Tag Archives: Expectations

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Supporting HR Part 5: Respect for HR

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When I Googled “What support does HR need”, Google’s search suggestions were all about what people want and need from HR professionals, rather than what the HR professionals need. I asked HR professionals about the challenges they face and the support they need. To review, here is what I found (in order of importance):

  1. Leadership backing
  2. Emotional & psychological support
  3. Respect for the value HR adds
  4. Strategic focus
  5. Resourcing
  6. Soft skills development
  7. Aligned expectations

This post is part 5 of a seven-part series exploring each of these in turn from 7 (Aligned expectations) through to 1 (Leadership backing). Part 5 of the series is all about developing respect for the value HR adds. Respect as a verb means to:

“Admire (someone or something) deeply,as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.” 

(Oxford Dictionary)

WIFM: Why it matters (to you – the HR Professional)

If we look through the lens of Martin Seligman’s Theory of well-being model (PERMA), lack of  perceived respect from key stakeholders in the organisation is likely to result in feeling negative emotions, feeling disconnected from others, and feeling that you do not have a core purpose within an organisation.

Furthermore, if you as a HR Professional are respected for the value you add to an organisation, you are likely to be included in and expected to contribute to discussions around strategy and are more likely to have access to the resources (time, financial, headcount) you need to succeed.

But how do you get that respect? Consider the following quote:

 

 

‘Kim (HR Professional) is respected by everyone they work with,

leaders and frontline staff alike.

They are respected for their strategic approach to talent management.

This meant that our business was ahead of the game when the market fell,

with minimal job losses and maxim shareholder return.’

(Riley – fictitious CEO)

 

 

The elements to notice in this sentence are:

Who = who is doing the respecting: leader and frontline staff

Why = the reason for respect and why it is important to the organisation(aka ‘value add’): minimisation of job losses and maximising shareholder return

How = the attributes that gained respect: strategic approach to talent management

These questions are exactly what you need to ask yourself if you, as a HR Professional want to be respected for the value you add to your organisation and its people. In a nutshell:

1.   Who do you want respect from?

2.   Why would they respect you? (i.e. what do they value?)

3.   How will you gain that respect? 

 

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1.    Who do you want respect from?

Before jumping into solution mode it is important to take a customer-centric view. This means that your starting point should be to identify the key stakeholders (KSH) you want to have respect for the value HR brings to the organisation. Think about your executive team, middle and line managers, and employees. You might also want to consider external stakeholders such as the suppliers, customers, the local community, and trade unions. Then prioritise which stakeholders are the most  important for you in terms of gaining their respect.

Most importunately, don’t bother expecting and seeking out respect from the business if you aren’t first clear in yourself about the value HR adds to the business.

 

 “Before you can expect respect from others,

you have to respect yourself”

 

2.    Why should they respect you? 

Photo by Juliana Amorim on Unsplash

Once you  have identified your KSH’s, you now need to identify what they value in terms of HR services. My advice here is pretty much the same as the advice I gave  in my article on aligning expectations. That is, DON’T ASSUME you know what your KSH’s value and would respect your for. Whilst you might be able to make an educated guess, to get to the truth you need to go to the source and ASK. Then listen.

If you work with a large stakeholder group you probably can’t speak with everyone.  In this case there are a couple of things you can do:

  • Send out a simple survey asking for input
  • Run a focus group with representatives from each of your stakeholder groups (don’t forget to include other HR professionals in your organisation).

What your KSH’s value from HR is probably very similar to their expectations of HR which means you can kill two birds with the one stone (no offence to birds).

Photo by Kawtar CHERKAOUI on Unsplash

3.    How will you gain that respect?

To gain respect for the value HR adds to your organisation you need to first close the gap between KSH needs and wants of HR and current reality. That is, do the stuff your KSH’s value. But that’s not usually enough. You also need to tell them.

Erik van Vulpen talks about the HR value chain and a tool to show the added value of HR. It’s a simple three-step process that starts that clearly shows how HR activities lead to organisational goals. Try it for yourself and then show your KSH’s.

