Newsletters
Leaders are humans, and humans are nothing if not adaptable.
Each week I reconnect with business and HR leaders as they navigate an uncertain future. All are facing challenges of some kind – whether it’s finding enough PPE to keep their employees safe, trying to find creative means of retaining their workforces, or proceeding with furloughs or reductions – and all are demonstrating remarkable humanity and vulnerability throughout.
During these conversations, I’ve been struck by the resilience and creativity of leaders. They have found ways to meet the challenges facing them with imagination and innovation, and in ways that others might learn from:
- Faced with a major delay in getting background checks cleared, a healthcare HR leader decided to look internally and created a true skills inventory for all employees, including those who had been furloughed due to a lack of elective surgeries. No fancy technology was required – just spreadsheets, good communication, and general interest in learning about people’s past and current skill set was enough to get the initiative off the ground and individuals redeployed. She couldn’t believe the results and asked, “Why haven’t we been doing this all along?”
- The CHRO of a large retailer realized that elective PTO (as an alternative to reductions in pay) was the way to go, but an unintended consequence was the anxiety employees felt when they took days off while their colleagues tirelessly worked away. Her solution was a universal day of rest and recovery, with other IA clients following her lead in shutting down completely to allow people a day to breathe.
- Returning to a common workplace for certain roles may no longer be a necessity. Some leaders reviewed return to work guidelines and realized they just aren’t actionable for a full office. One financial services HR leader did the math on elevator occupancy – in order to allow employees to get to their workspace following recommended restrictions, it would take from 8am to 3pm just to get them to the correct floor (not to mention back down again). Additionally, medical checks and PPE could cost up to $500,000 a week for their facilities. When compared to the productivity they have seen from employee’s working from home, this HR leader asked his CEO whether return to work will ever be required again.
These are just a few examples of leaders finding ways to adapt with people in mind. This doesn’t even address the hundreds of process improvements and policy streamlining I’ve heard about from leaders and employees alike. If nothing else, our current situation has shown that there are no limitations on how we should think about work. Listen to your people, solicit ideas – the innovation may surprise you. As for the “return to normal”? One CHRO smiled and told me, “Let’s face it – normal was a hot mess, so I’m in no hurry to return to the way things were.”
With warm regards,
— Mark
Founder/managing principal, IA
The War for Skills – Discussions Continue
Last month we shared that Mark Stelzner and Mary Faulkner presented their initial thoughts around the War for Skills during a webinar hosted by Human Resources Executive. Click here to view the recording of the webinar.
Since then, the team has been further exploring the connection of the employee experience to how organizations help workers learn, do, rest and reskill. Mark and Mary shared their perspective on the importance of thinking differently about work and the people doing that work at the HR LEADer online summit May 13, 2020.
The culmination of these conversations will be delivered at HR Tech 2020: Winning the War for Skills.
Voice of HR
Candor and Transparency: Contract Renegotiation in a Time of Change
Contract renegotiation – it is time to schedule open, honest, and transparent conversations with your external HR service providers. Mark shares reasons why you might need to renegotiate with your providers, how to prepare for the conversation, and what elements should be part of the discussion.
Where You Can Find Us
IA is excited to be featured as speakers/presenters in some of the industry’s most thought-provoking events, including:
- July 22, 2020: Mark and Mary are pleased to join another webinar with HR Executive. This is just a teaser! More details coming soon!
- October 13-16, 2020: At this year’s HR Tech Conference, Mark and Mary are back with the follow up to their April webinar, sharing recommendations on Winning the War for Skills.
On Our Radar
There is so much being written about returning to work and dealing with the “new normal” – it’s hard to avoid it! Here are some articles we wanted to share:
- Some of us have always lamented the proliferation of the open office plan – and it might finally be on its last legs, but not for the reasons you might be thinking. Vanity Fair explores the history and potential future of the open office in A Pandemic Won’t Kill the Open Office, but Slack Could.
- As people face the prospect of returning to the office on a regular basis, Fast Company published one employee’s account of what it looks like as an architect in China. It’s a fascinating look at what temp checks, face masks, and social distancing looks like for office workers.
- And finally, because we all love to make fun of the language of business, this surprisingly detailed look at buzzwords from The Atlantic makes for a fun – and informative – read. Which ones are you most guilty of using?
About IA
IA is a boutique consulting firm focused on HR transformation.
Our seasoned team of professionals brings deep domain experience and Fortune 1000-ready tools to help you capture the functional, operational, financial, technical, legal, regulatory, and strategic impacts of your transformational HR initiative.
Because we’ve worked with all kinds of organizations (large and small, public and private, domestic and international), we have a cross-functional, strategic perspective. And we’re not scared away by big, messy problems.
Learn more at ia-hr.com.
Share this post
