as per their unique skills, experiences, and aspirations. Internal talent marketplaces offer numerous opportunities, e.g., gigs, projects, assignments, reskilling, upskilling, mentoring, and even full-time roles. Remarkable insights gained in the process become the cornerstone of developing a talent strategy to achieve the goals and objectives of our business while fostering a culture of inclusion. It also facilitates the development of sturdy workforce planning and succession management to improve our overall efficiency and talent optimization. The benefits of implementation for employees and companies cover a vast array of talent management across the organization. We can conclude with the following quote:

"In a world where it’s harder than ever to find external candidates, the marketplace becomes essential. I firmly believe that an internal talent marketplace is becoming one of the most important systems that should exist in a business."

— Josh Bersin

Fostering the Right Organizational Culture.

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Sat, 17 Jun 2023 03:35:00 +0000

"whatever success we have had in maintaining our culture has been instrumental in Intel's success in surviving strategic inflection points."

— Andrew Grove

In an earlier blog article, we could not focus enough on the importance of culture and its impact on business. As stated earlier about the reinforcing loop, implementing employee listening strategy, and developing appropriate culture. If we have a suitable culture, it will facilitate the effective implementation of our employee listening strategy. Here we will focus on effectively defining and then creating the right culture. The right culture is an indispensable prerequisite for successfully implementing our organizational strategy. Hence it is essential to change our hidebound culture consonant with the developments in the external environment. It is not immutable, albeit we can create bespoke culture according to our strategic requirements. First, let us look at how Gartner defines organizational culture.

"Organizational culture stems directly from the values shared by the organization. It is the unwritten code of conduct made up of core values, cherished beliefs, and priorities. Organizational culture comprises:

Methods of decision making
Operating styles
Organizational philosophy
Organizational structure
Employee motivation and loyalty
Internal communication patterns"

We must create a salubrious environment for effectively implementing our employee listening strategy. Wherein employees can feel galvanized and freely express and receive open and upright feedback. We need open, employee-centric, egalitarian, and inclusive culture. Wherein encouraged employees will feel valued and wittingly express their opinions and ideas. Specifically to welcome open communication and embolden unequivocal and straightforward feedback. Limpid communication is a prerequisite for bringing about a secure and welcoming atmosphere. While enhancing empathy for employees, we also need accountability to hold the teams and individuals accountable for their actions.

We will mainly refer to 'Reinventing the Organization' - a meaty and improving book by Dave Ulrich. One of his magnum opus, in which he expounds that every organization has a unique culture. He states that it is not easy to define the right culture. He delineates three steps for successfully using culture as a governance tool. The first step involves describing the right culture. The second step is learning to think about culture as a governance tool and use it. And the third step is to apply specific tools for creating the right culture.

Define the right culture.

Ulrich states that the crucial part is defining the right culture. The right culture reflects in the processes within organizations and commands employee actions. He exemplifies that many portray culture as the roots of trees. However, he expresses his disapprobation and suggests that the 'roots' strengthen the past and offer a fixed view of culture. He opines that culture should be construed as the leaves of the tree, taking energy from the sun and flourishing into the future. It is essential to note the accentuation and focus on the future mainly to succeed in the marketplace. He clarifies the four concepts to define the right culture: Purpose, Values, Brand, and Culture.

These four concepts establish the process. We can describe the right culture predicating on these four concepts. Delineating the right culture establishes expectations leading to instituting processes and actions that impact organizational performance and employee wellbeing. The process goes beyond the general set of values and tailored customer promises. Although Ulrich postulates it for a 'market-oriented ecosystem' we will try to harness it to create an enabling culture for implementing an effective employee listening strategy.

Purpose:

It represents an aim for various possibilities from the cultural context. Invariably expressed in a tagline, it includes an expected vision of what we want to achieve. Ideally, it accompanies the mission statement. It delineates our focus, goals, and objectives with approximate timelines for achieving them. It creates an impressive & futuristic image that inspires people and shows the path. He illustrates that with Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.

There cannot be a better example than Johnson & Johnson's credo for elucidation of 'purpose.' We can regard it as the ideal or exemplary embodiment of the right culture. It champions an inclusive work atmosphere where everyone is considered a distinct individual. It also emphasizes that employees must have a sense of purpose in their jobs. Other than the employee's health and wellbeing, it highlights that they 'must feel free to make suggestions and complaints.' Further, it underscores that employee 'actions must be just and ethical.'

Values:

He states that values represent core beliefs. It amounts to what the organization stands for. And how employees go about doing their work. From the analogy of a tree, values are the roots. As stated in the value statement, they are creations of the founder. Essentially values survive and stand the test of time. They govern acceptable employee behaviors and are usually consistent and generic across the organization. The examples include probity, integrity, excellence, accountability, service, and passion. At Tencent, the core values are integrity, proactive, collaboration, and innovation.

To accentuate the 'values' part of our values statement, we must include suitable values such as transparency, openness, empathy, accountability, and inclusivity.

Brand:

"What's the best way to build a brand for the long term? In a word: culture," says Tony Hsieh, Zappos. The above quote highlights the importance of culture for developing an effective brand. Hsieh further says that culture and a company brand are actually just two sides of the same coin. Invariably a brand represents what the organization is known for in the marketplace. Including customer promises about specific products. It also impacts how organizations handle customer interactions.

According to E. Lawler, every organization develops its brand. There is no formula to indicate the right way. Our 'brand' should be known in the marketplace for open communication. As they say, better employee experience leads to exceptional customer experience. Our brand must reinforce our employee and customer interactions.

Culture:

Ulrich suggests, "This idea refers to the image of the firm in the mind of our key customers made real to employees." Such delineation is essential for connecting the culture to the marketplace. It also moves the focus from internal value to external customer-value. Considering it from this perspective ensures the organization's brand and customer promises drive internal actions. This outside-in view of culture refers to employees gathering the key customers' perceptions of the organization's image.

Essentially we need an open (concurrently) employee-centric, egalitarian, and inclusive culture while taking the outside-in approach to the culture. The culture emphasizing empathy, transparency, open communication, and accountability.

Comparison:

In comparison, Schein defines organizational culture in three levels: artifacts, espoused values, and underlying assumptions. The artifacts are visible. They are easily observable, e.g., dress codes, office layouts, furniture, etc. The espoused values determine the rules of behaviours. Essentially how employees represent the organization to themselves and others and the reasons for employee behaviors. The underlying assumptions are usually entrenched deeply and comprise unconscious behaviours. It determines how employees perceive, thinks, & feel and epitomize the essence of culture. They are also the fountainhead of values and actions within an organization. Given the recency, the Ulrich approach seems sound. It also appears to be driven by the marketplace due to its outside-in perspective. And it considers purpose and brand as the sine qua non of defining the right culture.

Ulrich avers that the right culture becomes the governance mechanism for shaping people's thinking and behaviors. Culture has many facets due to the labyrinthine human thought and behaviour. He suggests grouping them into three broad categories of culture. The culture takes place on these three levels.

First, stories and other organizational customs: include symbols, rituals, stories, and other events. We behold these cultural artifacts because they are most visible. We must create and disseminate stories and ingrain germane rituals to reinforce our culture.

Second, internally defined criteria: is a subtle and pivotal part of our culture. It determines how people think, behave, feel, and act. It reflects values, norms, and unwritten rules. Essentially 'how we do things in our company.' We must explicitly define the material considerations of our culture. Also, help people to learn them by creating appropriate feedback channels.

And the third, external reputation: refers to our external image as perceived by our customers. Everyone must think, act, and feel congruous to the expected culture for its ostensible manifestation. Our culture comes about in every customer interaction and is our ginormous brand carrier.

In line with our external image and promises, we must balance our internal values and behaviors to develop the right culture. Our external customers and internal employees should share a similar mindset about what we want to be known for. When external expectations entrench employee behaviors and organizational actions, it will pave the way for the right culture to have the expected business impact. With the right culture, we can shape employee preferences and behaviors in our organization. We can traverse internal values and our external brand. And turn the purpose, mission, vision, or strategy into concrete actions.

Create the right culture.

Robust tools and effective rituals are the prerequisites for creating the right culture. Ulrich suggests following 'process tools' and 'rituals.'

Process tools.

If we have the right culture, our employees will feel, think, and act in line with the promises made to external stakeholders. The process tools help us to create the right culture with an outside-in perspective.

First, we must define and propagate our principles to translate culture into employee behaviors. (Check out the following image) These principles will lead to employee thinking, decisions, and behaviors. To establish our culture, we must meticulously articulate ways to bolster these employee behaviors.

It is incumbent upon our leaders to exemplify the requisite behaviours and lead by example. The most conspicuous elements include their business decisions, time allocation, and people decisions. Leaders contribute significantly to culture development through numerous communication forms and business & people decisions. We can foster the right culture by devising appropriate processes, e.g., staffing, training, performance management, rewards and recognition, organization structure, work design, proxemics, and leadership development. Through these processes, leaders can stimulate employee actions.

Throughout the organization, we should select, develop and consider the preferment of the leaders who effectively demonstrate the right culture. Leaders are culture carriers who exemplify and reinforce it within and outside the organization. Like peerless raconteurs, they tell the stories and enshrine the rituals that epitomize the right culture. They also stimulate behaviors that demonstrate the culture in pragmatic ways. Especially the way everyone treats each other within and outside the company.

Practices or Rituals.

According to Ulrich, we should select and implement the effectual rituals depending on our leadership capabilities. Preferably we expect every leader to be an eloquent orator. They can choose a suitable channel according to their preference. For example, some prefer interactive webinars, podcasts, or town halls. Others may consider letters or emails to highlight the pros and cons of behaviors we expect from employees. Developing the right culture requires a solicitous approach in deliberately using rituals suitable to leaders and the organization. They can organize what they can do hourly, daily, weekly, or long-term to reinforce the right culture. We are considering following remarkable rituals as suggested by Ulrich. However, there could be numerous other approaches depending on our requirements.

Storytelling:

Our leaders can use missives, emails, or share images redolent of expected behaviours and actions. From the cultural context, the language and words (including demotic expressions) may have specific meanings unique to every organization. We may highlight the importance of open and honest feedback for creating a suitable environment. As stated by Thomas Peters, in comparison with data, stories largely influence us. He further avers that successful companies are replete with numerous rich networks of legends and parables. Stories can help us to convey sacrosanct values, create a shared mindset, and actuate and inspire employees. Epitomizing our vision, purpose, brand, and values storytelling can effectively facilitate the development of the right culture.

Use of time:

Leaders' time allocation signifies their prime concerns. Leaders at every level across the organization should schedule their time to create an open and inclusive culture. It conveys what matters the most and how we do things in our organization.

Naming of facilities:

Our naming of a section, room, or other structure essentially highlights who and what gets acclaim within our company. Companies often name their boardrooms after scientists, historical leaders, or figures with spiritual significance. The following examples may suit our context: Transparency Terrace, Insight Exchange, Collaborative Commons, Feedback Retreat, Engage Enclave, Ideas Junction, and Authentic Arena.

Physical setting of offices:

How we arrange our office layouts speaks volumes about our values, transparency, equality, and collaboration. To develop the right culture, we should create an environment where senior leaders share office space with employees in an open space. Mavens advise being cautious and steering clear of private offices or corner offices. We should demonstrate an open-door policy and ensure inclusive accessibility. Numerous organizations also arrange furniture and colour schemes in line with their brand.

Frugality:

As they say, money saved is money earned. This ritual is the provenance of innovation and creativity in many companies. Where resourceful and thrifty employees are encouraged to invent alternative approaches for effectively managing within allocated resources.

Setting high standards:

When it comes to quality, certain companies incontrovertibly express their approbation for high standards. It would apply to products and services. However, we can interpret it as adhering to the highest ethical standards for managing our employees.

Taking the long view:

Seemingly considering a longer-period perspective would facilitate wiser decision-making instead of focusing on quarterly results. It would help us to create a culture of ownership. Wherein people act for the longer-period health of the company. At Google, such an approach helps to get rid of bad ideas.

Daily meetings:

To effectively manage their day-to-day activities, this ritual may work well for teams. Every team may consider holding daily team meetings in the morning. They can discuss daily decisions during the day and earlier decisions and their results. Team members can learn together while creating a culture of transparency and accountability. It would also encourage meaningful feedback in the process of collective decision-making.

Conclusion:

An article may be insufficient to cover such a stupendous topic in depth. Be that as it may, we can foster the right culture for effectively implementing our employee listening strategy. The crucial part of the process is to adumbrate the right culture. The four concepts expatiated by Ulrich, e.g., purpose, values, brand, and culture, can facilitate the process of defining the culture. The right culture can give purpose and meaning to our employees and govern & shape the way they think, feel, behave, and act. Providentially the process tools can help us to create the sublime culture. Leading by example, our leaders should exemplify the requisite behaviours through business decisions, use of time, and people decisions. We have to devise appropriate processes to corroborate the right culture. Subsequently, we need to select, develop and consider the advancement of the employees propagating our culture.

Congruous to our leadership capabilities, we must select and implement effective rituals to develop the right culture. With certitude we can state that having the right culture in place will incontrovertibly facilitate the creation of a salutary environment, enabling uninhibited employee communications. Culminating in facilitating effective implementation of our employee listening strategy. We can sum up with the following quote:

"Without exception, the dominance and coherence of culture proved to be an essential quality of the excellent companies. Moreover, the stronger the culture and the more it was directed towards the marketplace, the less need was there for policy manuals, organization charts, or detailed procedures and rules."

— Thomas Peters

Improving Employee Engagement with FACTS

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Mon, 01 May 2023 03:35:00 +0000

"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."

— Hubert Humphrey 😃😃

Jokes apart, continuous employee listening is gaining momentum due to the developments in the preceding three years. It is also an integral part of the people analytics function. We implement it for devising compelling employee experience. Like other initiatives, we took a leaf out of the marketing book and initiated a continuous employee listening strategy to enhance the employee engagement. The direct upshot of continuously receiving employee feedback is gaining instantaneous actionable insights to improve employee experience and engagement. While also facilitating lower turnover and enhancing productivity and performance. According to a Bain & Company survey, 80% of organizations are optimistic about utilizing employee engagement systems in 2023.

Active listening and passive listening are the rudimentary components of continuous employee listening. (Bersin's luciferous report is the fountainhead of the following options deployed to glean employee perspectives.)

Active listening involves soliciting employee feedback via annual and pulse surveys, polls, idea factories, online conversations, crowd-sourced feedback, focus groups, etc. [Vendors: Microsoft Viva + Glint, Medallia, Qualtrics, Workday - Peakon, CultureAmp, UKG, Gallup, etc.]

Passive listening includes interrogating employee data from analysis of social channels, videos, speech, HRIS, case and knowledge management (ESS), applicant tracking systems (ATS), other point solutions, email metadata, communication tools, call, chat, and chatbot transcripts, Performance reviews, 360 feedback, ONA, etc. [ Purveyors: Perceptyx - Cultivate, Visier, Motive, BetterUp, etc. ]

We can now track employee sentiment, activity, and productivity data. According to RJ Milnor, Head of People Analytics at Uber (Digital HR Leaders Podcast), when we meld sentiment from the active approach with data collected by passive listening. The insights we gain are materially interesting. It provides us with a holistic perspectives of our workforce and suggests correct interventions and recommendations. You may check out the remarkable Maturity model for employee listening. It involves four steps moving from 'episodic listeners' to 'topical listeners' to 'strategic listeners' to 'continuous conversationalists.'

For devising and implementing an effective employee listening strategy, we suggest applying five essential elements of FACTS, namely Fusion, Action, Culture, Technology, and Streamline. When it comes to improving employee engagement, facts-based decision-making essentially supplants speculation and conjecture. Let us look at each element.

Fusion

Mainly fusion implies effective integration pertaining to strategy, stakeholders, and ownership. It goes without saying that our HR initiatives must align with our organization's strategic requirements. We must consider our HR and overall organizational strategy for devising our continuous employee listening initiative. It is par for the course with many to implement off-the-shelf tools. However, it is better to eschew such an approach. Our organizational strategy can become the cornerstone of our people-HR strategy. From our HR strategy, we can design our listening process. Alignment with our business goals will pave the way for gathering pertinent feedback and data to implement improvements for achieving those goals.

L. Stevens, Vice President of Global Strategy, Analytics, and Employee Experience at DSM - (Digital HR Leaders Podcast), expounds that our listening efforts must have a direct line of sight to our strategic goals. She further asserts that instead of developing predefined surveys, they confer with business leaders and understand the overall company transformation strategy. She thinks it is the exciting part of the employee listening strategy. They identify the requisite behaviours and then decide better ways to measure them.

The success of our employee listening strategy is anchored in securing buy-in and support from stakeholders within the company. Hence it is essential to identify the vital stakeholders early in the process and onboard them before commencement. The valuable stakeholders may include professional leaders from business, IT, legal, line management, corporate communications, and marketing.

Usually, the employee experience team, people analytics team, or operations team within the HR function own the employee listening process. Since everyone is providing their input, mavens think everyone in the organization should own this process for the utmost effectiveness. It will facilitate the process of taking prompt action while addressing the deliverables. And enhance overall employee engagement across the company.

Action

Taking action on the deliverables on completion of the survey is by no means a nondescript component. In fact, it is irrefutably a matter of utmost moment in the entire continuous employee listening process. The Achievers report asseverates that 90% of employees expressed their countenance for staying at the company that proactively takes action on their feedback. The rationale behind the employee listening strategy is to decipher employee feedback and take meaningful action to improve employee experience, engagement, productivity, morale, and performance.

However, according to Bersin's report, only 42% of companies promptly take action on employee feedback. It further avers that companies need to create numerous response teams to act on gleaned insights. It also suggests assigning responsibilities in advance based on the nature of feedback and forwarding it to the concerned team, e.g., IT, legal, HR, finance, and line management. These team members should promptly receive the insights and successfully tackle the issues immediately. The report highlights that continuously engaging and responding to employees becomes the apogee of creating an effective workforce.

We can classify actions on deliverables based on their nature. So we can tackle them on numerous levels, e.g., Organizational, Functional, Managerial, and Individual. One has to be circumspect while managing organizational deliverables because of the involvement of various stakeholders and COE and the need for careful deliberations. We can apply the same tactic to functional deliverables. The managerial deliverables may require appropriate training and cautious interlocution with HR (COE). And equip the line leaders to tackle the issues successfully. Continuous employee listening entails establishing a mechanism to immediately forward individual concerns (deliverables) to service center, line managers, or HR representatives. They are authorized and equipped to tackle the issue successfully.

The importance of employee communication is incontestable in the process of employee listening. Seemingly the success of the constant listening strategy is inextricably linked to transparency and effective communication with our employees. We must ensure that our employees are well up on the latest developments. We must ceremoniously acknowledge their feedback and expatiate the actions taken or not taken in the process. Also, ensure that the actions taken on the areas of improvement are actually leading towards enhancing the employee experience and engagement. We can sum up this point with a quote from Josh Bersin,

"The bottom line is simple: We need to collect employee opinions in many ways, and we have to quickly funnel these to people who can interpret the data appropriately and then take action on the issues identified."

Culture

According to Mr. Schein, culture is invariably a work in progress and evolving. Successfully implementing an employee hearkening strategy leads to developing an open, employee-centric, and inclusive culture. In contrast, if we have an open, employee-centric, and inclusive culture. We can effectively implement our employee listening strategy. Come to think of it, its a reinforcing loop. Here we focus on culture as an essential element for implementing an effective employee listening strategy. So we will concentrate on having specific cultural components to facilitate our implementation.

In his improving book Reinventing the Organization, Dave Ulrich says, "A subtler part of culture is how people in an organization think, behave, and feel, according to internally defined criteria. Culture shows up in people’s values, norms, and unwritten rules and their responses to how things are done in a company." We expect our leadership to exemplify specific values and behaviours and set the norms. Specifically to welcome open communication and provide impetus to unequivocal and straightforward feedback. It would pave the way for employee to follow their lead. And evince the expected behaviour in the process to develop an appropriate culture.

"In fact, management doesn’t change culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture." — Louis V. Gerstner

To foster a culture that facilitates the effectual implementation of an employee listening strategy, we must ensure transparency in communication. While encouraging empathy for employees, we must monitor their actions and hold the teams and individuals accountable. To devise a culture of persistent improvement, we must foster inclusion as part of our DEIB efforts. We can create a secure and welcoming atmosphere by promulgating these values, norms, and behaviors. Encouraged employees will feel valued and freely express their opinions and ideas. Ultimately leading to enhancing employee engagement and productivity. An entire article may be insufficient to underscore the importance of culture for employee listening. And how it impacts employee experience, productivity, and engagement, not to mention the significance of smooth and effective implementation of our organization's strategy.

Technology

HR Tech analysts think that the demand for employee listening tools will increase. Numerous organizations are utilizing multiple channels for employee listening, including active and passive listening options. Given the pace of innovation in this field, vendors are innovating steadily. And HR professionals are trying to stay up-to-date with neoteric tools and technologies. Effective continuous employee listening strategy implementation inordinately depends upon the soundness of the tools utilized in this process.

We may require numerous tools depending on our needs and employee listening strategy. Invariably our HCM and HRIS systems come with basic inbuilt employee listening capabilities. However, the point solutions offer the latest features. HR Tech analysts can enwisen us to select apposite survey platforms, pulse survey tools, and analytics software. Essentially improving and streamlining the data collection process. (especially requisite features, e.g., instantaneous analysis and dashboards, survey options, ready-made reports, bespoke reports, compatibility with existing HCM, analytics tools, external standards comparison, RPA options, nudges, mobile optimization, audio & video support, data management options, regulatory compliance, data protection, algorithm explainability, data export options, API integrations, identifying vendors providing white glove service and better after-sales support, our specific focus on analyzing DEIB, wellbeing etc.)

Bersin's report emphasizes the need for instrumentation, action tools, and information transmission systems to disseminate insights to the right place at the right time. These systems must be simple and user-friendly. Employee can effortlessly provide feedback in the flow of work without spending time learning new tools. The report further suggests that the system must identify individual deliverables. And instantaneously forward them to concerned people authorized and equipped to address them.

We must avoid information overload and maintain employee privacy, confidentiality, and data protection by complying with various statutory regulations. Essentially secure employee consent for passive listening and avoid over-monitoring. We must be cautious about employee privacy and confidentiality while adhering to the highest ethical standards in the process. The HR Tech analysts can help us to ensure that the tools comply with statutory regulations, just the job. It is vital to follow technology developments in the employee listening domain, including the impact of Generative AI.

Streamline

Obviously, we need to install appropriate procedures to monitor the progress and take suitable action on specific issues for course correction. Indubitably integration with our organizational goals should be the primary objective of our streamlining efforts. We can initiate a four-step process to streamline. Step one, identify performance indicators. Step two, measure performance. Step three, analyze variance. And step four, take corrective actions. Streamlining highlights the efficiency and effectiveness of the comprehensive listening strategy in achieving expected results.

