human resources – Management Events

July 12, 2022

Christine Cheminay: There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Solution For Supply Chain Resilience

From the semiconductor crisis to a global pandemic and now the Russia-Ukraine war, the automotive industry has struggled with supply chain challenges because of global volatility. We speak to Christine Cheminay, Director of Global Purchasing Battery Systems at Webasto Group on the supply chain challenges facing the automotive industry, sustainability, and women in leadership.

Global developments, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the recent Russia-Ukraine war, have a ripple effect across industries. What are some supply chain challenges facing the automotive industry right now?

It is a very volatile situation and indeed, while we start from COVID-19, let’s also not forget about the semiconductor crisis. We have been facing a shortage of chips for almost two years and are chasing electronic components on a daily basis. with COVID-19, the effect was increased because, in that period, modern consumer products got a stronger focus while automotive volumes went down. As now both industries want to be on a high level, we face a shortage and price increase.

We see the same effect on energy and logistics for the past year. Plus, the raw material prices have increased and now there is war in Ukraine where we have partners and suppliers that we need in our chain.

What it led to is a need for us to be fast in creating a task force and implementing it in our daily business, to have daily check routines, resilient people, and reliable supply chain tools. This is a challenge.

It is putting a lot of pressure on people. COVID-19 brings a lot of mental challenges. Not for everyone, but there are people who are tired, lonely, and stressed – overall overwhelmed by this situation, and we should not forget this in the daily run of activities.

I think that tension must be in the daily focus of leaders in a company – to think about how we care about our people. Where can we support them and how can we create balance?

And it is not only about big steps. I think we need to watch the small steps and small support for our people. It is an attitude of how we approach our people to get into a positive mindset based on our values, our culture.

But of course, the longer these struggles last, the more exhausting it is for everybody. So that’s why we cannot just rely on being friendly to each other or doing an activity together. We must really think about how to implement an environment that is supporting the challenges of the market.

How can businesses ensure supply chain resilience amid disruptions due to global crises?

That’s interesting because we’ve talked about resilience for almost two years now. We started with COVID-19, and now companies who can be resilient have already implemented plans.

But in an individual business-related situation, we need to look at what resilience really means. For purchasing, it can mean different sourcing behavior (e.g. multiple-sourcing instead of single sourcing). Or can we change to a different material or technology?

For me, a one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t exist.

I really believe that sometimes we need to be creative or change the demand. And that cannot be implemented from just one function. It always has to be a cross-functional activity in a business environment.

For example, if I have a certain chip on a battery management system that I foreseeably cannot get on the market, the team of purchasing, R&D, validation, and sales need to find a solution together.

And what I also believe is that, to some extent, we need to accept that there are disruptions. I do not see an end for the moment. Rather than just accepting the situation, we prepare and support our people in the best way. We need to understand which people are not coping well with this pressure and guide them as leaders.

Keep up with the latest digital trends in our 90Minutes Insights webinar series. View the full schedule here.

What do you think are the main obstacles organizations in the supply chain and automotive industries face with improving their ESG initiatives?

It’s kind of an additional focus that we have seen for a while. I really trust, especially in automotive, that we are already good to some extent. But what I see is that we have to decide on the right tools and define the right measures for baselines and targets. If you have that, you can always define a strategy and ensure that it fits to the business.

Sustainability has a price tag, and I think as a society, we must be honest about that. I think sustainability won’t be possible by just doing things differently. I think we also need a change in our approach and how we measure our business, our sustainability.

Let us compare it to personal behavior. If you are truly convinced that it’s better to buy local products, you will change your behavior.

Coming back to business, the whole supply chain is responsible. For me, there is a big chance now to take a holistic approach to how we, as a society, want to treat the environment, the world, and what are the consequences. How do we ensure that what we intend to do is happening on every level of the chain?

In this matter, digitalization and data solutions are key aspects as well. I don’t think any of this is possible without that.

Though the number of women in leadership positions has increased overall, the automotive industry appears to be lagging in this respect. Why is this and how can organizations within the automotive industry attract more female talent into this field?

For me honestly, that’s still a big-ticket for the many industries, institutions, and governments. And for me it is not about gender only. The key is gender and diversity.

Sometimes I also do see some light. We see more women in leadership now; we see more diversity. I think this is the most valuable approach a company can take. If we have one cultural background and one dominant gender in a company, this cannot bring an organization to another level. Yes, I believe gender and diversity causes more friction and it is more exhausting, but I truly trust this brings businesses forward. Therefore, we have to incorporate this approach in how we set up teams and organizations.

To encourage more female or diverse team members, I think role modeling and mentoring are important. Plus different working models like shared leadership. It is not simple, but I trust it is possible.

I also think being flexible is important for example when it comes to mobile offices. Are we forcing people back to office? Are we going back to the Stone Age? I think there’s room for flexibility and improvement.

Also, social acceptance that women are working and having a family is important. . This is a mindset and I think it is something we can just continuously work on.

Still, I have to say, I do like the quota. At one point in time, hopefully we will not need it anymore. But for the time being, we don’t see enough success and quota is the lever to drive implementation.

There is room for changing minds, but we must have the courage to trust that change is healthy. Of course, that’s not to say we don’t have to work hard. We know this is a competitive market and we cannot be happy all the time. We have to be creative and innovative. We have to push and find new solutions, and work hard and smart. But we also have to balance it out with an environment that allows and ensures open mindedness, while driving a culture where diversity is a given.

*The answers have been edited for length and clarity.

June 3, 2022

How Does Good Employee Engagement Guarantee Organizational Success?

With the “Great Resignation” taking root as employees feel more dissatisfied with poor work-life balance, uninspiring jobs, and difficult managers, organizations are compelled to pay attention.

Globally, employee engagement has been low for the past 20 years, with employees’ intent to stay in their jobs hovering just above 30% according to Gartner’s Global Talent Monitor. Worse still, discretionary effort – going above and beyond the call of duty at work – has been on a steady decline, registering just 15% in 2019.

