By Brian Mitchell, Managing Partner & CEO
The CHRO is tasked with many responsibilities, initiatives, and measurements, however not all are tangible. Take the concept of ‘culture’ for example – is it measurable? Perhaps employee retention is indicative of a good culture, but if the population of long-tenured staff lack innovation or exceptional production, is it a positive that mediocre employees stay? There’s what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said, “I know it when I see it”, the so-called eye test or (translated) that palpable feeling of momentum, pride, loyalty, motivation, challenge, growth, and energy. Then again, the CEO’s perception of a great culture might not equate to his/her middle management or individual contributors. And don’t get me started on the irrelevance of Glassdoor! Specific to talent management, how does the CHRO measure the effectiveness of key talent management initiatives throughout the organization as they experience different inflection points of the business?
Key talent management initiatives might include:
Leadership development, talent acquisition, performance management, learning and development, skill gap analysis, succession planning, skill & career development, high potential talent programs, diversity & inclusion compliance…are all key to a culture that attracts and retains star performers.
Key inflection points of evaluation might include:
Employee growth from X to X2 (100 to 500 to 1000 to 5000, to 50,000+), post-acquisition integration, post substantial RIF, post IPO, post major change in system/strategy/ELT, post downturn in sector, etc.
A few concepts people leaders need to consider include:
- Align HR technology strategy with evolving business priorities in a changing technological landscape while minimizing disruptions to the overall roadmap. The HR tech platform should also cover the entire employee journey from hire to exit.
- Institute a dynamic review process on macro-triggers and business changes, ensure alignment of solutions with employees’ professional goals. And track that data for trends, misses, and future-proofing.
- Establish a governance mechanism for assessing HR tech/services/program investments collectively rather than as isolated projects.
- Given retention hinges on the allure of compelling careers, employees often depart in pursuit of enhanced professional development and improved compensation. Some attrition is actually positive, but old paradigms that force good employees (at all levels) to other suitors simply because they’re in the wrong band/quadrant are plain silly.
- Superior compensation, enriched professional growth prospects, and more promising career trajectories are all influential factors in this equation. Companies, more specifically budget holders, need to give adequate weight to all these factors.
- Gaps in digitizing talent management will pose a business risk. The convergence of operational efficiency with strategic vision, baked into the digital age, assures a path forward for HR. When done right, this will also drive productivity at the employee level.
- Leveraging AI to drive data analysis, track KPI’s captured from the digitized system, all whilst ensuring human interaction and communication remain. Ignoring the impact of AI within HR is a recipe for irrelevance, but so is replacing sincere communication. AI strategy for CHROs is its own white paper, let alone a single blog!
These are only a few concepts and ideas around methods for ensuring data is measurable in the world of HR. It’s incredibly more nuanced and complex than can be articulated in a blog, but a silver bullet solution wasn’t the intent of my words. This is really about the lens of the CHRO as a business leader, as an executive looking out for the overall health of the business and its most important asset – its people.