You can further reinforce with your KSH’s how HR adds value by showing them data. Use metrics to show them the amount of money you saved the organisation, how many employees you helped get promoted, the amount of time you saved by streamlining processes. Paint a picture that clearly shows your KSH’s how they and the organisation have benefitted from your targeted and meaningful contributions.

Remember, the three key questions you need to answer to get respect for the value you add to your organisation as a HR Professional are:

1.    Who do you want respect from?

2.    Why would they respect you? (i.e. what do they value?)

3.    How will you gain that respect? 

Failure to gain respect for your value-add within an organisation can be detrimental to you, your stakeholders and the organisation. Respect will not only gain a lot more job satisfaction, but you will find that you are included in more strategy meetings, consulted on a wider range of business issues and gain the buy-in from the business to enable you to succeed across a range of HR initiatives.

About Shift Consulting

As a Workplace Psychologist I want to support HR in the workplace because I believe that real change happens where the people are. And none of us can do it alone.

If you want to know more about shifting mindsets through coaching or groupwork, check out my website www.shiftconsulting.com.au or get in touch via email, phone or on LinkedIn.

If you are interested in receiving my follow-up newsletters, click here to get on my mailing list for your HR Support Insights newsletters. Also, if you find you have similar support needs highlighted in this article, I am also offering a 20-minute quasi-coaching session on how you might get the support you need. Obligation free.

small shift – Big Change

Supporting HR Part 1 : Getting on the same page

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When I Googled “What support does HR need”, Google’s search suggestions were all about what people want and need from HR professionals, rather than what the HR professionals need. I asked HR professionals about the challenges they face and the support they need. To review, here is what I found (in order of importance):

  1. Leadership backing
  2. Emotional & psychological support
  3. Respect for the value HR adds
  4. Strategic focus
  5. Resourcing
  6. Soft skills development
  7. Aligned expectations

This post kicks off the first of a seven-part series exploring each of these in turn from 7 (Aligned expectations) through to 1 (Leadership backing). The first of the series is all about how HR professionals might go about ensuring the organisation, employees, and HR professionals are on the same page when it comes to expectations of HR.

“HR is Useless” – what the ???

I think we can all agree that an effective human resources service is key to organisational success. However, I often hear employees and leaders complain that “HR is useless”. I suspect that the perception of HR as being useless has a lot to do with expectations of employees and leaders being misaligned with HR’s expectations and reality. This belief is reinforced by the paychex survey, which shows a disconnect between what people expect HR’s job to be and what they actually spend their time on.

When there is misalignment of expectations, misunderstandings and conflict are more likely to occur resulting in reduced productivity, disengagement, and burnout of everyone involved, including the HR Professional.

On the flip side, when expectations about HR’s role are aligned, managers, employees, and the HR professional have a shared and clear understanding of the role HR plays in the organisation. When expectations are aligned, adequate resourcing for the HR department is also more likely to follow. Furthermore, if expectations of the role HR plays is clear, then HR is able to more effectively contribute meaningfully to the strategic direction of the organisation. Everyone wins.

With the number of different expectations of HR in the workplace, it is important to ensure that expectations are aligned. But how? There are three key steps you can take to create expectation alignment of your role as a HR professional in your organisation:

  1. Don’t Assume! Identify current expectations
  2. Identify expectation gaps
  3. Bridge the gaps

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

1. Identify current expectations.

My first piece of critical advice is DON’T ASSUME you know where misalignment exists or what other peoples’ expectations of HR are. You (and I) are not mind readers. Sure, you might be able to make an educated guess but if you want to get to the truth you need to go to the source and ASK. Then listen. The added bonus is that if you ask by having conversations with your stakeholders, you are building a stronger relationship with them through trust building, the likely outcome of which is to make your job a lot easier down the track.