Unsurprisingly, employee engagement has taken a front seat in the strategic considerations of talent management leaders. However, even though about 90% of executives understand how important this is to an organization’s success, less than 50% know how to properly address the challenge. Especially in today’s technologically saturated workplace, ensuring employees are engaged can be a difficult and complex task.

Attend our upcoming webinars: Be the first to know about the latest HR trends in the 90Minutes HR Insights webinar series. View the schedule here.

What is Employee Engagement?

In order to address employee engagement, HR leaders must understand how it differs from employee satisfaction. The latter deals with the happiness of employees in their jobs which may have nothing to do with their sense of motivation, involvement, or emotional commitment to the organization.

The engagement metric takes a deeper look at employees, specifically their level of involvement and enthusiasm for work and at the workplace, says Gallup. This is a measure of how actively employees are involved with their work or if they are simply going through the motions of daily tasks.

Similarly, Gartner defines employee engagement as the measure of individual employee alignment with the organization and their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty to achieve organizational goals.

The Impact of a Highly Engaged Workforce

Employee engagement is a key driver of performance, making it a crucial piece of the puzzle to organizational success.

Notably, People Element’s 2022 Engagement Report highlighted that companies with highly engaged employees show 81% less absenteeism and 43% lower turnover rates. Additionally, those companies also saw a 14% improvement in productivity, 18% increase in sales, and 23% increase in profits. The factor most affected was employee well-being which show a 66% improvement when employees are highly engaged.

Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report further reconfirms the data, showing that low employee engagement can cost companies up to $550 billion each year in the US. Additionally, the impact is seen on the business side as Gallup reported that higher engagement led to a 10% increase in customer loyalty as well as a 64% decrease in safety incidents.

Employee Engagement Markers

With that in mind, CHROs who are seeking to measure the level of engagement in their teams are facing the challenge of gauging human behaviors and perceptions which are incredibly complex.

CHROs and human resource leaders must consider a myriad of factors that contribute to an overall view of each person’s engagement levels within an organization. Generally, this is measured via an employee survey that is done regularly at all levels of an organization.

Existing measurement frameworks for employee engagement – such as by Gartner, Gallup, and People Elements – suggest several important markers that should be considered.

The first of these has to do with an employee’s understanding of their job as well as whether they receive adequate training, tools, and resources to perform their work well. Another relevant factor is whether employees feel that their work is important and connected to the organization’s overall mission. Employees that feel supported and valued tend to perform better.

Next, engagement increases if employees feel that they have a good relationship with their managers, they feel they are supported, and that management is invested in their professional growth and development.

Another core marker for engagement is an individual’s perception of senior leadership. Specifically, whether they believe the senior leaders are moving the organization towards a better future. Following that, it is also important to know if an individual feels that their own values align with those of the company. Employees who feel this alignment tend to perform better in their jobs.

As Chief People Officer at Anyfin, Amanda Pusa Edwall notes: “I have found both personally, but also from my job with HR that one of the most difficult things is when a candidate’s core values don’t align with the company. I think when that happens, it’s almost impossible to do a good job.”

Work conditions are another important driver of employee engagement. Particularly, it is crucial to find out if employees feel there is an effective feedback loop with their team managers, that everyone else on the team is equally committed, and that they receive adequate compensation and benefits. Also important is that employees feel that they have a work-life balance.

While Gartner suggests annual or biannual surveys to measure employee engagement, they note that many in HR feel that more frequent insights may be necessary and will utilize real-time analytics for this.

Analyzing HR and Business Metrics Together

Correlating employee engagement with other HR metrics such as performance ratings, attrition, turnover rates, and more will give organizations a better view of how engaged their workforce is. Leaders can then take proactive measures to address any issues or underlying causes of low engagement on a granular level.

Additionally, the measure of workforce engagement serves as part of a larger framework for measuring organizational performance. When tracked regularly, the data can help managers and business leaders make better decisions overall to improve their business metrics.

A clear example of this at work is when American retailer Best Buy calculated that an increase in employee engagement of just 0.01% is worth US$100,000, according to a Harvard Business Review study. This underlines how important it is for organizations to have effective strategies in place to create a better work culture that matches their employees’ expectations, thus improving employee engagement.

High employee engagement has been shown to reduce turnover, increase productivity, create better work and customer relationships, and ultimately have a positive impact on the company’s bottom line. It is up to HR leaders to come up with a strategy for employee engagement that best suits the needs of their organization and teams. What is your approach?

May 19, 2021

Das sind die Geheimnisse guten Managements

Die Managementweisheit des letzten Jahrhunderts geht auf keinen Geringeren zurück als Jim March, den unlängst verstorbenen Vater der modernen Organisationslehre. Bereits in den 1950ern proklamierte er, dass langfristig erfolgreiche Unternehmen sich sowohl der Suche nach Neuem – vornehmlich durch Ausprobieren – als auch der Prozessoptimierung und Effizienzsteigerung des bestehenden Geschäftsmodells widmen müssen.

Dass zwischen beiden Ansätzen ein Spannungsfeld besteht, ist offensichtlich. Für das erste braucht es eine Kultur mit Kommunikation quer durch die Organisation, in der Mitarbeiter frei von Druck, Ängsten und kurzfristigen Gewinnzielen experimentieren können. Effizienz hingegen fordert maximale Spezialisierung und Reduktion unnötiger Kommunikation.

Lösungsvorschläge an Topmanager für das eine wie das andere gibt es zuhauf. „Agiles Management“ und „Empowerment“ in dezentralisierten Organisationen auf der einen Seite; klassische Hierarchien – also gestaffelte Systeme von Autoritäten – auf der anderen. Und passend dazu die Beispiele von Morning Star, Spotify und The Valve für die erste, Siemens oder GM für die zweite Herangehensweise.