First, we need to identify performance indicators of our listening strategy, including qualitative and quantitative criteria. Second, we start measuring our progress. Periodic evaluation of our continuous employee listening strategy involves asking specific questions relating to objectives achievement, the effectiveness of the tools and channels, and expected alignment with organizational goals. Third, we can identify variance by comparing expected and actual achievements. Concurrently we can utilize these insights for process improvement. Fourth, we can take corrective actions on various issues identified in step three. And accordingly, modify our employee listening strategy. We may tinker with survey length, cadence, and suitable cross-section of employees. It will help us to avoid survey fatigue. While analyzing and experimenting with tools, we must focus on the channels that work well for our strategic objectives.

Not to forget celebrating the jubilant successes on the way. Occasionally leaven by eventful celebrations, we can energize our exultant employees. As suggested by Tom Peters, the 'Hoopla, Celebrations, and Verve' will enable us to maintain the momentum. Seemingly also creating an open and enthusiastic work culture and encouraging employee participation. We must recognize specific feedback champions, especially those conscientious employees who actively contribute with valuable feedback and suggestions. It will encourage other employees to participate in the process. Ultimately resulting in enhancing the effectiveness of our employee listening strategy.

Conclusion:

In accordance with the above essential elements (FACTS), we can devise and successfully implement our employee listening strategy. It's horse sense to ensure that our listening efforts are congruous with the overall strategic objectives of our company. We must secure buy-in from our stakeholders and onboard them before commencement. Taking prompt and effective action on the deliverables, incontrovertibly emerge as the hallmark of effective employee listening strategy. Indubitably developing enabling culture would facilitate the process of implementation. And lead to creation of an open, welcoming, inclusive, employee-centric, and innovative culture. Implementing the latest technology & tools would facilitate the process of data collection and analysis to provide instantaneous and actionable insights. Streamlining the employee listening strategy will ensure the achievement of expected outcomes while enhancing employee experience and engagement. And celebrating our wins will help us to maintain the momentum, ultimately improving the atmosphere and employee participation. We can conclude with the following quote:

"Employee voice is often the most important indicator we have to make our company better. The faster we listen and respond, the better our organization can be."

- Josh Bersin

Talent Intelligence Platforms: The Next Big Thing In HR Tech

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 03:35:00 +0000

These days the market is inundated with a plethora of HR Tech options with solutions championed by AI. Almost every vendor flaunts their offerings, expatiating the salient AI features of their product. And how it would successfully address our concerns relating to people management. And the fortuitous arrival of Generative AI seems to be the 'next-gen' nascent technology within the HR Tech landscape. It will offer use cases limited only by the fecundity of our imagination. The often cited main benefits of AI tools, as Sir Humphrey Appleby would say, "thereby releasing their overlords for the more onerous duties and profound deliberations that are the inevitable concomitant of their exalted position." 😃😃

Given the rapid innovations in product capabilities, purveyors do not fit into one category. It leads to misapprehension about the categorization due to overlap. The absence of clear demarcation makes it inscrutable and incomprehensible for lay people to understand the product offerings. Here expert HR Tech analysts can disabuse the nuances with a lucid explanation of HR Tech options.

I regularly follow articles, podcasts, webinars, and videos by Josh Bersin to stay informed about the updates. He is the cognoscente, virtuoso, and HR analyst of outstanding merit. He mentions in his trends report for 2023 that "We would suggest this is the next big thing—and we call this effort 'talent intelligence'." It intrigued my interest in this area leading to my writing this article. In September 2018, LinkedIn released its 'Talent Insights' tool, and I first came across this concept around January.

So, what is Talent Intelligence? The Practitioners, HR Tech Analysts, and Vendors define this concept in multitudinous ways. The book 'Talent Intelligence' by Toby Culshaw define it as:

"Talent Intelligence is the augmentation of internal and external people data with the application of technology, science, insights and intelligence relating to people, skills, jobs, functions, competitors and geographies to drive business decisions."

This comprehensive definition underscores the significance of Talent Intelligence practitioners and remarkably covers numerous areas of their work.

Considering the trends, rapid changes in the external environment essentially compel HR professionals to hire new employees with unique skills. And design new ways to organize new pay structures and career pathways. Wherein talent intelligence will be an essential prerequisite for devising effectual talent strategies.

To successfully tackle this, the research carried out by Josh Bersin suggests an integrated conflation of what they consider the 'Four Rs': Recruiting, Retention, Reskilling, and Redesign. Holistically, the talent intelligence teams can help us to hire the so-called 'purple squirrels' considering location, skills, pay model, work arrangements, and numerous other factors. And also provide valuable career pathway suggestions and perspicacious insights to implement upskilling & reskilling initiatives. Seemingly we can develop this team by effectively melding expertise from sourcing analytics, skills analytics, workforce planning, and people analytics.

Josh suggests that there is a massive market for talent intelligence platforms. These are AI-driven data platforms with applications beyond recruitment. We can deploy them for sourcing, internal talent matching, and succession management. We may also utilize them for assessments, job design, and skills analysis since the vendors equip them with skills taxonomies. Using skills inference technology, we can effectively use our people data to identify skills gaps and design bespoke career pathways to close them. Also, recommend successors and mentors and even benchmark comparisons with other organizations. As Linda Sharkey says, "Companies that collect and effectively analyze their talent data are much more likely to experience better business outcomes."

The purveyors of talent intelligence platforms include Eightfold, Retrain, Beamery, Phenom, SeekOut, and iCims. You may check out other vendors at G2, Trustradius, and Selecthub.

■ Benefits of implementing a talent intelligence platform.

● Harness the untapped potential of our people data:

Our employees are generating immense data every day, [e.g., Recruitment Data (ATS, CRM), Communications Data (Active & Passive Listening), Appraisals Data, Learning Data (LMS, LXP), ONA, etc.] Now we have the latest tools to make sense of it by leveraging cutting-edge technology such as machine learning and deep learning. In addition to internal data, talent intelligence can utilize external data sources in this process (e.g., employee profiles, labour market vendors, industry groups, etc.). We can also manage and derive actionable insights from contingent talent data to facilitate better decision-making. The purveyors equip these solutions with a granular universal talent data set. It helps us leverage the full potential of our employee data in manifold ways.

● Effective Hiring & Workforce planning:

A resume may reflect a blinkered view of the actual potential of a candidate/employee. The Talent Intelligence platform can fill the gap by identifying missing skills and validated skills using various sources of talent data (internal & external). The provenance of up-to-date data sets is cutting-edge talent engines. It enables prompt tracking ebb and flow of demand and supply of different skills and capabilities based on geographies and other parameters. Also, figure out where we can find in-demand skills and talent while minimizing costs and improving the efficiency of hiring processes.

To devise a robust workforce plan from the perspective of future talent and skills requirements, we get comprehensive insights into our talent, market, and industry. It helps us analyze multifarious scenarios to a T, consonant with our strategic projections. Essentially helping us to track, update and evaluate job profiles for emerging skills. According to our organization's strategic requirements, we can develop those skills and talent through bespoke reskilling and upskilling initiatives. It also helps us to benchmark against other companies.

● Better Career Management:

For career pathway suggestions from AI tools, we can capitalize on the skills taxonomies. Concomitantly also create a compelling employee experience in the process. Talent intelligence platforms use neural networks and algorithms. It considers immeasurable data points beyond human capabilities to create bias-free, data-driven insights for employee growth and development. It understands the skills owned by our employees and provides recommendations bespoke to every employee. Providentially, coming up with suggestions that the employee couldn't have previously imagined they have potential in specific domains. Which essentially creates a range of options for employee movement within the organization, paving the way for enhancing employee engagement.

● Maximizing our skill set by identifying and leveraging adjacent skills:

One of the salient benefits of implementing talent intelligence platforms is to understand and develop skills in general and adjacent skills in particular. It recommends suitable career pathways to upgrade skills in specific domains. Especially those that employees may have otherwise overlooked or missed. Implementing various bespoke reskilling initiatives can help us to achieve actual employee potential. We can successfully address employee concerns about professional career growth and development opportunities within the company. (According to Gallup research - it was the most cited concern among 87% of millennials.) Especially by identifying complementary skills to employees' existing attainments. We can encourage and enable their growth within the company as per their learnability. We can also hire considering adjacent skills, especially for emerging skills, while enhancing our available talent pool. Given our projected strategic requisitions, it can become the mainstay of our future-oriented talent strategy.

● Developing an Inclusive Workforce - by being an Equal Opportunity Employer:

The appreciable benefit of implementing talent intelligence platforms is an opportunity to position ourselves as an equal-opportunity employer and improve our employment brand. It can also be a part of our ongoing ESG initiatives and DEIB efforts. To foster a culture of inclusion, we can get bias-free talent insights. To effectively manage candidate segments, it can also help us identify appropriate talent pools within specified locations. We can approach them according to our requirements, to create a proper mix of employees. For all our employees, we can design inclusive hiring practices, training & development opportunities while minimizing bias and discrimination.

Many solutions provide an option to anonymize candidate/employee profiles by removing numerous indicators (e.g., name, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, etc.) to facilitate impartial judgments and bias-free decisions. It ensures fair opportunity for every employee to succeed regardless of their background. It culminates in providing equal opportunities to various segments of candidates and employees, thereby enabling a culture of inclusion.

On balance, we can say that regardless of the HR initiative, one must deliberate on the following concerns before commencement:

Why are we implementing this?

Who will benefit from this?

How many resources will it require? (e.g., Human, Financial, and other)

How long will this take for implementation?

What is it that we are trying to achieve?

What will be the perceived business value for each stakeholder?

Is this in line with our HR strategy?

How does this help in achieving overall organizational strategy?

Conclusion :

As suggested by various HR Tech experts, successfully implementing talent intelligence platforms will indubitably improve the process of talent acquisition and talent management. Remarkable insights gained in the process will be the cornerstone of developing our talent strategy to achieve the goals and objectives of our business. Josh Bersin suggests that although it is a new domain, many large companies are proceeding in this direction. He says that typically they progress from 'sourcing intelligence' to 'people analytics' to 'skills and career intelligence' to 'talent intelligence.' The benefits of implementation are not limited to talent acquisition and cover a vast array of talent management across the organization. We can conclude with the following quote:

"Organizations need more than data. They need insight about their people to be competitive in world markets. This is because people are often the only source of competitive advantage."

— Paul Turner
(Make Your People Before You Make Your Products, 2014)

HR Trends for 2023

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 03:35:00 +0000

(This article is written to practise my newfangled lexicon. Please pardon me for my mistakes.🙏🖖)

Josh Bersin is a well-known HR Tech analyst and founder of Josh Bersin Academy. In the field of HR, he is the leading light and maven among other luminaries. A few days ago, he released a remarkably improving report filled with his perspicacious, distinctive, and magisterial insights on 'HR Trends for 2023.' Not to put too fine a point on it, but this compendious report is right out of the top drawer.

[📥Download Report]

With reductionist analysis, this report comprehensively delineates 15 main trends and expatiate their effects on HR. Understanding these trends will stand HR professionals in good stead to devise their functional tactics and stay ahead of the curve. And suggested measures in this report will help them successfully address these trends and gain a competitive advantage. Let's try to epitomize the long and short of this report.

Skills are on the rise in HR.

Nowadays, employees require specific 'capabilities' & 'skills' to work in various roles on several projects. Josh defines capabilities as 'the business-word definitions of what drives success', and skills as 'the granular areas of expertise that people need to perform well.' Skills are becoming the focal point for matching workers with work as per the '2023 Deloitte Human Capital Trends Report.' It evinces gaining traction of a skills-based approach to managing work and workers.

Changes in technology and the workforce have led to the enhanced significance of myriad specific skills. Organizations are implementing a skills-based approach to hiring, training, developing, and paying employees. Such a 'skills-based organization' encourages employees to find in-demand skills and enhance their attainments to achieve organizational objectives.

In addition to simply implementing the skills taxonomy, Josh further suggests that skills projects must focus on a specific agenda. It may include enhancing performance, proceeding in a new way to reinvigorate the business, or expanding into different areas through business transformation. First, our efforts must be focused on capabilities and then on skills. First, employees need to figure out crucial business capabilities. And subsequently, specific skills based on requirements. He prescribes assigning functional 'owner' designated for each skills cluster, e.g., each for Finance, Marketing, HR, etc.

It has resulted in an appreciable increase in the importance of skills data, which is collected and applied in numerous systems, e.g., the HCM platform. ( other tools, e.g., recruitment, talent marketplace, L&D, and employee experience systems.) So far, we don't have a unified system since every vendor maintains a separate skills database.

References for better insights :

- Report by Deloitte

- Article by McKinsey, LinkedIn, Deloitte

- Digital HR Leaders (article + podcast), and

- Bersin (Podcast)

Employee experience is gaining momentum.

Companies have successfully tackled the past three years, devising a new work strategy, e.g., remote, WFH, WFA, etc. Josh propounds three main concerns. First, define 'workplace' along with refining collaboration and workspace tools. Second, creating better team management processes that facilitate teamwork, alignment, and multifunctional collaboration. And third, successfully implementing HR & workplace technology and productivity tools that improve the employee experience. (e.g., ServiceNow, Microsoft, etc.)

Such flexible work arrangements necessitate a focus on developing a culture of inclusion and belonging that encourages line managers to support employees. He thinks inclusion is essential, especially for sedulous frontline workers, and we must offer them appropriate autonomy and flexibility. Josh urges leaders to design a range of tools and guidelines for flexible work arrangements. Instead of dragooning employees to attend the office in person. To successfully address various issues, he suggests, companies may consider applying design thinking and experience design approaches.

Josh introduces 'People Sustainability' as a modernistic concept, melding practices in areas such as DEI, benefits, health & safety, pay equity, career growth, and employee experience. He thinks it will pave the way for enhancing fairness, equity, belonging, and well-being. However, he recommends a long period of investment in sustainability initiatives.

References for better insights :

- Article by Qualtrics, McKinsey

Realign the leadership model.

Josh asserts that successful companies opt for flatter structures that function in teams instead of hierarchies, including flexible work arrangements. That results in the enhanced importance of empathetic and flexible leadership. The erstwhile leadership's focus on managing and directing employees now shifts towards regularly evaluating, training, moving, supporting, and aligning them.

The leadership models primarily focus on productivity in general, and care, inspiration, empathy, and flexibility in particular. Mainly because of the realization that 'If you take care of your people, they will take care of you.'

For strategic reasons, culture becomes crucial for leaders. Hence, our leadership model must reinforce our culture. Leaders are supposed to set the tone for behaviours, norms, and values. He then highlights the increasing importance of 'Feedback' and listening for improving productivity.

References for better insights :

- Article by Bersin

Revise the Performance Management process.

Josh affirms that companies are implementing OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), involving periodic check-ins and managing performance 'in the flow of work.' He exemplifies that for some companies, it is a core business process supporting their vision and mission. Wherein goal setting from the top becomes an effective channel for alignment.

He further asserts that every HR tech company is reinvesting in OKR, e.g., SuccessFactors, Microsoft Viva Goals (available in Microsoft Teams), 15Five, Lattice, CultureAmp, and BetterWorks. He states that Workday is also designing a similar goal management system.

Josh thinks a clear emerging trend in supporting tools considering productivity, individuality, and a new generation of philosophies. Our performance management process must reflect this. And our leaders can cultivate mutual understanding by helping and supporting employees through training and mentoring.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to implementing performance management. Research indicates that successful companies hold people accountable. And initiate efforts towards 'performance enablement' while devising continuous process and systems. In 2023, he expects to reconsider the OKR process while focusing on growth, efficiency, and User-centered design.

References for better insights :

- Article by Microsoft, BetterWorks

- Course Microsoft Viva Goals

- Course OKR Leadership Program

Rethink employee pay and rewards.

Josh states that due to prevailing circumstances during the previous three years, companies are changing pay models, benchmarking, and raising pay. The research reveals companies opting for various pay equity solutions mainly to remove inconsistencies. It also shows that issues relating to 'pay equity' impact employees largely compared to the 'level of pay.'

He opines that for efficient budget allocation, first we need to fix the pay disparities before giving pay raises to employees. New purveyors in this space are Trusaic, Syndio, Salary.com, and Payscale. We need to adjust pay issues on a continuous basis depending on the employee joining, preferment, or moving within the company.

The research underscores the importance of clear and honest communication strategy for maximum effectiveness. It further highlights the significance of fair and equitable pay and rewards practices for attracting and retaining top talent. Bersin's latest report on pay delineates four levels of maturity. First, 'basic transactional pay' second, 'total rewards' third, 'performance-based pay' and fourth, 'systemic pay and rewards.'

He also explains the annual increase in 'total reward.' Mainly the 'noncash benefits', e.g., insurance, leave, educational benefits, and oodles of other rewards. Josh entreats companies to think of human capital as an investment instead of an expense. The only appreciating asset we have in our balance sheet is our people. We can increase our investment returns by helping them to stay focused and productive through an effective reward system.

References for better insights :

- Article by AIHR

Well-being is gaining traction.

Contrary to our earlier assumptions, Josh propounds that 'productivity creates well-being', and now is the time to 'make work easier.' "Make life easier for employees." says Laszlo Bock (Work Rules!). Due to prevailing circumstances, workers are in a different state. However, they do possess enhanced agency and bargaining strength. And companies are trying to entice them using flexible work, pay raises, and career growth. He says that companies also need to address the concern about financial well-being.

Latterly, well-being has gained significant importance and is a tactical concern now. It has garnered a new level of approbation from C-suite executives. According to their opinions, in the present time, 'skilled and engaged employees' are equivalent to 'supply chain' assets. Employee well-being is now a management concern, and issues like too many meetings, zoom fatigue, interruptions, and other projects have their impact.

Josh adduces his book 'Irresistible' which puts forward the need for 'slack time.' Unlike machines, conscientious employees require time to rest, reflect, learn, and grow. It has significant implications for productivity where 'service workers' materially contribute to economic activity by creating, developing, devising, or serving others. He further thinks essentially, 'well-being' is a design issue, not just benefits and other activities. Designing the company for productivity will incontrovertibly lead to the consequential flourishing of employee well-being.

"Business exists to enhance human well-being"

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

References for better insights :

- Report by Bersin

Learning and growth in the flow of work.

Josh cites his recent learning research, which essentially reveals an important goal of L&D. Research underscores that 'creating extensive career growth options' is 'the learning practice' that actually creates value. This revelation has a remarkable impact, especially in improving the chances of developing skills required for the future. When companies think beyond development, indubitably, they enable growth in the flow of work. The research indicates that growth-focused companies allow employees to unlock their potential, develop innovation leaders, and become the best places to work.

Following are the latest innovations of growth-oriented L&D. First, implementing 'Talent Marketplaces' with several options for effective skills development, e.g., projects, mentoring, relationships development, networking, company events, etc. Second, creating 'Capability Academies' for developing strategically important business capabilities. It involves effectually melding business leaders and L&D professionals to establish an 'academy' concentrating on capabilities, skills, and growth. Third, developing skills for strategic positions through career pathways with a tuition-free education.

They are by no means point solutions. In fact, our organization's business and talent strategy should meticulously integrate such innovations. As part of the systemic HR operating model, they try to address specific areas of knowledge or skills.

"When companies go beyond development and facilitate growth in the flow of work, they are likely to build skills for the future."

— Josh Bersin

References for better insights :

- Article by Bersin, LinkedIn

- Report by Bersin

People analytics and Talent Intelligence.

Josh narrates the 'people analytics' evolution over the years. From the early 80s & 90s to the present day. Initially, it helped us understand pay, rewards, and the annual engagement survey. In the 2000s, culture assessment, and organizational network analysis (ONA) became part of it. Concurrently, we derived a direct line of sight to business performance, substantiating with DEI, tenure, and other important data. In the 2010s, we started considering data from location, skills, and organizational hierarchy. During this period, big companies instituted centralized 'people analytics teams.' The implementation went on swimmingly for an ongoing 'listening strategy' focused on advanced surveys and listening systems.

The next phase was the implementation of listening platforms supported by integrated analytics. Vendors like Perceptyx, Medallia, Qualtrics, Peakon, and Glint (Microsoft); created annual, pulse, 360, crowdsourcing, and passive listening feedback tools. During 2020, we witnessed the maturing of 'passive analytics' that involves accessing data from calendars, messages, and ONA. We can now track employee sentiment, activity, and productivity data with tools offered by purveyors like Cultivate (Perceptyx), Visier, Microsoft Viva Insights, and Motive (BetterUp). Josh suggests that people analytics initiatives should focus on the company's growth and saving resources. We can implement people analytics to improve health & well-being, remote work, collaboration, skills, engagement, recruitment, and retention.

Josh expresses his neoteric perspectives on the newfangled concept of 'Talent Intelligence.' By no means nondescript initiative, he thinks talent intelligence is the next big thing in HR. He elaborates on the 'Four Rs of Talent Intelligence' as an initiative to predict recruiting, reskilling, retaining, and redesigning. He thinks that to contribute significantly people analytics team will collaborate with employees from sourcing intelligence and workforce planning. In addition to focusing on health, well-being, and turnover for improving investment returns, people analytics teams should address issues like skills gaps, sourcing strategies, retention, reskilling, redeployment, and job redesign. He suggests enhancing the scope of these teams by including sourcing & skills intelligence, workforce planning, and labour economics.

Happily, innovative HCM vendors are providing better tools for people analytics with integrated platforms. Unifying data has become easy now with open APIs, integrating data from skills, recruiting, learning, and survey platforms. He enjoins on us investing in this area. He points out the importance of directly reaching out to managers and employees. He thinks data needs to be simple and visual, open and action-oriented. It must help HR business partners, line managers, and even employees to take action in real time. In addition to HR, he expects to explore the possibility of people analytics providing insights to other parts of the business. He imagines the prospect of involving talent intelligence, skills trends, and workplace insights in next-gen people analytics. Check out a pragmatic and modern approach for 'Talent Intelligence' implementation at Amazon in 'Digital HR Leaders' (link below).

References for better insights :

- Article by McKinsey

- Report by Bersin

- Webinar by Gartner

- Digital HR Leaders (article + podcast)

The arrival of a new HR Tech landscape.

When we think of HR Tech, there is a veritable smorgasbord of options available to HR professionals. Effectively corroborated with data & analytics, these options will enhance the effectiveness of our HR initiatives. Due to the existing implementation of numerous 'intelligence systems' for creating, inferring, and storing skills, Josh anticipates the emergence of a new integrated 'skills-talent platform.' Mainly, companies are implementing 'skills systems' platforms for recruitment, talent marketplace, learning, and employee experience. They subsequently intend to organize them into a unified 'employee skills profile.'

Although we may not have any impeccable HR systems, companies need to think of inventing such an integrated structure. He enjoin companies to conceive this from the perspective of 'skills academies' or 'skills communities.' Wherein the taxonomies are maintained by business leaders. And to bring new skills into the structure, HR effectively collaborates with them. He then elaborates extensive use cases of skills utilization for - sourcing, selection, assessment, development, career pathways, pay, bonuses, job fit, redeployment, M&A integration, leadership development, mobility, mentoring, job-sharing, performance management, and development planning.

