Month: January 2019

Over 70 HR thought-leaders are lined up to give their expert insights at upcoming National HR Summit – a two-day extravaganza of presentations, panels and workshops split across three in-depth conference streams.

Among them will be those taking part in our unique HR spotlight series, including Turia Pitt (Athlete, Humanitarian, Motivational Speaker) with her session ‘Be the leader of your life’; Nicolette Barnard (Head of Human Resources, Australia & New Zealand, Siemens) with her session ‘This is the future of HR’ and Lucinda Gemmell (Group Executive, People, Virgin Australia) with her session ‘This is the future of HR leadership’.

There will also be keynote sessions featuring Michael Schneider, Managing Director, Bunnings Group Limited; Steven Worrall, Managing Director, Microsoft Australia; Bridie Dawson, Chief People Officer, Australian Financial Security Authority; and Ross Sparkman, Head of Strategic Workforce Planning, Facebook USA.

Now in its 17th year, the National HR Summit is continuing to innovate and look at new ways to bring the latest knowledge to HR professionals. For 2019, a new stream has been introduced to the summit on day one – the Public Sector Forum – covering the challenges facing public sector HR professionals specifically.

For more information and to register, go to hrsummit.com.au.

Early Bird registrations are now open for the Summit. HRD readers are encouraged to book in soon to take advantage of the savings on offer. Further discounts apply to Team Passes of four delegates or more.

The National HR Summit Australia will be held at Luna Park Sydney on 26-27 March 2019.

Source: https://www.hcamag.com/hr-news/lets-shine-the-spotlight-on-big-hr-issues-259535.aspx

The growing relevance of the HR function in recent years can be pinned down to the adoption of new age technologies within its processes. Always a critical arm of organizations, the HR function has been at the helm of making talent decisions. But traditionally, what all this translated into was to undertake transactional, ‘by the book’ activities which were thought to create necessary changes within the workforce, all aimed solely at meeting the business demands. Business leaders were often found to be treating their HR initiatives at best as activities with low and unpredictable ROI, or at worse as meaningless attempts to make the workforce more motivated and efficient. But the changing nature of modern day businesses meant that this trend doesn’t remain unaffected.

Many have started calling this recent period of technological shifts within the business ecosystem as the fourth industrial revolution and the effects are for everyone to see. Today, technologies like AI, automation, robotics, and digitalization have redefined the existing parameters of operation and, in addition to lowering costs, have made processes more data-driven and efficient. This shift has not only improved how a company delivers its products but also how it operates from within, an aspect to which the modern-day HR function is no exception.

When it comes to HR tech, it too has had its journey. From an initial skepticism on its effectiveness to now where the market is saturated with such products— all fine-tuned to meet niche demands but are often underutilized due to improper planning—HR tech has come a long way. And for many, the future is an increasingly digital one. Gartner highlights that business leaders are now aiming to improve workforce performance levels by investing more into the digitalization of their HR processes. This, in turn, reflects that for many HR leaders, one of their top priorities in the coming year is to digitalize the HR function. Gartner also reveals that for CHROs, digitalizing HR would feature ahead of other top priorities such as performance management and creating a people analytics team.

Changes, as expected
The external market forces have forced many businesses to innovate and adapt, which, in turn, has changed the traditional business models, demanded agility, and forced the restructuring of talent preferences. Skill demands have evolved and with time, as more businesses undergo a technological transformation, functions like L&D will become important in ensuring that the workforce remains productive. This means that HR professionals are to play a more active role in working closely with business leaders to ensure it.

In the current era of business transformation, acquiring, training, and retaining the right talent is of key importance.

Even from an employee’s perspective, HR is responsible for enabling them to chart an often changing learning curve which would ensure their employability.

With so much resting on the shoulders of modern-day HR professionals, it becomes imperative for HR tech to be channelized in solving such problems. Digitalization, use of AI in forms of chatbots, and using automation to do away with transactional activities have been some of the ways in which HR tech has over the years developed and ensured that HR professionals are able to build a skilled and motivated workforce. Today, digitalization has truly evolved into becoming a game changer for many organizational functions including HR. But what does this shift towards using more technology actually translate into?

The shift
Before we begin looking into how the role of an HR function has evolved in the times of business transformation, it is valuable to look at how effectively have such technological shifts within the businesses helped create the necessary changes. While many find great use and are able to leverage digital transformation to better their productivity, a recent Tata Communications study points to a growing disconnect within the aspiration vs. reality of using the latest technologies out there. The study found that 41 percent of board members and 33 percent of C-level executives believe that they are leading their industry in adopting new technologies, in comparison to just 18 percent of directors and 14 percent of department heads. In addition, the perceived high cost of innovation, lack of skills and the threat of cyber-attacks are proving major barriers to digital transformation globally.