Allerdings lassen sich beide Ansätze vereinen. Nestlé mit Nespresso, der „Guardian“ online oder die i3-Entwicklung bei BMW stehen hier Pate für aus der alten Organisation herausgelöste unternehmerische Subeinheiten, deren formale Struktur die der Restfirma in vielerlei Hinsicht spiegelt, die aber unabhängig an den CEO berichten und eigene Freiheitsgrade nutzen können.

Allein bei dem Transfer der Best Practices hapert es gewaltig. Große Konzerne mit gelebten Hierarchien tun sich schwer mit Freiheit für „Intrapreneurship“ und „Start-up Ecosysteme“ – so schön das auch alles klingt. Und Start-ups schaffen oft nicht den Absprung von der Teamkultur zur skalierbaren Organisation für Expansion.

Selbst wenn morgen alle bei Siemens Sneaker tragen würden und es nur noch Scrum Master statt Chefs gäbe, würde daraus nicht die Transformation des Dinosauriers, geschweige denn die Avantgarde-Unternehmung. Und der Gründer im Anzug versteht noch lange nicht, wie Konzernbürokratien ticken.

Konzernchefs wie Gründer müssen und sollen aber auch nicht nur stumpf wählen zwischen Hierarchie oder Polyarchie. Sie müssen genau überlegen, in welchen der drei Kerndomänen des Managens – Dirigieren, Disputresolution und Design – sie ihre Autorität selbst ausüben und in welchen sie in die Organisation delegieren wollen.

Dirigieren beinhaltet die Festlegung, wer was tun soll; Disputresolution die Frage, wie Konflikte zu lösen sind; und Design die Frage danach, wie Arbeitsteilung in der Organisation aussieht. Werden alle Rechte zentral wahrgenommen, wird Effizienz maximiert und Innovation minimiert. Werden alle Rechte dezentralisiert, ist es umgekehrt. Alle Mischformen sind hier denkbar und können maßgeschneidert entschieden werden.

So wird sich mancher Konzern schwertun, es von heute auf morgen seinen Mitarbeitern zu überlassen, wie Aufgabenstrukturen aussehen sollen. Selbstentscheidung für bestimmte Auf‧gaben hingegen mag das Management zulassen. Genauso wie die Konfliktlösung im Team.

Initiiert und begleitet werden muss dieser Prozess von der Führungsspitze. Je nach Delegationsgrad, den diese wählt, um die Annäherung von Effizienz und Innovation zu managen, ergeben sich für das Topmanagment-Team diametral unterschiedliche Anforderungen. Abflachen von Strukturen erfordert Befähigung sowie Empowerment zur Selbstorganisation. Beim Einführen von Hierarchien in Gründerkulturen muss Mitarbeitern die Angst vor negativer Bewertung und Kontrollverlust genommen werden.

Markus Reitzig ist Professor für strategisches Management an der Universität Wien. Thomas Sattelberger war Personalvorstand der Deutschen Telekom und ist Bundestagsabgeordneter der FDP. (Foto: Universität Wien; Imago)

Selten trifft man auf CEOs wie damals Jürgen Weber in der Sanierungs- und Privatisierungsphase der Lufthansa oder Anant Badatiya von der Stallion Group, die als Führungspersönlichkeiten jeden denkbaren Bilderbuchspagat instinktiv meistern; die in jeder Managementdomäne streng führen und genauso auch delegieren können.

Ein Grund dafür liegt darin, dass die Natur uns mit sogenannten Persönlichkeitseigenschaften ausstattet, an denen wir nichts Grundlegendes ändern können. Überoptimismus etwa scheint großteils angeboren, und lässt einen so veranlagten CEO einfacher risikoreiche Innovationsprojekte angehen als andere, mit gutem wie mit schlechtem Ausgang.

Aber auch das gelernte Verhalten spielt eine Rolle, und so ist es wesentlich, dass CEOs in unterschiedlichen Organisationen Erfahrungen gesammelt haben – kleinen und großen, agilen und starren, effizienten und disruptionsgeforderten, bevor sie Spagate im Transformationsprozess erstmalig voll verantworten.

Nach Managern mit solcher Erfahrungsvielfalt und passendem Persönlichkeitsmuster müssen Aufsichtsräte suchen. Nach Kandidaten, die denjenigen Spagat sicher schaffen, den das jeweilige Unternehmen braucht.

Geschrieben von Markus Reitzig, Thomas Sattelberger.

December 9, 2020

600Minutes Human Resources Highlights: How HR Support Leaders Through The Pandemic

Our recent Norway 600Minutes Human Resources virtual event revealed deep insights from top HR executives as they navigate the implications of COVID-19 alongside their C-level counterparts.

During the breakout sessions, CHROs communicated how the HR function “is now more clearly and centrally located in the organization, compared to before the pandemic, and has been essential in supporting leaders during this difficult period.”

THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION

As companies implement working from home to curb the coronavirus infections, leaders are facing communication problems even though there are resources and tools for easier collaboration.

The event participants expressed that there needs to be more active communication in the company.

An HR leader remarked that managers must ensure that information to employees is read, and not just sent out. “Use apps or other platforms instead of just email. Leaders should encourage dialogues with employees continuously, even with laid off employees.”

Other participants also agreed with the statement, with one conveying that leaders and employees should have regular contact with one another, and plan for walks or lunch together.

“Communication is a key factor for success,” stressed a top HR executive, who also mentioned that there should be a close collaboration between the HR and Communications teams to make necessary joint decisions.

Others chimed in, explaining that information packages from the Communications team, such as regulations, restrictions and recommendations, need to be clear, and sent out to employees to help them obtain important information.

One participant voiced out that any and all information must be communicated. “Even if there is nothing new to inform, inform about it.”

LOSING ‘CONTROL’

As companies temporarily close their offices or establish shift groups, some leaders are finding it harder to manage and oversee their teams due to distance working.

