Now that the economy is entering the “new normal” characterized by a suppressed economy and the ever-looming threat of lockdowns snapping back, many professionals are re-evaluating their agendas. In the first deep-dive interview on “,” SuccessFactors COO (MEE) Dr. Florian Dreifus laid out three clear priorities for HR during these challenging times:

1.     Ensure business continuity

The first wave of lockdowns caught many businesses off guard: How do you enable your workforce to work remotely from one day to another? How do you onboard new hires without meeting them? How are you supposed to sign contracts without being in the same room? The upshot of this shock therapy was that, for digitalized companies, the transition into home offices went reasonably well.

On the other hand, the weak spots in the tech stacks of many businesses have become painfully obvious: Dr. Dreifus cites the example of an HR department that saw its paper-based process of having managers sign bonus letters interrupted by the lockdown. The department was essentially forced to retrieve the letter from the house mail and resend it via external mail, leading to significant confusion and delay.

Investing in technology would not only help to avoid such awkward situations in the event of an eventual snap-back of lockdown measures. It would also prepare businesses to reap productivity benefits that will outlast the looming economic downturn.

Take remote work as an example: As Dr. Dreifus cites, many organizations will decide to keep working remotely on a larger scale even when the epidemic-related necessity has abated. According to ASUG, 40% of American 51ˇçÁ÷users plan to work from home at least sometimes, even after the crisis, while only 7% of the American workforce previously had the option to do so, according to the . Clearly, remote work is here to stay. So, any investment in enabling remote work will not only safeguard your business continuity in a time of increased operational uncertainty, it will be the best preparation for the new way of working that arises from it.

2.     Listen and create trust

This is not only a period of heightened uncertainty for HR departments but also for employees. For many of them, it was a traumatic initial couple of weeks: Being sent home on a few days’ notice, having to work from the kitchen table with kids interrupting their Zoom calls, and not knowing whether their job would fall prey to an emergency headcount reduction soon. In a situation like this, Dr. Dreifus points out, it is important to reach out to employees and, even more importantly, make them heard inside the organization.

This is where the paradigmatic shift from human capital management (HCM) to human experience management (HXM) becomes most apparent: Instead of viewing and treating employees as assets at the disposal of the company, HR departments more and more focus on the feelings of the human beings in the business. The , for example, helps managers and HR departments understand the emotional situations and needs of their co-workers as they are sitting at home working.

As noted above, physically separated working situations could become the norm rather than the exception. In addition, understanding and being able to respond to the needs of talent is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage in the labor market. Those businesses that are able to bridge the spatial distance to their employees will not only be more resilient in the upcoming time of uncertainty but will also have a leg up in the resurging war for talent once the economic engine fires up again.

3.     Establish transparency

The emotional and physical well-being of employees is an extremely valuable additional data point in times of spatially separated workplaces. But, as Dr. Dreifus emphasizes, the current phase of uncertainty and volatility exposes the value of data on a much more general level.

An 51ˇçÁ÷customer from the retail industry, for example, was faced with a sudden lack of skilled employees in shops as demand started spiking when the lockdowns went into effect. According to Dr. Dreifus, however, the company was not only able to identify employees in headquarters who had the necessary training and experience but also prioritized the best locations for deploying them from a cost/benefit perspective. This type of agility is only possible for companies that have the relevant data on their people, their operations, and their finances at hand and can carry out the necessary reactions in an integrated IT system.

This is the Insight-to-Action principle applied in a crisis situation. But again, this type of capability is also helpful in day-to-day business operations: the Insight-to-Action principle is not only helpful in a situation where substantial resources need to be diverted centrally. This capability can also prove useful in the more operational strata of an enterprise.

By having transparency into the state of the process, receiving proactive suggestions on how to improve it, and finally, being able to take action in the same environment, operational users are able to move the needle substantially. An investment in real-time analytics and an integrated IT landscape does not only pay off in times of upheaval but is perfect preparation for the recovery.

