Strategic Human Capital Insights

Does your organization have a structure that has both a hierarchy and matrix structure? To clarify:

• Hierarchy - A hierarchy structure is the traditional organizational structure broken down into functions. A manager heads up the function with employees reporting to the manager. It is depicted in the typical organization chart format.
  
  
• Matrix - A matrix structure is a fluid ‘structure’ that is typically described by the following statement: “This is the org chart, but here is how the organization really works.” It is depicted by an ‘organigram’© that is a spaghetti chart of interlinked solid and dotted lines. The solid lines represent the traditional organization chart. The dotted lines represent the fluid matrix interactions.

If your answer to the above question is yes, then you are like many other organizations. As the nature of work has changed over the years, the matrix organization has evolved to become today’s new normal. In a matrix organization, your people need to be responsive to a functional boss but also accountable and responsive to the many others in the matrix with whom they are linked, represented by the organigram’s dotted lines.

In the matrix organization, the rules of engagement are gray and cloudy, and the skills that are needed are both the knowledge skills and, just as importantly, the soft skills. In the matrix organization, when things are working correctly, getting the work done looks effortless. However, effortless takes a lot of effort. But when things go wrong in the matrix, they go very wrong. To make the matrix work effortlessly, employees need to know what is expected of them (covered in our next blog) and the skills they need to make the matrix work.

So, now your employees want to continue to work remotely. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons from both the employee and employer perspective.

In response to COVID-19 and quarantine restrictions, many employees were forced to work remotely. A situation that would have once seemed inconceivable, has now become a reality. As many employees have started to now return to the office, what are the pros and cons of working remotely?

From the Employee Perspective: 

Pros of Working Remotely

• Working remotely really suits my lifestyle.

• I can get my work done so why do I need to go back to the office? I have flexibility about when I put my 8 hours in. 

• Why does the company need to spend money on office space? I can work from anywhere.  Why don’t they give me the money instead of using it for a facility? 

• Can’t I work part-time from home and part-time in the office?

• I really like not having to get dressed up for work.

This is a guest blog post written by Rodney Nelson, Vice President of Client Operations for the Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

A Multi-Faceted Process Flowchart Approach

For the past four years, I have been supporting local Arizona manufacturing businesses, providing them with a wide range of organizational development and training services. What I have found is that these businesses are looking for training they believe will help their teams and companies work more efficiently. Whether a company is choosing to do a single or numerous training and development sessions, the chance of that training sticking past the first two weeks is very slim.

How Can You ‘Make It Stick’? 
The “it” could be any type of change where employees are learning a new skill and are expected to use that skill going forward. Yes, we have all heard the saying, “you need management buy-in” but, unfortunately, that is not enough. Management’s expectations need to be documented all the way down the chain of command, and we need to hold both the workers and supervisors accountable.

How to Keep Your Human Capital Continuous Improvement Process© Continuous

Now that your performance review process is over, and the forms are all filed away, the important part of the job awaits! Reviews should not be done for the sake of reviews and end up in the HR department. The review process should be the first step in the many steps of the ongoing employee development process.

So, What Comes Next?
In a robust human capital continuous improvement process, it’s time to make sure that employee performance and capacity stays aligned with: 

• Strategic goals and initiatives of the organization
• Skills and knowledge needed to stay relevant with the evolving business skills and tools for today and tomorrow
  
  

1. Create Individual Employee Development Plans
It’s time to data-mine the rich information in the Performance Reviews and identify the gaps in knowledge, skills and tools. From that information, create an on-going monthly / quarterly development plan for each employee. In today’s changing world, skills are eroding faster than before and new knowledge and skills are required to help employees stay current and relevant to the job demands and optimize the many business tools available. Development plans are the mechanism to ensure that employee skills and knowledge stay aligned with organizational goals.