These are certainly some caveats with which the growth of HR tech should be viewed and many such factors also influence how effectively the HR function is able to leverage business transformation to better its intervention. But keeping it aside for a moment, the shifts in using HR tech have been substantial. The technological landscape has evolved to meet HR needs in more efficient and direct ways. While portions of ERP and HCM in companies across the globe have shifted to cloud-based systems, a major shift in HR tech has been its new found focus to create tools to enhance workforce productivity. Rather than focusing on simple automation of activities, HR tech is now driven to make pivotal changes within the workforce mostly aimed at boosting productivity levels.

According to Deloitte’s study on HR tech disruptions, the use of artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive bots, and intelligent predictive software within HR have all gone up and today many organizations are quickly bringing new functionalities into HRs approach to managing the workforce. With the rise in the effectiveness of HR interventions, the use of modern tech, especially in areas of L&D, performance management, and managing workforce productivity. digital feedback, analytics, and engagement tools are increasingly finding their space in today’s HR practices. Recent research by Fosway group reveals that the major players in the European market are optimistic about their investments in HR tech and 76 percent of organizations are increasing investment in HR tech. With user experience still remaining a key driving force of such a shift, it has been reflective of the aim of making HR processes more employee-centric. The other key drivers that are reshaping HR systems reportedly are lack of business agility (84 percent), level of innovation (84 percent), enhanced self-service tools (84 percent) and lack of analytics (83 percent).

The realm of HR tech has undergone many changes.

During the 1970s and 1980s, HR software vendors focused on building centralized systems of records, chiefly in areas of compliance and payroll management. The aim was to integrate HR into other enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. During the early 2000s, this focus shifted to enable HR to support recruiting, training, and performance management. As a result, integrated talent management systems emerged. Around 2010, companies began the move to the cloud, replacing their old core systems of record and building real-time systems of engagement and learning that put the onus of use on the employee. But as the grip of Industry 4.0 increases on many parts of the globalized world, HR managers require HR tech that is more in tune with their current needs. And by jumping through hoops and traversing through its own barriers, HR tech is poised to catch up to such needs.

We take a look at the acquisitions in the Indian HR Tech market in 2018.

Source: https://www.peoplematters.in/article/infographics/the-story-of-hr-tech-and-its-changing-nature-20577?utm_source=peoplematters&utm_medium=interstitial&utm_campaign=learnings-of-the-day

It’s a challenging time to be entering the workforce for the first time. The traditional path of getting a college education or learning a skill, then taking a job and remaining in it for your entire career, is largely obsolete now. Today, most in the current workforce not only specialize in certain skills, but also upskill and move jobs throughout their careers.

However, there are certain skills that are as necessary now as they have always been. So-called “soft skills,” such as comprehensive listening, holding meaningful dialogues and having difficult conversations, can be learned, but are often not taught. Luckily, many can be acquired through experience. So, which soft skills should every professional focus on developing? Members of Forbes Coaches Council offer their views below.

1. Empathy

While it’s certainly not the only soft skill necessary for success, empathy is arguably the most important soft skill anyone needs when entering the workforce (and quite frankly, at any point in your career). Without empathy, you won’t understand where someone is coming from. Empathy helps us read people and situations, adapt accordingly, build trust and connect more effectively with others. – Laurie Sudbrink, Unlimited Coaching Solutions, Inc.

2. Ability To Influence Peers

One of the biggest surprises newcomers face is matrixed work environments. Getting things done usually requires working through others to achieve results. The ability to influence peers to provide deliverables—even without direct authority—is a learned skill. Mastery is essential. – Scott Singer, Insider Career Strategies

3. Emotional Intelligence

The ability to assess and manage your own emotions as well as build meaningful professional relationships is one of the most important skills successful leaders possess. Leaders make an impact not just with their knowledge, skills and experience, but also by influencing and motivating, which makes it imperative that they are able to connect with others to foster trust and collaboration. – Tonya Echols, Vigere

4. Curiosity And Positivity

New employees are on a steep learning curve. You will need to learn about the job, the company and the industry. It is important to be curious and learn all you can so you can perform effectively and distinguish yourself. It is also critical to be positive. You are asking people to help you learn, and most people respond to an employee who is positive and easy to work with. – Maureen Metcalf, Innovative Leadership Institute

