Hi all,

We really hope you found our HR Refresh session useful. If you missed the live session, you can catch the recording here.

https://disruptive-leaders.com/webinar-hr-refresh/

We didn’t get a chance to answer all the questions raised during the webinar, so we’ve tried to answer them below. We hope this is helpful.

– Do you think it’s possible to shift deeply embedded traditional mindsets of HR practitioners or do you think companies need to buy in that HR talent in order to bring about real change?

I think it all depends on why they hold the views they do. If they hold them because they haven’t experienced anything else or are worried they won’t be able to do things differently – then I think it is possible. However, if they hold a deep mistrust of managers and believe that ‘they’ will never change, then it is a lot tougher. We work with some HR professionals who have been with in their organisations for a very long time who, with the right stimulation and support have completely changed their approach. It is important however, to really understand what would make them want to change – just telling them it’s an imperative isn’t enough.

– How do you suggest to start the HR transformation in an organisation where senior management is comfortable with the traditional approach to HR? 

We’ve worked with a lot of leaders who say they are happy with their HR and don’t want anything different – until they see what their colleagues are getting and how different and fresh it is! We would always advocate going where the energy is first – choose some leaders who are open and curious and start with them – use their advocacy to bring others with them.

– How do you deal with an organisation which relegates the role of HR to low level within the organisational structure?

We feel it’s so important to not worry too much about status and organisational power – focus on your credibility, your insights and how you deliver. One of the most influential people at the BBC was actually not on the Board – but he had the ear of the CEO because of his pace, energy, insights and connections. We shouldn’t concern ourselves too much with getting a seat at the table – but instead with our relationships and our output – promotion follows!

– How do you feel about an organisation that wants to control it all- for example not allowing even home office during these challenging times- can you help leaders trust their people?

It’s helpful to start with the leaders and managers who do get it – go where the energy is rather than wasting energy on the resistors. We would suggest getting permission to explore – and to do a pilot – rather than making wholesale changes. Also, try and find out what is preventing them from trusting? Is it because they don’t know what to do? Then give them the skills and insights. Do they lack confidence to let go? Then you can break it into smaller chunks to help them build that confidence. Is it actually just a couple of people they don’t trust? Then help them plan separately for how they deal with those individuals – using a risk assessment as they would with their business? Here’s a short video that might give you some other insights.

 – I’ve joined a small company recently and I’m having 121’s with everyone (meet and greets)- what sorts of employee engagement questions should I be asking all employees?

Stay interviews are great for this. If you’re not doing stay interviews yet, you should be! They are a fantastic way to increase engagement and retention. In this webinar we take you through the different ways other companies are using them. We also give you basics to get them going in your organisation including the five questions every manager should be asking. Here’s the really short version too!

– As someone recognised as a ‘disruptor’ in my team but in an organisation known as archaic how can I demonstrate my forward thinking attitude to secure a role in a team/organisation that will support my approach and desire to bring HR into the 21st century? 

It’s great if you can talk about innovations in companies within that sector. Nothing like feeling that the competition is doing something better to give you a boost to do something! It also shows you know your stuff. I’d also be thinking about the questions you want to ask them – how are they going to demonstrate to you that they forward thinking?! Sometimes we in HR can get a bit too theoretical – and we lose leaders’ interest. I’d keep it really practical and talk about the benefits they’ll get. Every organisation is after the same 4 things – agility, productivity, collaboration and innovation – so relate what you’re talking about back to those.

– Any advice on applying EACH to redundancy? We’re doing a lot through Covid and it’s pretty grim. Also, there’s usually not a choice about whether to do it, or how much money we need to save to survive. So where is the space for applying EACH there?

It must be a really tough time for you, I’m sorry.   Here are some suggestion about how you can apply the EACH model in this situation:

Adult. Be completely honest and don’t try and protect your people from the truth.  Act quickly – don’t let rumours do your comms for you.  Share the problem and really listen to feedback. Communicate all the time.

Consumer. Give your people as much information as possible in different ways. Get insight into how people are feeling and what’s important to them.  Think about each stage of the redundancy programme and put yourself in the employees shoes – how do you want them to feel after every comms message, every one-to-one etc.. Consider different needs – for example for some it will be helping them get job ready and prepare their CV’s, for others it will be making life changing decisions, perhaps re-skilling.

Human. Ensure people don’t feel that ‘management’ are not in the same boat as everyone else! Encourage leaders to show their vulnerability.  Let them communicate in a way that suits their style but ideally with some positivity about how together you will all make it through this. Move away from formal redundancy consultation paperwork and instead have human conversations (ideally with no HR present!).  Make fair judgement decisions for each employee.

Hope that helps a bit.

– Which feedback apps can you recommend?

We’ve got a great link of the feedback apps we love here

– What are the HR roles of the future?

There is a webinar you can watch on the club called HR Design and Capabilities and there is also lots more resources under the topic ‘Future of HR’

– Taking this remote set-up that we’re not getting rid of any time soon, what methods/ideas would you implement to increase a low employee morale/motivation?

It’s tough to remain motivated all the time right now, even if you love your job!  The organisations we see where morale remains high do these things really well:

1. They engage their people with the business/product, how they can help them adapt to the new world and make everyone feel part of something that maters
2. Leaders are honest about the challenges but also optimistic about painting a brighter future
3. They are trusting their people to work in a way that suits them and with the right equipment (see this clients approach to flex working principles),
4. Leaders understand how to lead a remote team
5. Leaders say thank you!

– You mentioned free marketing techniques for data insights- which ones would you recommend?

You’ll find plenty of  resources online that will help you apply a marketing lens to HR.  Our toolkit on ‘Developing new HR skills‘ will be a great place to help you get started.

The Disruptive HR Club Team