I don’t know if it’s the likeability of HGTV’s Fixer Upper hosts, Chip and Joanna Gaines, or their transformational work of taking a low-value property and turning it into immediate equity that has me hooked. Probably a little of both. It reminds me of the work involved in rebuilding HR functions. The HR Leader must be both likeable and talented, and the turnaround must add value to the organization. If you have just taken on the top spot in HR, or if you’ve been there a while and know something needs to change, here’s a quick diagnostic to get you going.
These are two HR structural problems that can bring your whole organization crumbling down if you don’t fix them:
PROBLEM ONE: HR resources are centered around low-value, low-impact work.
Many HR functions still prioritize time and resources on low-value work. They justify it because the work is important and needs to be done. Take payroll for example. Very important work – everyone must be paid. But what value does running payroll add to your business? The same can be said for things like employee relations, performance management, compensation planning, benefits, compliance, workplace safety and even recruiting. All are important things that can’t be ignored – but what value are they really adding to your business?
All this work is time consuming and expensive, especially if it’s being done in-house and if it’s not automated. It takes value away from the business rather than adding to it. Not to mention the opportunity cost of the initiatives that could be impactful to the overall business that will forever remain on the “someday” list because the team never has time to get to them.
The skillsets and competencies in so many HR departments (which are in many cases still being hired into HR departments, further perpetuating the problem) are still focused on employee relations, recruiting, performance, compliance, compensation, benefits, training, etc. They may be called different things now like “Strategic Partner,” “Culture & Engagement Director,” “Total Rewards Manager,” “Talent Acquisition Partner,” or “Talent Development Guru,” but in most cases only the titles have changed. The work remains the same. Don’t get me wrong – the skillsets are important and good, but there is a huge gap between these skillsets and what is really needed in organizations right now. The HR leader at the top must be able to tie the work that HR is doing to what matters to the business’s purpose rather than doing the work for work’s sake.
A lot of talk is happening around employee experience and culture – both important concepts from which the right work will surface, however many organizations have not figured out how to identify their true culture and experience to determine what work is needed to reach their ideal. They struggle to execute initiatives that impact what matters and that add value to the business. And despite everyone’s best efforts (HR folks are some of the hardest working and caring folks out there), they are working very hard at getting things done that bring no return. Which does nothing for the stereotype of HR.
It’s like investing in wall-to-wall, super plush carpeting when you could have used that money to remodel your kitchen.
This doesn’t mean the people who perform this work are not valuable, nor does it mean you need to fire your whole HR team. Shifting roles and responsibilities is probably needed, and you can ensure each role in your HR function is adding value when you redesign your HR function and work around your organization’s purpose, and customer and employee experience. This may mean you end up delegating, deleting, automating or outsourcing work that is being done today. It may also mean that you have outgrown some of your players – but don’t jump to conclusions before doing the redesign.
PROBLEM TWO: The way work gets done has changed (or needs to) but the infrastructure hasn’t.
Are you still using Excel to track your recruiting activity? Do you know that there are great choices (quite slick, I might add) for subscription model ATS solutions that cost less than your monthly cable bill? Even if you believe you’re all set with the right ATS, payroll, benefits, performance, and learning systems– you may only be capitalizing on half of their capabilities. If you or your team are hacking workarounds that involve 20 extra steps or extra programs (or an excel backup) just to do basic procedures, it’s time to look at your systems and infrastructure.
The way we do work and the type of work we do is changing. Performance reviews are going away, we’re doing weekly 1-1’s instead of annual reviews, we’re using social media and recruitment marketing to source talent, we’re doing video interviews, resumes are no longer needed, we’ve moved to unlimited PTO programs, flexible scheduling, and a growing virtual workforce, just to name a few. Work is changing – if your systems haven’t, it’s only a matter of time before your foundation fails you.
It’s like building a brand-new, two-story house on an old, cracked foundation.
A lot of times, your team is living with structural problems and not telling you. They’re used to it – it’s so common in organizations that they take it for granted. Not cool! Make sure you ask your team the right questions and uncover what frustrates them about the systems (and everything to do in their work for that matter). Be sure to occasionally use the technology yourself (or shadow one of your team doing some processes) to keep a close pulse on this. I cannot over-emphasis the level of frustration this causes HR teams who work in these systems every single day, not to mention how annoyed employees get when they have to interface with the tech. This is too high a price for your business to pay – get your systems right. There are plenty of solutions out there that are affordable, easy to install and use, have mobile apps and many of them will even integrate with systems you already use or want to use.
These two issues are bound to happen in organizations that have been around for a while; the longer an organization has been in existence, the deeper the roots of these problems and the harder they are to uproot. This only scratches the surface of a much bigger issue facing every organization today – fighting against newer, more nimble organizations who offer similar products or services in ways that provide easier customer and employee experiences. These newer environments don’t carry pre-digital era baggage or a complex matrix of systems and infrastructure that only two people know how to decode. But it is possible to turn this around if you keep an unwavering focus on identifying the right work and build the right infrastructure to support it.
From an HR perspective, you can help position your business to win in the marketplace by doing some structural remodeling.
Here are some first steps as you embark on your HR Fixer-Upper:
- Redesign your HR function from scratch. This task is bigger than it sounds. Don’t skimp here – the right outside eye is well worth the investment in your organization’s structural integrity. If you do decide to do it all internally, it is imperative you involve the right people. Gather a strong group of stakeholders who represent the core business operations and staff, decision makers, and front-line workers. Map processes through the lens of both the customer and employee with a focus on the experiences of both. Be open minded, honest with yourselves, and question everything– you shouldn’t hang on to the same work and processes you’ve been doing all these years, Things need to change dramatically in some areas, and people will thank you for it. Be open to outsourcing low-value work and nixing work that no longer matters. Get down to the very basics and simplify everything. Once you think you’ve got it right, test it out with a sampling of stakeholders and see how it holds up. It’s not set in stone forever. That’s what got you here in the first place – make sure it has room to flex and scale.
- Hire and train different competencies into HR. The biggest value HR can offer to the business is a concrete understanding of the business, and the ability to use that knowledge to influence business outcomes through the alignment of human capital to the business’s purpose. Hire people with strong business acumen who can create valuable partnerships within the business (not just within HR), who are able to capture and analyze data to provide actionable insights, and who are eager to learn more about the business and contribute. Traditional HR skills are easier to teach than business acumen, innovation, and a strategic mindset, so focus on these competencies when hiring and training HR talent.
- Determine the 1-2 things that will make the most impact and focus all work there. All of your remodeling work will be for nothing if you don’t put it to use. Avoid the all-too-common pitfall of going right back to doing the same HR work your team has always done. Once you’ve redesigned and possibly renamed your HR function and roles, involve people at all levels and functions in the business to help you bubble up the 1-2 initiatives that, if completed, would have the biggest impact on the enterprise. Then, organize all the work around those initiatives and either delegate, automate, outsource, or stop doing the rest. Rinse and repeat when you execute the 1-2 things. And don’t forget to publicly share your progress and ask for feedback along the way.
I’d love to hear about your own HR fixer-uppers! What has or hasn’t worked for you?