5. Active Listening

If a new employee wants to stand out, he or she can do so by listening actively when others speak. Put down the phone, turn away from the computer screen, make eye contact and try to focus on what is being said, as well as feelings and emotions that are not. You will find that, if you listen, you may learn something; when you talk, you are not learning. At least balance time spent listening with talking. – Bill Gardner, Noetic Outcomes Consulting, LLC

6. Humility

New grads get so caught up in making their mark at work that they don’t realize how essential humility is to getting ahead. Humility doesn’t mean being meek or that you are lower in stature. It’s having such high self-regard that you lead with a greater interest in others. Ask others’ opinions before you give yours. Find out how you can support their success first before thinking of your own. – Loren Margolis, Training & Leadership Success LLC

7. Communication Skills

Professional communication skills include speaking thoughtfully and intelligently, listening intently, and being a team player with leadership potential. Recent reports also suggest that new graduates need to demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. – Beverly Harvey, HarveyCareers, LLC

8. Creative Problem-Solving

Early careerists should demonstrate how you have adapted, solved small problems and collaborated with others to develop solutions to unexpected problems. Embrace this concept and talk to employers about how you have done this in your education, your internships and jobs. Employers who focus mostly on hard skills often overlook creative problem-solving. Show them you have it and you will stand out. – John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.

9. Resilience

When you’re new to the workforce it can be easy to second guess your decisions and be tempted to job hop. Set yourself up for success by being committed to your choices and then seeing them through. Don’t give up on yourself or your employer. There is always something to learn from every situation, and if you throw in the towel prematurely, you’ll miss out on valuable lessons. – Elizabeth Pearson, Elizabeth Pearson Executive Coaching

10. Observation Skills

Most would say listening is the most important soft skill, but in reality, observation is more critical than listening. Learning to “see” beyond the spoken word to notice behaviors and patterns that are inconsistent gives one the ability to see potential problems before they become critical and to hear, communicate and problem solve more effectively. – Linda Zander, Super Sized Success

11. Ability To Contextualize

Learning to place your decisions into the broader context of your organization’s strategy, your team’s processes and your supervisor’s priorities is huge! The more quickly you can learn to contextualize decisions, the better they will be and the more noticed you’ll be. You’ll see ways to create value that others don’t, and you’ll become a support to decision makers in the organization. – Kyle Brost, Spark Policy Institute & Choice Strategy Group

12. Willingness To Ask Questions

As an emerging professional, you do not have to figure things out on your own. We learn best from other people. Connect with experienced professionals, ask for a mentor and learn to engage others by asking for input on your ideas. Collaborating is not only smart, but effective! You can build excellent relationships by allowing others to help you while shortening your learning curve. – Erin Urban, UPPSolutions, LLC

13. Courage To Make Recommendations

No matter how junior the role, learn to make recommendations to your leader and team with justification for your recommendation. Accept that they may not take your recommendation, yet be brave in offering your opinion on next steps and decisions rather than looking to others to tell you what to do. Doing so will show your commitment and courage to be a problem solver and solution seeker. – Jenn Lofgren, Incito Executive & Leadership Development

14. Relationship Building

Too often recent graduates think they’ve learned, through their collegiate career, what they need to know to be successful in the professional world. From a book-knowledge standpoint that may be true. To be truly successful, though, one must learn to build relationships. The key to success is getting things done through, and with, other people. Lone wolves typically have a short shelf life. – Ed Krow, Ed Krow, LLC

15. Self-Awareness

If you can only focus on one soft skill early in your career, it should be developing a deeper self-awareness. Pay attention to how you show up in different situations. What can you learn from the feedback of others? Ask for feedback and listen carefully. Even if you don’t immediately understand the feedback you’re receiving, ask for clarification and keep watching yourself. – Marcy Schwab, Inspired Leadership

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/01/22/15-soft-skills-you-need-to-succeed-when-entering-the-workforce/#5dcbd82010ae

Organizations cannot allow workplace bullies to run rampant, given that they cause enormous and costly negative impacts on employee engagement, productivity, and workplace culture. Organizations must develop proactive strategies and create action plans for addressing the problem. Fortunately, there are many impactful, low risk, strategic steps that make the task both manageable and likely to succeed.

The Workplace Bullying Institute defines workplace bullying as “repeated, health-harming mistreatment, verbal abuse, or conduct which is threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or sabotage that interferes with work, or some combination of the three.” The four markers for bullying are a pattern of behavior that is deliberate, repetitive, disrespectful and always for the bully’s benefit.

