How to make your people and culture strategy future-proof with HR software
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POV (point of view): you’re a HR leader, you love your job, and you consider yourself part of the “new wave” of progressive people management (no old-school spreadsheets to be seen here). Needless to say, you’re making a real impact on your workforce through your empowering and engaging people and culture strategy.
But, after coming out the other side of years of uncertainty and change, you want to keep the momentum going and ensure that your plan is robust and forward-thinking enough to not only cater for where your organization is at today, but also account for where it might be one, two, and five years into the future.
And, as we’ve become all-too aware, the only thing you can really be certain of is uncertainty – so, you want to make your HR technology work harder for you and understand how it can do the heavy lifting in helping to future-proof your people and culture strategy.
If this is you, then keep reading to learn how your HRIS can help you build and execute a people and culture strategy that can grow and change with your company and people – no matter what’s up ahead.
Four ways HR tech can future-proof your people and culture strategy
Data-driven decision making
Outsource the admin
Deliver on diversity
Empower performance
1. Data-driven decision making
Over the last decade, HR has worked hard to win a seat at the strategic table, and most leaders now understand that the more you invest in your people, the more they will invest back into the company. So how do people and culture leaders continue to hold onto that seat, to win confidence and budget to invest back into people?
The answer is simple: with data.
In her article in Forbes, Samantha Martin-Williams, former CECO and chair of the Remuneration and People Committee at Newcastle Permanent, says “hard evidence demonstrates that better human capital management brings better business outcomes. People and culture directors should make it a goal to demonstrate along management lines that data is effectively used to advance governance, culture, remuneration and accountability.”
Yet, accessing this data in many organizations is often a long and cumbersome process involving multiple parties, iterations, spreadsheets, and analyses. Not ideal for making the high-quality, high-velocity decisions that empower organizations to quickly adapt to market changes, take advantage of opportunities, and out-maneuver competitors.
The analytics built into HR software systems like intelliHR circumvent this by providing easily accessible, accurate and meaningful people and organizational data that:
Identify insights and trends highlighting key cultural, engagement or performance changes;
facilitate fast, data-driven decision making; and,
tell the story of the impact of those decisions.
Future-proof your people and culture strategy with data-driven decision making
A good people analytics or HR analytics package can help leaders make informed, data-driven, people-centric decisions now and into the future. Here’s what to look out for:
Reports that display data in real-time, at a point in time, and as a history. For example, with intelliHR, you can see how engaged your staff are right now, how engaged they were back in May 2017, and see how engagement has changed over the past 5 years.
Customizable and configurable reports. With intelliHR, you can use any of our 28+ standard reports, edit/delete/add on to them as needed, or easily create your own.
Interactive reports that let you filter, sort and drill down to pinpoint problems and opportunities.
An analytics engine that pulls in data from other tools in your HR ecosystem.
2. Outsource admin (to your HR software)
By letting your HR software streamline inefficient processes and do the heavy lifting on manual administrative tasks (two of the biggest time-suckers in HR), you’ll:
Save precious time for your team, making space and time to do the important (and objectively, more enjoyable) people and culture work.
Future-proof your people and culture strategy to cope with shifts and changes that may arise within your role, your people and the needs of your organization.
For example, if growth is on the horizon, while it might seem logical to simply hire more HR staff to cope with the increased recruitment, onboarding, and L&D, over the long term this becomes expensive and unsustainable. Equally, if you have a fluctuating temporary workforce (i.e. over seasonal periods) or are downsizing, it makes sense to be able to scale up and down efficiently while keeping your human resources constant. This is where software for HR management comes in.
Future-proof your people and culture strategy by outsourcing the admin
Outsource your admin to automated HR software (like intelliHR’s configurable workflow management system). Here’s what to look for:
Quick and easy creation workflows for policy sign-offs, continuous feedback, performance reviews, OH&S, compliance, onboarding, and more.
Create, schedule, send, and monitor responses to pulses, surveys (e.g. eNPS) and continuous feedback forms.
The ability to easily update and change workflows and their inputs as needed as opposed to a rigid, “set and forget” system that won’t flex with your workforce.
Reports that can be generated (and easily shared) in a couple of clicks.
For example, with intelliHR you can create automated, personal onboarding and offboarding workflows that include welcome emails, requests for information, policy sign-offs, goal-setting and check-in surveys asking how your new employee’s first week went. With 6 out of 10 managers having had an employee leave within their probation period due to poor onboarding, a smooth, personalized and friendly process is a must.
3. Deliver on diversity
67% of job seekers consider workplace diversity an important factor in choosing a workplace – Glassdoor
Workers, investors, and customers alike are increasingly seeking organizations that align with their values; a major one of which is diversity. And in doing so, they’re voting with their feet (and not thinking twice about leaving if there are diversity, inclusion, or equity issues within a company culture).
On the flip side, organizations also value diversity, as the benefits are significant, from improved problem solving and decision making to increased innovation and creativity – all the way down to the bottom line.
Diversity without inclusion is like throwing a party and not inviting anyone. Staff also need to feel if they speak up they will be heard, and that their contributions and presence are valued which all come from psychological safety – (only then, will staff feel empowered to be creative, innovate and contribute to problem solving).
Thus, inclusion is where the real value lies for both staff and the company. As Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said, “We have a very diverse environment and a very inclusive culture,” and those characteristics “got us through the tough times … generated a better strategy, better risk management, better debates, [and] better outcomes.”
Future-proof your people and culture strategy with diversity
Your HRIS can help you prioritize diversity and help employees feel included and empowered to work at their best (which will also help win the vote of customers and investors). Here’s what to look for:
Measurement and monitoring of diversity through reports on headcount, gender diversity, LGBTIQA+, and leadership diversity.
Performance reports that display a history of performance, achievements, and goals over time to minimize unconscious bias in evaluations and promotions.
Customizable surveys and pulses to query feelings of inclusion and sentiment analysis that can alert you to minor shifts in sentiment.
Offboarding workflows and interviews to gain insight from exiting staff.
4. Empower performance
Performance in progressive people- and future-focussed organizations centers around the employee as an individual and a member of their team:
What are their career goals and aspirations?
What are their strengths and how are they being leveraged?
What are their weaknesses and what is being done to overcome them / Is there any training they need?
How are they contributing to the team?
How are they working with colleagues?
Are they facing any roadblocks that managers can help remove?
To support and enhance employee performance year-round (not just within an outdated annual performance review), people and culture managers need tools that feed this information from employees to managers when it’s most relevant, not after the fact (i.e. 12 months later).
Future-proof your people and culture strategy with performance reports
Performance report cards, like intelliHR’s, pull in information from multiple data points to display an objective view of an employee’s performance over time. Here’s what to look for:
Data on achievements, goals, KPIs, values, happiness, diary notes and other feedback.
Employees can view their performance report card at any time, helping to increase ownership and motivation.
Performance reports link employee achievements back to company goals, helping them to understand their contribution to the company.
Performance report cards not only allow managers to recognize and reward good performance as it happens and provide extra support to those who need it, but they also help HR to identify and develop top performers, empowering them to reach their full potential. A key thing to consider for any future-focused people and culture strategy.