The recession ahead will continue to provide numerous challenges to HR departments and employees alike: New guidelines for sharing physical spaces, organizational realignments, adapting the skillset of the workforce to shifting market demands – the list seems endless. However, digitalizing core processes will not only make them disruption-proof, but also more efficient.

Developing a better understanding of employees’ needs will not only make it easier for them to work remotely, but also strengthen their ties to the company. And being able to act on data-based insights will not only help steer the ship, but will also help it move in a more versatile manner once it’s back in the open sea.

The post Three Priorities for HR in the ‘New Normal’ and Beyond appeared first on 51ˇçÁ÷Africa News Center.

We all do our best work — and see better business outcomes — when we create individualized experiences for everyone.

That’s why it created a measure of excitement to learn that this year’s , being held February 17-18, is being rightfully called the “Human Experience Summit” for the first time. This marks a welcome and remarkable mind shift in our profession that’s long been in the making, with many organizations in the past year prioritizing employee experience as an essential element of business continuity. In fact, ensuring that employees are supported, engaged, and productive has proven key to several companies’ ability to survive and even grow during the tumultuous business climate of 2020 — and likely the foreseeable future.

A group of 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors experts have partnered with hundreds of HR teams at 51ˇçÁ÷customers in a variety of industries, helping them advance their human experience management (HXM) efforts by creating an HCM-to-HXM maturity curve. The curve looks at HR practices on a scale of one to five, starting with level one, “fragmented and reactive,” and going to level five, “purposeful with sustained success.” Put simply, level-five companies provide the optimal human experience, while level-one companies have the widest experience gap to close.

With the understanding that every organization is at a different level, we created the HXM pre-conference on February 16 (). Workshops, breakouts, and roundtables all ladder into the central question: What is HXM? The short answer: It’s about reimagining and establishing HR as a strategic function that crafts a people-centric approach in support of the larger corporate vision and objectives. That might sound nebulous, but it is rooted in the utmost practicality.

The pre-conference will focus on HXM basics, with the intent of giving participants a road map to transform their own organizations’ people strategies.

The pre-conference includes three one-hour workshops, followed by a live Q&A:

• Understanding the Employee Experience You Are Creating through the Lens of HXM (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
• The Discipline of Experience Management: Best Practices in Designing and Staffing Jobs from an Experience Perspective (12:30 – 1:30 p.m.)
• Adopting an HXM Mindset Using Data: Linking X and O Data (1:45 – 2:45 p.m.)

The event then kicks off on February 17 with a keynote from author and HR expert Laurie Ruettimann, whose mission is fixing work by telling stories and teaching leaders how to create workplace cultures that support, empower, and engage workers meaningfully. In a breakout session, will debut new global research that proves the link between good employee experience and business results. The research, commissioned by 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors, Qualtrics, and EY, is sure to build and sustain momentum toward leaving traditional HR orthodoxy in the past. The keynote and the breakout session will feature HR leaders as well. We’re especially excited about two interactive roundtable discussions on learning and recruiting.

If you want your organization to cultivate a positive culture and expedite the transformation to instituting effective programs that put employee needs at the center, the pre-conference is a great place to start.

The sooner we are all speaking the language and ideals of HXM, the sooner we’ll be able to impact our businesses — and the overall business environment — for the better.

Emily Wilson is Director of Solution Marketing for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

This article first appeared on the 51ˇçÁ÷Global News Center.

The post Rethinking Human Resources as Human Experience appeared first on 51ˇçÁ÷Africa News Center.

As organizations depend on their people to be more agile, they should do more to support their employees’ emotional and mental health, especially when many feel so burdened by uncertainty. The employee experience is more important than ever. Caring holistically for people is not just the right  thing to do, it’s what employers must do.

Here’s a compelling business case for companies to put employee well-being and experience first: A strong sense of connection and belonging at work is tied to increases of up to 34 percent in engagement, 31 percent in retention likelihood, and 13 percent in performance, according to the . Created together with Thrive Global, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors, Qualtrics, and Fortune, the Thrive XM Index is a comprehensive study of more than 20,000 U.S. employees at more than 900 companies. Companies have more tools than ever to support employee well-being and now, for the first time, they can connect the dots to business results.