“Managers are insecure about their own and the team’s deliveries,” explained a participant. “They feel that they have lost ‘control’ over the team.”

From another point of view, the work-from-home situation empowers employees to be more independent and take accountability for their tasks.

An HR leader revealed that, “The team themselves have more control over their own work today, and manage themselves more.”

The other participants reiterated the sentiment, emphasizing on trust between managers and team members.

“Control-based management works poorly,” expressed a CHRO. “Trust-based management works better.”

“Trust the skills available in the organization,” declared another. “Dare to trust the decisions that are made, and stick to them without hesitation. This contributes to a strong trust foundation in the organization.”

An HR executive advised leaders that, “During times of uncertain future and challenges, the individual must reflect on how we can lead ourselves, not just our employees.”

FORMALIZE THE INFORMAL

A rising concern among those working from home is the increasing number of meetings, which have led to Zoom fatigue. Yet another worrying issue is the rise of informal meetings in non-work settings.

“It’s important to facilitate informal meeting places, not just the formal ones,” expressed a participant. Whether the meeting is held in the office or in a cafe, agreed meetings should be ‘to the point’ and agenda-focused.

A top executive disclosed that, “A method that is useful for many to find an informal meeting place is to establish ‘walk and talk’ as a principle.”

Leaders have to remember that all business-related meetings, regardless of its settings or formality in this new normal world, should still follow the same protocols as an official work discussion.

Discover more insights by joining our HR events in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Finland, and Norway.

MENTAL HEALTH

From feelings of anxiety to increased workload and higher pressure, the pandemic has brought many mental health impacts on workers and employees across the industries.

Among the topics discussed in the breakout sessions, mental health was one of the topmost concerns among the CHROs.

The event attendees believed that organizations should provide materials on how to work with mental health, and to accommodate individual needs.

For instance, an executive suggested that organizations “create a culture with openness about workload and pressure. This is so we can make adjustments when there’s a need, and when it’s difficult for the leader to have an overview of the situation.”

“But what are the boundaries of corporate responsibility for mental health?” one participant questioned.

While some companies have mental health as part of their corporate social responsibility, it’s still a difficult topic to bring up due to stereotypes of the illness.

One participant advised that, “Although it’s more efficient to work from home, you need to book some ‘free time’ as well.”

Thus, a number of the HR executives recommended a few steps for leaders to help reduce their team’s mental stress:

Make themselves available and set aside time for talks;
Create support communities and groups so that the team members don’t feel that they are alone;
Recommend apps with meditation or that helps with stress relief; and
Celebrate occasions and events together, such as birthdays.

To elaborate on the last recommended step, the HR leader explained that there should be “various virtual gatherings, such as virtual expert breakfasts, coffee breaks or lunches.”

Additionally, the leader commented that the gatherings should be held continuously, both unconditional and voluntary, but that mandatory sessions with a learning purpose, like workshops on various thematic areas, should also be arranged.

WORKING RESILIENTLY

The HR function is the backbone in every business concern, and with the outbreak not fading away any time soon, CHROs are standing together with their fellow C-suites to lead the organization with equal value for all employees.

Depending on the country the organization is located, HR executives have different rules and things of importance to keep in mind. But as mentioned by the HR participants, they are trying to keep track of everything and ensuring what’s best for the employees.

“As there are many uncertainties,” expressed a CHRO, “we need to continue to work with resilience.”

December 3, 2020

From B2B Networking To Partnerships: Benify’s Success With Management Events

Transitioning a prospective customer into a purchasing client is the most difficult yet rewarding part of a sales process, and Jenny Swartling Pizarro, the Head of Sales Large Enterprises Sweden at Benify, knows that the first step to building a strong business relationship starts with that all-important initial contact with a prospect.

Through the unique networking opportunities of Management Events’ 600Minutes HR events, Jenny can directly connect with top-level HR executives and other business leaders.

One such decision-maker whom Jenny engaged with is the HR Director of Lidl Sweden, a company that has since signed a deal with Benify to implement their solution in Sweden and the Netherlands.

Benify – A Global Benefits and Total Rewards Platform

Benify is an HR tech company that offers a global platform for benefits, total rewards, and employee communications with more than 1,500 customers and over 2 million users around the world.

Their solution helps employers create an exceptional benefits and rewards experience while reducing benefits administration, automating processes, radically improving the communication of their employee value proposition, and ensuring better data governance and management of benefit and reward costs.

Benify’s platform and employee app have reinvented the way modern employers engage with their employees, winning multiple awards such as the GOLD Stevie® Award for Global HR Solution Provider of the Year 2020 and the Bronze Stevie® Award for Achievement in HR Technology 2020.

The Initial Meet-Up

Jenny has represented Benify at the yearly 600Minutes HR events for approximately 6 years.

“At 600Minutes Leadership and HR in 2018,” Jenny recounts, “I had my first personal meeting with the HR Director of Lidl Sweden.”

Lidl Sweden is a food wholesaler, offering a range of Swedish and organic products with foreign delicacies and a varied range of goods for the whole home.

“It turned out that the director had read a report of ours on the benefits awareness gap,” Jenny continues, “so [the event] was a great place to start the conversation.”

“Lidl wanted to digitize their processes regarding employee benefits,” Jenny explains, “to make their benefits more transparent and accessible, as well as create opportunities to offer more benefits than they already did.”

She further elaborates that, “Their investment in a Benify platform was also part of a larger effort to make Lidl the best employer in their industry.”

Building The Relationship

The communication between Jenny and Lidl Sweden’s HR Director didn’t end at the event but continued to develop into a lasting business relationship.

“At 600Minutes Leadership and HR, we decided to book another meeting after the event,” Jenny relates, “which led to a pre-study and eventually a signed deal to implement our platform for Lidl’s more than 4,200 employees in Sweden.”

“After having happily used the Benify platform in Sweden for about a year, Lidl decided to also implement our solution for their 15,000 employees in the Netherlands.”

