Can - Do People Trust HR?

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©JR_MTX_Trust
August was by no means silent, only vacated. We are back ...

All things considered, I doubt that HR hears the whole story. I am also convinced that leadership cannot hear all voices in places where no formal HR exists, such as in smaller organizations or units of larger ones. On the other hand, I highly doubt that leaders hear any story that does not resonate with them. Indeed, do YOU want to know? The questions remain: what resonates with leaders and do people trust HR?

Can HR  Pull and Push Stories?

In one organization, managers and high level employees would come to my office and sit down to chat while waiting for their turn to see a VP of the company. My office happened to be accross the hall from his, and I was accessible: we had an open door policy. And they would tell their stories: how and why they came to join the company, how they accepted the position, what their concerns were,  their personal passions or issues at the time, or at any time. It were moments of sharing and listening. They did not necessarily needed an answer from me: they just needed to share and I would listen. I would feel the pulse of the company. If you allow time for it, you will learn insider views and with have a better grasp of the true history of the company, of the people who make it.

Likewise, in another organization, whenever I had my "mandated" weekly meetings with employees representatives, I could hear so many stories! They did not always fall into the "process" but they were stories of lives, of employees hurdles, of the company's "unheard" or "unseen" issues; There were also stories of suggestions and hope and ownership of company issues.
Those are the times that become valuable to you when you concoct or revise policies, or when you draft and submit that HR project that the Board requests via the CHRO, or when you come across some employee relations issues. That is also your qualitative data gathering. Questionable? I would say, worth listening for recruiting and engagement matters, and many others.

But then, I hear you: Who has time to listen when one has meetings to attend, places to be, teleconference after teleconference to be part of, field visits to assume, reports to submit, projects to write, metrics to meet, emails to read, phone calls to answer, and why not a door to close?! No wonder people do not trust HR. Irony of ironies...

What Matters?

  •  Relevancy,  Organization Health, and Company Goals 
Consequently it is important that:

- HR make time to listen to relevant matters - Irrelevancy is bred by internal culture of Game of Thrones.
- HR is able to tell the analyzed story to the Leadership - The story has to be "user-focused" to be effective
- The story resonates with the Leadership - People analytics?
- The Leadership is willing to take actions to complete the story to bring it to a full circle.

In times of (possibly) questionable and increasing crying foul and organizational and economic distress for many organizations, HR can start the season with a fresh and candid approach to its story to built or rebuilt, and clear the clouds.

En Synthèse....

C'est la rentrée: soyons à l’écoute pour  recommencer notre histoire... 

Un nouveau départ, du bon pied qui:
  1. Tient compte de ce qui vraiment compte pour l'organisation. Les problèmes de société deviennent des problèmes d'entreprise. L'enjeu n'est pas la "petite histoire" ou guéguerre personnelle;
  2. Ressort de l'analyse. Les RH doivent transmettre une histoire qui sort de l'analyse qualitative tout autant que quantitative. 
  3. Touche pour de bon l'attention des leaders. Les RH doivent parler le language des leaders.
    Pensons entre autres People analytics;
  4. Incite les leaders a reformuler la direction a prendre. Le message doit pousser les leaders a rectifier le tir, et boucler le tout, comme de besoin.
Nous sommes à la croisée des chemins: autres temps, autres mœurs. Les RH doivent penser autrement pour changer l'histoire d'entreprise et éclaircir un ciel devenu bien trop nuageux.


 

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