The Best of Next: A Guide

When was the last time you felt like your best self at work? We want to help companies create more of those moments. Recognizing the impact of companies doing more to support employee well-being, Thrive Global and 51ˇçÁ÷are working to help companies, no matter their size or industry, do just that. To help HR leaders and managers address two of the most important issues for all remote, on-site, and hybrid workforces, we created two guides: “” and “.”

We want to help organizations keep employees safe and productive to ensure business continuity now and beyond. With practical tips, expert interviews, and how-to videos, these resources can help people and businesses lower stress and anxiety and build mental resilience during this unprecedented time.

Why Listening to Your Employees Makes You a Better Leader

In , Christine Andrukonis, the founder of Notion Consulting and an expert in helping leaders change behavior, explains that leaders need to gain insight into more aspects of their employees’ lives to understand them and help them be their best at work.

“I like to say that 50 percent of the work is about the work itself and 50 percent of the work is about what’s happening behind-the-scenes for the people involved in the work,” Andrukonis says. “And leaders have to have that mindset. Until they can appreciate that half of this success relies on human beings and what’s going on with them, it’s going to be really hard to optimize everything at one hundred percent.”

Why Trust and Empathy Are Key Ingredients of Leadership

Empathy – being able to identify with what other people are feeling or experiencing – may seem like an elementary concept, but it’s a key driver of job performance, according to . However, only 40 percent of business leaders display strong empathy skills.

We understand that being able to put yourself in another’s shoes is critical for social development, but what about in the professional world? Fortunately, empathy is a skill that can be developed, according to one that shares practical examples.

The first step is working on our relationships, and the bulk of that is done through communication, according to Terrence Seamon, an executive career transition consultant at The Ayers Group. “A leader has to be very real,” Seamon says. This requires leaders to share their own questions, concerns, and challenges with team members and demonstrate authenticity and vulnerability.

How Well Do You Know Your Employees’ Growth, Ambitions, and Motivations?

Does your boss understand your passions? Is your company asking what really drives people at work? Even experienced professionals need to do some soul searching to find answers, and employers can do their part to help. According to , for leaders to shift from focusing on the job to focusing on people, they need to start by concentrating on employees’ capabilities and then design work processes and systems around them – not the other way around.

This is one of the key findings of a recent 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors white paper, “.” Leaders need to understand that people are dynamic, with capabilities and motivations that change over time.

How to Shape a Workplace Culture That Works for Everyone

There is so much potential for organizations that want to invest in a culture that champions people of different ethnicities, cultures, abilities, backgrounds, and genders. But companies that embrace diversity and inclusion can find that it’s hard to get real results, despite genuine intentions. Minal Bopaiah, founder of , a strategy and design firm focused on designing a more inclusive and equitable world, to move the needle on creating an inclusive culture.

Bopaiah shares how several white business leaders wanted to do something meaningful by offering to mentor Black people in their professional fields. Bopaiah told them they had it backward. “You want to diversify your field?” she asked them. “Then I want you to go find the people in your field who are Black, or indigenous, or people of color who are already thought leaders in this space, so they can be your łžąđ˛ÔłŮ´Ç°ů.”

Fully recognizing that the best diversity and inclusion interventions are voluntary, Bopaiah suggests creating an environment that allows tough, meaningful conversations. We have so much to learn from one another, and leaders can offer support so we can do so inclusively.

A New Way of Working

The COVID-19 global health crisis has created unprecedented disruption and long-term implications for companies and people. By listening to people and leading with agility and resilience, companies can look to the future with optimism. Putting people at the center through human experience management (HXM) is the beginning of this healing process. This has been a difficult past year for everyone, so instead of getting back to business as usual I invite leaders to approach this year as changed individuals and choose empathy and humility to create a more positive and healthy work experience for all. Will you join me?

April Crichlow is Global Vice President and Head of Marketing for 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors.

This article first appeared on the 51ˇçÁ÷Global News Center.

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