Relations between the two companies are going strong, and Jenny expresses that, “If [the Netherlands’ solution implementation] turns out as successful as the Swedish example, we are looking at a potential cooperation with Lidl across the entire Europe and the US.”

Business Growth With ME

As a 6-year-and-counting representative of Benify at the 600Minutes HR networking events held yearly by Management Events (ME), Jenny points out many benefits of the unique event concept.

“[The events] have given me opportunities to engage personally with HR directors and other relevant stakeholders from large enterprises that are otherwise difficult to get in touch with,” Jenny confides.

“The 15-minute meetings are very effective,” she declares. “Each representative specifies their interest areas beforehand, e.g. recruiting, employee benefits, or digitization, so you can prepare and focus on what you want to get across. It’s almost like B2B speed dating.”

Moving With The (Hard) Times

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenny says that an increasing number of employers are seeing the value of Benify’s product in these challenging times, and are ready to invest again.

“With many physical events canceled, we were happy to partake in the digital version of 600Minutes,” she conveys.

“The atmosphere in the meetings was relaxed as most people were participating from their own homes. You held the full attention of each representative and were able to share your screen. It was easy to establish personal contact and get a good conversation going. All in all, a very positive experience.”

An Arena Of Opportunities

Overall, Jenny believes that Management Events offers a great arena for solution providers to meet with relevant stakeholders.

“In several cases, the initial contact at 600Minutes has led to further meetings, where we have been able to present our solutions more in-depth, and then perform customized pre-studies that in turn have resulted in signed deals.”

November 13, 2020

New Times, New Journeys for Talent & HR Leadership

Empower_Growth_Through_Data-Driven_Customer_Experience

Innovation in HR has always been the key focus for organizations in discovering and adopting new solutions, improving workflow and productivity, and to innovate and excel. In today’s COVID-19 world, Maistering BV’s Chief Sales Officer (CSO) Venkat Iyer (Markets, Sectors & Domains) understands that innovation in the HR industry is needed now more than ever to remain efficient in these new times.

The Focus Of Innovation In New Times

The role of HR leaders has always been to be at the forefront of innovation. From innovating workflow processes to adopting intelligent solutions and creating a better employee experience, HR leaders are pivotal when it comes to innovation and business improvement.

However, the current crisis has pivoted the outlook for HR leaders, pushing them to adopt new approaches for workflow efficiencies in the shortest timeframes. Especially in today’s remote working conditions, businesses need to remain efficient and prioritize quality over quantity.

For Iyer, the key points of focus that HR leaders need to be aware of can be summed in three major points:

1. Promoting digitalization and increasing productivity by understanding how technology can improve the workflow of people in the organization.

2. Shifting from complicated processes to simple ideas. Simplicity in HR can also mean leveraging distributed intelligence from the employees and efficient use of AI solutions.

3. Engaging the external workforce in an agile and unprecedented way. As remote working becomes the norm, skills become readily available in the digital marketplace, and HR needs to adapt to tap this availability for business needs.

The shift towards new technology and digital platforms is a necessary shift for HR leaders. Despite traditionally focusing on innovating processes, employee experience, and talent identification, Iyer says that the “current situation has encouraged us to look at digital connections among employees, simplify processes, and leverage skills in a digital marketplace.”

Adapting To Change And Innovating In HR

In the ‘new normal’, HR leaders cannot rely on the traditional ways of managing organizations. While Iyer points out that HR leaders have been quick to “introduce and manage change consistently over the past years”, the current situation demands an environment that is more driven by technology.

“Adopt AI services and solutions, embrace the cloud, and live in the virtual employee realities by introducing digital methods,” notes Iyer.

As these are business priorities for organizations anyway, Iyer believes that leaders can adopt these new methods and ride the wave while still keeping past priorities in check.

Of course, leadership will play a key role in fostering innovation, and Iyer highlights how most HR leaders are addressing the challenges through a familiar process of “defining the problem, addressing the variables that make it complicated and agreeing on the best way forward.”

However, in these ‘never normal’ times, Iyer believes that HR leaders need to adjust and develop a new core capability: a simplicity mindset.

With HR now working around the clock, to be truly effective, Iyer mentions the need for leaders to embrace the mindset of collaboration and simplicity, foregoing the traditional linear thinking and embracing a collective intelligence where the organization is the team.

Prioritizing The Digital Transformation In HR

With the new challenges faced by HR leaders today, the journey towards organizational improvement has shifted towards digital transformation and solutions.

Iyer points out that for HR leaders to be at the top of their game in these new times, they need to embrace digital transformation and start new journeys in utilizing effective but simple tools to tackle complex and complicated problems.

The three key technologies that Iyer believes HR leaders should prioritize are:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

Chatbots have been part of HR systems for quite some time, helping to answer employee queries. But it’s time to step up the game via managing change, tracking employee emotions to help with health, seamless collaboration and open information exchange, aligning to business goals and tracking KPIs, and creating an impact – AI can help vastly in all of these.

With services available today in many areas that embrace the digital workplace and workforce, HR leaders should step up on AI adoption.

CLOUD

Only a few years ago, companies were discussing the benefits of systems such as the cloud. Today, they have embraced it.

Cloud-based systems are being used more and more for a variety of reasons, and the same is true for HR platforms and solutions as well. The possibility of being able to manage and complete work through a digital platform has allowed employees not only to do the job much faster, but most importantly, it has allowed for significantly increased earnings.

The use of cloud-based platforms also brings about numerous benefits such as reduced costs, greater and easier access, predictability and availability, and better reach.

COMPLEMENTARY PLATFORMS

In addition to core HR platforms that companies have adopted, the need for additional services that complement these massive platforms, and how it can be quickly integrated and used become increasingly important.

Solutions that improve collaboration and ideations, connect to external workforces, match talent with availability, organize and orchestrate HR journeys, measure impact, and are more predictable are vital to companies.

