Transition

On To Onboarding

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The hiring decision has been made. References checked. Offer of employment made and accepted. Ready to move on to the next new hire process? Not so fast.

Just when you think the recruitment process is over, there is one more step to go – setting up the employee for a positive start to their new job. The last step of a successful recruitment campaign is also the first step for ensuring that all of the hard work put into hiring the right person transitions into a successful employment relationship for all involved. While we may think that the outcome of a recruitment process is the hiring of a new employee, the bigger outcome is the establishment of a long-term commitment by both the employer and the new employee to work together and achieve organizational goals.

This is where a successful on-boarding program comes into play. Think of the excitement that most people have on the first day of their new job. If there is nothing provided by the employer to meet that excitement, disappointment steps in. Very quickly, that new employee may decide to become an ex-employee, which means the recruitment process will have to be rolled out all over again.

A recent American based survey, indicates that up to 30% of new hires will leave their employer within the first 90 days of work, if they feel they have not been properly integrated into their new work environment. The reduction of that potential loss is explored in response to these survey results by providing simple but effective tips that connect ‘both the hearts and minds’ of new recruits.

Click here to read the need for on-boarding article.

As suggested in the article, the content of any first day on-boarding program sets the tone for the days that follow for new employees.

Let’s make sure those days are worth all of the effort it took to get them started.

Discussion Questions:

  1. At your most recent place of employment did you receive an orientation or an on-boarding session? How did the process work for you?
  2. After the first three months with your current employer, did you consider leaving? Why or why not?
  3. What advice would you give to an employer about the benefits of having an on-boarding program that is directly connected to a recruitment strategy?

Is Artificial Intelligence a Digital Doomsday or a Bonanza for HR?

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Artificial Intelligence (AI), natural language processing, and deep learning are all current technology trends which will impact the working world. What will all this advanced technology do to current workplace relationships and HR Departments?

Will it be a digital doomsday where intelligent machines radically eradicate all jobs with the precision of a laser cutting through butter? Or will it be a bonanza for workers and HR with the rise of intelligent, more productive machines that will allow humans to be more innovate and creative?

Let us discuss both perspectives. There has been a long understanding that during any technological revolution that disrupts society it will also displace workers.

At one point in time, there were only two jobs in society: hunters and gatherers. Then, we became farmers which lead to the displacement of 90% of the hunters and gatherers. Farm equipment became more efficient, which put 90% of farmers out of work and the farmers had to transition into factory workers. Then, the knowledge workers started to replace the factory workers.

You can easily see the historical trend in which technology disrupts the workplace.  We can see that AI may start to replace knowledge workers such as doctors, lawyers and accountants. Deep learning machines can now process information and learn from it much faster than humans do.  What will the workers of the future do?

Odds are that AI technology will significantly disrupt the traditional workplace. How can HR be a part of the digital AI revolution? According to an article published in HRD by Rachael Ranosa, which summarizes a CIPD study, there are five things an HR Department can do:  (Click here to read the article)

  1. Develop an implementation strategy for AI and current work integration
  2. HR needs to use AI to make new jobs more meaningful
  3. Allow employees to become more innovative in the workplace
  4. Involve employees in the technology change
  5. Continually develop employees

It may not all be doomsday for workers, according to CIPD. AI and technology are creating as many jobs as they are eliminating.

If history repeats itself, AI and new technology will disrupt a significant portion of the workforce, But if HR is involved and implements the correct strategies, it can lessen the impact on employees and create more meaningful jobs in the future.

Discussion Question

  • Research and create a list of which jobs or professions in the next 10 years may be displaced by technology. Pick two and develop a HR strategic plan to reduce the impact on those employees.

The Changing Role of Change Management

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Birds on a wire, one offset from the rest
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It seems trite to say that change is difficult. There is nothing simple about change or the numerous variables that go along with it.  Even the concept of defining change, as a process of interlocking steps, is complex and challenging.

When we think about our own personal reactions to change, how many of us have decided to do something differently just because someone else suggested we should? The answer to that is probably, never.

Most of us need multiple, compelling reasons to make changes in our lives, both positive and negative.  We need constant reinforcement along the path to making a successful change.  We need someone to push us forward when the backwards pull of inertia is too strong.  We need someone to shake us out of our familiar habits when they become far too tempting and we want to go back to the comfort of where we began.  We need someone to show us why we should make the change.  We need someone to give us concrete rewards once we have achieved success along the way. We need others to be engaged with us all the way along.

Having said that, there is nothing linear about the change management process.  It does not follow a straight path from the decision to make a change to a successful conclusion where the change is complete and nothing else happens.   For some of us, we go through significant changes without even realizing that they have happened until we have had time to reflect and observe that which is different in our lives between ‘now’ and ‘then’.  Again, we may need someone else to point out that we are in a different place, if we are not able to see it for ourselves when we get there.

In the complexity of the change process, we must rely on numerous sources to help us through the most challenging of times.  It is no different for organizations when they go through similar change processes.

Successful organizations must rely on the commitment from multiple sources to keep the change process moving forward.  Catherine Smithson outlines the need for a variety of roles within organizations managing change.

Click Here to Read the Article.

While Smithson is clear in identifying the need for a Change Management leader, she also identifies the continuing need to have multiple roles committed to the process in different parts of the organization. Organizational change does not happen through the allocation of a change management project to one person in particular. It happens by having different roles embedded and committed to making change happen. These roles must push, pull, challenge, reward, and reflect upon the complexities of the journey along the way.

Change might be good, but surely, it is not easy to do it alone.

Discussion Questions:

  1. When thinking about your own experience, when you wanted to make a change who did you rely upon to make that change happen?
  2. What types of pressures would force an organization to make changes?
  3. What types of rewards do employees need to stay on the path of continued change?
  4. How can organizations identify the completion of a change process?
  5. Which roles or functions in an organization must be involved in making change happen?

Good News, Bad News

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Reading Between the Lines

In 2014, Tim Horton’s was acquired by 3G Capital Partners LP.  Since then, it seems that the acquisition is destined for success as the parent company (3G Capital) and its shareholders are reaping profitable rewards.   These profits did not come from an unplanned, accidental approach.  Instead, there have been and will continue to be, specific and tangible HR business strategies implemented as the company continues through the transition phase of the acquisition process.

Two intertwined arrows graphic
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Click Here to Read the Article 

Where do the profits come from?  The article speaks to the streamlining of services, cost efficiency and a new zero based approach to budgeting.  What does this mean?  Job loss, restructuring, outsourcing, downsizing, changes to infrastructure, and culture shift.  The acquisition and merger of Tim Horton’s into an international parent company provides us with evidence of what the theory looks like in actual practice.  Each of these elements has been part of the theoretical Strategic HR Planning discussions that have been included in course of study.

The ‘real life’ end result provides for a good news story about a successful acquisition and merger based on a profitable reward.  What is not included in the story, so far, is the reality of this profitable success and its impact on the hundreds of employees who have lost their jobs.

This too should be included in the tangible HR business strategy, as this particular story continues to unfold.

 Discussion Questions:

  1. Identify three HR business strategies that, when implemented, will result in increased efficiency for 3G Capital Partners LP.
  2. What are the back office functions that could and should be outsourced when two companies merge?
  3. What types of HR programs would help employees as they move through the transition phase of an acquisition or merger?
  4. In your opinion, is this a good news story? Why or why not?