How can organizations effectively address workplace bullying? The most important building blocks for successfully addressing workplace bullying are the following:

Establish or revise respectful workplace and ethics policies
All organizations should establish clear and effective bullying policies and procedures for addressing bullying allegations. These are usually incorporated into an organization’s Codes of Ethics or Respectful Workplace Policy. If your organization has no anti-bullying policy, lobby hard for change.

Lead by example: “Walk the Workplace Respect Walk”
There is no replacement for authentic, engaged leadership. Just like any important initiative, unless everyone witnesses sincere, meaningful, and consistent anti-bullying messages and behavior from the executives, the goal will never be reached. It may be cliché, but to eliminate bullying the change must come from and be led by example from the top.

Include respectful behavior in performance management metrics
One of the most effective ways to address bullying (and improve workplace culture) is to include performance metrics for respectful behavior in performance plans for every employee. By making the employees accountable for disrespectfulness (including bullying), organizations give managers a tool to directly address bad behavior the moment it surfaces.

Implement confidential reporting processes
Establish fair, effective, and safe methods to report alleged bullying. An unbiased, safe, and user-friendly complaint reporting process is essential. Most organizations fail in this regard, requiring staff to report a bully to their supervisor or human resources. This rarely works for many reasons but, most importantly, because it creates a fear of reporting. When the supervisor is the bully more than 50% of the time, one can quickly see why such a strategy is doomed to fail. If organizations establish a neutral and confidential reporting mechanism, people will no longer be afraid to report a problem. This works to everyone’s benefit and will ensure an impartial, confidential, and trustworthy process.

Establish effective investigation processes
Bullying investigations must be unbiased, fair, and fulsome. In order for staff to feel safe, it is essential that investigations are confidential, free from political interference, and result in appropriate responses if allegations are proven. An impartial external investigator should be engaged to conduct this sensitive work. Fair treatment for alleged victims, bullies, and witnesses is needed to engender trust in the process.

Take all bullying reports seriously
Take bullying claims seriously but tread carefully. Until there has been a thorough assessment of the complaint by unbiased and trained personnel, the organization should remain neutral. The important point here is that organizations should respond immediately and professionally. While every report of bullying or bullying-type behavior should be taken seriously, whether they have merit is for the investigation process to determine.

Use effective conflict resolution strategies
Bullying isn’t like other conflicts and requires specialized conflict resolution strategies. Normal conflict resolution processes won’t work- it is naive to think that you can reason with a bully. Holding a meeting with the bully to “hash out” management’s concerns will usually result in the bully aggressively defending their actions, using deceit, blame, and deflection. Mediation can also be another opportunity for the bully to misbehave and instill fear in the target. This is an organizational problem that requires impactful decision-making authority, not a compromise-seeking session. Thus, binding arbitration is normally the best process to use.

If there is a bully in the midst, there are mechanisms for quickly fairly and effectively addressing the problem with all of these policies and processes in place, there is no guarantee that your organization won’t ever face a bullying situation. However, when it happens, your organization will be prepared to handle the challenges effectively, with due process. Bullies beware– change is coming!

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326657

IN the digital age, futuristic technology and smart solutions have rendered the concept of traditional workspace obsolete.

Modern-day employees are empowered to work remotely and connect with their colleagues at any time.

And along with the transformation of the traditional work environment, technology has also helped to completely redefine every aspect of the human resource department or HR in companies all around the world from hiring process, all the way to employee management and tracking.

The digital revolution has made available numerous tools and solutions to aid their workflow and increase efficiency while also empowering the shift their focus from managing the workforce to improve the bottom line of the organization.

Here are four trends in tech that are driving the massive transformation in human resource management worldwide:

# 1 | Emergence of big data
One technological trend that has enabled HR professionals to understand their customer better and create marketing strategies tailor-made to their audience, as well as enhance communication with their potential customer, is big data.

Along with other technologies such as AI and machine analytics, big data delivers insights that help HR professionals make informed, data-driven business decisions.

HR managers are always fed with the latest data in and a dashboard view of the workforce, which allows them to see a pattern or trends that can be used further improve their operations.

# 2 | Mobile apps on the go
As employees are increasingly working on the go, smartphone apps and other mobile tools are expected to feature heavily in the HR landscape in the coming years.

Companies are seeking to integrate their HR systems with mobile apps, to grant access to their workforce via mobile devices, enabling the mobilization process of HR functions.

The trend of developing mobile apps also streamlines the ever-evolving nature of HR functions, that will improve efficiency and eliminate redundancy in the workflow.

# 3 | Harnessing the power of social media
Social media is a powerful tool for HR, especially in recruitment, a fact that more and more companies are realizing.

