In today’s fast-paced business world, organisations are under constant pressure to evolve, grow and expand. Revenue and profit will always be the most tracked measures of success in any profit-making organisation.
This need for growth and the focus on the bottom line, can often appear to come into conflict with other critical objectives, such as improving the employee experience. Occasionally this can even raise its head in the relationship between Operations and Human Resources (HR).
HR & People teams are responsible for ensuring that employees are happy, motivated, and engaged in their work, delivering at their best. Shaping up the EVP to make the organisation an attractive place to join and an even better place to stay. This involves providing a positive work environment, opportunities for development and growth, and shaping compensation and benefits. HR’s ultimate goal is to create a workforce that is not only productive and high-performing, but also engaged, satisfied and fulfilled.
Operations often have the same outcomes around productivity and high performance, but come at the challenge from a different angle, with different key performance indicators attached to their success. Operational teams are often focused on streamlining processes, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency. With time, cost and quality measures always in clear view.
A Win-Win
Whilst the time and money spent on employee experience can sometimes feel at odds with the revenue protection of Operations teams - the focus on employee engagement is actually a win-win for all.
Consider, Operations pushing for longer working hours or increased productivity from each employee. HR teams may use data and insight to be able to explore the true impact and make a more informed decision. Using data such as employee feedback insight, coupled with sickness statistics can create a solution which achieves both aims. Protecting the business from longer-term hidden costs of employee burnout or turnover.
Similarly, HR advocating for policies such as flexible working hours may open up new opportunities for resourcing and talent pipeline to fuel operational efficiency.
The Ghost of HR Past
HR departments have often struggled to prove their Return on Investment (ROI) to the rest of the organisation. This was largely due to the lack of available data and insights that could demonstrate the impact of HR initiatives on the bottom line.
One area where HR teams have historically struggled to demonstrate ROI is in employee experience. Advances in technology and data analytics have enabled HR teams to access the tools and data needed to demonstrate the ROI of these initiatives more effectively.
For example, employee engagement surveys can provide HR teams with valuable insights into employee satisfaction and help identify areas for improvement. This data can then be used to develop targeted interventions that address specific concerns, risks and improve employee satisfaction, ultimately leading to increased productivity and profitability.
Similarly, leadership development programmes and training and development initiatives can now be evaluated more effectively using insights such as engagement levels, employee retention rates, promotion rates, and performance data.
By leveraging data and aligning with Operations teams on common goals, HR departments can demonstrate their value as strategic partners in driving business success. Together, these teams can make a compelling case for the time and money spent on initiatives that improve the employee experience and drive productivity.
HR Partnering Operations
If you feel you have more work to do to add proactive value into your operational teams, here’s where to start:
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Communication
Establish clear communication channels between the teams and encourage collaboration. This can help identify areas of overlap and enable both departments to work towards common goals. The HR business partner model was designed for this purpose, to ensure that HR remains close to those they impact.
Teams who communicate effectively in the workplace may see as much as a 25% increase in their productivity.
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Collaboration
Focus on engagement strategy to ensure employees are motivated and engaged, to support in supercharging the team, improving productivity and driving growth. Operations can help HR by providing the resources and support necessary to implement policies and initiatives that improve employee experience.
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Clarity
Create a culture of transparency and accountability, where both Operations and HR are held responsible for achieving their respective objectives and there is clarity on the common end goal. This can help ensure that decisions are made with the best interests of the organisation in mind and that gaps in priorities are resolved in a constructive manner.
A strong culture is crucial to attracting and retaining high-performing people in today's competitive business environment. This is especially true during times of economic uncertainty, where organisations may face pressure to reduce costs and cut back on resources.
88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success.
It’s important to create a culture that fosters employee engagement and provides opportunities for career development and growth. By investing in employee development and creating a positive work environment, organisations can retain their top talent and maintain business continuity.
By actively listening to employees and incorporating their feedback into decision-making processes, organisations can create a culture of trust and transparency. This, in turn, can lead to higher levels of engagement and increased productivity. HR teams can use tools such as employee engagement surveys and pulse checks to gain continual insights into employee sentiment and identify areas for improvement.
Employee Feedback
By establishing clear communication channels, encouraging collaboration, and promoting a culture of transparency and accountability, organisations can find a way to combine the priorities of Operational and HR teams to achieve long-term success.
Employee engagement surveys can be a really powerful tool to support both teams with data and insight. With reliable employee feedback, organisations can get to the root of what’s holding them back and solve the problem before it progresses.
With the Ten Space platform, you can target specific problems by segmenting data into teams, creating bespoke question sets and sending the survey out at the best possible time via the most accessible channel.
For more on how our surveys can help your organisation, visit: https://www.tenspace.co.uk/solutions/employee-engagement/
Our guide to ‘Next Level Employee Engagement’:
We have put together a more detailed guide with hints and tips for taking your employee engagement to the next level.
Click here to access the full guide.
At Ten Space we work with our clients to amplify employee engagement, retention and performance.
Taking it to the next level, we can help you explore your employee’s journeys to ensure you’re optimising every part of the employee experience. Protecting the time and money you spend in areas such as onboarding, leadership development, rewards and benefits; helping you demonstrate ROI for the HR team on the activities you deliver.
Contact us to help your teams deliver the future of your business: enquiries@tenspace.co.uk