Given the importance of skills, each seller prefers to own this structure. He gives an example of the following companies positioning themselves as systems of skills inventory, e.g., SuccessFactors, Workday, Gloat, Cornerstone, Eightfold AI, and Beamery. Josh advises us to avoid such an approach. He recommends considering purveyors that think of themselves as a 'data company' and not just a software company. Essentially, offering an open API strategy with remarkable expertise in integrating numerous third-party data.

'Employee Experience tools' are gaining traction with options such as Microsoft Viva, ServiceNow, Firstup, Perceptyx, Medallia, Qualtrics, and many others. Learning systems continue to expand with the preponderance of the latest collaboration, cohort, and virtual learning systems. Soon we hope to get his perspectives on VR. Similarly for recruitment, we have options such as Eightfold AI, Beamery, and many others. And we have multifarious options for Pay equity, Well-being, DEI, etc.

Primarily, he enjoins developing a structure considering a long period of time while focusing on ease of use and improving employee productivity. While also accompanying that with appropriate HR functionality and data capabilities. Our implementations must centre on simplifying processes while creating the employee experience of the first water. In conclusion, he adduces their research that suggests 'even large HCM systems need to be employee systems first, then HR and data systems.'

References for better insights :

- Article by Bersin

Systemic HR - a new way forward.

Josh asserts that the 'most interesting' trend this year is the 'new operating system for HR.' There is an urgent need to rethink how we manage our HR function. Aim beyond improving service delivery, access to data, and HR business partners skills. He suggests taking a pragmatic approach by integrating HR into the 'total operating system' to facilitate a smooth flow of information and insights throughout the organization. Given the interlinked and interconnective nature of HR activities and their interdependence, he suggests subsuming them under an 'integrated operating system.'

Recently we have witnessed similar efforts from consultancies like Deloitte, Gartner, and McKinsey (links below). Apparently, it is an improvement over the groundbreaking work of Dave Ulrich, which, in my opinion, is one of his magnum opus (e.g., Human Resource Champions - 1997 & HR Transformation - 2009). Obviously, one has to change according to the circumstances. However, invariably we can improve upon the existing work in a decorous manner without criticizing efforts by others and giving appropriate attribution.

Josh explains that the design process of this new operating model is in progress, and he will communicate it during 2023. The following are a few of the principles:

- HR Teams need collaboration and a better understanding of each other's activities.

- There should be clarity on 'top priority' talent strategies.

- HR professionals should enhance their attainments (T- shape).

- Regular sharing of future projections among HR.

- Job rotation for HR professionals within and outside the business.

- Periodic sharing and alignment of HR Tech strategies with talent strategies.

- Sharing important decisions by integrated analytics and talent intelligence function.

He then elaborates on how we designed Centers of expertise (CoE) and service centers to achieve our objectives. For effectively designing employee self-service systems (ESS) and successfully implementing employee experience platforms, we require design teams. Especially for regularly interacting and sharing insights with HR teams. He thinks of a clarion call for various team to work cohesively within the HR function. He underpins his perspective for recommending this new HR model, with the legerity of the HR function for inventing and implementing several new processes during the preceding three years. He assures us of releasing this report in 2023, providing a concrete way towards the future.

References for better insights :

- Article by McKinsey, Deloitte

- Article by McKinsey

- Webinar by Gartner

- Report by Gartner

Conclusion.

Josh thinks 2023 will be an exciting and providential year for HR professionals. While developing integrated HR function, we have to optimize remote work, improve productivity, and enhance employee experience. We can expect stunning HR Tech vendors to innovate solutions championed by intelligent AI systems. However, HR professionals need to develop their skills, experiences, and relationships within HR to stay conversant with the latest trends. Our HR teams will require insights, education, support, and functional expertise. 2023 will be the year of prodigious innovations in the field of HR, leading towards flourishing tools developed by creative and innovative leaders. Since they managed to rise to the occasion during this important period, Josh concludes that

'HR function has now become one of the most important disciplines in business.'

SHRM - Top 50 Indian HR Influencers on Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Wed, 29 May 2019 14:38:00 +0000

Every year SHRM India organize HR Tech APAC Conference. This year it was held on 22nd and 23rd May 2019 in Hyderabad. Around 1500+ professionals from the world of work were present at SHRM HR Tech APAC 2019. It gave us an opportunity to interact with HR Leaders to enhance our understanding of the latest trends in HR, Technology, and Workplace Innovation.

In the evening of May 22nd, SHRM India released the “HR Influencer Report 2019." They have to carry out extensive research to generate this report. For primary research, SHRM India used HR-specific keywords through Talkwalker to map influencers. In addition, they also considered HR panels and publications for secondary research. SHRM India quantified the digital performance of each influencer based on their activities on: Twitter, LinkedIn, Kred, and Phlanx.

This year, with a new methodology, they ranked influencers according to cohorts i.e. Experts, Generalists, Specialists, and Newcomers. Following image correctly depicts the criteria used for identifying and prioritizing Influencers.

Fortunately, they selected me this year as well, for SHRM India HR Influencer Report - 2019 along with other distinguished and eminent HR Professionals. I would like to take this opportunity to thank SHRM India and their team for considering me for this coveted recognition. I would also like to congratulate all the fellow HR Professionals and thank them for enlightening us about HR wisdom through different mediums.

Many thanks, Friends, Followers, HR Leaders & Influencers who helped me to earn this prominent recognition. It is a result of your support and interaction on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other SNS. Thanks for your Likes, Shares ( Retweets ), and Comments. Hope to receive your continued support and blessings.

Prepared following infographics as per the "HR Influencer Report 2019”. [pdf]

About SHRM India :

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management with 302,000+ members in over 160 countries. The Society is the leading provider for resources to solve the needs of HR professionals and advance the professional practice of human resource management.

SHRM India provides a platform for thought leadership, sharing of best practices and professional networking within HR communities. SHRM India membership is truly a unique offering that provides rich content through comprehensive online resources on both www.shrm.org/india and www.shrm.org. Email: shrmindia@shrm.org, shrm@shrmindia.org

Link to Twitter Handles:

( follow them on twitter )

1	@aadil	18	@vipul_zend	35	@jashanjoshi
2	@iSharad	19	@Ester_Matters	36	@runamaitra
3	@HarlinaSodhi	20	@JoyAndLife	37	@sundertrg
4	@vineetnayar	21	@kunjal23	38	@rajlakshmi_s
5	@anand__pillai	22	@IndianYash	39	@ankitapoddar
6	@rucsb	23	@Sarangbrahme	40	@anildagia
7	@GautamGhosh	24	@vivekparanjpe	41	@VijayBankar
8	@RajanNS	25	@sahana2802	42	@saikatsaha
9	@_Kavi	26	@_muraliwrites	43	@jonas1hr
10	@AbhijitBhaduri	27	@yuyudin	44	@yugeshgoutam
11	@tanvi_gautam	28	@rajeshmthrg	45	@Jgblr
12	@suddentwilight	29	@himanshukapadia	46	@nidhisand
13	@PrabirJha	30	@sathish_ganesh	47	@ashishgakrey
14	@nabomita_smiles	31	@svraghunandan	48	@shruthibopaiah
15	@achyutmenon	32	@zenobiamadon	49	@hrguyamit
16	@tnvora	33	@anisharavind	50	@sumit_neogi
17	@shweta_hr	34	@keerthi_ak

Event Report: PeopleStrong #AltifyHR2019

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 13:48:00 +0000

This is my first attempt at the Event Report. PeopleStrong organized their annual product launch event ‘AltifyHR2019’ on February 15, 2019, in Mumbai. PeopleStrong is important ‘Core HR Platform' among the mid-sized global vendors according to ‘HR Technology Market 2019’ report prepared by Josh Bersin. However, PeopleStrong confirmed that they offer SaaS, and PaaS platforms, in addition to Collaboration and Productivity Tools. Their SaaS HR Platform provides options for Recruitment, Core HR, Workforce Management, Talent Management, Payroll, and People Analytics. Around 200+ eminent HR Professionals were present at the event.

Workshop:

Abhijit Bhaduri, (Digital Transformation Coach, Author, Blogger, Influencer, Keynote Speaker & Columnist) addressed the Pre-Launch Workshop on “Managing the Work, Worker, and Working of Future.” With a sneak peek into the future, he explained how the world of work is changing in line with the developments in the external environment. He also highlighted the trends at work, especially changes in the career trajectories. The workshop summed up with thought-provoking audience participation in three groups, namely Dreamers, Strivers, and Transformers.

Product Launch:

Pankaj Bansal, (Co-founder & CEO, PeopleStrong) commenced the product launch by introducing their Intelligent, Open and Connected HR technology solutions. He first elaborated about their growing number of clients in 14 sectors including BFSI, Technology, E-commerce, and Retail. And then shared facts and figures underscoring their growth, for example: Number of Users, Expected Target, Transactions per month, Number of devices, Paychecks processed with Total Amount, Job Applicants and Data Sources.

Pankaj highlighted that in quest of excellence, their R&D Team strived to improve their product offerings in the following areas: Microservices, Open APIs, Internationalization, Additional Configurations, and Data-Lake. For narrating their Alt One Partner Story he said that they now have 20+ vendors across domain in three segments: HR Apps, Recruitment, and Employee Benefits. For providing synergistic solutions these partners offer their expertise to strengthen PeopleStrong offerings.

There were four important product announcements from PeopleStrong: Alt Builder, Alt Analytics, Alt Messenger, and PeopleStrong Developer Community. To enhance employee experience and maximize user adoption they aim to improve ease-of-use by removing complexities and rigidity in HR Tech offerings. Let us look at these products in detail.

1. Alt Builder: With this offering, companies will be able to develop their own Apps according to their needs and requirements. This customization will be possible without any involvement from professional coders and developers. With this ‘Platform as a Service’ (PaaS) product, anyone can develop these apps with simple drag and drop features. One can also connect these apps with the entire HR database. After the product launch, they invited ideas for app development from the audience during “Hackathon.” PeopleStrong Team successfully showcased this capability by developing an app within 20 minutes based on the ideas suggested by eminent HR Professionals.

2. Alt Analytics: Backed with Power BI from Microsoft, ‘Alt Analytics’ was the second announcement from PeopleStrong. In addition to providing valuable insights from people data, it offers predictive capabilities for strategic decision-making. Apart from real-time monitoring with simple dashboards; it will help HR Professionals to take preventive actions based on predictive insights.

Sashi Sreedharan, MD, Microsoft India unveiled this product and said that Alt Analytics is going to revolutionize the way we address crucial HR issues. HR will take smarter decisions with real-time data and deeper insights. His views are very much in line with the 2018 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Report. According to the report, ‘People Analytics’ rated the second most important trend, and 84% of respondents think that it is essential for decision-making.

PeopleStrong also announced its robust integration with Microsoft products like: Microsoft Team, Office 365, and Outlook. ‘Jinie’, the Chatbot, is one of the important offerings from PeopleStrong, considering the growing trend towards Conversational User Interface. Integrated with Workplace Technology tools like Microsoft Team and Office 365, ‘Jinie’ add value to the HR Tech offerings in terms of convenience and ease-of-use.

3. PeopleStrong Developer Community: The next big announcement was PeopleStrong Developer Community to become Open and Connected HRTech platform. With plug and play apps, developers can now extend PeopleStrong product capabilities according to their needs and requirements. Especially for seamless integration with their internal or third-party Softwares. There are five options in APIs Directory including Alt Worklife, Alt Payroll, Integration, Alt Recruit, and Jinie. Pankaj said that after using APIs for integration people are now developing their own technologies.

Similarly, partners will be able to comply with client requirements for providing customized solutions. As stated earlier they have three categories of 20+ partners: HR Apps, Recruitment, and Employee Benefits. For example, in HR Apps they partner with Hyphen for Employee Engagement Surveys.

4. Alt Messenger: According to research there will be 10 billion connected mobile devices by 2021. Half of the world population is using Messaging Apps like: WhatsApp, WeChat, and FB Messenger. At present, it is the most used app category. To capitalize on this opportunity PeopleStrong offers Alt Messenger with an additional layer of security to provide a better experience than WhatsApp. With inbuilt Jinie – Chatbot it can also offer Conversational User Interface.

Alt Messenger provides a secure channel for employee communication. It also facilitates collaboration with internal as well as external networks including Consultants and Gig workers. Without worrying about data privacy, Alt Messenger fosters efficiency, productivity, and ease-of-use.

Hackathon:

As discussed earlier the product launch followed by Hackathon with audience participation. By initiating group discussion at the table they requested everyone to suggest ideas for app development. The audience suggested developing an app for ‘Leave Management.' To effectively demonstrate Alt Builder capabilities, PeopleStrong Team managed to develop and present an app within 20 minutes.

Conclusion:

The event concluded with a musical performance by Annu Kapoor, (Bollywood film celeb and television presenter) and his team. Thanks to PeopleStrong #AltifyHR2019, I got an opportunity to meet Abhijit Bhaduri, Achal Khanna, Amarpreet Kalkat, Holger Muller, and Dr. N. S. Rajan.

Following Slideshare Presentation will give you a glimpse of the event.

Altify HR 2019 from Vijay Bankar

Event Coverage:

PeopleStrong Press Release, Holger Muller - Twitter moments, Business Standard, HR Katha, and Peoplematters.

About PeopleStrong:

PeopleStrong is the largest HR Technology company from India, that is enriching experience at work for over 250+ customers and over 700,000 users. On its journey to writing the #NewCodeofWork, PeopleStrong delivers its technology and services in one offering, using its on-demand technology product PeopleStrong Alt, which has distilled tens of thousands of hours of research and development (R&D) - a decade long experience of servicing the HR functions of top Indian companies.

Developments in HR Technology in 2019

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 13:58:00 +0000

A few days ago Josh Bersin released the much-awaited report on “HR Technology Market 2019.” [Download Report] This report includes comprehensive coverage on trends and developments in the HR Tech landscape. Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate urging HR Professionals to keep pace with it to gain competitive advantage.

Moving in the Cloud environment is facilitating the rapid development of tools for vendors. Due to advancements in AI and ML, HR Technology is going through automation evolutions. This has enabled HR Tech offerings to add capabilities like Robotic Process Automation, Chatbot, Conversational User Interface (Voice/Text), AI-based suggestions, tips, hints, and nudges.

According to the report, there are three ‘vectors of change.’ First, enhancements in the technology considering Moor’s Law. Second, the availability of API's to bring HR Technology in the ‘flow of work’ while using Microsoft Teams, Slack, and other similar apps. And third, security, transparency of employee data which requires ethical considerations.

In 2018 Josh covered 10 topics, this year the report covers 11 trends. There is an addendum to the report classifying HR Technology based on vendor offerings. Let us look at the trends in detail.

1. Evolution of Core HR Platforms from Systems of Engagement to Systems of Productivity:

Josh explains that ‘Core HR Platforms’ constitute a significant part of the HR Tech Stack. It includes Cloud-based HRMS, Payroll and Employee Management Systems. They are suitable for HR users, however, there is an opportunity for improvement to become Useful, Productive, and Engaging to all the Employees. Hence, companies are implementing ‘Employee Experience Platforms’ (EEP) as an additional layer on top of the ‘Core HR’ systems to facilitate ease-of-use. It creates ‘moments that matter’ to enhance user adoption and employee experience.

This year Workplace Technology vendors (Microsoft, Google, Slack, Atlassian, and Facebook) are all getting into HR. Since employees spend most of their time using these Workplace technology tools, vendors are putting HR tools into these systems. An amalgamation between ‘HR Technology’ and ‘Workplace Technology’ to initiate ‘HR in the flow of work.’

2. Changes in the HR Technology structure:

Earlier we had a simple HR Tech Stack, wherein many ‘Talent Management Tools’ were implemented around ‘Core HR Systems.’ According to the report, the first change will result in ‘Core HR Systems’ offering these ‘Talent Management Tools’ with basic features.

New Employee Experience Tools are emerging with capabilities like Chat, Conversation, Mobile, and Integration with Systems of Productivity. There are many start-ups coming up with these new innovative and AI-based tools with advanced features. Now companies are buying ‘Core HR Systems’ and on top implement these innovative tools for creating robust HR Solutions.

3. Innovation and AI in the Talent Management Market:

As discussed above new breed of Talent Management Tools are emerging in the HR Tech market with innovative, and AI-based advanced features. Using AI they are improving the area of Recruitment, Learning, Performance Management, Rewards & Recognition, Wellbeing, and Work Management.

For example, they help in creating unbiased job descriptions. To improve hiring these AI-based tools help in finding, screening, and shortlisting candidates. They also schedule and conduct Video Interviews to analyze language and facial expressions. Now we can use AI-based Assessments and games for evaluating capabilities and skills.

To initiate Training Needs Analysis they can analyze functional and technical capabilities by scanning emails and other documents. And further, recommend suitable courses, and assist during course by giving coaching tips and insights.

Bots also provide coaching tips and nudges to managers based on insights gained from engagement surveys, behavioral cues, and real-time feedback. Given these technology trends, Josh suggests having a team of HR-IT experts in our department.

4. The emerging Employee Experience Platforms:

In the employee journey from recruitment as a candidate to ex-employee as alumni, designing compelling employee experiences is gaining traction to create ‘the moments that matter.’ Now we are moving towards buying platforms that can automate and simplify employee experiences. HR Technology is witnessing a paradigm shift in thinking from processes and transactions to experiences and moments that matter.

Josh says that all HCM vendors now offer open platforms (open APIs), and it is up to the customer to add this new kind of middleware that is emerging to create compelling employee experience. He further says that the biggest trend in this area is Automation, Voice Interaction, and using Chat and other Cognitive Technologies.

5. Employee Listening, Engagement, and Culture Tools:

According to the report we are moving towards Employee Engagement 3.0. Now we are considering several sources for gathering employee feedback. Companies are using sensing and AI Technology to monitor internal communication channels. There are various ONA and Continuous Listening tools for real-time monitoring. And technologies are evolving to integrate and analyze all the data points to provide tips, recommendations, and nudges for behavioral change that improves employee engagement.

Josh suggests taking a holistic look at the enterprise feedback architecture to bring together all the sources for getting an integrated picture. He also suggests including data relating to wellbeing and productivity. The report further advocates thinking about our survey and engagement strategy as a multi-year journey into employee listening to move in the right direction. Josh concludes that these tools are turning into intelligent real-time data collection systems. He expects that ultimately they will move into the flow of work.

6. AI-based tools in Recruitment:

There is tremendous growth in Recruitment offerings since vendors are now using AI-based tools to leverage data, intelligent algorithms, and social sensing tools for effective hiring. Application Tracking Systems are becoming smarter due to advancements in AI and availability of the vast amount of data.

The emerging Job Board companies that aggregate, analyze, and support job seekers are now offering advanced analytics tools in addition to the job posting, company pages, and other services. There is significant growth in the websites and tools for company ratings and professional networking since these vendors are crowdsourcing compensation data as well.

AI-based sourcing tools which now provide Video Interviews and gamified testing are helping companies to find hard-to-locate external as well as internal candidates. And the emerging AI and neurological assessments are improving the accuracy of talent evaluation.

7. The arrival of Contingent and Gig Workers:

The alternative work arrangements are gaining traction in the form of a contract worker, part-time worker, gig worker, and contingent worker.

From the HR Technology standpoint, there is an opportunity to provide a vendor management system, a contingent work system, and gig work platform. There are few vendors, however, according to the report soon we will have robust solution providers in this category.

As per research cited by Josh, gig or contract workers are a significant part of the workforce. However, few HR Professionals believe their companies are ready to manage them well. He expects to see enormous growth in tools that will help us to easily manage these gig workers.

8. Developments in Performance Management:

There is a big shift from Annual to continuous performance management and the same is reflecting in the tools offered by vendors. Big HCM vendors are now offering similar solutions, however, Josh says that the new players are coming up with innovative and advanced features.

Comparatively, it is easier for smaller organizations to implement these tools in their Core HR Systems, however, the large companies are trying to figure this out. He recommends that companies must do a strategy workshop first and then think about vendor selection. Discuss and clarify performance management philosophy, especially: check-ins cadence, transparency, goal alignment, coaching & development, and the evaluation process. This exercise will result in coming out with philosophical decisions that we can use for the vendor selection process.

According to the report, every company that implements continuous process has positive results because these tools provide better data, insights, and transparency into their entire talent process. There is consolidation taking place in this segment bringing together recognition, rewards, and feedback. And few vendors are now offering advanced analytics and development planning systems.

9. Innovations in Learning Technology Market:

Developing skills and capabilities have always been leadership concerns for the effective implementation of organizational strategy. Hence Learning Technology is becoming a top priority for HR leaders. Josh coined this term ‘Learning in the flow of work, which he thinks is the future of Learning. He says that LMS is not the center of learning and now it is running in the background giving employees a plethora of choices and a new range of systems.

The report classifies Learning Tech Market in the following eight segments.

Learning Experience Platforms,
Program Delivery Platforms,
Micro-learning Platforms,
Assessment, VR, and Virtual Learning,
Content Libraries,
Digital Adoption and Workflow Learning Tools,
LMS and Content Platforms, and
Learning Record Store.

There are new tools which now allow users to push content to employees in a prescriptive and activity driven way. Then there are systems that enable vital functionality for real-time practice that offers value. Some systems have AI-based chatbots with tremendous potential for learning. In the latest developments, a vendor now offers context-specific learning by directly taking cues from email traffic and communication patterns. In addition to all these technology offerings, Josh suggests that companies should consider their own ‘Training Institute’ to develop internal talent which is a trend in many large organizations.

10. Growth in Health and Wellbeing:

Josh explains that companies are now considering Health and Wellbeing initiatives as part of Performance Improvement Strategy. The focus is shifting from Health and Fitness towards Employee Engagement, Productivity, and Performance. Areas covered by vendors include Physical Wellbeing, Mindfulness and Stress Management, Financial Wellbeing, Family Wellbeing, and Social Wellbeing. They offer a full range of services to help employees stay fit, rested, focused, and healthy.

Financial Wellbeing vendors provide education, coaching, individual assessment, and advisory support. For Mindfulness and Stress Management they offer App-based coaching, training, event management, and meditation support among other services. There are AI-based tools that give us tips and nudges to improve productivity at work.

All the big Core HR Systems now offer various options for employee wellbeing ensuring vitality at work. Similarly, there are numerous small vendors providing specialized services. However, the tricky part is the confidentiality of data which demands transparency. Especially what type of data being collected and how we are planning to use it.

11. Augmented Analytics, AI, ONA, and Feedback Systems:

The technological advances are making it easier than ever before to use People Analytics. Hence the increasing number of HR Professionals are implementing it for strategic decision-making.