And accordingly, businesses use social media platform such as Facebook and LinkedIn to engage and reach potential employees with targeting the right demography or individuals to fill specific positions.

Similarly, companies could also use these platforms to engage with their current workforce, to share the vision of the organizations and foster a productive culture.

# 4 | Game changing cloud solutions
Regardless if it is a web application or native application, software as a service application or SaaS is already taking the HR department by storm.

As data collection and storage was an immense challenge for companies, cloud-based solutions have now become a must-have feature in every business environment.

And as more HR department are migrating to the cloud, it allows increased access of relevant file and documents on top of storing it in a more organized and secured system with appropriate back-up measures.

In brief, the advent of technology promises enormous potential to transform HR operation and practices that can immensely benefit businesses.

While this may be true, the technology itself may not be sufficient, without the human workforce and the culture that complements the transformation. HR managers should be bold in tapping into the latest digital solutions in driving value to their businesses.

Source: https://techwireasia.com/2019/01/how-technology-is-redefining-human-resources/

Jocelyn Macedo, Vice President, Human Resources, Asia Pacific Japan, Dell Technologies, reveals how HR leaders can help to define the new reality in the workplace and point out new paths to opportunity and business success.
The workplace of the future is going to be radically different to what it is today.

From the technology we use to complete our tasks, to how we collaborate, to how the very scope of our roles is defined – business leaders agree there is going to be a major shift. In Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), however, those leaders are divided on exactly how that impact will play out: how it will change training, alter desired skill-sets, and more.

Even at this relatively early stage, we are seeing how the lack of consensus on this aspect of transformation is driving uncertainty – and putting the onus on HR, among other business leaders, to step up and play a crucial role in putting some definition around that new reality.

A divided vision of the future
That lack of consensus manifests itself in a number of key areas. For example, in our Realizing 2030: A Divided Vision of the Future survey, 58% of APJ leaders said they believe automation will free up their time at work – yet 42% disagreed. A 50-50 split was apparent in leaders’ expectations of whether advances in technology will provide greater job satisfaction and an increase in productivity. On top of that, 63% of leaders in APJ admit they are struggling to cope with the pace of change brought about by technological progress.

Thus far, leaders cannot agree on how technology is going to shape our lives, our work and our businesses. Instead, they are focused on some parallel (while still essential) questions and concerns: How will humans work with machines in this dawning era of automation and artificial intelligence? How will technology drive a transformation of the definition of work? And fundamentally, how will these challenges best be managed?

As well as these broader questions, leaders are also faced with having to manage a certain level of apprehension within the workforce, as employees start to become concerned that their skill-set may be about to become obsolete. APJ is particularly advanced with the development and application of technologies like the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence – so people in this region are likely to start seeing the impact of these technologies around them sooner than in other parts of the world.

Leadership to the fore
The scenario itself may be new, but – in many ways – the challenge that it presents for leaders is a familiar one: Organisations still need to focus on strong company values and on a culture code that guides how people should lead and work together (and with their customers and partners) to best effect – exactly as before. Those values should provide a strong and stable rudder to an organisation, no matter what the specific working methods are on a day-to-day basis, and however those human-machine partnerships play out.

However, the fourth industrial revolution does put a greater emphasis on leadership strength than, perhaps, ever before.

For many years, organisations have experienced disruption around them as a result of technology and innovation. Companies and entire industries have been transformed – some have disappeared altogether. This atmosphere of uncertainty is, therefore, familiar to many. Navigating it successfully requires strong, decisive leadership that identifies and shares a clear direction, and prudently sticks with it. To bring team members along with them, leaders should encourage an optimistic view of change, championing opportunity and encouraging risk-taking in a way that goes beyond lip-service.

Change will happen
What will certainly change – and in fact, it already is – is the need to adapt current approaches to learning and acquiring skills. At a time when 63% of APJ decision makers note a lack of workforce readiness for the changes ahead, and when skill-sets are a major concern – addressing this must be a top priority and will be a significant factor in determining levels of preparedness for the future of human-machine partnerships.

A new reality that HR can help to define is one in which the perception of learning and skills is, also, transformed. We foresee a fundamental shift, away from today’s norm of singular competency or expertise and toward an emphasis on agility, creativity and adaptability as a means to developing broader expertise. Skills may soon be superseded in importance by the willingness to learn, to tread new territory, to take risks and make mistakes – even to become a virtual beginner again. Embracing and mastering this new approach to learning and developing has the power to become a competitive differentiator for organisations.