Here are some skills to evaluate:

• Technical Knowledge and Skills
• Business Tools Knowledge and Skills
• Professional Skills (communication, critical thinking, effective presentations, etc.)
• Leadership Skills (at all levels)
• Customer Experience / Culture Skills

Like everything else in business today that is undergoing constant growth and change, the strategic review of the Performance Review process is not exempt. Too often, outdated, irrelevant performance review forms, which drive the performance review process, are kept in place without question.  However, this form should be in a state of constant review, since strategically-aligned performance is critical to any high-growth organization.

As often as your strategy is reviewed, that’s how often your performance review form should be reviewed, as well.  Why?  The accompanying job description will likely be evolving and / or completely changing.  And, as new skills are required to perform a task, these new skills and competencies must be reevaluated, as well.

A Typical Example 

A paper-intensive and manual ordering process has been replaced by a software application that virtually eliminates paper from the process.  This will allow orders to bypass the customer service department and move directly into the fulfillment department.  Only exceptional cases will now be handled by the customer service department.  The clerical function of routinely double checking for correct orders and sales tax has been replaced by software.  Four things will happen:

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Joanne Flynn's co-authored career development book, Brand YOU, Brand NEW, a Step-by-Step Guide to Take Your Career to the Next Level.📚
 

Joanne Toth Flynn and Elyse Flynn Meyer, a mother-daughter team, co-authored, Brand YOU, Brand NEW  from a multigenerational perspective. Through their collaborative approach, they provide a range of universal perspectives to help you optimize your personal Brand YOU. This book takes you through the critical steps needed to proactively manage your brand and your personal development. The goal is to put you in the ultimate career control seat.

Are you ready to take an organizational Quality Assurance diagnostic?

As organizations move through continual change, the need to stay up-to-date and relevant is now a strategic imperative.  Nowhere in the organization is this more relevant than to a Quality Assurance Department whose function it is to maintain quality, always, despite the change swirling around it.  The challenge for managing quality assurance in a changing workplace is analogous to changing the tires on a car while the car is traveling at 60 miles per hour.  As difficult as it may seem, the goal is to always maintain Quality Assurance.

The employee handbook may be underestimated, but it is certainly strategic!

Do you really need an employee handbook? This question predictably comes up when I speak with company management, often because the Employee Handbook is considered moderately useful but not on the top of management’s priority list. Why is that? Because often the Employee Handbook:

• Isn’t current
• Doesn’t cover the full range of issues
• Isn’t specific enough to be meaningful
• Isn’t given to new employees
• Isn’t used by management

However, one thing is for certain, when something goes wrong in an organization, the following happens:

• From the manager’s perspective: Managers look to the Employee Handbook for guidance and protection from liability.
  
  
• From the employee's perspective: Employees look to the Employee Handbook for guidance and protection from liability or loopholes created by omission or ambiguity.

Both employee and manager loyalty has always been considered a good thing. So what’s changed? When does being loyal long-term, at all costs, go from a virtue to a liability?

The concept of "change" has changed everything. When companies grew at normal rates, and change was incremental and predictable, manager and employee loyalty could keep pace with each other and with the direction of the organization. Now, however, when organizations are growing fast and adapting to new technology, new processes and methods, increased customer demands, and additional new employees, the predictable static environment that many employees are comfortable with, have morphed into chaotic, change-driven, unpredictable frontiers where the old rules and controls have evaporated. Increasing, the latter describes today’s work reality. 

Here are some important questions to consider when thinking about manager loyalty:

• What does it mean for the employee who is attached to the old rules and controls and is having real issues adapting to the new work reality? 

• What does it mean for new employees who don’t know the old rules and controls and don’t really need to work under those constraints since that work environment has shifted?

• What does it mean for the manager who must manage these two conflicting and competing employee needs?

A critical question for today’s leadership: Are your employees appreciating in value, maintaining their value, or declining in value?

Businesses consistently refer to employees as “their most valuable assets.” However, when we look at how organizations view employees, many fail to deliver on that mantra. Employee management continues to be based on models developed in the late 20th century. Along with outdated employee management models, we see Human Resources struggle to transition from organizational operations, support, and compliance to a true strategic partner role.

In that role, Human Resources must drive Human Asset Management Strategy (HAMS) to encourage leaders to shift their approach to the critical element of success - employees.