Vendors now provide more or less ready to use applications called ‘Augmented Analytics’ with capabilities for easier data collection and analysis. It provides AI-based ‘stories’ constructed from data automatically by software. They ameliorate the burden involved in the process by automatically analyzing systems data and identify trends, changes, and odd cases. Then they convey their insights through Conversational User Interface, even on the problems we missed to consider.

AI is also changing the way we interact with systems. Josh suggests that the Conversational User Interface is the next big thing in HR Technology. There are a countless number of vendors in this category. (Please read my earlier article on CUI-Chatbots.)

Organizational Network Analysis – ONA help companies to create a database of communication patterns in real-time. Few big companies have their own proprietary technology. There are several other small vendors which provide this capability with ready to use tools. We can use insights gained through ONA in many HR processes like Organization Design, Performance, Retention, and other talent decisions. Josh suggests that we can use ONA along with AI to get a smarter analysis of data. It can also provide nudges to our employees helping them to improve at work.

Conclusion:

There are five suggestions in this report for vendor selection. First, the product or system must appeal to the users, in short ease of use. And the pilot test may help in this case. Second, immediate and effective after-sales support as and when required. Third, the vendor must have 3 to 5 customers similar to our organization which can provide their insights. Fourth, the vendor should assign a Product Manager with deep expertise in the HR domain, who will understand our issues and concerns. And Fifth, the vendor must have long-term viability with strengths like reliable Leadership Team, Customer intimacy, Financial backup, Profitability, and Strong Company Culture.

Theoretically, the report is awesome, however, it will be interesting to see how many of these tools will practically help HR Professionals to succeed in 2019.

In conclusion, Josh Bersin says,

“we are in one of the most exciting and transformational times in HR technology. We have shifted well beyond systems of record and systems of engagement to an era in which HR systems are truly systems of productivity.”

Conversational User Interface – Chatbots in HR Tech #futureofwork

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Tue, 01 Jan 2019 09:20:00 +0000

We started to interact with computers by typing commands using programs in DOS. Then we used clicks to get things done in Windows. With the advent of Smartphones, we started moving from clicks to tap. And these days we are conversing with Smart Speakers like Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and Google Assistant. Just to note that according to Loup Ventures, Google Assistant is smarter than Siri, Alexa, and Cortana.

You want to rearrange your shift schedule and you say ‘HeyAlexa’ or ‘OK Google' and it's done in a few moments. Similarly, if you want to know about company rules, practices, salary slips, or any other information and you get it by simply asking your Chatbot / Smart Speaker. Now we can provide AI-based CUI-Bots to help our employees to get the relevant information for smarter decision-making.

It sounds easy and convenient freeing you to focus on your strategic priorities. Recently we have witnessed enormous developments in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Specifically Natural Language Processing (NLP), Natural Language Understanding (NLU) & Conversational User Interface (CUI) or VUI.

In short, according to Wikipedia,

CUI is the platform that helps us to interact with computers using natural language.
A chatbot is a category of CUI.
Chatbot & Virtual Assistant both are software programs that we use.
And Smart Speakers is the device with integrated Virtual Assistant.

Holger Muller, VP & Principal Analyst, at Constellation Research, kindly confirmed that "Chatbots and Virtual Assistants are the same. The latter is the newer term. But both do the same task.”

You must have seen similar Videos while surfing through Social Media. According to Oracle video, there will be 10 billion connected mobile devices by 2021. It further states that ‘Messaging Apps' is the most used app category, like WhatsApp, WeChat, and FB Messenger. Half of the world population (approximately 4 billion) is using Messaging Apps. Messaging has emerged as a dominant online activity according to Deloitte article as well. And Chris Messina suggests we are moving towards "Conversational Commerce".

Hence companies are using CUI-Bots (which are easily deployed in messaging Apps) to effectively interact with people. Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning enable CUI-Bots to automatically respond to thousands of queries with relevant and customized answers. You don’t need to Search, Call or Email for information. You just need to type or ask. For complex issues, the bot forwards you to the Staff Experts.

“Messaging is the new browser and bots are the new websites” – Mike Roberts, Head of Messaging @ KIK

According to the Deloitte Trends Report, “Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate. Individuals are relatively quick to adapt to ongoing innovations, but organizations move at a slower pace.” Even Oracle article suggests that there is a big disconnect, 90% of employees are comfortable interacting with Bots, and very few HR Professionals deploy AI in their organizations.

HR has a unique opportunity to fill the gap. We can help Leaders and organizations adapt to technology. We are seeing a similar trend where people are using CUI-Bots (Alexa, Siri, Cortana, and Google Assistant) at their home. Now we can offer them similar experience at work by providing them access to those tools at the office. Some experts call it ‘Consumerization of HR’.

Josh Bersin has published a comprehensive report on ‘Talent Trends – HR Technology Report 2018’. He advocates, “making HR transactions easier, more automatic, and more intelligent.” He further says that HR Tech buyers are now comparing HR Softwares by ‘ease of use’ instead of other important parameters.

Josh says that “there is new demand for platforms that let employees get answers to their questions, submit transactions, look up information, or get critical help in the easiest possible way.” He states that they were early solutions in this category, called ‘self-service platforms’.

Josh says that many vendors have since built similar systems, including Aon Hewitt, Conduent, Deloitte, Dovetail Software, NeoCase Software, NorthgateArinso, Oracle, PeopleDoc, Salesforce, ServiceNow, SuccessFactors, and Zendesk. Josh highlights the significance of CUI-Bots with the following statement, “Just imagine these kinds of interfaces connected to your HR system and the volume of transactions you could automate.”

Where can we deploy CUI-Bots in our HR Processes:

Recruitment –

Pre-Hire Assessment: Once candidates submit their applications through ATS, Chatbot can contact the candidate and asks them pre-screening questions. An intelligent Bot can efficiently handle a vast number of applicants during the pre-screening process. Bots will acknowledge their application and keep them in the loop throughout the hiring process. Bots can also answer follow-up questions and schedule interviews.
Interviews: Apart from scheduling the interviews they can also complete Video interviews with candidates while analyzing body language, keywords, and tone.
Reference Checks – The CUI-Bots can contact given references on behalf of the organization and collect pertinent details.

Onboarding– The CUI-Bots can assist in completing formalities and provide necessary information including their role and Team members even before day one. While complying with a checklist they can also recommend courses during the first 90 days.

Coaching– IBM – Watson career coach understands employee interests and preferences to recommend opportunities within the company and also suggest career plans.

Performance Management– We can initiate the appraisal process using Bots with notifications for regular Check-ins. It can simplify and automate Goal – Performance tracking.

Employee Engagement & other Surveys – A few days ago I saw this interesting AI Bot (Video) used for employee surveys with an option to submit ‘anonymous feedback’. We can use them for similar surveys like Onboarding Survey, Exit Survey, Salary Survey, Pulse Survey, Benefits Survey, 360⁰ Survey, Attitude-Opinion-Satisfaction Survey etc.

Learning & Development – For the lasting impact of our training initiatives Bots can work as a mentor, facilitator or instructor. As suggested by Josh Bersin, Bots can help employees learn in ‘the flow of work’ without moving away from the apps they are working in. For in-depth details read this impressive article by Paul McElvaney.

Help Desk-ESS- Service Delivery – No matter what you call them they are a common way of providing required information to employees. This process was automated using Intranet, Employee Portals, Employee Self-Service (as earlier mentioned by Josh Bersin). Bots can quickly answer employee queries. For complex issues, they can forward them to Staff Experts.

Attendance – As shown in the above Video, we can use Bots to track employee attendance. There are options available these days to add Bots using plugins for Microsoft Teams or Slack. Employees can also attach their selfies.

Compensation & Benefits – Arrival of AI had enabled companies to easily manage personalized Compensation, Benefits, and Incentives for Millennials and other employees. Employees can interact with Bots to convey their preferences and also get the required insights to make informed decisions. We can save costs by deploying Bots to efficiently address employee queries. Bots can also automate common data entry tasks for effective payroll management.

Workforce Management– Bots can reduce the burden involved in Workforce Management process by managing workers, shifts, and schedules. Employees can easily manage their shifts while supervisors ensure optimum utilization of available resources. For details, you may read about collaboration between Kronos & Microsoft Teams.

If you think we can add value using CUI-Bots for other HR processes please give your suggestions in the comments below.

Benefits of using CUI-Bots:

They are easy to use, e.g. instead of going through the portal, a website for getting information, one can easily ask or type what they want at any time.
Unlike going through several clicks in the process one can accomplish a task using one verbal command. Like “Give me details of open positions for the Marketing Department, and email that to John”.
CUI-Bots require little or no training. They not only understand the natural language but also interpret it to take necessary actions. They can handle a vast number of queries at any time.
Bots handle several apps at the same time. As stated in the earlier example, getting details of open positions from one app and sending email using another.
Allow non-expert users to easily interact with complex applications.
Reduce costs and enhance efficiency by automating Self-Service while improving User experience and satisfaction.
Quickly and easily deliver relevant information while complying with internal procedures.

Limitations of CUI-Bots:

Noisy Offices: According to George Lawton first we will use CUI-Bots in Conference Rooms or partitioned offices where they can differentiate between voices. The noisy workplace may limit their effectiveness. Practically it is impossible for employees to complete certain confidential tasks using CUI-Bots in open offices.

Password Protection: The available CUI-Bots provide limited options for authentication. Even if we use voice passwords someone may overhear them.

Complex Tasks: CUI-Bots are unsuitable for complex problem solving and other tasks for e.g. detailed data analysis, reconciliation, and nested processes (processes within processes).

IT Security: This would be another important concern for companies while deploying CUI-Bots. Since they need access to confidential HR information about our employees. Hence consultation with IT experts become mandatory for necessary precautions.

Legal Compliance: Complying with Legal requirements would be necessary for effective implementation of these tools. Especially compliance with General Data Protection and Regulations (GDPR) and similar legislation.

Regional Languages: In a country like India we have so many regional languages. Where same words have different meanings in different languages. CUI-Bots may be unable to understand these issues.

Empathic Listening: According to research conducted at UCLA by Albert Mehrabian, “Communication is 93% Nonverbal.” (7% Verbal, 38% Vocal, & 55% Facial) However, the authenticity of this statement is questionable according to academicians. Some say two-thirds of the communication is non-verbal. "The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said" - Peter Drucker. Can we expect Bots to understand that during a crucial interview?

Stephen Covey suggests using empathic listening for effective communication. In addition to spoken words, it involves considering ‘meaning' and ‘feeling'. Can we expect CUI-Bots to acquire this capability for being effective in the workplace?

We will conclude using a quote from SuccessFactors article

“HR software is on the verge of a chatbot revolution, ushering in “conversational HR” where processes are streamlined, efficiency is maximized, and communication and engagement is improved.”

Employee Engagement Survey – Software Solutions

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 12:23:00 +0000

On October 8, 2018, LinkedIn acquired Glint and entered the segment of “Employee Engagement”. According to Josh Bersin, “Glint, is a comprehensive employee experience platform that stores data from onboarding, new-hire experience, ongoing pulse surveys, and open interviews.” It is important to note that Microsoft – LinkedIn approached this market segment through the acquisition route. On November 11, 2018, SuccessFactors announced an acquisition of Qualtrics. No wonder that ‘Employee Engagement’ is gaining leadership attention and becoming the organizational priority. Even Jack Welch thinks that ‘Employee Engagement’ is number one indicator of organizational health.

Gallup carried out research in 155 countries and found 15% engaged employees, 65% not engaged employees and 18% actively disengaged employees. The report further states that engaged employees increased productivity (17%), sales (20%), and profitability (25%). And reduced absenteeism (41%), turnover (59%), quality issues (40%), and safety incidents (70%).

If you ask 10 HR Professionals they will tell you 15 definitions of Employee Engagement. Every HR consultancy has their own Engagement Framework, with more or less similar engagement drivers. According to the SHRM report, a number of definitions exist; however, they all share these common elements:

“Engaged employees will:

Feel satisfaction with their work.
Take pride in their organization.
Enjoy and believe in their work.
Understand the link between their job and the organization’s mission.
Feel valued by their employer.
Fully commit to their employer and their role.
Exert extra effort to contribute to business success.”

The engaged employees are proud of their company and job. Company invest in developing their employees and offer opportunities for growth. Employees enjoy their work and are willing to recommend it to their friends and contacts. Engaged employees are intrinsically motivated, and hence they are less likely to leave.

“Engagement – The extent to which people are not only satisfied or committed to the organization but also advocates for the organization.”- William A. Schiemann

I have already covered the recent trend in measuring employee engagement in my earlier article: Employee Surveys - from once a year to a continuous process.

Considering the latest developments, the term ‘Employee Experience’ is gaining traction according to few consultancies. In short employee experience is creating the ‘moments that matter’. However, given the buzz around this term and it's scope it would need a separate article to cover the topic.

Although it’s interesting to note that according to Dave Ulrich, “But great HR people have done empirical work for decades, however now it's all about the ‘employee experience' but when I think about it, it's actually work that was done 30 years ago.”

Meanwhile, Laszlo Bock has started his own company that uses nudge engine. As per his book Work Rules, this concept is largely based on the research by Richard H. Thaler and Daniel Kahneman in the field of Behavioral Economics. It will make life easier for OD Professionals. Josh Bersin calls it ‘Employee Engagement 3.0’ and says, “this approach has tremendous potential.” You can read his article to gain further insights ( Employee Engagement 3.0 )

‘Marketing’ function has influenced the trends in measuring employee engagement. For example : Pulse surveys, Continuous Listening, Voice of Employees, using AI, NLP, Social Network Analysis, Sentiment analysis; and linking all the data to financial results.

Josh Bersin has published a comprehensive report on trends in HR Technology. ( Talent Trends – HR Technology Report 2018 ) There is a section on developments in Feedback, Pulse Survey, and Analytics Tools. Josh suggests that: “Well-run companies now understand that in a sense, employees are more important than customers— because when employees are managed effectively, customers tend to be happier.”

How does it work :

According to the report, we have an influx of high-tech tools to track employee engagement. These tools help managers and employees collect feedback data using pulse surveys. Unlike Annual Surveys, these tools quickly analyze feedback data as well as open-ended comments using NLP and immediately produce results on the dashboard.

Josh says that “Most of these offerings include text analytics and let you send out a quick pulse question at any time. Some companies now pulse all their employees every week or two, and the data goes directly to managers to give them visibility into which teams are not effectively listening to their employees.”

These software providers bring together the best thinking in Organizational Development, AI, machine learning, and real-time technology. Instead of the Analysts and consultants, anyone can use those tools.

Abovementioned tools provide Pulses and surveys which employees can quickly complete using any device of their choice. They give us timely vital feedback from the people. Looking at the trends, soon employees may be able to answer surveys while conversing with Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri, Cortana via mobile app or Smart Speakers. In India, there is interesting AI Chatbot ( Video ) used for employee surveys with an option to submit ‘anonymous feedback’.

While employees are taking these surveys, we get real-time dashboards with analysis. Our Senior Leaders, Line Managers, and HR Professionals get accurate insights about the current state of employee engagement for all the employee segments. The dashboards include trends, benchmark comparisons, and details for each engagement driver and team. We can also use ‘heat maps’ to identify strengths and areas of improvements for each engagement driver.

These tools help us to create real-time configurable reports to compare results according to employee attributes. For further analysis, we can use ‘Driver Impact Report’ reflecting engagement profile for each employee segment. It clearly shows the engagement scores for each team with respective engagement driver. So that, we can focus on the areas important to our team.

Due to advancements in the technology, predictive capabilities are becoming part of the Software tools, providing valuable insights. That helps us to proactively focus on issues requiring immediate attention as well as other opportunities and areas for improvements.

Using predictive capabilities we can get notifications for segments/population who are planning to leave or whose performance is not up to the mark. We get an opportunity to quickly address these issues on priority while helping us to prevent attrition and unnecessary hassles.

For easily comprehending responses to open-ended questions the narrative intelligence (Natural Language Processing) uses all the comments and extracts the main theme and sentiment in the visual map or word cloud.

The actual work starts on completion of the survey process. The most impressive part of these tools is the option to take action on the insights gained through the survey analysis. Once employees have raised their concern (answering surveys). They expect us to take immediate actions to resolve those issues. The ‘Action Planning’ (recommendations) section of these tools takes care of this problem. It helps Leaders and Line Managers to take effective steps on team feedback. This integrated action planning delineates Line Managers and Leaders :

Why engagement issues matter.
Where to focus. &
How to improve.

In the process, it clearly depicts the impact of their actions over time.

With help of aforementioned tools, organizations can increase employee engagement, develop their people and achieve their strategic objectives. These software tools give us:

Real-time visibility into the state of the employee engagement.
Proactive insights to uncover issues and opportunities.
Recommendations – Action Plans to effectively act on the insights gained through the survey analysis.

Engagement Software Solutions Providers:

There are following main software solutions providers according to the report.

CEB - CultureIQ, Culture Amp, eePulse, Glint, Hyphen, IBM Kenexa Employee Voice, OrgVitality, Perceptyx, Qualtrics – (SuccessFactors), Questback, Spring International, Thymometrics, TINYpulse, Ultimate Software’s Kanjoya, & Waggl.

There are new embedded tools from ADP, CornerstoneOnDemand, Saba, and Workday. The ERP vendors are also moving in this direction according to the report, for example, Qualtrics acquisition by SuccessFactors.

Suggestions from-Tom Haak:

Celpax, CircleLytics, Effectory, Peakon, VibeCatch, Willis Towers Watson.

For continuous Listening Keencorp, StatusToday.

If you are using Slack, following simple plugins are available to quickly create Surveys : HappsterFeedback, Polly, and SimplePoll.

Josh suggests that “When companies start implementing continuous performance management, they often realize that feedback and engagement survey systems should be connected to the process… I believe we are going to see integration between this area and performance management in the years ahead.”

Logically that may sound correct. I have recently covered this topic in my earlier article on “What is OKR & CFR and How it works”. Once we complete the survey process, we get an action plan to improve employee engagement. Now that action plan may become Objective or Key Results for our Leaders, Line Managers or the HR Professionals. However, in practice survey and appraisals are two distinct processes. Hence we may have to wait and watch how this unfolds.

"Our employee engagement scores and our company performance over time determine whether we are succeeding."

- Garry Ridge and Stan Sewitch

What is OKR - CFR and How it works

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Thu, 29 Nov 2018 12:49:00 +0000

The recent trend in Performance Management is moving away from Annual Performance Review to the process of regular Check-ins. The main reason behind this trend, as Laszlo Bock says: "The major problem with performance management systems today is that they have become substitutes for the vital act of actually managing people."

There’s this so-called Pearson’s Law which says: “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, the rate of improvement accelerates.” A similar quote by Peter Drucker says, "What gets measured gets managed” & even Louis Gerstner says the same thing, "People don’t do what you expect but what you inspect." Hence it is important to Measure what matters.

Recently I read the book by John Doerr ( Measure What Matters, 2017). Let’s see what is OKRs ( Objectives and Key Results ) & How this ‘Goal setting system works'.

Origins of OKRs:

During his tenure at Intel, Andrew Grove devised & implemented this system in 1971 as stated in the book. He was inspired by the eminent management legend Peter Drucker & his 1954 book, The Practice of Management.

"Management by Objectives" became the foundation for the system devised by Grove which then was named "iMBOs" ( Intel Management by Objectives ). Except for name (iMBOs) it was distinct from the earlier system.

The term Key Results was coined by Grove and was used while discussing Objectives. However, John Doerr promoted the term "Objectives and Key Results".

Intel, Google, Uber, AOL, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Oracle, Slack, Spotify, Twitter, Anheuser-Busch, BMW, Disney, Exxon, Samsung, & many other companies are using OKRs these days.

OKRs are simple goal setting system. John has emphasized to have ‘Goals’. Even Laszlo Bock in his book ‘Work Rules’ says that “the topic of goals, the academic research agrees with your intuition: Having goals improves performance.” However, one must make sure to set the correct goals. “Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favour.” – Brian Tracy

Image 1: The definitions of OKR & CFR.

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results. Objectives are ‘what’ you want to have accomplished. And Key Results are ‘how’ you are going to get it done. In simple words, when we successfully achieve all our Key Results, that automatically results in achieving respective Objective. However, it is subject to properly describing that objective in the first place. “The results must be specific, measurable, and verifiable; if you achieve all your results, you’ve attained your objective.” – Laszlo Bock

The unique feature of the OKRs System is that it’s transparent, even the most junior staff can look at everyone's goals, on up to the Top Management. As John says, "Meritocracy flourishes in sunlight.”

Generally one can have 3 to 5 Objectives every quarter, ( and 3 to 5 Key Results for each Objective) since that helps to focus your efforts on specific goals. Obviously, it is easy to ‘focus’ on a few objectives, that help us to be on the same page while moving in the right direction. OKRs also prevent us from moving in the wrong direction. You may consider adding Objectives and Key Results if they fit into the established agenda while asking one simple question, “What matters the most”.

John says that "quarterly OKR cadence is best suited to keep pace with today’s fast-changing markets... The best OKR cadence is the one that fits the context and culture of your business.” Even Josh Bersin advocates the quarterly cadence. John suggests that it’s the shorter-term goals that drive the actual work.

Although to know about the achievement of the Key Results, they must be measurable ( Numeric ) and verifiable to provide concrete ( Yes/No ) answer without any arguments or judgment. John says that “Effective KRs are specific and time-bound, aggressive yet realistic.” Depending on the nature of the Objectives they can be rolled over for a year or longer, however, Key Results evolve as the work progresses. One must consider Quality as well as quantity so as to cover the vital elements.

As with any important initiative in your organization OKRs need conviction & buy-in from Top Management. John says that “OKRs require a public commitment by leadership, in word and deed.” Successful implementation of OKRs hinges on “Effective Communication” from Leadership. To enhance employee participation, motivation and support Leaders should clearly and regularly articulate “What” are we trying to achieve and even important “Why”.

John says that OKRs are not a silver bullet. OKRs cannot be a substitute for sound judgment, strong leadership, or a creative workplace culture.

Categories of OKRs:

There are two categories of OKRs as described in the book, namely 1. Committed objectives & 2. Aspirational objectives.

1-Committed objectives: These are regular objectives pertaining to product releases, hiring, turnover etc. Management sets them at the company level, employees at the department and individual level. These are supposed to be achieved in full (100%) within a specified time limit.

2-Aspirational Objectives: These are the ‘moon shots’ as Larry Page calls them. They are radical, revolutionary and innovative ideas generated at any level in the organization. They aim to mobilize the entire organization. Obviously, they are not easy to achieve, and even Google has a 40% rate of failure. However, one must remember that not every organization has culture and failure appetite like Google and it is better to be cautious while setting aspirational objectives.

John says that “By definition, objectives are significant, concrete, action-oriented, and (ideally) inspirational.” According to Andy Grove’s standard, and even at Google aspirational OKRs are set at 60 to 70 percent attainment. Even though performance is expected to fall short at least 30% of the time, that is considered a success.

