Here it is! The New Year has come. And while you’re probably all busy with annual staff evaluation, stop for a moment and think about the things you’d like to change. When we wake up on 1 January, even without realising it properly, we hope for changes, we like to think that the New Year will bring us more happiness, better opportunities etc. Most of us make some resolutions, just like Bridget Jones:
…and just like Bridget Jones, we forget about them the next day (or in a month or so).
You need to realize, however, that if you want to convince the management that HR is in fact a business partner and should be treated as such, you need to start thinking about what to do to make them realize that.
First of all think about making some systems and processes, such as talent acquisition process or talent development system, more effective. We all know (and I’ve emphasised it several times here) that attracting talent is one of the key components to the success of your organisation. But in order to attract talent we first need to create a culture that helps to develop and retain talent within the organisation. It is essential that your company supports employee growth, creativity and development. Set up an individual training program for each member of the staff. Give your employees the opportunity to take advantage of all possible training solutions – and I don’t mean only skills or compliance training – I mean all sorts of classes, webinars, seminars etc. I’ve even encountered an interesting solution of how to help people develop even when your budget is tight – you might establish a “book club”, i.e. put together a group of employees and give them the task of reading a book on a business topic and later on discuss the subject matter covered in it. Which might help you with fulfilling the second possible resolution – involving leadership in the talent development scheme. Aberdeen Group has conducted a study which showed that the top-notch organisations put much more effort in engaging senior managers in talent development processes. Each “book club” group may be given an opportunity to discuss the issue with their manager or an executive who may be an expert on the subject matter. Then next step might be encouraging your top executives to coach the staff. This could help with creating a pleasant and productive working environment which would further lead to attracting new talent! Of course along with attracting new high-potential employees, we also attract others that might not be such an advantage for our organisation. And there’s room for next resolution – avoid hiring mistakes. We’ve already talked about how much mis-hires cost the organisation so I’m not going to repeat it. In order to make all the resolutions work you need to remember about one essential thing – aligning business strategy with people strategy. Even if you have great staff and you work for a top-notch organisation attracting best talent, if you don’t have a clear business strategy and purpose, you won’t succeed.
So be a visionary but never forget about the bottom line! J
Glossary:
resolution – postanowienie
to emphasise – podkreślać
to set up – ustanowić, stworzyć
compliance – stosowanie się, zgodność z przepisami
to encounter – znaleźć, napotkać
tight budget – niewielki, napięty budżet
subject matter – zakres, temat
covered in it – o którym mowa
to conduct – przeprowadzać
top-notch – na najwyższym poziomie
effort – wysiłek
to encourage – zachęcać
mis-hire – błędnie zatrudniona osoba
to align – dostosować, “zgrać”
Exercise 1:
Match the words with their synonyms:
1. set up
2. encounter
3. conduct
4. top-notch
5. encourage
a) first-rate
b) establish
c) perform
d) motivate
e) find
Exercise 2:
Match the words with their definitions:
1. tight budget
2. compliance
3. mis-hire
4. align
5. subject matter
a) wrong person on a wrong position
b) things that are discussed in a piece of writing, speech etc.
c) a small amount of money which you can spend on something
d) obeying a law or rule
e) organise systems so that they fit well together
Key:
Ex. 1:
1-b), 2-e), 3-c), 4-a), 5-d)
Ex. 2:
1-c); 2-d); 3-a); 4-e); 5-b)