Establishing A Culture of Innovation

Iyer emphasizes that HR leaders today need to adapt and learn new methods in cooperation with employees, business partners, and stakeholders to foster a modernized culture of innovation.

“How can you create and maintain a culture of innovation when almost all of your workforce is working from home?”

Facing these challenges should be at the center stage for HR leaders. For Iyer, it’s important to adapt to the digital workplace while still ensuring that innovation contributes to both the employee experience and business needs of the organization.

To do so, Iyer believes that the following 3 methods should be considered by HR leaders to cultivate the innovation mindset in today’s digital workplace:

Create new behaviors that reflect not just your company values, but also the current digital workplace style
Spawn global and virtual digital ideation sessions
Capture and share learnings and ideas openly

All of these can be achieved by having a digital platform that complements the existing HR solutions in the organization. New times call for new journeys for sure, but technology today can help to make those journeys magical.

Maistering BV understood this and created the unique platform Master Collections. It addresses this topic by providing leaders the ability to run magical business journeys with essence, beauty, and impact in a way that classical HRM systems simply cannot.

Innovating Towards The Future Game Changers

The changing workplace requirements have caused a major shift in all industries, and for Iyer, there are several game-changers that HR leaders need to prioritize to maintain innovation.

In essence, the three major game-changers that HR should focus on are:

Prioritizing Re-Learning and Re-Skilling: HR leaders should now focus on re-skilling their potential employees to make them efficient and equipped with the skill of multitasking. Learning & Development would take place in a new digital collaborative platform.

Quality over Quantity: Taskforce optimization, performance management, and talent identification will all focus on top talent and work, which also mean that hiring and role filling will be different.

External Workforce Management: The pandemic has also exposed a wide variety of available talent, which few have looked at – temporary workers, contractors, project-based hires, and deliverables-based work packages. This also necessitates the need to have systems that can adapt and accommodate externals quite easily and consolidate content and let them collaborate seamlessly with existing employees.

The path towards innovation has changed tremendously due to the pandemic. Businesses and organizations need to undertake new journeys for talent & HR leadership to achieve a culture of innovation. With their platform, Master Collections, Maistering hopes to navigate leaders and businesses into the new times with the right tools.

September 9, 2020

Organizational Crisis Management: 7 Surprising Ways HR Leads Through a Crisis

Organizational trends point to an increase in the “invisible structure”; culture networks, employee learning abilities, core values, and projected identity that aids in solving previously unforeseen problems. Human resources are the arm of the organization that builds this invisible structure.

HR typically functions as a bridge between management and other employees. Yet, this influential department is not often regarded as a business partner, playing a vital role in the organization’s day-to-day running, particularly during a crisis. HR’s responsibility is more than just managing administration and service contracts. The article below expounds that in times of crisis, HR can play a decisive role in safeguarding the company’s success, and as such, it is about time for the rest of C-Suite to bring HR to the decision-making table.

1. People First

Being the people-focused arm of an organization, CHROs must place the safety, culture, protection, and mental health of the employees at the forefront. According to a KPMG International survey, HR executives prioritize employee experience (EX) as their focal point. Pathfinding HR¹ organizations were almost three times more likely to “strongly agree” that employee experience is a strategic priority for the entire organization. Furthermore, when asked about organizational strategies in place as regards EX, 75% of Pathfinding HR organizations had a system in place to design an EX that reflects and supports the customer experience.

¹KPMG defines “Pathfinding HR” as a confident group of HR executives, simultaneously focused on four discrete capabilities to chart their course to the future in a disrupted world: shaping the workforce of the future, nurturing a purpose driven culture, and designing a “consumer grade” employee experience, all through the use of evidence-based insights.

– KPMG International

COVID-19 struck impromptu, hitting hard and affecting all levels of businesses. Suddenly, CHROs must focus on employees’ health and well-being over the potential for denial of access or financial loss. Executing workforce adjustments will prevent high attrition levels.

Crunched numbers determine the most optimum methods to prevent the company from being overwhelmed. Deciding employee teams, non-intermittent or rotational work and shifts in location (home or office), number of employees that can work together, those who cannot, and prolonged absences. C-Suite and upper management must prioritize additional insurance coverage specifically designed to protect and support their people, intellectual property, and premises in the event of a crisis.

2. Talent Management and Engagement

The past few years have taught us that business agility is vital to the future of work. With increasing digitalization, globalization, and the newer generation entering the labor force, the faster a company can evolve alongside shifting consumer and employee engagement trends, the better equipped they are to survive in the long run.

Chances are everyone who works for you is aware of at least one website or has an app that gently nudges them to change employers. And if you are like most business leaders, you work hard to give them reasons to stay with your company every single day willingly. In the latest PwC’s Human Resources Technology Survey, technology investments and their effectiveness were explored, with the views of 600 HR and HR information technology (IT) leaders on six continents collected.

58% of these HR professionals informed that they had issues utilizing technology to find, attract, and retain talent. Companies spend $310 per employee per year on HR tech, yet 74% of companies surveyed still plan to boost spending on HR tech in 2020 to focus on pressing talent needs.

During a pandemic, HR plays another significant role that most do not get to think about, one of which is ensuring that employee emergency contacts are up to date. CHROs also take the lead by providing all employees with appropriate outlets for emotional or financial support. Supplementary training offered to develop and retain the best talents.

3. Leading with Candor (Communication & Support)

The golden hours of a crisis are the period in which decision making is at the most critical. During this period, CHROs are looked upon to trigger resources to communicate and respond efficiently across the company, responding to employees’ questions and concerns. Other employees typically place high expectations on C-level executives such as yourself for strength, reassurance, and leadership in turbulent times. It is essential to keep your people sufficiently informed.

One of the most critical tools for any successful crisis management approach is implementing a practical communications framework and access to dedicated numbers to help businesses respond to new information as they are available. Examples are special groups and channels via Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, or similar messaging platforms.