Alignment– Cascading OKRs:

Once the Company objectives are set the next important step in the process is setting cascading goals down the line. Here alignment of the OKRs becomes imperative for strategic implementation. Companies with highly aligned employees are more than twice as likely to be top performers as per Harvard Business Review.

Cascading OKRs:

In line with the company OKRs everyone else is expected to set their individual, teams, and functional OKRs. Your supervisor’s Key Results become your Objectives; you may also set your own Objectives congruent with the company’s Objectives. Then you set 3 to 5 Key Results for each objective. Your Key Results becomes Objectives for your subordinates.

Since the OKR system is transparent they can be shared without cascading them in standard procedure. One can skip several layers of hierarchy if it serves the larger purpose. For example, top management Key Results may become Objectives for Line Managers or the C-level Key Results become Objectives for front-line employees.

Alternatively, as John says, “the company’s leadership might present its OKRs to everyone at once and trust people to say, ‘Okay, now I see where we’re going, and I’ll adapt my goals to that’.”

Unlike traditional waterfall approach, OKRs provide latitude for ‘Bottom Up’ goal-setting. The system provides essential flexibility and encourages front-line employees to come up with much-needed insights which otherwise goes unnoticed. Since these are the people who are close to and first to notice developments in the external environment. In healthy organizations, it also avoids over-alignment and enhances employee engagement and participation. Employees are more likely to go after objectives set by themselves.

Laszlo Bock says that you can immediately notice the outstanding performers, as well as the underperforming employees. That helps you to take quick actions. The transparency creates clear signals for everyone.

The following quote by John rightly sums up the point, “In business, I have found, there is rarely a single right answer. By loosening the reins and backing people to find their right answers, we help everybody win.”

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

To address the drawbacks of the waterfall approach OKRs system provides lateral cross-functional connectivity, peer-to-peer and team-to-team. It also removes silos and fosters teamwork, innovation, and advanced problem-solving.

John says that “To grab a competitive advantage, both leaders and contributors need to link up horizontally, breaking through barriers.”

The isolated efforts are reduced with cohesive synergistic teamwork since everyone is working on the same objectives. It also results in organizations becoming nimble and quick to respond to the developments in the external environment.

OKR Shepherd:

To facilitate the change management process like every other OD initiative. John suggests appointing an ‘OKR Shepherd’ ( Change Agent / Champion ) during the implementation process. That would foster OKR adoption throughout the company. The effectiveness of the OKR system hinges on successful adoption by each and every employee. These shepherds are responsible for notifying employees and providing necessary support for effective implementation.

Tracking OKRs:

John says that according to the research, making measured headway can be more incentivizing than public recognition, monetary inducements, or even achieving the goal itself. “The single greatest motivator is ‘making progress in one’s work.’ The days that people make progress are the days they feel most motivated and engaged.” - Daniel Pink.

The software tools provide visual cues on the dashboard like % completion with the green color that indicates achievement of respective OKRs. However, employees must check in regularly to avoid delay. John suggests weekly check-ins to prevent slippage.

The most underrated virtue of OKRs is that they can be tracked, adapted or modified according to the circumstances. During the tracking process we have four options: Continue, Update, Start & Stop.

Continue: It’s a Green Zone (on track)
Update: Modify a Yellow Zone (needs attention)
Start: If needed launch a new OKR
Stop: Red Zone ( drop OKR )

The real-time dashboard indicates progress journey by quantifying goals and highlighting improvement opportunities. One has to be cautious while dropping the OKR during the quarter and inform everyone involved in the process.

Wrap-up:

In both one-on-ones and team meetings, these wrap-ups consist of three parts: 1 - Objective Scoring, 2 - Subjective Self-assessment, and 3 - Reflection. This wrap up can provide us valuable insights through evaluation and analysis. It’s one of the important benefits of implementing a data-driven system.

Objective Scoring: The objective scoring provides us with the numeric representation of our achievements. It also tells us what we are doing right and areas for improvements. In case of low scores, carry out reassessment to figure out if the Objective is worth pursuing and the quick actions needed for course correction.

The OKR Software tools provide inbuilt dashboard which automatically calculates these scores. John says that “The simplest, cleanest way to score an objective is by averaging the percentage completion rates of its associated key results.”

Google uses a scale of 0 to 1.0:

● 0.7 to 1.0 = Green.* (We delivered.)

● 0.4 to 0.6 = Yellow. (We made progress, but fell short of completion.)

● 0.0 to 0.3 = Red. (We failed to make real progress.)

Subjective Self-assessment: The missing insights in objective scoring can be highlighted with subjective self-assessment by the employees. It provides them an opportunity to explain their outstanding efforts hidden in the low scores as well as achievement of significant scores without putting in much of efforts.

Examples: Scoring and Assessment

OKR	Bring in ten new customers.
Progress	70%
Score	0.9
Self-assessment	Due to a slump in the market, the OKR was significantly tougher to achieve than I’d thought. Our seven new customers represented an exceptionally good effort and outcome.

There will always be employees who are either too lenient or strict in their self-assessment. In any case, the team leader will jump in and help them to recalibrate. The contextual feedback and broader discussion within the team are important in the process.

As rightly concluded by John, “Where OKR scores pinpoint what went right or wrong in the work, and how the team might improve, self-assessments drive a superior goal-setting process for the next quarter.”

Reflection: It helps us to ponder over insights we gained in the process. Things we managed well and insights that we realized can be used for further improvements. John suggests that "for best results, OKRs are scrutinized several times per quarter by contributors and their managers. Progress is reported, obstacles identified, key results refined."

For this, the employees and managers can meet together during one-on-ones according to the cadence. Teams and departments can hold regular meetings to review progress and chart the future course of action towards shared objectives.

The OKR system is inherently action oriented. Employees are expected to set aggressive goals and achieve most of them. Then pause to ponder over the insights gained, celebrate achievements and carry on the process.

John says that “OKR wrap-ups are retrospective and forward-looking at the same time.” During the Wrap-up, we may carry forward the unfinished Objectives to the next quarter with revised Key Results. Once in a while, we may drop the Objective after thorough analysis followed by ‘reflection’ about what we learned and how can we use that in the future. You may Continue, Update, Start or Stop while asking one simple question, "What matters the most".

CFR ( Conversations, Feedback & Recognition )

According to the book, it was Doug Dennerline (BetterWorks) who pioneered the concept of using CFR tools along with OKRs. They brought both the tools ( OKR & CFR ) to cloud and Smartphones to revolutionize the Annual Review process. This combination provides us with a new HR model for the new world of work. The definitions of CFRs is given above in the ‘image 1’. John says that "Like OKRs, CFRs champion transparency, accountability, empowerment, and teamwork, at all levels of the organization.” They are a complete delivery system to measure what matters.

Image 2: Comparison between Annual Review v/s. Regular Check-ins

When companies Annual Reviews are accompanied by regular Check-ins and real-time feedback they are in a better position to make progress throughout the year. It also brings in better alignment and transparency to the entire process. John says that "OKRs and CFRs are mutually reinforcing." While moving to regular Check-ins, OKRs provides us purpose and clarity and CFRs give us the energy we need for this journey.

Considering the pace of developments in the field of technology (AI, ML, RPA, Bots, Analytics) we may need to revamp many HR practices. While moving to regular Check-ins John suggests that we must separate rewards conversations from development discussions. I came across this concept first while reading “Talent” (2008) by Edward Lawler and then “Work Rules!” (2015) by Laszlo Bock. John says that "As companies transition to continuous performance management, OKRs and CFRs become mostly independent from compensation and formal evaluations.” Let us look at CFRs in detail.

Conversations: The employee and his superiors are supposed to regularly meet (one-on-ones) and discuss the OKR as per the predefined schedule. However, John suggests that the employee must set the agenda and proceedings of the meeting. And the supervisor should provide coaching, guidance, and support necessary for employee development and achievement of the Objectives. The conversation must focus on future improvements and development instead of negative criticism.

The one-on-ones may be arranged Weekly, Monthly or Quarterly depending on the circumstances. However, these meetings should discuss things in detail apart from the day to day work. John says that "As workplace conversations become integral, managers are evolving from taskmasters to teachers, coaches, and mentors.”

Based on BetterWorks’ experience with hundreds of enterprises, five crucial areas have emerged for conversations:

Image 3: Five areas of Conversations

Feedback: It reminds me of a quote by Bill Gates, “We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve.” Effective feedback foster performance improvement, however, it has to be specific and integral part of the process. John says that in developing organizations HR has the responsibility for delivering feedback according to the schedule. Whereas in mature organizations feedback is multidirectional, ad hoc, and real-time open discussion between people anywhere within the organization. There are some organizations using 360° feedback as an additional tool for continuous performance management.

When it comes to effective problem-solving in the cross-functional team environment, constructive feedback enhances connections and team bonding. It also results in eradicating silos in the organization and foster teamwork within departments.

However, one has to be cautious while providing negative feedback to the employees. It is relatively easy to provide favorable feedback. There is ample material available online on "How-to" effectively deliver feedback. There are many software tools available these days with an option to provide anonymous feedback as well. John says that "Feedback is a listening system”. According to Josh Bersin, in addition to annual surveys, we are moving towards regular pulse surveys for real-time feedback. The latest software tools have this inbuilt feature.

Recognition: “The ultimate trigger for activating an employee’s strength is recognition.” – Marcus Buckingham. Recognition these days is horizontal and based on performance. Using the inbuilt system anyone can cheer anyone else's goal regardless of the Function, Department or title. John says that it crowdsources meritocracy. “Simple public recognition is the most effective and most underutilized management tools.” – Laszlo Bock

There are few guidelines given in the book for effective recognition:

Institute peer-to-peer recognition. To foster the culture of gratitude, employee achievements should be consistently recognized by peers.
There must be clear criteria for providing recognition. Employee efforts and results must be recognized at the moment of completing projects, achieving company goals and while displaying adherence to the company values.
The heroic tales of employee achievements ( recognition stories ) should be circulated through Newsletter, Blog, and Intranet.
Try to enhance the frequency of recognition by making them attainable. Make sure that even the smaller efforts are being recognized to create the ‘Hoopla, Celebration and Verve’ as suggested by Tom Peters.
There has to be a clear line of sight between company goals, strategies, and recognition. Organization priorities should be supported with timely shout-out i.e. Cost Cutting, Teamwork, Innovation etc.

“Celebrating makes people feel like winners and creates an atmosphere of recognition and positive energy.” – Jack Welch. Peer-to-peer recognition is the inbuilt feature of the OKR system. Recognition and feedback work as energy boosters for achieving the goals every quarter while highlighting the areas for adding value. John sums up the point by saying, “mark this: Every cheer is a step toward operating excellence, the crowning purpose of OKRs and CFRs.”

Culture:

John has written an entire section to cover the importance of right ‘culture’ for successful implementation of OKRs. According to Tom Peters, it was Ed Schein (1986) who first underscored the importance of ‘Culture’ to enhance the effectiveness of strategy implementation.

“Culture is who you are and what you stand for. Culture is a product of the collective attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of the people who work within an organization.” Michael Bergdahl

An important feature of the culture is that it's impossible to replicate. Even Andy Grove says that “Whatever success we have had in maintaining our culture has been instrumental in Intel’s success in surviving strategic inflection points.”

John suggests to first have the right culture; even there is a story about “Lumeris”, where culture change initiated before OKRs were deployed. He says that OKRs and CFRs are effective tools for initiating a Culture change. He further says that OKRs and CFRs provide a blueprint to develop a positive culture. They facilitate to bring in the culture of transparency.

To develop a vibrant and value-driven Culture, OKRs and CFRs provide top-down alignment, bottom-up autonomy & engagement, and Team-first networking. "In fact, management doesn't change the culture. Management invites the workforce itself to change the culture." - Lou Gerstner, IBM. And hence, OKRs and CFRs become an effective tool available to all the employees to change the culture.

As correctly concluded by John, “Healthy culture and structured goal setting are interdependent. They’re natural partners in the quest for operating excellence.”

OKR Softwares:

You may use general purpose Softwares ( MS Word, Spreadsheets or PPT ). However, experts suggest using advanced, robust, dedicated, and cloud-based OKR management software. ( This article clearly articulate the drawbacks: Top 9 Problems of Using Spreadsheets to Track OKRs [ And Why You Absolutely Need OKR Software] )

John says that "The best-in-class platforms feature mobile apps, automatic updating, analytics reporting tools, real-time alerts, and integration with Salesforce, JIRA, and Zendesk.”

Using such software one can easily create, track, edit and score their OKRs navigating dashboard with just a few clicks. You may check out this BetterWorks demo ( https://youtu.be/1eqn54DLN68 )

Image 4: Benefits of implementing Software

OKR Softwares:

For in-depth details about features and other specifications, you may compare various software at http://okrsoftware.com or visit www.getapp.com and type OKR in the search box.

Trends in Performance Management software:

Josh Bersin has published a comprehensive report on trends in HR Technology. ( Talent Trends – HR Technology Report 2018 ) It has a section covering developments in the area of Performance Management. Especially moving away from Annual Reviews to Continuous Performance Management. He says that it’s the most pervasive transformations we've seen in HR over the last decade.

He further says that "Nearly every major company is looking at this next generation of tools, primarily because they are designed around teams, they are generally easy to use, and they can be used on mobile, social, and conversational interfaces.”

Today, ERP vendors ( SuccessFactors, Workday, ADP, and Oracle ) are in various stages of building all of this functionality. Even the Talent Management Suite Solutions providers ( CornerstoneOnDemand, Lumesse, PageUp People, PeopleFluent, Saba + Halogen, SilkRoad, SumTotal Systems, Technomedia Talent Management Solutions, and Ultimate Software) are all doing similar things. A fast-growing set of exciting new tools has also entered the market. This category includes companies such as Alliance Enterprises, BetterWorks, Reflektive, 7Geese, HighGround, Impraise, Small Improvements, TINYpulse, NEOGOV’s Perform, Zugata, and others, as well as new solutions from Globoforce and O.C. Tanner.

To conclude Josh says, “The market is very hot and companies are seeing tremendous value in these types of systems... the ERP vendors have lots of work to do, which is why many are investing in this area.”

Following quote rightly conclude this article: "Where OKRs take root, merit trumps seniority. Managers become coaches, mentors, and architects. Actions—and data—speak louder than words." - John Doerr

SHRM - Top 30 Indian HR Influencers on Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Sat, 05 May 2018 08:42:00 +0000

Every year, SHRM India announces ‘Top HR Influencers on Social Media’ during their SHRMTech Conference. This year the #SHRMTech18 Conference was held on 26th & 27th April 2018 in Hyderabad. On April 26, 2018 SHRM India released the report on “Top 30 Indian HR Influencers on Social Media”

According to the report, SHRM India used HR-specific keywords to map 250 influencers, while considering following social media platforms: Klout | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook. On the basis of parameters like activity level and follower count they arrived at the Top 30 Indian HR influencers of the year ( 2017-18 ).

The report further states that “this list in no way devalues the efforts of the rest, for imparted knowledge has always benefitted growth. Hence, we congratulate every influencer who contributes for a better HR each day.”

Fortunately, I was selected to be part of this report along with other distinguished personalities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank SHRM India for considering me.

To be among 'Top 30 Indian HR Influencers' is really a prominent recognition. I would also like to congratulate all the fellow HR Professionals and thank them for enlightening us about HR wisdom through different mediums.

Many thanks, Friends, Followers, HR Leaders & Influencers who helped me in this endeavor. It is a result of your support and interaction on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other SNS. Thanks for your Likes, Share ( Retweet ), and Comments. Hope to receive your continued support and blessings.

Following are the “SHRM -Top 30 Indian HR Influencers on Social Media” [pdf]

About SHRM India:

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management with more than 290,000 members in over 160 countries. The Society is the leading provider for resources to solve the needs of HR professionals and advance the professional practice of human resource management.

Url: www.shrm.org
Email: shrmindia@shrm.org, shrm@shrmindia.org

Link to their Twitter Handles:

( follow them on twitter )

1	@AbhijitBhaduri	11	@IndianYash	21	@VijayBankar
2	@GautamGhosh	12	@Sathish_Ganesh	22	@Sundertrg
3	@AchyutMenon	13	@TNVora	23	@AnishAravind
4	@PrabirJha	14	@Aadil	24	@JashanJoshi
5	@Rucsb	15	@HarlinaSodhi	25	@VivekParanjpe
6	@RajanNS	16	@iSharad	26	@_Kavi
7	@Kunjal23	17	@jonas1hr	27	@Tanvi_Gautam
8	@JoyAndLife	18	@SarangBrahme	28	@RunaMaitra
9	@AshishGakrey	19	@SVRaghunandan	29	@Sahana2802
10	@AnilDagia	20	@VineetNayar	30	@HimanshuKapadia

25 HR Quotes by Tech Executives

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 08:52:00 +0000

Recently we have seen many changes in the way we manage our business. Technology has become part of our everyday life. This prompted me to find what Tech Executives think about "Human Resources" in their organizations. Following are the 25 quotes by eminent leaders in the field of technology. They reflect how people had contributed to creating value for their organizations. You may know few HR quotes by Tech Executives, please add them in the comments.

Slideshare Presentation:

25 HR Quotes by Tech Executives from Vijay Bankar

Youtube Video:

Following is the list of quotes covered in the above presentation:

"The process of adapting to change starts with employees who, through their daily work, adjust to the new outside forces." - Andrew Grove
"Leaders are those who empower others." - Bill Gates
"The highest calling of leadership is to unlock the potential of others." - Carly Fiorina
"The coach doesn't have to play the sport as well as you do. They have to watch you and get you to be your best." - Eric Schmidt
"To me, I learned along the way, you know, culture is behavior. That's all it is; culture is people's behaviors." - Ginni Rometty
"One thing a leader does is to remove the stigma of mistakes." - Gordon Moore
"I spend 90% of my time with people who don't report to me." - Jack Dorsey
"You have to maintain a culture of transformation and stay true to your values." - Jeff Weiner
"Updating the skills we have and developing the new ones we need is a mutual responsibility, one shared between the individual and the company." - John F. Akers
"We focus first on the people and how we incorporate them into our company, and then we focus on how to drive the business." - John Chambers
"You treat people with respect, they tend to return the favor to the company." - Larry Page
"An organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value." - Louis Gerstner
"I would only hire someone to work directly for me if I was willing to work for that person." - Mark Zuckerberg
"If you have fun at your job, I think you're going to be more effective." - Meg Whitman
"We’re now much better at picking people. And we’ve also gotten much better at developing them." - Michael Dell
"Pay attention to your culture and your hires from the very beginning." - Reid Hoffman
"If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization." - Robert Noyce
"At the core of the products we build, I want to think about productivity centered around people." - Satya Nadella
"Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything." - Sergey Brin
"In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders." - Sheryl Sandberg
"It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do." - Steve Jobs
"Wherever smart people work, doors are unlocked." - Steve Wozniak
"Google teams have lots of autonomy, including from people like me." - Sundar Pichai
"Knowing whose advice to take and on what topic is the single most important decision an entrepreneur can make." - Vinod Khosla
"The job of a manager is to support his or her staff, not vice versa, and that begins by being among them." - William Hewlett

Talent Management needs HELP

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 17:51:00 +0000

As we, all know there were two different schools of thought in Talent Management. Exclusive & Inclusive, where the earlier focused on selected few employees as Hi-Potentials and the later considered all employees instead of selecting few. As stated by Turner & Kalman, “Talent management is now talent management for all.” Then there is yet another approach called as hybrid model suggested by Pilbeam & Corbridge, which considers combinations of the above two approaches.

Primarily there were two significant contributors to the process of Talent Management namely ‘Talent Identification’ (Assessments) & ‘Talent Development’. In fact, Church & Waclawski consider the assessment of employees as "holy grail" of talent management, more so when it is done with a high degree of precision. However, developing talent is the main issue for most of the HR Professionals.

Surveys carried out by HBR, PWC, Deloitte, & Gartner usually come up with a list of management concerns that includes topics i.e.: Leadership Development, Leadership Pipeline and developing bench strength. Hence, it has become imperative to have a robust process for ‘Talent Management’ in any organization.

In the past few years, we have witnessed enormous developments in the field of technology that has resulted in shaping employee behavior at work. Every day we see reports, articles focusing on HR issues such as Analytics, AI, Big-Data, BYOD, Machine Learning, Millenials, Overwhelming employees, Social Media, VUCA, Wearables, etc. As effective HR professionals, we have to be agile in developing and implementing our HR strategies that are congruent with these developments in the external environment.

Josh Bersin has recently published a report "Nine Trends Reinventing the HR Software Market." [pdf](referred as ‘Bersin Report’ in the following text) According to the report, all these changes in the external environment has led to 'a shift in Business Focus: changing the way we manage people.' He says that today companies are more worried about employee engagement, teamwork, innovation, and collaboration.

Josh Bersin says that "The real focus is on reinventing how people work; creating team-based tools for goal alignment and coaching; putting in place systems to provide feedback and measure engagement; and rethinking the way we measure performance, manage careers, and enable individual learning."

He further says that, at present, following four areas (shown in the image) need immediate attention by HR Professionals for improving the effectiveness of their talent management strategies. [HELP - ‘Health & Wellness’, ‘Employee Engagement’, ‘Learning & Development,’ and ‘Performance Management’]

1. Health & Wellness:

The issue of employee Health and wellness has considered first because as they say 'health is wealth'. We keep on saying that employees are our most important asset; however, it is equally important what we are doing for maintenance of this asset. It is becoming essential for HR professionals to help employees to take care of themselves for being productive and healthy at work.

As per Deloitte report employees are feeling overworked and overwhelmed, hence, wellness and emotional fitness are now becoming issues of employee engagement and performance. “It is not cash that fuels the journey to the future, but the emotional and intellectual energy of every employee.” - Hammel & Prahlad. Bookshops are flooded with books on topics i.e. mindfulness, work-life balance, and employee wellness.

Chade-Meng Tan (Author: Search Inside Yourself) has developed a unique program on 'mindfulness' for Google with guidance from Daniel Goleman and Jon Kabat-Zinn. Laszlo Bock has highlighted it in his book 'Work Rules'.

Many companies offer facilities such as gym, yoga, time management, work-life balance, dietary support, exercise, and a variety of other wellness services. In fact, they are now becoming an essential part of employment branding initiatives for attracting millennials and driving employee engagement. Even the companies marketing wellness products such as wearables, fitness gears, & Softwares are positioning their products as performance improvement tools. Following are examples of vendors providing these tools: Ceridian-LifeWorks, Fitbit, and Limeaid.

Needless to say, that such initiatives lead to improved employee performance, engagement, morale and ultimately result in developing company culture and boost the performance of the entire organization.

2. Employee Engagement:

Another important area for immediate attention of HR professionals is 'Employee Engagement'. Gallup Survey shows that only 32% of U.S. employees engaged in 2015. Gallup's extensive research shows that “employee engagement is strongly connected to business outcomes essential to an organization's financial success, such as productivity, profitability, and customer engagement.” In-fact, 85% companies ranked engagement as a top priority in Deloitte 2016 Global Human Capital Trends report.