Structurally, organisations will also need to change in order to ensure they succeed in this new dynamic. Our research shows how this is already in the offing: more than 80% of companies in APJ plan on tasking senior leaders with spearheading digital change. Even more – 86% – want to empower lines of business to pursue their own digital strategies. 85% want to put policies and technology in place that would support and enable a fully remote, flexible workforce.

As organisations move towards digitisation, these factors will come together to define a new reality in the workplace and enable organisations not simply to survive, but to thrive. Each requires strong and determined leadership, though, and some will necessitate fundamental changes to existing thinking and long-cherished received wisdom.

HR leaders will have an important role to play in helping to design, test and prove some of the core ingredients of this new reality – and, in doing so, define new paths to opportunity and business success.

Source: https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/ir-4-0-how-hr-can-help-define-the-new-reality-at-work/

In fact, HR can be tested daily as tasks need to be completed at a similar pace and at a much higher frequency. This is where changing a normal HR approach over to an HR shared services approach can become a real solution.

HR Shared Services – What is it?
Simply put, HR Shared Services is a strategic way to provide HR-related services to an ever-growing employee base. And it comes with some advantages such as continuity and efficiency. Here are seven advantages to following this type of strategy.

Consolidate HR tasks and software
When a company expands rapidly, leaders often find a fair amount of redundancy in the HR department. In some instances, work is duplicated over several people or different departments, and sometimes, these different HR entities are using different software to manage the same task. By consolidating these tasks and software under one HR shared services team, most companies will see an increase in efficiency and cost savings.

Optimize HR operational efficiency
A growing company must have an HR team that goes with it. If not, most will see a drop in efficiency. Under a shared services strategy, tasks that warrant such an action can be transferred to people within the HR hierarchy that can take over such duties. One example would include payroll processing. This frees up other HR professionals on the team to focus much more attention on people and talent pool development.

Continuity
Continuity is a big deal as companies continue to expand. Following an HR shared services strategy allows for processes to be undertaken in the same way each time. A good example of where this can be successful is through the onboarding of new employees. In this manner, each employee is onboarding with the same proves and standards as the co-worker before them.

Internal resources can focus on strategic tasks
Employing an HR shared services approach allows for companies to focus on more strategic tasks. Those include tasks such as talent management, human capital development, recruitment and retention. All these processes are of significant importance to the company’s growth strategy.

The development and retention of the talent pool
With the previously mentioned tasks in place, companies can focus on recruiting and developing an intelligent talent pool to help build a better business and increase positive business outcomes. Bettering the talent development processes allows for continuous engagement, rewarding and retention of the talent pool.

Increases employee experience
With using an HRSS strategy usually leads to a faster service. That means employee requests are filled more quickly and employee questions are answered correctly. This kind type of service means employees have positive interactions with HR. Fostering positive interactions between employees and HR supports a better employee experience across the organization.

Saves money
Moving HR to a shared services strategy is an investment. Through an HRSS, companies can automate processes, reduce manual tasks, and centralize information, which means that less time and resources are required to resolve a request. And saving time on manual and redundant tasks enables HR to spend more time, as previously mentioned, on strategic work which leads to a higher return on investment.

In summation
Not all companies will choose an HR shared services strategy. To be quite honest, it doesn’t work for everyone. That’s neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It’s just reality. That said, HR has a real responsibility to their employees and their companies to find the most strategic, efficient, and cost-effective way to function. An HRSS strategy offers a great deal of opportunities to succeed on these attainable goals.

Source: https://www.hrexchangenetwork.com/shared-services/articles/hr-shared-services-advantage

The modern workforce represents a cross section of multigenerational attitudes. So it’s essential to find commonality in human experience and explore the potential of emotional intelligence.
We’ve all heard many ways in which the economy was, and still sees, impact from the notable population numbers of Baby Boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964. It’s been nearly a decade since authors such as Meister and Willyerd reported the 2020 workforce would soon see one of the highest levels of age diversity we’ve ever known.

It is an increasing reality that most workplaces today now have five generations working side by side. These include Traditionalists (born before 1946), Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1965-1976), Millennials (born 1977-1997) and Generation 2020 (born after 1997).

On the one hand, this tremendous diversity means organisations have access to valuable experience longer than they used to, while acquiring talent across new generations, leading to notable growth in age diversity in the workforce.

On the other hand, this phenomenon has created previously unknown challenges for businesses and managers as they navigate a multi-generational workforce. In particular, generational differences in the workplace highlight the need for effective employee motivation.

