Resolution 1: Tackle and reduce staff churn
Every HR manager knows that it’s vital to retain your best people, not only because recruitment and replacement is a costly exercise, but also because keeping knowledge, experience and consistency in the business is good for company stability and for customer interaction. But it can be easier said than done to control churn and keep it to a minimum.
Staff leave for all sorts of reasons so the first plan of attack should be to conduct a comprehensive assessment of why people have left over the last 3-5 years. The senior management team may have a perception about the underlying factors, but what HR heads can do is provide the factual evidence. If you have HR reporting software in place, this kind of ‘data crunching’ should be relatively easy and you can focus on pulling insight from the numbers and then coming up with an action plan to tackle the issues you identify.
Resolution 2: Nurture and invest in your top talent
Every business has its star performers and stalwarts who consistently bring in the sales, come up with innovative new ideas, have the magic touch with customers, or have accumulated so much experience they are the ‘go to person’ for problem-solving. These very special people are the engine room of the business and would make a significant difference if they decided to leave. They could also be the leaders of tomorrow that are destined to take your business on to even greater success.
Keeping your top talent happy is a key role for HR and the new year is a perfect time to review your talent management strategy. Consider how you identify and evaluate the most talented individuals in your business. What is offered in terms of recognition, training and development to these individuals? And is the approach structured and formal or more ad hoc?
HR software with built in talent management functionality provides an efficient way to keep abreast of this core group and to ensure they are engaged, nurtured and challenged throughout the year. It does this in various ways including keeping track of ongoing development, matching skills training with individual needs; as well as part of a wider career pathway and ensuring the talent development strategy is aligned with company goals.
Resolution 3: Take action to ensure everyone feels valued
Taking the time to ensure your workforce feels valued is a core requirement for HR, however with so many tasks to juggle, it can easily fall down the priority list (even if you do start out the year with good intentions). One solution is to spread the burden by creating a way of saying ‘thank you’ or ‘well done’ which everyone can use rather than just leaving it to HR or individual managers. New solutions such as ‘Applause’ in Access Workspace offer exactly that i.e. an internal online forum where employees can not only offer kind words of encouragement or support to each other but can also see who else is doing well.
Resolution 4: Free up more time to focus on value-adding HR activity
In the same vein, one new year’s resolution that many HR managers will identify with is finding ways to spend more time on people interaction and strategic or value-adding HR activities and less time on admin-heavy tasks. This definitely is possible if you can persuade your senior management team to invest in modern HR software. The solutions available today are so much more flexible and intuitive than ever before – and with the advent of cloud-based technology, accessibility and cost have come down significantly too.
Modern HR software with self-service elements built in not only immediately reduce the amount of time HR spends on data entry or updating files or paper records, it also provides an opportunity for HR to engage with the workforce in new ways. In our experience, employees are often delighted by self-service apps for admin tasks such as updating their personal information, booking holidays or planning training courses. All of these put the individual in control and, most importantly, free up valuable time in the HR team by spreading the administrative load.
What will your HR resolutions for 2020 be? If you’d like support or some inspirational ideas on how to practically move your HR strategy forward using technology, then download one of our brochures today to discover the tools and technology you could have at hand to support you throughout 2020 and beyond.