Employee engagement is important from the perspective of business success as well as for developing an appropriate culture within an organization. It is equally important for controlling attrition and retaining leaders we have developed over the years. According to TinyPulse "Companies with high engagement are 40% more productive, 78% more profitable, and 5X more likely to achieve high performance."

Normally companies use Engagement Surveys as a tool to monitor the level of engagement and then take appropriate decisions based on the facts. I have already covered the topic of 'employee surveys' in detail earlier. Edward Lawler originally suggested the concept of pulse surveys in his book "Talent" (2008) which is now gaining traction in 2016. Laszlo Bock also mentions the use of survey called “Googlegeist” (which means “the spirit of Google”) for more than fifty thousand employees at Google. As suggested by many management authors, HR professionals may need to consider 'bottom up' approach instead of 'top down' to effectively address engagement issue.

The marketing department was using this tool for decades and now HR department has started using it for real-time engagement evaluation of their employees. Most of the organizations are using once-a-year 'climate' surveys accompanied by pulse surveys and feedback tools. Bersin report suggests that pulse surveys and always-on feedback tools are becoming critical to business success since they create opportunities for business process improvement. It further says that there are more than 120 vendors offering pulse survey tools, employee mood monitoring systems, culture and engagement assessments, and other forms of anonymous or confidential feedback systems.

We can use pulse surveys quarterly, monthly, or weekly. In the case of a major organizational change event, we can use these tools to collect real-time feedback from employees. Employees can use almost any device for accessing the surveys, anytime anywhere according to their convenience. Following are examples of few vendors providing these tools: CultureAmp, Glint, Hyphen, Kanjoya, OfficeVibe, and TinyPulse.

As an HR Professionals, we cannot afford to ignore the employee engagement issue and tools that are now available to us. We have to develop appropriate culture and implement suitable strategies to address the employee engagement issue for improving the effectiveness of our talent management initiatives.

3. Learning & Development:

HR professionals rely heavily on Learning & Development to nurture & develop their talent pipeline. Bersin report states that arrival of new technology has significantly affected the way learning content consumed by employees to stay updated in the ever-evolving environment. Hence, it needs immediate attention from HR professionals for delivering agile learning tools for improving the effectiveness of our L&D strategies.

Many successful companies consider learning & development initiatives as a key investment that directly results in strategic success. In fact, a number of companies that think about learning & development as a "very high" priority, tripled in a year according to Deloitte University study.

There have been tremendous developments in the field of learning, from e-learning to blended learning, social learning, mobile learning, 70-20-10 learning, video-based learning, microlearning, embedded-learning, spaced learning etc.

There are many online learning platforms available such as Coursera, CrossKnowledge, EdX, iversity, Lynda, NovoEd, Skillsoft, Udacity, Udemy, and even Youtube. There is ample amount of content available these days; however, the real issue is how to consolidate, measure, curate and build a great integrated experience for our employees. Following are the examples of content aggregation and curation platforms: Degreed, EdCast, & Pathgather. These platforms simplify and help users to easily find, recommend, and arrange content in one place.

Bersin report says, "Today people learn in a more dynamic and self-directed way than ever before... People don’t have time and patience to sit in a class the way they did a few years ago." Now the intelligent learning systems can customize according to user needs, even recommend, and push learning content at the right time. It can also aggregate and curate small learning pieces together in a cohesive whole and help companies to author microlearning so it can be provided (spaced out) ‘on demand’.

Towards Maturity benchmarking research, underscore that 70% L&D Teams did not proactively understand how employees and their organizations learn. The importance of (UX) user experience has increased over the years because of its ease of use and compelling experience to the user. Successful L&D teams very well understand this fact and capitalize on it; however, others keep on focusing on the checklist of features based on their own priority (not the user).

People prefer highly condensed learning content and microlearning for quickly closing skill and knowledge gaps. Using design thinking, we can embed these solutions into business processes. Employees can access the content on almost any device, anywhere and at any time according to their convenience. Using these tools employees can quickly find what they need, get a checklist or tool, and then go back to work. Examples: Axonify, Grovo, and Knolskape.

Smart organizations give freedom to employees to decide on their own development and career path. Employees can now choose their mode of learning. When given such an option we can improve their engagement and participation. We can easily keep track of their progress and feedback. As per Aberdeen, 'Best-in-class' companies are 76% more likely to adopt this approach for enhancing their L&D initiatives. Human interaction is still essential for learning and Bersin report agrees with the importance of interpersonal communication.

4. Performance Management:

From the talent management perspective, it is one of the most important tools for selecting employees for developing leadership pipeline. Laszlo Bock says, “Employees hate it. Managers hate it. Even HR departments hate it.” As per Deloitte 2016 Global Human Capital Trends, more than two-thirds of companies are redesigning their performance management practices. The Willis Towers Watson report (2016) state that 70% of companies had already or intends to make changes to performance management.

Recently many companies have revamped their traditional performance management (rank & yank) system for example GE, IBM, Adobe, Microsoft, etc. Hence, it is on the priority list of HR professionals to rethink about their performance management tools for improving their talent management efforts.

Edward Lawler (Talent) and Laszlo Bock (Work Rules) suggest that the performance management process must separate the 'rewards' and 'development' discussions. At Google, the Committee is responsible for performance appraisal and compensation instead of the line manager. Lazlo Bock also advocates for collecting peer feedback for enhancing the effectiveness of this process. There is another process initially implemented at Intel called ‘OKR' (objectives and key results) nowadays used at many tech companies.

Bersin Report says that performance improves when companies empower people; let them set their own goals. "In short, organizational performance typically improves when employees are paid well, given coaching and development, and are motivated to innovate."

Following are the features available in the new tools as per Bersin Report:

- They focus on frequent coaching & development,

- They have an agile approach.

- They were built around simple and periodic check-ins.

- They help in developing shared goals from bottom up and are more transparent.

- They have a simple tracking mechanism to measure progress.

- They foster regular development discussion and feedback.

- Instead of relying only on hierarchy, they manage performance by teams.

- Easy to create and manage teams and allow people to be part of multiple teams.

- We can easily make a development plan for each employee.

- Peer feedback can be easily included in the process.

- They have personality assessment tools and leadership tips.

- They are simple, easy to use like any mobile app.

- They can be integrated with other HR tools and have employee directories.

- They make performance management everyday work instead of year-end process.

- They provide more detail data than ever before that help in decision-making.

- They help in open and data-driven decision-making.

- They enhance the process by using data for crucial compensation decisions.

Following are the examples of vendors providing these tools: BetterWorks, HighGround, Impraise, O.C. Tanner, and Reflektive.

“But the new perspective is unlikely to be a flash in the pan because; it is being driven by business needs, not imposed by HR.” - Cappelli and Tavis (HBR October-2016). They further say that it helps managers do a better job of coaching and allows subordinates to process and apply the advice more effectively.

Three business reasons suggested by Cappelli & Tavis to revamp appraisals:

- The return of people development – (To upgrade their talent management efforts)

- The need for agility – (To address developments in the external environment)

- The centrality of teamwork – (It is easy to foster teamwork)

Benefits of new tools:

- Adobe says that - regular conversations between managers and their employees are now occurring without HR’s prompting.

- Adobe also reports that its new system has reduced dismissals because struggling employees are monitored and coached much more closely.

- Deloitte found that frequent, informal check-ins have led to discussions that are more meaningful, deeper insights, and greater employee satisfaction.

- IBM says that supervisors can easily review all the discussion text when it is time to take actions such as award merit pay or consider promotions and job reassignments.

Conclusion:

- We have to decide which tools are more suitable for our organization and then use them for delivering result and achieve our strategic objectives.

- Again copying 'best practices' successful in other organization may not be a wise option. We have to analyze pros & cons of each tool.

- It sounds cliché, however, important to mention to secure buy-in from Line Managers & support from Top management by involving them in the process.

- Communication is the key as stated by Tom Peters, “Communication is everyone's panacea for everything."

- We have to develop a solution that is congruent with communication culture, processes, beliefs, values, and norms prevailing within our organization.

“If the main purpose of HR-business strategy is to create a competitive advantage through people it implies that you have to change the way you manage those people.” - Paul Kerns

Please provide your valuable insights and suggestions in the comments.

Employee Surveys – from once a year to a continuous process.

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 05:34:00 +0000

Employee Surveys – from once a year to a continuous process

You get ten employees in a room, and you get fifteen opinions. That might be the case, however, many companies use once a year employee surveys, mainly to help the management in its decision making to check the current situation in the organization. Then create a blueprint to improve the overall work climate in and across the organization both in range and depth. As stated by John H. McConnell, (2003) “Management’s primary objective for a survey is usually: To discover employee perceptions regarding satisfaction with conditions of employment.”

Paper-Pencil Surveys was the most commonly used format for many years. Then we had Interactive Telephone Surveys - using touch-tone response. These days we see Email Surveys, Web-based Surveys, and even Mobile App used for the quick response. No doubt, that using survey is a pragmatic way to handle issues by taking decisions based on facts & data rather than gut feel. As rightly pointed out by Sharkey & Eccher (2011), when we base our decision on data we take the guesswork out of what really matters especially for creating positive business results. More so, when, an organization can successfully use employee surveys to create a better, more engaged workplace that leads to improved retention, recognition, and results.

Over the years, we have seen developments in the field of technology, which has influenced the day-to-day life of employees and HR processes within organizations. The arrival of ‘People Analytics' has brought different methods and processes, which are unconventional. However, we cannot avoid them if we really want to be competitive in the market. The main reason for their growing importance, as suggested by Josh Bersin is that "these Cloud-based HR systems leverage modern user experiences, rich employee profiles, and are made to support employees, not just HR.” In fact, the important factor that makes them more appealing to the employees is their ‘ease of use’.

As we have moved from ‘click’ to ‘tap’ in the recent past most of the trends predict that all HR systems will be moving from ‘Systems’ to ‘Apps’ in the near future. In fact, Josh Bersin argues that "this new digital focus for HR is not simply about technology; it changes the way we serve and support employees. Digital is the world our employees live in." He further says, "One of the biggest new trends in business is creating an open world for feedback, something that further breaks down the barriers between employees and their managers."

As suggested in the Deloitte report [“Global Human Capital Trends 2015”] the annual employee surveys are becoming thing of the past, and new tools are arriving in the market for real-time measurement of employee feedback and sentiments. These tools help organizations to monitor employee sentiment with the same level of rigor and speed as they measure customer sentiments. The report on “Predictions for 2016” [pdf] by Josh Bersin, suggest that following are the type of tools available to HR professionals for this purpose:

Pulse Survey Tools

Feedback Apps

Performance Feedback Systems

Social Recognition tools

Today we have following vendors providing these tools CultureAmp, CultureIQ,Glint, Kanjoya, and TinyPulse. Josh says that in 2016, we will see a rapid growth in this marketplace with most companies experimenting and implementing these new feedback systems.

As argued by Silzer and Dowell, “when talent management decisions are based on data collected on past events, the results capture the past, not the future.” This has created a need to capture and analyze data in real time and take decisions immediately rather than waiting for months for completing the survey and getting the results. Armen Berjikly, (CEO & Founder, Kanjoya) says that they are using ‘Natural language processing’ (NLP) coupled with ‘Machine Learning’ embedded in their software. (NLP help us quickly to make sense of large amounts of open-ended feedback and with machine learning, we get ‘retention prediction’ and sentiment analysis that can tell us who is a flight risk among other analysis.)

These tools are available with FEATURES like:

Simple, Easy to use, frequent pulsing - Weekly, Monthly or Quarterly Survey.

Built-in questions and templates based on proven drivers of engagement.

We can create custom surveys to collect feedback about initiatives and single-question pulse surveys to get a continuous feel for employee sentiment.

Custom pulses to find out more insights from onboarding to exit.

All surveys are fully mobile and tablet compatible, so our traveling employees can take the survey on the go.

Pulse surveys are completely confidential to encourage unfiltered employee feedback.

Smart alerts, insights, and a reminder to employees.

Using ‘anonymous-messaging-tool’, we can probe deeper for additional information.

Filter, group, tag, and bookmark comments for quick reference and easy sharing.

REPORTS:

Automatically analyze employee data and deliver results in real time using interactive dashboards.

Easily monitor the overall health of our organization.

Visualize large data sets and quickly identify trends and problem areas. Create visualizations with engagement heat maps.

Slice and dice results by any combination of employee attribute, demographics in real time

‘Executive reports’ and ‘Line Manager Dashboards’ with robust options, for permission to access reports for different levels of management.

Share results within the platform or export reports to the spreadsheet, PDF, or presentation slides for better communication and collaboration.

Option to use customized benchmarking.

BENEFITS of using these tools:

With few questions, short and regular surveys are better for both employees and employers.

The limited number of questions allows employees to be more thoughtful and leads to higher response rates.

Fewer questions prevent employer analysis: they can more easily absorb feedback and pinpoint trouble areas.

Effortlessly measures the key drivers of employee engagement and automatically deliver actionable insights in real time so leaders and managers can quickly go ahead and take action to remove the hurdle.

With specific insights, we know where to focus our efforts, time, and money.

It helps organizations more frequently measure the key drivers of employee engagement.

Instead of taking the survey during the festive season, if we take surveys at a regular interval, we would get more consistent and accurate results.

When a particular issue crops up in repetitive surveys management would pay more attention to it, which otherwise goes unnoticed.

We can create more effective employee surveys that lead to improved employee retention, morale, and performance.

We can prominently display employee survey scores on the company portal for attracting potential candidates as part of the employment branding initiative.

According to the Journal of Business Ethics research, employees who felt listened to were better team players and provided input more frequently.

TinyPulse research suggests that there is a high correlation between 'employees self-reported happiness' and 'management transparency'.

Warren Bennis (2005) suggest that the top 27 companies, which considered ‘most transparent’, beat the S&P 500 by 11.3 percent.

With the help of surveys, we can show that we are a flexible and transparent organization that values employee sentiment.

Benchmark our own performance over a period and track the trends, and compare them with other organizations.

PRECAUTIONS:

I think the pulse survey tools can supplement the existing annual surveys for effectively monitoring satisfaction, engagement on a regular basis. Both types of surveys have their own merits and demerits. Hence, we need to take an appropriate decision based on the communication culture, beliefs, values, and norms prevailing within the organization. We cannot compare both types since earlier we used to ask more questions and analyze more data which was the main reason for the time taken for getting results. However, now using these tools we ask fewer questions and get instant results.

The instrument / form is the most important part of the survey process and hence, its validity and reliability is the cornerstone of success for any survey initiative. We have to be cautious while choosing survey questions since the success of survey process depends on the accuracy of these questions. Again the number of question covered in each Pulse survey is limited (4-7), (I have seen opinion surveys with 159 questions), and hence our analysis would be restricted to very few variables. That would also limit the dimensions / elements covered in the particular survey.

As correctly stated by W. Edwards Deming "You can't manage what you can't measure." When we have a limited number of questions available, we might be calculating few variables and dimensions. That may not be enough for carrying out in-depth analysis for finding out correlation and causation among different variables. Although there is ‘anonymous-messaging-tool' available to probe deeper for additional information, I doubt how far they assist compared to the traditional use of a focus group.

Bersin research shows that two-thirds of our employees are ‘overwhelmed' and hence they may not be interested in responding to surveys at regular intervals. In any case, the response rate is always an issue for many organizations, more so, where the top management does not take an active interest in the HR initiatives. Hence, it is important to involve top management in the survey process for getting maximum output from our initiative.

As per HR Zone report, the initiatives that are supported by company leaders are twice more successful than those which are not introduced by them. However, they suggest that the main reason for not securing buy-in is the inability of HR professionals to explain the link between improving employee engagement and achievement of the organizational objectives. Hence, we have to effectively communicate the benefits to them and take their buy-in to conduct the survey or, alternatively involve them by conveying results and taking actions based on their feedback.

Plan for taking action on issues expressed by employees still remains the main concern. After completion of the survey process, no one takes action on the issues raised by employees. If we want to see visible improvements in our organization we need to take concrete actions on the concerns raised by employees. Most important part of all is to communicate effectively about those initiatives to the employees.

The following quote from Peter Drucker covers the point very well. "Employees will only complain or make suggestions three times on the average without a response. After that, they conclude that if they don't keep quiet they will be thought to be troublemakers or that management doesn't care."

BlessingWhite found that nearly a third of all employees become disengaged when employers ask for feedback but do nothing about it. As argued by Turner & Kalman, “The availability of big data per se will not be enough and it is the application of insight to the data that will make the difference.” In fact, Josh Bersin says that "People do not want to look at dashboards; they want their computers to "tell them" or "recommend" what to do—based on data." He further says, “You need to figure out what to do with the results you find—and this may be the hardest part of all.”

I think culture prevailing within the organization with respect to communication practices is responsible for a frank and straight response from employees.

We must circulate the report among employees upon completion of the survey process. The message given to employees is that we are going to use the information gathered during the survey to improve work climate. This way we can involve everyone in the process of implementing solutions while keeping them informed about the developments. In fact, Shane McCauley (Director, People Systems and analytics, Twitter) says that they do share survey responses with everyone to make sure each and every member of their team has a vested interest in fostering a positive, collaborative culture.

CONCLUSION:

The positive news is that HR professional’s image is improving and HR is becoming more important to the business. I think it is because we are now communicating with them in their language. As stated by Josh Bersin, “HR teams are now becoming very data-driven and the world of analytics is sweeping forward.” He further says, "Analytics is picking up steam, and the role of HR business partners is truly becoming more strategic and embedded in the business.” Employment surveys are going to become crucial for engaging employees and improving work climate and culture of the organization.

The actual work begins only after completion of the survey initiatives. Merely completing the survey is not enough and we have to take immediate actions on the issues raised by employees and communicate them effectively. “Organizations need more than data. They need insight about their people to be competitive in world markets. This is because people are often the only source of competitive advantage.” - Turner & Kalman.

The HR Professionals have to decide which tools are more suitable for their organization and then use them for delivering result and achieve their strategic objectives. As Jim Collins put it, “Preserve the Core - Stimulate Progress.” The external environment will always keep on changing and we have to adapt and change accordingly, however, our core ideology must remain intact.

Finally, Josh Bersin says, “Real-time feedback, culture assessment tools, and other ways to capture and measure employee feedback will become a major new discipline within HR and business.”

100 quotes - Talent Management

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Thu, 26 Nov 2015 10:08:00 +0000

100 quotes - Talent Management

Talent Management has gained importance over the years and as long as we need smooth and uninterrupted flow of business; it is going to be an indispensable part of any HR strategy. Following definition clearly outlines what is Talent Management:

“Talent management is an integrated set of processes, programs, and cultural norms in an organization designed and implemented to attract, develop, deploy, and retain talent to achieve strategic objectives and meet future business needs.”

- Silzer and Dowell

Following presentation, include a collection of 100 quotes on Talent Management.

Slideshare Presentation:

100 quotes on Talent Management from Vijay Bankar

Youtube Video :

Appreciate to receive your valuable insights in the comments. You may also consider sharing related Quotes known to you in the comments.

Thanks & Regards,

Developing Leadership Pipeline

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 16:56:00 +0000

Every year we see surveys carried out by HBR, PWC, Deloitte, and Gartner, and major concerns for management as highlighted at the top of the list are factors such as: developing bench strength, leadership pipeline, and leadership readiness. The following quote describes the importance of Leadership. “The first lesson is: To hell with centralized strategic planning. If you don't have a good leader, it's all nothing; it's just a bunch of papers flying around.” - Robert Townsend

Developing Leadership pipeline has always been an important concern for HR Professionals. Moreover, getting a proper candidate for replacement is usually a very demanding task because that results in disturbing smooth flow of business. As Pam Brown says, “Every household has a box of odd keys. None of them will ever be found to fit any lock.” This happens when we are looking for leadership candidate from the internal talent pool. Hence, to maintain the flow of business, HR professionals have to address this issue by creating Leadership Development Program.

Following image outlines the activities for effective implementation of the Leadership Development Program. As suggested by experts and authors, the ownership lies with Management and Line Managers while HR can provide support through collaboration.

Establish Competency Model:

The competency-based methodology was pioneered in late 1960's by Dr. David McClelland, founder of Hay McBer Company, also Psychologist at Harvard University. Subsequently many others have also contributed for the development of Competency-based HRM. It was primarily focused on assessment of employees, not just on the basis of intelligence, but on the basis of a set of competencies. Competencies are the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes that lead to high performance. [More details in “Competency-based Interview Assessment”]

For example during the tenure of Lou Gerstner, at IBM, they selected 300 employees for Senior Leadership Group (SLG) and appointed Hay Group for developing eleven "IBM Leadership Competencies." Normally companies select 10 to 15 competencies. Then they carry out the Executive assessment for actual level of each competency. Next, they analyze the gap between actual v/s. expected. The gap is minimized using Learning & Development initiatives along with Coaching and Mentoring.

While designing business strategy, Competency Models become a valuable tool for defining critical skills required for achieving success. Simultaneously it also facilitates the integration of talent Management and other HR processes within an organization. According to Jeffery S. Shippmann, "Competency approach typically include a fairly substantial effort to understand an organization's business context and competitive strategy and to establish some direct line-of-sight between individual competency requirements and the broader goals of the organization".

Assessment of Employees:

Once we have established the set of competencies, we have to assess employees, and select them for the ‘Leadership Development Program’. In many organizations, ‘assessment’ is an on-going initiative that goes on throughout the period of employee development. The following image clearly depicts the process developed by Silzer & Church for identifying hi-potential talent.

Most of the companies use a combination of assessments to select employees. [More details - “First who then What”] Using more than one assessment instrument provides us concrete data in terms of their scores, which facilitate decision-making about their selection. The assessment instrument must be used by accredited experts while selecting them based on their validity, reliability and proven track record. Here is the list of assessments compiled by William Bergquist (Assessment Instruments: A Resource List)

Rob Silzer & Allan Church state that, “Some organizations collect these data to help make the high - potential decisions, while other organizations assess individuals only after they have been reviewed and accepted as high - potential talent.” The amount of resources, efforts, and cost involved influence the decision to use these assessments.

Performance Appraisal Data:

The appraisal process is an important source of employee performance data. However, its effectiveness depends on choosing appropriate method and tool. As they say, "When all is said and done, a company, its chief executive, and … (the) whole management team are judged by one criterion alone—performance." - Harold Geneen & Alvin Moscow.

An obvious outcome of this process is a list of ‘high performers’. However, according to CEB – SHL, “Only 1 out of 7 High performers is High Potential.” (The HR Guide to Identifying High-Potentials-2014) Hence, further assessment of these candidates becomes essential before selecting them for Leadership Development Program.