Changing times
In the classical perspective of management, an analytical and rational approach was often used. This meant that managers placed less emphasis on certain facets of their employee’s lives, such as employee’s emotions, work-life balance and general wellbeing.

As the change in generations has set in, the criticality of employee motivation has risen. It is crucial for organisations today to recognise that employee motivation goes well beyond the usual monetary reward systems, particularly in a multigenerational workforce.

To motivate employees in today’s economy, companies have to engage at a completely new level, which can be achieved by incorporating emotional intelligence.

Bridging the divide
Emotional intelligence has emerged as a measurable skill and one that is an invaluable addition to the manager’s toolset. When honed, social and emotional intelligence can equip managers with the expertise and knowledge necessary to turn the challenges of generational differences in the workplace into positives.

Managers who have developed a certain level of emotional intelligence have a greater awareness of others. Such managers are able to quickly determine their employees’ needs and respond to them efficiently.

For instance, it enables them to be able to provide their employees with regular effective feedback, giving the employees an opportunity to improve their performance in the organisation.

Moreover, emotional intelligence increases the manager’s ability to recognise social cues and respond appropriately in a manner that makes evident their empathy of others’ perspectives.

Becoming a better manager
Emotionally intelligent managers are better equipped to have a deeper understanding of what motivates individuals and how to optimise the diversity inherent in a multigenerational workforce.

In addition to improving the understanding of employee needs and employee motivation, emotional intelligence enhances employee productivity, job satisfaction and leadership competency; in addition, it creates mutual employee-employer relationships, which in turn, increase commitment. These skills assist managers in attending to individual employee needs irrespective of their generation.

While the values of a culture and of society may change over time, the underlying structure of human personality does not. Once we understand the differences between generations, it becomes much easier to see how people across the generations can work together productively.

However, focusing on individuals rather than generational silos is what will make the difference. With an understanding of individual differences through the lens of personality, rather than age, we can lean into greater insights to help us appreciate and make positive use of those differences.

Success in a multigenerational age
In my experience, building stronger workplace relationships has less to do with our differences, generational or otherwise and more to do with having the desire and the tools to recognise and appreciate others and ourselves.

Evidently, emotional and social intelligence have the potential to positively affect employees’ behaviours with outcomes such as job satisfaction, positive work attitudes, self-efficacy and leadership potential and change management.

When people with different backgrounds cooperate, creativity and innovation happens. The result from this diversity in the workplace is that people learn how to communicate and generate ideas that usually create high-impact change with low economic and emotional risk and high economic and emotional gain.

Given such diverse outcomes, social and emotional intelligence become key success factors for organisations in a multigenerational era.

Source: https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/lead/culture/how-to-harness-emotional-intelligence-in-a-multigenerational-workplace

Today’s job seekers and employees are consumers, as interested in what employers can offer them as they are in what they can offer employers. So it may be wise to consider the role that L&D plays in employer branding. In other words, can employers leverage learning to boost their brand?

With the majority of millennials believing it’s management’s responsibility to offer development opportunities, this demographic is looking for employers that will invest in their future. But they’re not alone; training is a top priority for all workers, particularly those who will need to upskill in light of digital disruption. In fact, a majority of workers say they would quit a job if it didn’t offer some form of training. With today’s emphasis on learning, and the resultant investment employers are making, learning may have the potential to be a brand element that can attract and retain talent.

Where L&D boosts brand
L&D can be tangible evidence of a company’s brand essence, Tony Lepore, director of brand strategy at Shaker Recruitment Marketing told HR Dive via email. “Learning and development would be a clear internal expression of an organization’s employer brand,” he said. “These programs emerge from and demonstrate the company’s value system.”

After all, it’s a major driver of employee engagement, according to Eric Freshour, senior manager at West Monroe Partners’ Chicago Operations Excellence practice. It’s “a main reason that employees stay with their employers,” he wrote to HR Dive. “With this in mind, articulating an L&D strategy and philosophy can be an important aspect of attracting and retaining employees.”

L&D coveys a focus on people, too, according to Dennis R. Baltzley, Ph.D., global solution leader, leadership development for Korn Ferry Portland. With L&D’s ability to deliver more engagement, a stronger value proposition and more, it has become a central component to employer branding, he said.

Creating brand ambassadors
When branding showcases L&D, front-facing employees play an important role, according to Paul Hagen, senior principal at West Monroe Partners San Francisco.