Contrary to generally accepted organization data privacy and security laws, a key factor is to ensure the chosen platform is externally controlled, especially in the event of a cyber-attack that forces a section or company-wide network shutdown. This preset mode of communication might very well be the only way to communicate with teams safely.

While only a small number of companies use incentives (30%) and gamification (20%) to lift adoption rates, these two practices were rated the most successful methods to combat low adoption. The two most common strategies—training and leadership communication—while important, should be delivered alongside these other tactics that make using digital technologies more enjoyable, even fun.

4. Establish a Crisis Management Team

Despite a business’s best efforts, encountering a crisis may be inevitable for many. During the formative stage, CHROs as strategic planners can bring people together to form a crisis management team to formulate policies and guidelines. The team will propose potential outcomes and crises that might arise and develop multiple contingency plans based on such situations.

Such as communicating efficiently and effectively with customers, employees, the media, and all other stakeholders. It is critical for businesses with a strong social media presence; you cannot afford to stay silent during this period. Meticulously crafted, frank communications will be essential to maintaining your company’s reputation. The style of communication, honesty, and, when suitable, messaging on how your company is aiding an affected community and employees is vital. Lastly, develop a Business Continuity Plan, where the CMT is in charge of outlining strategies to overcome business disruption.

5. Encourage training and new skills acquisition

During a crisis, leaders often refer to past experiences and or a guidebook of sorts to aid their decision-making. However, there is no single playbook during this pandemic that managers can reference for accurate advice and responses on how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its multiple disruptions across all business sectors. Since many HR leaders are accountable for guiding the overall workforce response to COVID-19, they must model a learning mentality and influence others to stay interested and open to learning.

In recent years, technology has dramatically automated the typical functions carried out by the HR department. Summarily, it became possible to activate online payroll transmission, record keeping, training, skill management, employment interviews, hiring, and compensations. HR professionals and employees alike must also flow with the current digitization trend, focusing on skill development.

HR takes the lead to develop and model an experimental culture and encourage other employees to “fail forward” to learn from tough choices quickly. This crisis can also be a chance for HR leaders who have labored in the past to create learning cultures in their organizations, as there may be less opposition to trial and error from performance-focused leaders.

6. Providing Data-Driven Views

There are no clear-cut answers or precedents in this pandemic. C-suite leaders expect CHROs to resolve problems such as rotating the workforce to work productively from home, keeping essential frontline workers safe, and managing large-scale virtual downsizing furloughs. All these while trying to protect health benefits.

To achieve this, CHROs, HR teams, managers, and business owners rely on various software, including an information system to assist, manage, and automate many of the administrative tasks to improve HR activities’ workflow.

According to the PwC’s Human Resources Technology Survey, HR leaders report robust business benefits from cloud-based HR systems that shape their technology portfolio’s core. 72% report having core HR applications in the cloud or are in the process of moving them. 56% from the KPMG International survey agree that preparing the workforce for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies is challenging. A further 66% (2 in 3 HR executives) believe that one of the ways CHROs can manage the impact of AI (and related technologies) on the workforce is to prioritize workforce upskilling. Particularly during a crisis when scale-downs or ramp-ups might be in order. HR can and should be providing a data-driven opinion to any actions.

7. Hastening the Future of Work

It is imperative to be aware that the crisis’s effects remain long after it has ended for employees, their families, organizations, and communities during recovery. At this stage, HR must have the necessary tools to educate employees and business leaders on identifying stress impacts and recommending they get help. Achievable by sending out memos or paving the way for intranet pages containing the necessary information about employee benefits and other employee-related policies and programs. Programs such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Remembering to look towards the future is a common challenge for CHRO leaders. Companies will benefit significantly from endorsing human-capital decisions that respond to the current crisis and future proof tomorrow.

The previous months of lockdown have seen most of the world’s workforce telecommuting from home. Consequently, revealing many cracks and opportunities in the current workforce policies. Fortunately, something good can come out of it. It is an excellent time to rethink the processes and accelerate the future of work — the flexible workplace, wider talent pool, training for remote work, concentrating on employee well-being, and redefining events for societal connections.

Conclusion

The pandemic has devastated businesses and workers alike, obliging CHROs at the epicenter to make tough choices regarding safety, downsizing, compensation, engagement, benefits, and business permanence. Most CHROs have switched to working from home full time for the first time. What with schools and daycare/kindergartens closed. Many employees with young children and dual-career families struggle with work-life integration.

HR’s responsibility is more than just managing administration and service contracts. In times of crisis, HR can play a decisive role in safeguarding a company’s success. They have to be bold and defensive in building effective, cohesive cultures of collaboration, insisting that employees prepare to deal with the unexpected and the challenges ahead, rather than merely refining skills from the past. It is not in the moment of crisis that HR should shine; it is before and afterward. Achievable by insisting the organization do the right things before the crisis hits.

March 14, 2020

Kan technologie HR menselijker maken?

In een tijdperk waarin technologie in alle aspecten van ons leven is doorgedrongen blijkt het binnen HR toch nog moeilijk om de volledige potentie van technologie te benutten. Vanuit de core HR systemen worden er steeds meer processen geautomatiseerd en soms zijn er zelfs hele moderne toepassingen, maar het blijft toch wat behelpen.

Het lijkt dat HR last blijft houden van een erfenis vanuit de tijd dat HR personeelszaken heette en vooral gericht was op de administratieve functies met betrekking tot het personeel.

Hoe kunnen we voorbij procesautomatisering denken? En is het mogelijk de medewerker centraal te stellen in de toepassing van technologie binnen het HR domein?

De effectiviteit van technologie wordt voor een groot deel bepaald door de intelligentie (kunstmatig of niet), gebruikte data en de gebruikerservaring of userexperience van de toepassing. Wanneer we de juiste mix vinden van die drie elementen kunnen we de beschikbare technologie echt gaan benutten.