There are several methods and there is different school of thought, suggesting the use of a particular method. However, according to Laszlo Bock, (Head HR – Google) there is no one particular method superior to others which accurately analyze employee performance. He says they have used several scientific methods and tools, and the only thing that has a significant impact on the process is “Goal Setting”. In the book “Work Rules!” (2015) he further suggests that we must split rewards conversations from development conversations, for improving its effectiveness. Once you have sufficient data with trends / past employee history, it would certainly assist in the accurate assessment of employees.

360 Degree Competency Feedback:

Many organizations now use 360-degree competency feedback surveys, primarily for providing development feedback to individuals. “We use it when coaching individuals, and in helping teams improve their effectiveness. We never use it as a selection tool, as it was designed to help develop people.” – Hay Group. It provides potentially accurate and diverse information on where employees stand in relation to where they should be in terms of skills and behaviors.

Normally it involves assessment by Self, Manager, Direct Reports, & Peers. There are set of questions (i.e. 5 to 7 questions for each competency) and the raters choose a most suitable answer from the scale. (i.e. Consistently, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never) Some of them also have an option for providing written comments about behavior and performance. The report for each employee provides us detailed competency scores, by rater group, with competency definitions along with a summary of strengths and areas for improvement.

However, there is one caution as pointed out by Richard E. Boyatzis, “But when we move to a 360 test, we are asking untrained informants – not trained coders – to assess an individual and his or her behavior. And when informants are responding they need more guidance.”

Personality Inventory:

Apart from 360-Degree survey, some organizations use formal personality inventories, such as the California Psychological Inventory and the Hogan Personality Inventory, to measure personality variables. Such tests normally require an applicant to answer 200 or more (yes/no) questions. These questions attempt to get to the core of the personality, values and the things that make one successful.

According to Rob Silzer & Allan Church, “many organizations administer personality inventories after the individuals have been identified as high potential.” Since, there are legal concerns in several countries about using these instruments for selection, many authors suggest using them for development purposes. Silzer & Church further states that the use of personality inventories has tremendously increased over the years for assessment of potential leadership candidates.

Other Tests:

We can use several other options for assessment of candidates i.e. career background interviews, Cognitive Ability Tests, Personality Tests, Assessment Centers, individual assessments, Job Fit Test, Culture Fit Test, & Job Simulations etc.

Employee Selection for development:

The next step in this process is preparing a list of potential candidates by using nine-box talent matrix as shown in the following image. By using this tool, we can determine which employees to invest in and the level of investment required.

Once we have identified and designate employees as ‘high potential’ (formally / informally), we have to give them opportunities for accelerated development. Designing formal ‘Individual Development Plan’ [IDP] would facilitate effective implementation of this process. Talent review meetings would be a better option to set expectations around roles and the goals. "The cause of almost all relationship difficulties is rooted in conflicting or ambiguous expectations around roles and goals." - Stephen Covey. The company should provide an opportunity for the boss and the employee to have a conversation to clarify and align their expectations about the development plan. This could be the ‘development discussion’ as mentioned earlier in the appraisal example of Laszlo Bock.

This conversation can include the use of different options for employee development (for achieving expected level of competencies). For example, formal leadership programs (with well-defined curriculum), providing a coach or mentor, in-depth executive assessment, career planning, job rotation, job enrichment, provide experiences, special work assignments (projects, task forces, temporary assignments), or executive education courses. These options play an important part in the development of these high potentials.

As stated by Michael Bergdahl, “Ideas are the easy part of strategic planning; it is the implementation of the tactics that is tough.” Hence, the success of this process hinges on the effective implementation of the Individual Development Plan. According to the study conducted by Corporate Leadership Council (2005) following factors are important drivers for developing employee potential: 1. the quality and skills of the current manager and, 2. a customized and achievable development plan.

Training, Coaching & Mentoring:

We all know the 70-20-10 model normally used as part of Training and Development initiatives. (70% - On the job 20% - Learning from others & 10% - Structured Learning) It is a continuous process, which begins with the identification of high potential employees, and goes on until removing the gap between expected and the actual level of competencies. The focal objective of these initiatives should be capability development and achieving required level of competencies. In fact, it should be reviewed periodically as per organizational requirements. According to Peter Senge, “Over the long run, superior performance depends on superior learning.”

70% - On the job learning	20% - Learning from others	10% - Structured Learning
Action Learning & Problem Solving Placements, Job rotations Self-directed and incidental learning Projects and special assignments	Subject Matter networks User Generated content Collaboration platforms Coaching, Mentoring Feedback	Workshops, Classroom Webinars Online Learning E-learning M-Learning

Following quote clearly outline the importance of learning and development initiatives. “You can have the best product and store location around but if your staff is weak or poorly trained you will experience mediocre results.” - Michael Bergdahl, Walmart

Many organizations provide Coaching & Mentoring to facilitate the development of selected employees. Like training, this initiative is also an ongoing process. Due to budgetary constraints, companies are becoming more selective while using external coaches. Normally companies use them for senior level positions.

“External coaches can bring greater objectivity, fresher perspectives, higher levels of confidentiality and experience in many different organizations, industries, and business environments.” – “Coaching: A Global Study of Successful Practices,” AMA, 2008

According to Silzer & Church companies are also training HR professionals and Line managers to coach employees internally. In fact, Dave Ulrich says, "HR professionals can coach business leaders to raise employee and organizational productivity by setting standards, giving feedback, and becoming personal leadership trainers."

With impartial view of the situation, they can advise and support high potentials to:

- achieve their objectives.

- enhance their performance.

- create and support their ‘Individual Development Plan’.

- develop certain competencies and capabilities.

- facilitate progression through different levels of those competencies.

“Leaders cannot succeed on their own; even the most outwardly confident executives need support and advice”. - B. George & P. Sims

Promoting to new position:

After successfully implementing IDP, if the employee is ‘high potential’ and ‘consistently exceeds performance expectations’ (improved assessment results) he/she can be considered for placement in the leadership position. However, the support system must provide backing through continuous ‘Training’, ‘Coaching’ and ‘Mentoring’. According to Michael Watkins, while going through transitions, it takes minimum 6 months for an employee to reach the ‘break-even point’. The focal objective of an onboarding program should be to fasten the speed of employees to reach the break-even point ASAP. The company must provide specific feedback, guidance and needed support to the employee during this period.

Managing their transition into new position becomes crucial for Leadership development program. We may have to focus on five aspects of onboarding process to address this issue. These core aspects are (RECAP) - building Relationships and networks, setting Expectations, Cultural indoctrination, Administrative formalities, and structured Process. [More details - “Onboarding”]

Conclusion:

“In conclusion – the phrase that wakes up the audience.” – Herbert Prochnow. Leadership is a vast subject and here we have tried to focus only on very few activities that we can implement for Leadership Development Program. As correctly said by Peter Drucker, “Leaders are not born; they are grown.” Hence, identification of high potentials and their development become important aspects for the internal development of leaders. Leadership development program should be integrated with the overall talent management strategy of the organization. It should also have backing with appropriate motivation (intrinsic - extrinsic), retention and rewards & recognition. As stated by Jim Collins, “The key is to develop and promote insiders who are highly capable of stimulating healthy change and progress, while preserving the core.”

Competency models facilitate the integration of Leadership development program and business strategy of the organization. Performance management system can provide accurate details of the 'high performing' employees. Whereas, we can get valid data pertaining to their actual potential using appropriate assessment instruments. Then we can select most suitable candidates with maximum scores for Leadership Development Program.

We have to establish an Individual development plan for each selected employee. However, the success of this process largely depends on effective implementation of IDP, using proper development options such as Job Rotation, Job Enrichment, Special Assignment, etc. Training & Development is a huge subject in itself and we are taking only surface view out here. Through using proper training (70-20-10) coupled with Coaching and Mentoring on an on-going basis, we can polish the 'rough diamonds' and turn them into 'consistent stars'. HR has a major responsibility once they have been promoted into new positions by providing them support through proper on-boarding. “Leadership occurs when the organization builds a cadre of future leaders who have the capacity to shape an organization’s culture and create patterns of success.” – Ulrich & Smallwood

Developing leadership pipeline is going to be crucial for the ongoing success of any company and HR has a major part to play in this regard. However, HR must share ownership with Management and Line Managers. Because “The most significant contribution leaders make is not simply to today’s bottom line, (but) to the long-term development of people and institutions, so they can adapt, change, prosper, and grow.” - Barry Z. Posner & James M. Kouzes.

Succession Planning for Leadership Development

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 00:45:00 +0000

A report on “Global Human Capital Trends 2014” (pdf) prepared by Deloitte, which surveyed 2,532 business and HR leaders in 94 countries concludes that the most important and urgent concern for HR professionals today is developing “leadership” pipeline to achieve strategic objectives. In fact, it has appeared as ‘highly urgent’ at number one in the list of concerns followed by ‘Retention and engagement’, and ‘Reskilling HR’.

The report states that “Building global leadership is by far the most urgent: Fully 38 percent of all respondents rated it “urgent,” almost 50 percent more than the percentage rating the next issue “urgent.” Companies see the need for leadership at all levels, in all geographies, and across all functional areas. This continuous need for new and better leaders has accelerated.”

Now, as an HR professional we have two choices available, first, recruiting from other organizations and second, proactively develop leadership pipeline. We may also look at it as make v/s. buy decision in the form of developing v/s. hire. The most tempting and easier option for HR professionals is off course to hire since developing leaders is time consuming and tedious process. However, many management authors suggest otherwise.

For example Jim Collins, in ‘Good to Great’ says that “Larger-than-life, celebrity leaders who ride in from the outside are negatively correlated with taking a company from good to great. Ten of eleven good-to-great CEOs came from inside the company, whereas the comparison companies tried outside CEOs six times more often.” In the November 2015 issue of Harvard Business Review, Adi Ignatius, has compiled a list of 100 ‘Best-Performing Ceo’s In The World’ and among them 86 have come from within the company to successfully lead their organizations.

Hence, HR professionals have to make serious efforts to address the crucial concern of developing leadership to maintain the flow of business. “Succession Planning and Management” becomes the most suitable option for HR Professionals in this context. It is something like digging the well before you get thirsty. However, justifying such investment of time, efforts, and resources for this purpose in the form of ‘return on investment’ is a complex proposition for HR Professionals.

What is Succession Planning & Management:

William Rothwell (Effective succession planning 2010) states that “A succession planning and management program was defined as a deliberate and systematic effort by an organization to ensure leadership continuity in key positions, retain and develop intellectual and knowledge capital for the future, and encourage individual advancement.”

He further says, “Succession planning can mean more than just finding warm bodies to fill vacancies.” Succession Planning is much more than merely preparing a list of employees for replacement of vacant positions. In fact, “It’s not a replacement issue. It’s a strategic responsibility to be shared among the stakeholders.” – Kets de Vries. The ‘Replacement planning’ typically ask line manager to identify up to three people within the company as backup candidates. However, succession planning is a proactive effort to ensure a continuous flow of business by development of talent within the organization while carefully planning learning and development initiatives.

He includes ‘succession management’ in ‘succession planning’ since it should not stand-alone. He firmly believes that it must be put together to develop talent in real time to meet dynamic business needs. In-short ‘succession management’ broadens the scope by enhancing manager’s role to build talent by coaching, giving feedback and helping employees to develop their potential.

The following quote underlines the positive impact of succession planning. “After working with hundreds of organizations on their talent and succession planning programs we know the benefits of a successful program are broad — from reduced time to fill critical positions and reduced turnover costs, to cost improvements in developing high-potentials and enhanced competitive advantage.” – William Rothwell.

We all know the importance of culture in any organization. Moreover, the leadership of the organization has a major impact on shaping & developing the culture of the organization. Hence having a proper candidate in the leadership position becomes even more crucial. Succession planning and management can certainly address this concern by providing appropriate employees being groomed and developed within the company, who are well aware of the company culture. Normally succession planning is carried out annually in line with the Workforce planning process. However, it must be a continuous process and reviewed quarterly or even monthly in parallel to the workforce planning process.

Kim Lamoureux very well narrates the strategic importance of this process. He says, "By identifying and developing talent, creating a corporate culture that assumes the talent will move to those places where it is needed for the company to meet its business goals and maintaining a broad, nonhierarchical view of talent management, succession programs become part of the business strategy."

Individual Development Plan (IDP):

Succession planning and management is tied to strategic plans through individual development planning processes. Michael Watkins, the author of ‘The First 90 days’, has developed the STARS framework that can be used to develop individual career plans in line with the strategic requirement of the company. (STARS is an acronym for five common business situations leaders may find themselves moving into: Start-up, Turnaround, Accelerated growth, Realignment, and Sustaining success.)

Individual development planning options available for each position would differ in line with the strategic situations mentioned earlier. Hence, integration of individual development plan with the overall Succession plan is crucial for achieving strategic objectives. The following quote underlines the importance of appropriate integration. “A career plan without a succession plan is a road map without a destination.” – William Rothwell.

When it comes to succession planning, the question that is asked most often is whether ‘to tell or not to tell’ the employees about their inclusion in the list. William Rothwell says, “The issue may not be to tell everyone or not to tell everyone whether they are listed on succession plans. A better series of questions relates to when to tell, who to tell, and how to tell.” I had attended several webinars and most of the experts in the field of succession planning advocate the view of communicating to employees about their selection due to advantages for e.g.:

to motivate successors to learn more.
be willing to build their competencies in anticipation of future promotion.
to be less willing to leave the organization, and,
to improve employee morale.

Approaches to Succession Planning & Management:

Following are the three approaches suggested by William Rothwell for carrying out this process:

Top-Down Approach: Management Leaders in the organization direct this process from the highest levels through HR Department. They decide on required competence, appraisal process, assessment tests, and learning & development initiatives.

Bottom-Up Approach: In contrast to the above approach, this one is directed from the lowest levels. Employees and their immediate supervisors actively participate in all activities pertaining to Succession Planning & Management. Decisions are closely linked to the individual development plans that help these employees to assess their strengths, weaknesses, and future potential. Employee’s track record of accomplishments becomes crucial for Top Management to monitor the process.

Combined Approach: Integration of the ‘Top Down’ & ‘Bottom Up’ approach result in developing the Combined Approach. Management Leaders are involved in setting up the process, whereas Line Managers and Employees are involved in every step of the process. Efforts are being made to integrate the individual development plans with overall Succession Planning and Management.

Succession Planning and Management Process:

Getting buy-in (and participation) from Top management along with line managers becomes crucial for the success of this process. In fact, it’s the important ingredient for the success of any other HR initiative for that matter. William Rothwell has suggested Seven-Pointed Star Model for Systematic Succession Planning and Management as shown in the following image.

A systematic approach to carrying out this process would be influenced by the Culture, Values, Norms, and strategic requirements of the organizations. However, this model can become the foundation of the Succession Planning and Management process. These seven steps precisely outline the process and can be followed for successful implementation in any organization. Following are the steps involved in this process:

Step 1: Make the Commitment

Step 2: Assess Present Work and People Requirements

Step 3: Appraise Individual Performance

Step 4: Assess Future Work and People Requirements

Step 5: Assess Future Individual Potential

Step 6: Close the Developmental Gap

Step 7: Evaluate the Succession Planning Program

Succession Management Maturity Model:

Bersin & Associates have developed a Succession Management Maturity Model as shown in the following image.

Level 0 : No Succession Process

Level 1 : Replacement Planning – Companies focus on Senior Level Positions. List of high potential is created however, it is not supported with the formal development plan.

Level 2 : Traditional Succession Planning - Companies focus on critical Senior Level Positions. Carry out their appraisal and establish development plans.

Level 3 : Integrated Succession Management – Only critical Positions at all levels are covered in this process. Focused on integration with other Talent Management initiatives and business strategy.

Level 4 : Transparent Talent Mobility - Companies completely understand the capabilities and potential of their workforce. Talent decisions are based on what is best for the business as a whole.

Companies can enhance the effectiveness of their succession management process by assessing their level and taking proactive steps to move up the ladder from level 1 to level 4.

Softwares with inbuilt option:

Normally companies use traditional organization chart-based programs that focus more on replacement planning using spreadsheets. Hence, software implementation can be a wise option to ameliorate the administrative burden while simplifying the entire process. There are many softwares available for implementing Succession Planning & Management while ensuring integration with other Talent Management initiatives. These softwares become more important because of their ‘scenario planning’ capabilities. They provide accurate details of different possibilities and options available to HR Professionals depending upon the circumstances and facilitate the decision-making process.

Current Trends in Succession Planning:

The white paper, "The HR Guide to Identifying High-Potentials" (2014) prepared by CEB - SHL Talent Measurement states that,

“50% HR Professionals lack confidence in their HiPo Programs.
5 out of 6 HR Professionals are dissatisfied with their HiPo Programs.
Only 1 out of 7 High performers is High Potential.
55% will drop out of the HiPo Program within 5 years.
46% of Leaders fail to meet their business objective in a new role.”

The Report “The State of Succession Planning” (pdf) (January 2015) compiled by Halogen Software states that “The overall average succession planning intelligence score for all respondents is 48 percent. Not an impressive result given the importance and impact of succession planning.”

In the book ‘Rise of HR’ Fagan Stackhouse and Neil Reichenberg refer to the 2014 IPMA-HR talent management survey wherein only 27% of the respondents have agreed that their companies have Succession Plan in place. They further outline the reasons, for example:

“Management being more focused on day-to-day business,
Lack of sufficient time to make succession planning a priority,
Lack of resources,
Fears within the organization that succession planning will result in favoritism and pre-selection, &
Lack of commitment by top leadership.”

The above-mentioned facts do not portray a positive image of the status quo. However, there is immense scope for improvement. Investment in the proper software tools would definitely assist HR Professionals in this process. If we manage to secure buy-in (and involvement) from Top Management as well as Line managers and convey them the benefits of effective Succession Planning and Management, it would certainly result in the smooth flow of business with enhanced competitive advantage.

I would like to conclude with a quote from the book ‘The Jack Welch Lexicon of Leadership’s (2005):

“One of the driving factors behind GE’s success. If it wasn’t for GE’s rigorous succession planning, Jack Welch might never have become GE’s eighth CEO. Both Reg Jones (GE’s seventh CEO) and Jack Welch started searching for their successors six years prior to their retirement, and the board played an important role in the process.” - Jeffrey A. Krames

(Download Files from the CD-ROM - Effective succession planning - William Rothwell 2010)

Work Rules !

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 16:50:00 +0000

Work Rules! from Vijay Bankar

Summary of the book byLaszlo Bock, Senior Vice-President of People Operations, Google

"Work Rules!"- Insights from inside Google that will transform how you live and lead.

Onboarding – help employees in transition to ‘swim’ & not let them ‘sink’.

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Fri, 29 May 2015 08:36:00 +0000

“To adapt an old saw, transitions are marathons and not sprints,” - Michael Watkins. [Tweet this]

Importance of onboarding is significantly increased in these days since the average turnover at work is less than four years & lifetime employment strategies are out of date. (“The Alliance” by Hoffman & Casnocha) It means that roughly one-fourth of our employees are in the process of transition or are affected by them since their peers (Boss-Subordinates) are going through transitions. It might be on account of appointment in new position or promotion or transfer at a different location.

Aberdeen research found that 90% of organizations believe that employees make the decision to stay at within the first year. Traditional orientation programs are completed on the first day or in some cases in a week. However, such short-term strategies do not reflect in improving retention, productivity, and engagement.

There are some organizations where the onboarding process is taken more seriously considering their impact on turnover and bottom line. It goes on beyond the traditional orientation program; it begins with recruitment and continued till completion of a year. This is because according to Michael Watkins, it takes minimum 6 months for an employee to reach the “break-even point” as shown in the following image.

The book that impressed me was ”The First 90 Days” by Michael Watkins, which was named “the onboarding bible” in 2006 by ‘The Economist’. I feel that every organization must give a copy of this book as part of onboarding material at least to their Managers, Hi-Potentials, and C-suite executives.

RECAP – Framework

Considering the view of Mr. Watkins, we may break the onboarding process into its five core aspects with RECAP framework. This framework would help us to simplify the process. And, it would also let us address employee performance issues attributed to inadequate onboarding programs.

Now let us look at each aspect of this RECAP framework.

1. Relationship

The focal objective of an onboarding program is to improve the speed of employees to reach the break-even point quickly. And developing and strengthening of relationship networks becomes a key aspect in this process. The employee has to develop strategic relations with following:

Internal Relationships:

1. Boss, 2. Subordinates 3. Peers 4. Key Executives from other departments.

External Relationships:

1. Customers, 2. Suppliers, 3. Vendors, 4. Other stakeholders

According to Watkins, “alliances, both internal and external, are necessary if you are to achieve your goals.” [Tweet this] First and most important among all is a relationship with the boss and hence organizations must carefully plan to develop this relationship. As they say employees leave their bosses and not their companies. However, on the part of an employee - make your boss look good. “If you make your boss look good, your boss will make you look good.” - Ethan M. Rasiel. (The McKinsey Way) [Tweet this]

The second important relationship is with their subordinates especially for securing early wins. “…Silicon Valley’s success comes from the way its companies build alliances with their employees.” Hoffman & Casnocha. [Tweet this] Organizations must take appropriate actions to properly introduce the employee to his / her subordinates using most suitable communication channels.

Companies may opt for assigning buddies or mentors to facilitate this process. Microsoft, for example, assigns mentors to new employees at all levels of the organization as part of their New Employee Orientation (NEO) program.

Companies may organize events to let new employee socialize with their peers and other key stakeholders in the organization (Internal & External). It would also help us in their cultural indoctrination besides enhancing their understanding of formal as well as informal structures prevailing within the organization. Since they do tend to focus on their own department and neglect to develop strategic relations with important stakeholders in other functions. Developing these relationships becomes more crucial for an employee to secure valuable resources as well as a buy-in for important initiatives. “Often, insufficient time is devoted to lateral relationship building with peers and key constituencies outside the new leader’s immediate organization,” -Michael Watkins.

Needless to say, developing strong networks beyond organizational boundaries are equally important for us since “In a highly networked era, who you know is often more valuable than what you’ve read.” - Hoffman & Casnocha. [Tweet this] They further say, “…who he knows in the industry can be just as valuable to the company as what he knows in terms of skills. Thus, the alliance at work: growing their professional networks helps employees transform their career; employee networking helps the company transform itself.”

To conclude this point, if we nurture strong and healthy relationships at work it would foster an environment of cooperation & collaboration that would boost employee morale.

2. Expectations

Another important aspect of RECAP framework is setting expectations right in the first place. If done properly it would certainly result in helping the employees to reach the break-even point quickly. "The cause of almost all relationship difficulties is rooted in conflicting or ambiguous expectations around roles and goals." - Stephen Covey. The company should provide an opportunity for the boss and the employee to have a conversation (preferably during the first week) to clarify and align their expectations about the roles and goals.

They both must agree on short- and medium-term goals and on time-frame. It is equally important to convey the employee, how the progress would be measured. (i.e. specific type of appraisal method & tools). The measure of success must be communicated clearly to employees and ensure that he / she had understood it properly. Because "Ambiguity about goals and expectations is dangerous." - Michael Watkins. [Tweet this] This discussion must be structured and explicit, rather than vague and implied. Such discussion must take place at regular intervals during the onboarding process.