Front-facing employees represent the brand with every interaction they make, he told HR Dive via email. “Yet, most receive little or no training or development to help them understand the actions and mindset that will have the most positive impact on customers’ perceptions of the brand,” he said. Good companies understand the drivers of customer and employee experiences and ensure L&D initiatives include guidance on how employees can help deliver on the promises made by an employer’s branding, he explained; “Great companies take it a step further. They understand that happy employees make happy customers.”

With today’s emphasis on company culture, creating an enriching employee experience is key to building positive brand awareness, Mike Hicks, CMO at Igloo Software wrote to HR Dive. With training and mentorship, the effect comes full circle. “You can create a positive internal culture, which will be reflected in a positive customer experience and help build your company’s brand,” he wrote.

Marketing L&D brand
Details about programs and offerings “should be deliberately publicized on all of your employer branding channels as a part of your overall compensation and benefits package, but also as a significant part of the employee experience at your company,” according to Heidi Collins, VP of people operations at 15Five.

That information should be prominent in all new-hire and employee communications, explained in handbooks and newsletters, mentioned regularly at group meetings and touted during one-on-ones, she suggested. External communications should emphasize learning even more prominently — in all job ads, on company web pages and profiles and in recruiter pitches.

Lepore suggests promoting L&D opportunities in all recruitment channels, including on career sites and social media and at college job fairs and other events. “Any candidate touch point provides the opportunity to deliver this important message,” he said.

But there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach, Freshour said; the most successful organizations use a variety of different channels and mechanisms to spread the word about their L&D programs. L&D should be an agenda item during team and department meetings, but lunch-and-learns and informal training opportunities can work, too.

Keeping it transparent
Constant communication and feedback are necessary to demonstrate to current employees that L&D is providing value, and it’s important that L&D objectives tie back to overall brand strategy and employers’ desired outcomes for their branding. “This helps employees understand why pursuing L&D is worthwhile for them,” Freshour said.

“Learning is always a two-part story of alignment,” according to Baltzley. The learner must understand broadly the need to develop and specifically how it will help them succeed within the organization. In return, the company should be open about its strategy, clearly set expectations for employees and “provide the platform or vehicle that allows people to progress in line with delivering that strategy.”

Validating the vision
First and foremost, a focus on L&D needs to be ingrained in the culture, the leadership and those helping to attract talent, according to Freshour. If it’s not, it will be difficult to promote and candidates will quickly recognize an organization that doesn’t truly value or devote time and resources to L&D.

Too few organizations openly share their cultural values and how they are expressed in concrete, experiential ways, according Lepore. “L&D can have an enormous impact on unifying/rallying an organization around what ‘on-brand’ behavior looks like and how the brand is experienced by those both internally and externally,” he said. The stronger the alignment between word and deed, the more employee engagement benefits — and the more company brand will translate to consumers and potential hires.

Source: https://www.hrdive.com/news/should-ld-be-a-brand-element/546473/

Dive Brief:
CEOs in a new global survey said that attracting and retaining talent and anticipating a possible recession are their biggest internal and external worries for 2019. Based on responses from 800 CEOs and 600 senior executives, the Conference Board’s C-Suite Challenge 2019 also cited international political instability, leadership development and trade as top concerns.
The CEOs surveyed also expressed concern about creating new business models caused by emerging technology, as well as more regulation around data privacy.
HR executives ranked the development of flexible project teams as their top approach to managing future workforces. The report found, however, that HR executives and CEOs aren’t working in tandem to prioritize the evaluation and rewarding of work performed in teams.

Dive Insight:
Finding high-quality talent is HR’s top priority for 2019, according to a recent XpertHR survey. In fact, 64% of the 800 HR professionals polled in that survey called the sourcing of talent “very or extremely challenging.” Respondents also cited managing performance, providing professional development opportunities and aligning talent retention strategy with business objectives as “very or extremely” challenging. And as the Conference Board report shows, CEOs across the globe recognize the challenge, too.

Finding quality talent has always been challenging, but it appears that recruiters won’t see a reprieve from the employee-driven labor market and months of low unemployment any time soon.

In response to these forces, recruiters have been rethinking their traditional strategies, turning to contingent workers, looking beyond traditional talent pools for candidates, marketing their organization’s brand and leveraging the use of data analytics to streamline and personalize the hiring process and improve hiring outcomes.

Addtionally, in-demand benefits and perks, such as flexible work schedules, career development opportunities, paid leave, meaningful work and recognition, should be part of a hiring strategy whenever possible, experts suggest. And because money remains the greatest motivator for accepting a job offer, as multiple studies report, employers might need to review their compensation strategies to ensure wages are competitive.

Source: https://www.hrdive.com/news/talent-recession-worries-plague-ceos/546389/