If you work with a large stakeholder group you probably can’t speak with everyone to identify their expectations of HR as a function and yourself as a HR professional.   In this case there are a couple of things you can do:

  • Send out a simple survey asking for input
  • Run a focus group with representatives from each of your stakeholder groups (don’t forget to include other HR professionals in your organisation)

The other key piece of information you need before you know if there is a misalignment in expectations is your own expectations about your role within the organisation.

“I went into HR because I’m a people person.”  

Sound familiar? As a HR professional you need to be clear on how you see your role within the organisation, how you measure success, and your expectations of how your stakeholders interact with YOU.

Photo by Drew Graham on Unsplash

2. Identify expectation gaps

Before developing a strategy to align expectations, use the information you have gathered about expectations of your stakeholders (employees, managers, leaders in the business, other HR functions) and your own expectations to identify the nature of any gaps and their causes.

This step can be as simple as grabbing a sheet of paper and listing out everyone’s expectations, grouping them into themes, then analyzing where any differences in expectations exist.

For example, your expectation as a HR professional might be that it is as manager’s role to solve employee disputes. However, most managers have told you that they believe it is your role to manage any and all employee disputes.

3. Bridge the gaps

Once you have defined the expectations that exist on all sides and identified any gaps in expectations, it’s time to bridge those gaps. Word of caution: don’t assume that your expectations about your role are the ‘correct’ expectations!

Ideally, alignment occurs as a result of mutual agreement and understanding through dialogue. Personally, I wouldn’t  rely on too heavily on establishing or amending policies and employee documentation. Whilst it is important to have policies that accurately reflect expectations, most people don’t have the time to read policies and documentation to the letter so they will tend to fall back to default assumptions about the role of HR. If you rely too heavily on policy documentation, you also risk creating a transactional relationship with your stakeholders thus diminishing their trust and openness to engaging with you as a HR Professional.

Tips to align expectations:

  • Use intentional language.  Don’t use words that leave open even the possibility for a misunderstanding. Be specific in your language e.g. rather than “my role as a HR Professional is to support you as a leader”, be clear about what that ‘support’ looks like e.g. “As a HR Professional, I will support you by providing advice on Employment Relations laws, developing a competency framework for leaders in the organisation” etc.
  • Check the other person’s understanding. Don’t ask closed or leading questions e.g. “Do you understand my role as HR professional?” (they will most likely just  say ‘yes’). Instead, ask open questions e.g. “What do you  understand about my role as HR professional?”.
  • Try using a personal ReadMe document like those  from Silicon Valley’s Top Tech Companies which is especially useful when starting a new relationship with your stakeholders.
  • Keep the conversation going. Don’t stop making sure that expectations are aligned. Check in with your stakeholders on a regular basis. The world of work continues to change rapidly so keep on top of where you and your stakeholders are at in terms of expectations of HR as a key business resource.

Photo by Louis Francia on Unsplash

So there we have it. It’s really that simple. The three key steps you can take to get on the same page as others in your organisation:

  1. Don’t Assume! Identify current expectations
  2. Identify expectation gaps
  3. Bridge the gaps

Remember, failure to align expectations can be detrimental to you, your stakeholders and the organisation. If you align expectations, you will be rewarded with increased productivity, higher levels of engagement and a stronger, more positive workplace culture. Oh, and you will gain a lot more job satisfaction as a result.

If you have any other strategies to build expectation alignment of HR within an organisation, I would love to hear about them!

Why am I doing this?

As a Workplace Psychologist I want to support HR in the workplace because I believe that this is where real change happens – where the people are. And none of us can do it alone.

If you want to know more about shifting mindsets through coaching or groupwork, check out my website www.shiftconsulting.com.au or feel free to get in touch via email, phone or reach out to me on LinkedIn.

If you are interested in receiving my follow-up newsletters, click here to get on my mailing list for your HR Support Insights newsletters. Also, if you find you have similar support needs highlighted in this article, I am also offering a 20 minute quasi-coaching session on how you might get the support you need. Obligation free.

small shift – Big Change