The company must also communicate effectively to the employee about kind of support being provided (i.e. coaching & mentoring) during this period. Especially in terms of Learning & Development initiatives provided through LMS or other platforms.

The period for review must be discussed with the employee, which normally should be 30-60-90 days, after 6 months and finally a yearly appraisal. The company must provide specific feedback, guidance and needed support to the employee during this period. As stated by Michael Bergdahl, Wal-Mart “Deal with problem employees, preferably during the orientation period”. [Tweet this] He further says, “Wal-Mart deals with its non-performing employees each and every day and thoroughly orients its new hires. You should, too.”

LinkedIn adopted a concept of “Tour of Duty” for setting expectations. (Hoffman & Casnocha) They have Rotational Tour: for the beginners, Transformational Tour: More personalized, for a specific mission & Foundational Tour: For C-suite Executives.

3. Culture

As we look at the RECAP framework, Culture appears at the center, which highlights its significance in the onboarding process. No matter how great your strategy is it won’t succeed unless you have the right culture. This becomes even more important if you have the responsibility to shape the culture.

So what is culture anyways? And why it is so important for onboarding process?

“Culture is a product of the collective attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors of the people who work within an organization.”- Michael Bergdahl, Wal-Mart. According to Michael Watkins, “…these elements of the culture are often invisible and can take time to become clear… Leaders who are onboarding into new organizations must, therefore, focus on learning and adapting to the new culture.” The above video clearly describes his views about the importance of culture during the transition.

He further says, “a deep understanding of the culture and politics is a prerequisite for leadership success—and even survival… If the company hires people who aren’t likely to fit with the culture, then little can be done to reduce the risk of derailment through onboarding.” Hence, it is important to hire people with an appropriate set of values, beliefs and background. Recruitment process must address this issue in the first place. There are various assessment tests available to find out the right cultural alignment. Even Jim Collins advocates having “right people” in the first place. (First who then what) And Tom Peters suggest, “Hire for attitude and train for skills.” [Tweet this]

Hence, companies must strive to provide cultural indoctrination to their new employees so that it would help them not only to survive but also to thrive in the new environment. According to Michael Bergdahl, (What I learned from Sam Walton, 2004) Wal-Mart provides to their managers a week-long cultural orientation session at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Cultural training is considered a positive investment in the business and is looked at as a necessary expense of doing business.

Imagine someone taking international assignment or dealing with virtual teams. Informing employees about cultures and sub-cultures prevailing within an organization can certainly assist them in proving their metal. Hence, cultural orientation must provide enough knowledge to the employees about the norms, values, and beliefs (stated as well as implied). It would help the new employees to quickly learn them and adapt to new environment and start contributing towards the attainment of agreed expectations.

4. Administration

Onboarding administration is also an important aspect of the process which deals with providing necessary supplies and completing documentation formalities. As stated earlier the onboarding process should start with recruitment, some consultancies call this part as pre-boarding. Several administrative formalities can be completed even before employee’s first day at work.

Many HR Professionals suggest having an ‘Employee Portal' that would give employees access to company information and forms & documentation. It also becomes crucial in the era of Social Networking and the arrival of millennials especially as part of “employment branding” initiative. Issues that can be handled through portal include: Job Descriptions, Contract, Policy and Employee Handbook, Company History, Welcome message by top management (Video), Offer, Forms etc.

Onboarding administrations also involve preparing in advance and making necessary arrangements before employee walk into the office. It includes providing Office space, Desk, Laptop, Official E-mail address, Passwords, Access Cards, Business Cards, Stationary, List of important telephone numbers, etc. HR representative must formally introduce him / her to the team members and accompany for a tour of the office premises. The whole point of these efforts should be to make the employee feel comfortable and at ease on his first day.

HR representative also need to ensure proper documentation of the employee review while coordinating with the reporting senior during completion of 30-60-90 days, 6 months and annual appraisal.

5. Process

The final aspect in the RECAP framework is developing structured “onboarding process”. We must have more strategic onboarding process for employees, which is unique throughout the organization. It must have appropriate alignment with overall business objectives as well as other functions of talent management such as recruitment, performance, and learning & development.

The company can have different process depending upon the type of the employees. For example, we may have three different processes for (1) Staff, (2) Managers & Hi-Potentials and (3) C-Suite Executives. While the first process may go on for at least six months the other two must go on till completion of a year.

Following image clearly outlines the onboarding process (designed based on the White Paper ‘Onboarding & Orientation’ by Drake International NA.)

The onboarding process must be integrated with recruitment at pre-boarding and with Learning & Development post-orientation. According to Aberdeen research 77%, Best-in-Class organizations had a process in place to ensure clear accountability given to all stakeholders involved in ensuring that the employee is set up and ready to go on day one.

According to 'The Rise of HR' (2015) Microsoft strives to engage new employees across the globe with their state-of-the-art online program called "The Welcome Experience". It's a virtual campus that allows participants to view executive messages and access learning content customized to their needs.

The Aberdeen report (Welcome to the 21^st Century Onboarding, 2014) states that onboarding and Learning & Development, both processes share similar results, including increased productivity and stronger engagement. Hence, they must be linked together, through this connection; companies can effectively manage to drive productivity and organizational growth. If we integrate onboarding with learning, especially with self-service tools like employee portals new hires begin training, building skill sets, acquire competencies, well in advance especially with the help of pre-boarding process.

It further states that another way to maximize the effectiveness of onboarding is to track the progress of currently onboarding employees to determine if changes need to be made to their own socialization, as well as for future employees. With the help of HR analytics, we can track employee progress.

These reports include summary activity and detailed learner information. It includes metrics such as the number of learners, learners by locations, and number of chat discussions. Detailed reports include employees profile, the number of training content and webcasts viewed, and whether or not the learner visited a particular training center. With such integration, we can monitor performance review information (30-60-90 days, 6 months) along with employee learning reports and help employees to improve performance by providing appropriate feedback, coaching & mentoring.

In conclusion, I would say if we manage to take care of these five core aspects (RECAP) which are pillars of onboarding it would certainly result in improving productivity, retention, and engagement. An important message would be conveyed to the employees that the company does care for their employees. It would also help the employees reach the break-even point quickly and without any hassle. They can easily grasp the dynamics of the organization and immediately start contributing towards the achievement of strategic objectives of the company. Helping our employees to succeed would ultimately result in achieving our own strategic objectives. Because - “If you take care of your people, your people will take care of the customer and the business will take care of itself.” - Sam Walton, Wal-Mart. [Tweet this]

Workforce Planning – adding value beyond numbers.

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 09:58:00 +0000

During the ‘Strategic inflection point’ as described by Andy Grove, (Intel, - book “Only the paranoid survive”) an organization is tempted to opt for either layoff or restructuring as a strategic choice to improve immediate performance. This sounds as an appropriate option considering it's visible & instant results. As Drucker suggests, the key activity that’s required in the course of transforming an organization is a wholesale shifting of resources from what was appropriate for the old idea of the business to what is appropriate for the new. And as stated by Grove, “Your best people—their knowledge, skills and expertise—are an equally important resource.” [Tweet this] He further says, “it doesn’t take much self-confidence to downsize a company—after all, how can you go wrong by shuttering factories and laying people off if the benefits of such actions are going to show up in tomorrow’s bottom line and will be applauded by the financial community?”

However, according to many management authors, in the long run, that may not be a wise decision. According to Jim Collins, (Good to Great) “It would be a mistake a tragic mistake, indeed to think that the way you ignite a transition from good to great is by wantonly swinging the ax on vast numbers of hard working people. Endless restructuring and mindless hacking were never part of the good-to-great model.”

It clearly outlines the fact that if we really want to survive then management of our people should be our first priority. It significantly enhances the importance of Workforce Planning in today’s environment especially for the long-term survival of the organization. Needless to say, an effective workforce planning process will assist organization leaders to make informed decision to effectively manage their people.

Workforce Planning is an important activity for all HR Professionals in any organization. As rightly stated by Gary Hamel that “people are all there is to an organization” and hence planning for optimally utilizing this valuable resource becomes essential and more indispensible. Importance of planning is underscored very correctly by Benjamin Franklin. He says, - "When you fail to plan you plan to fail." [Tweet this]

Different authors have defined this process in different perspectives. As they say, if we ask three people what is Workforce Planning, we will get five different definitions. However, we will consider the simple one that is clearly described by Ralph Christensen, in his book ‘Roadmap to strategic HR’

“The workforce plan is a component of the HRP and the business plan that:

Clearly identifies the number and skills of people that are needed to succeed in the business.
Is grounded in business strategy and human resources business drivers.
Establishes the transition plan to move from current to the future workforce.
Is an integrated part of the overall business plan.”

However, alignment of Workforce Plan with the organizational strategy is essential for delivering maximum value. In fact, the success of this plan hinges on its appropriate integration with overall organizational strategy.

In layman’s terminology, it is nothing but an analysis of ‘demand for’ and ‘supply of’ employees. And all other activities such as recruitment, transfer, promotion, succession, training, performance management etc. carried out in line with this plan to achieve organization's strategic objectives. It’s such a simple concept on paper, however, equally challenging for successful implementation in any organization. As stated by Michael Bergdahl, (Walmart) “90 percent of strategy is execution; ideas truly are often quite easy to come up with, it’s the implementation that’s always tough.” Theoretically it’s a simple process, then why there are so many issues in implementation? That reminds me of another quote, “The best battle plan lasts until the first sight of the enemy” - Helmuth von Moltke. [Tweet this]

No doubt that the ‘Planning’ is essential whereas it is the successful implementation that produces concrete ‘results’. HR may design an excellent workforce plan; however it needs buy-in & support from all other stakeholders (line-managers) in the organization for its successful implementation. It becomes crucial while dealing with the ownership issue, and hence requires inclusion & involvement of all constituents of HR (Recruiting, Staffing, and Corporate) and Line Managers or Functional Leaders. Normally consultants hold a workshop to secure buy-in from all the stakeholders.

A robust workforce plan should cover attrition / retention tactics since it is an integral part of the plan. Imagine we are trying to fill a pot which has a leakage problem. We keep on pouring water in and it goes out from the leakage. Unless we try and repair the leakage first we would never be able to fill the pot. Needless to say that if we take care of the attrition that will certainly result in the reduction in recruitment costs and improve overall workforce management.

Levels of Workforce Planning:

There are mainly three different levels in this process as very well defined by Aberdeen Group Report, “Workforce Planning: Mapping the road to success” (pdf) (May 2014):

Operational - (Basic) – Looking ahead days and weeks

Short-Term (Intermediate) – near-term planning for skills, capabilities, and staffing requirements

Long-Term (Strategic) – Looking out 18 months or longer and planning for future business needs

The following image clearly depicts these three levels from basic to strategic.

Image Source: The Newman Group

Workforce Planning Process:

Workforce planning is the process that provides strategic direction to talent management activities to ensure an organization has the right people in the right place at the right time and at the right price to execute its business strategy. Normally companies look at workforce solely as a cost item and ignore the value of people’s talent as a required strategic resource. One must go beyond just the head count numbers and consider developing a plan that is broad in scope. According to Ralph Christensen, it must consider following areas:

External environment forecast, Industry Trends, Demographics, Demand & Supply Factors
Internal Analysis, Core Capabilities, Competencies, Skill sets needed
Workforce forecast by Skill Set, Job, Numbers, Timing
Transition Plan (How we move from current to future workforce).

Workforce Planning Process is shown in the following image.

In case it’s a greenfield project, we can begin with a pilot program in one business unit of the company. And upon successful implementation, it can be rolled out in other business units &/or locations. The clear output of this process is the identification of Talent Gaps (either Surplus or Shortage). It certainly helps us in identifying whether currently available headcount & skills (competencies) will meet tomorrow’s demand.

An effective staffing plan must be developed to take care of the talent requirements. Companies must seriously think about investing in social media platforms these days (as an additional source of supply of workforce) since it is becoming preferred choice for most of the millennials. In fact, developing an employer brand can result in attracting right people. The organization own finance budgets and are regularly reviewed quarterly or even monthly. And the same logic can be applied to review & ownership of the process for workforce planning. The constant review of the plan will result in reducing recruitment costs, and will provide a concrete base for the development of a pipeline for future.

Solutions or Tools used for Workforce Planning:

Using software tools available in the market would definitely assist in ameliorating the administrative burden involved in the process and provide accurate, valid data projections, trends based on demand and supply of talent. A key differentiator for these solutions is their scenario planning and predictive modeling capabilities. According to webinar – “Future Trends in Workforce Planning” following solutions are used today by organizations for this process.

Spreadsheets – 32%
Planning from HR Application – 20%
Custom Workforce Planning Solution – 18%
Finance Budgeting and Planning – 15%
Dedicated Workforce Planning Solution – 15%

However, according to AberdeenReport [ “Workforce Planning: Mapping the road to success”] (pdf) "over half 54% of organizations indicate that they still have manual or spreadsheet-based workforce planning capabilities". No doubt that automated software solutions have an edge over manual processes as shown in the following image.

The report further says, “Given the multiple facets that are involved in workforce planning - budget information, productivity information, skills and capabilities, schedules, and much more - automated tools make sense to bring all the stages together. Organizations with automated workforce planning tools are more than twice as likely to indicate that their workforce planning processes are focused on closing the gaps in workforce skills and competencies required for business plans.”

Now for us to upgrade from spreadsheets to implement more strategic process a robust roadmap is needed. We may refer to Bersin & Associates report “The Modern Approach to Workforce Planning: Best Practices in Today’sEconomy” (pdf) (April 2009) which narrates their Workforce Planning Maturity Model as shown in the following image. The process of transition is very well covered in this report which also suggests best practices to transition from level 1 to level 4, you may download the report for further insights.

Each and every organization is unique and hence needs customized solution that is best suited for their needs and requirements. And hence getting off the shelf tool may not be a wise option especially when there is a plethora of choices available in the market. It also becomes essential because any software implementation is a gigantic task in itself which consume a lot of time, energy, resources and efforts of all the stakeholders.

In the similar context before implementing any new management fad / restructuring or ‘best practices’ successful in other companies, it is essential to note views of Mr. Paul Kearns. He says, “Like many paradoxes in life, it might be hard to understand why organizations go for quick fixes and simplistic solutions when what they obviously need is a long-term strategy.” He further says, “Well-worn analogies may turn into clichés, but the difference between the indiscriminate use of ad-hoc HR initiatives and a clearly focused HR strategy is very much like that between the sower who throws seed into the wind and the one who uses a seed drill. Both will achieve some germination, but the latter is bound to achieve a greater yield.”

Key issues involved in Workforce Planning:

Environment Scanning: Business cycles have a direct impact on the workforce of any organization and appropriate prediction of the conditions may assist in effective handling of the situation by taking proactive steps rather than reactive actions. Similarly technological changes that significantly impact any business process result in affecting numbers and specific skills of the workforce. Predicting them may not be possible however we can update ourselves about developments in the field and be prepared for dealing with them proactively.

Restructuring: This issue is being discussed in the beginning. A thorough and careful planning is needed for the success of such initiative by calculating the ramifications on different skills and number of employees. We cannot assume that we may reduce the number of people and carry on the same work with fewer workers without any significant changes in the process. It certainly is not possible and may result in rehiring the laid-off employees. “Downsizing belatedly attempts to correct the mistakes of the past; it is not about creating the markets of the future.” - Hamel & Prahalad [Tweet this]

Quantifying skills: It’s not an easy task to quantify skills, know-how & characteristics, of employees. The process of the job analysis should result in clearly reflecting real skills, know-how and characteristics in each job or job families. Then it would be possible for us to quantify and track them. However, even then it is not possible to accurately quantify them properly in the workforce plan.

Staffing projections: No matter which tool we are using for forecasting, it’s next to impossible to predict which employees are going to quit & when. And the situation becomes more precarious when they are hi-performers and hi-potentials who are crucial for strategic success. According to the book “The Alliance” (by Reid Hoffman & Ben C.) the average turnover at work is less than four years so ‘lifetime employment’ strategies are out of date. This emerging trend poses a substantial challenge for HR professionals.

Support from Top Management: As for any other HR initiative, support from top management is vital for the success of the workforce plan. It is crucial, how seriously the top management views this initiative and backs it up throughout the process to succeed.

Buy-in & ownership: As discussed earlier, support from all other participants of the process mainly from Line Managers, Functional Leaders is critical in the success of the workforce plan. HR has an important responsibility to secure buy-in from all the participants and share the ownership of this process so as to enable it to succeed. As Josh Bersin says [Report: Predictions for 2015] “Remember that the issues of employee performance, retention, and engagement are not HR problems—they are management problems.” He further says, “Hold leaders accountable for more than just performance—they are responsible for employee engagement, employee development, and developing their own successors.”

This list can go on since there are many activities covered under the heading of Workforce Planning, and may not be able to include them all here. You may add them in the comments, along with your valuable views.

In conclusion, it’s our ability to predict the future accurately that will help us to deal with the problem of workforce planning. As said by Andrews Grove, Intel, “But data are about the past, and strategic inflection points are about the future.” [Tweet this] No matter which tools and techniques we may use it’s the flexibility of the workforce plan & its appropriate alignment with the organizational strategy that will help us to survive and thrive. Because “All our knowledge is about the past, but all our decisions are about the future.” – Ian Wilson [Tweet this]

100 Quotes on HR- “Employment Brand”

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 11:32:00 +0000

Download Slides :

Slideshare

Appreciate to receive your valuable insights in the comments. You may also consider sharing related Quotes known to you in the comments.

Thanks & Regards,

100 Quotes on HR- “Employment Brand”

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 17:20:00 +0000

Delivering and managing “Employment Brand” is one of the Critical Talent Imperatives for 2015 according to Bersin Report (Predictions for 2015). It is also one of the most repeated topics in the recent #tweetchat discussions I had participated on twitter.

RBL - Growing Your HR Brand (Whitepaper)(pdf)

HR Brand Quiz (Download excel file)

Appreciate to receive your valuable insights in the comments. You may also consider sharing related Quotes known to you in the comments.

Thanks & Regards,

"HR Quotes" - by 'HR Professionals' & 'Management Leaders'

noreply@blogger.com (Vijay Bankar) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 07:41:00 +0000

Youtube Video:

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"HR Quotes" - by 'HR Professionals' & 'Management Leaders' from Vijay Bankar

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Quotes by HR Professionals & Business Leaders
"The problem largely comes from the fact that when it comes to people, everyone is an expert." - Fred Luthans
“Financial resources may be the lifeblood of a company, but "Human Resources" are the brains.” - Rob Silzer & Ben Dowell
“ people are all there is to an organization ” - Gary Hamel
“The organization is, above all, social. It is people.” - Peter Drucker
“The real secret of Silicon Valley is that it’s really all about the people” - Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha
“…Silicon Valley’s success comes from the way its companies build alliances with their employees.” - Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha
“The linchpin for organizational effectiveness is having the right talent in the right place at the right time” - Leslie Joyce
"First get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats-and then they figured out where to drive it" - Jim Collins, Good to Great
“The main point is first get the right people on the bus (and wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it. The second key point is the degree of sheer rigor in people decisions in order to take a company from Good to Great” - Jim Collins, Good to Great
"It is one thing above all others; the ability to get and keep enough of the right people." - Jim Collins, Good to Great
"Hire for attitude and train for skills" - Tom Peters
“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.”- D. Oglivy
"Human beings are not things needing to be motivated and controlled; they are four dimensional body-mind-heart-and-spirit" - Stephen Covey
“You think effectiveness with people and efficiency with things.” - Stephen Covey
“The underpinnings of the alliance: the company helps the employee transform his career; the employee helps the company transform itself and become more adaptable.” - Reid Hoffman, B. Casnocha “The Alliance”
“…we believe that when the right talent meets the right opportunity in a company with the right philosophies, amazing transformations can happen.” - Reid Hoffman, B. Casnocha
"So often the problem is in the system, not in the people. If you put good people in bad systems, you get bad results." - Stephen Covey
"It’s not the company-provided lunch that keeps people here. Googlers tell us that there are three reasons they stay: the mission, the quality of the people, and the chance to build the skill set of a better leader or entrepreneur.” - Laszlo Bock, HR, Google
“You save tremendous amounts of time, energy, and money when you tap into the human resources of a business at every level.” - Stephen Covey
“If the reputation of a company's products and services is its face, the talent brand is its heart and soul” - Hank Stringer & R Rueff
What corporate leaders think
“If your CFO is more important than your CHRO (Chief Human Resource Officer) you're nuts!” - Jack Welch, former CEO, GE
“Developing and motivating people is the most important part of my job. I spend one third of my time on people”- Jeff Immelt, GE
“Empowering people turns Wal-Mart’s culture into a competitive advantage” - Michael Bergdahl
“You cannot have faith in people unless you take action to improve and develop them” - Sumantra Ghoshal
CHRO – “Chief Hurdle Removal Officer” – Tom Peters
“You have to treat your employees like customers” - Herbert D. Kelleher
“The inventory, the value of my company, walks out the door every evening.” - Bill Gates, Microsoft
“The most important role of managers is to create environment in which people are passionately dedicated to winning in marketplace.”- Andrew S. Grove, Intel
“whatever success we have had in maintaining our culture has been instrumental in Intel’s success in surviving strategic inflection points.” - Andrew S. Grove, Intel
"I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game; it is the game" - Louis Gerstner, IBM
"I look for people who work to solve problems and help colleagues, I sack politicians." - Louis Gerstner, IBM
"People may listen to what you say, but they watch what you do"- A. G. Lafley, P & G
“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them toward a certain goal.” - Walt Disney
Strategic HR
"Talent management is more than just a competitive advantage; it is a fundamental requirement for business success." - Robert Silzer & Ben Dowell
"business strategy that does not explicitly & consciously integrate with HR strategy no longer qualify as the best strategic option" - Paul Kearns
"If main purpose of HR strategy is to create competitive advantage through people it implies that you have to change the way you manage those people"- Paul Kearns
“increasingly, companies in a wide variety of businesses are finding that people can be their no. 1 source of competitive advantage” - E. Lawler
“Human, not financial, capital must be the starting point and ongoing foundation of a successful strategy.”- C. A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal
“What got repressed—sometimes viciously repressed—by the strategy-concept makers, consultants, and data gatherers was a consciousness of people and their importance in the creation and execution of any strategy.”- Walter Kiechel III
“Ultimately, delivering strategy is about hiring the right people and motivating them to deliver results.”- Helen M. & P. Schubert – Hay Group
“Organizations that have used data to gain human-capital insights already have a hard-to-replicate competitive advantage.” - Thomas Davenport
"let us build a set of robust and rigorous indicators that your organization treats people as human capital" - Paul Kearns
Image Source: Google Images Lets connect: vijay.bankar@gmail.com in.linkedin.com/in/vijaybankar vijaybankar.blogspot.com twitter.com/vijaybankar

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