Het voordeel is dat we binnen HR beschikken over veel data, misschien niet in elk bedrijf even veel en vaak minder dan we zouden willen. Maar toch, veel data. We weten heel veel van de medewerker en van zijn of haar tijd binnen onze organisatie. Als we dit combineren met een slimme manier om met die data om te gaan, kunnen we inschatten wat er bij de medewerker speelt. Zijn we vervolgens ook nog in staat om de medewerker te vragen wat zijn probleem of vraag is op een manier die aansluit bij hoe we inmiddels gewend zijn te communiceren dan begint het ergens op te lijken.

Vaak ligt achter een specifieke vraag van een medewerker een aantal procedures verscholen. In plaats van de medewerker te wijzen op de te volgen procedures, of nog erger, de medewerker zelf te laten bedenken welke procedures er van toepassing zijn kunnen we de medewerker helpen het probleem op te lossen.

Stel, een medewerker wil parttime werken. We weten dat de medewerker een leaseauto heeft, een opleiding volgt etc. Op de vraag ‘wat betekent het als ik parttime ga werken.’ Kan vervolgens vrij makkelijk op basis van data, arbeidsvoorwaardelijke en andere regelingen bepaald worden wat de effecten zijn voor de medewerker. Bijvoorbeeld een hogere eigen bijdrage voor de auto, het effect op bedrijfstijd die aan de studie besteed mag worden en de effecten op de verschillende arbeidsvoorwaarden. En dit alles zonder dat er verschillende gesprekken gevoerd moeten worden met verschillende HR medewerkers die voor deze onderdelen verantwoordelijk zijn. Op basis van deze kennis kan HR in gesprek gaan met de medewerker om te kijken naar zijn of haar wensen en meedenken over alternatieven. Misschien ligt achter de vraag om parttime werken wel een ander vraag, misschien is het maar tijdelijk en misschien kan het worden opgelost door verlof bij te kopen.

Zo kunnen we verschillende events in de employee journey bedenken die we kunnen herkennen en ondersteunen door middel van technologie en vervolgens in een volwassen en gelijkwaardig gesprek kunnen afhandelen. Dit geeft niet alleen een geweldige employee experience voor de medewerker, maar ook voor de HR medewerker die tenslotte ook liever problemen oplost dan procedures uitvoert. Door op deze manier te denken vanuit de medewerker, zijn we echt in staat om HR menselijker te maken door gebruik te maken van technologie.

January 7, 2020

Mark Gallagher: Driving The Future Towards High-Performance Through Big Data

Mark_Gallagher_Driving_The_Future_Big_Data

The future of data-driven organizations has arrived and spearheading businesses towards operational excellence is the vision that Mark Gallagher, the founder and CEO of Performance Insights and Industry Analyst at Formula One, continues to advocate.

As organizations start to adopt more data-driven strategies, Gallagher shares with us the challenges and solutions in which Big Data presents, the opportunities in which disruptive technologies can provide in tandem with data and analytics, and the future it holds for businesses and beyond.

The Challenges and Solutions of Data-Driven High Performance

Big Data and analytics have quickly become the key ingredient that businesses need to integrate to remain as a high-performing and agile organization in today’s modern industry. Nevertheless, there are challenges that businesses have to overcome before being able to transform into a data-driven organization.

One such challenge that Gallagher notes is the need for organizations to understand and find which data is most relevant to unlocking new opportunities and not rely on established systems.

“We may wish to gather data from the areas where we have some understanding,” notes Gallagher. “However, the real opportunity comes from questioning established systems and processes and examing data around the unknowns.”

While finding and utilizing data effectively is still a major challenge for most organizations, Gallagher believes the solution lies in organizations finding the right partners and using the right emerging technology to help improve performances.

“It is vital to work with the right partners to develop systems that can make rapid use of data”, Gallagher points out. “Real-time data encourages and facilitates real-time decision making, and this is where the power of AI kicks in.”

In the world of Formula One, Gallagher found that both the quality and speed of decision-making have improved dramatically with the help of partners and AI to help understand and utilize data. This enabled Gallagher to guarantee much higher levels of quality, reliability, risk management and performance, allowing them to “avoid negative outcomes and guarantee more positive ones.”

Utilizing The Power of Disruptive Technology

On its own, Big Data has proven to be a disruptive technology. However, Gallagher believes that several emerging technologies can be “game-changers” for the traditional business processes.

“The opportunities afforded by AI and Blockchain technology are only just being realized, and far from dehumanizing businesses”. Gallagher continues, “these tools will enable more people and organizations to work together seamlessly to drive improved outcomes for their customers, businesses and supply chains.”

The benefits of emerging technologies go beyond organizational efficiency and Gallagher points out how Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence have helped build a more connected and data-driven environment in Formula One.

“We operate a fully connected environment so that we can manage our assets remotely, monitoring performance, quality, gathering diagnostic information and ultimate managing the product life cycle better than ever”, Gallagher remarked on the usage of IoT and artificial intelligence platforms.

Gallagher sees the innovation that IoT and artificial intelligence brings to Formula One, providing information to make better use of their resources and dramatically improve their manufacturing systems. “In creating a digital twin of our product, we have moved to an environment where we can manufacture and manage much more efficiently.”

The Big Future of Big Data and Analytics

Focusing on the data that matters should be the priority for organizations, and as vast amounts of data become increasingly available, Gallagher and Formula One needs to work with solutions that cut to the core of the issues and opportunities that are affecting businesses.

Gallagher points out how Big Data and analytics can be utilized in new ways for businesses and society as a whole in the future, noting that in “a data-rich world, we can mine more opportunities to add value.”

Beyond the profit margins, Big Data has the opportunity to develop innovative solutions and Gallagher shares this enthusiasm saying that he is ”very optimistic that many of the problems facing the world today will find their solutions in technology that develops as the result of having the data to understand issues properly.”

At the end of the day, data is just information and when businesses can access a better quality of information, they can expect to improve outcomes across all areas of operations.