By: Anne McCord
The People and Culture organization is key to ensure employee alignment and engagement around company strategy. The following tips will help People and Culture Leaders demonstrate value in the company:
1) Be the “go to” who, what and why:
Many times People and Culture (P&C) leaders focus exclusively on their expertise in Human Resources, compensation, learning and development and talent acquisition, to the detriment of being experts in the products and services the company provides.
When it comes to strategy, connecting employees to who the company is (vision / mission / culture), what each employee can do to help achieve that vision, and why it is important to them, is a critical role P&C leaders play in supporting company strategy.
To do this, P&C leaders must be immersed in the organization, how it functions, where there are strengths and weaknesses, and what customers are saying.
2) Make new employee orientation a long-term program
When new employees join a company they are inundated with information, training, and programs. It can take weeks if not months for them to figure out their role, how they fit in, and how they can contribute to the most important goals the company has.
P&C plays a pivotal role in connecting new employees to the vision, mission and strategy, and that can not be done in a typical new employees orientation program. To truly make a connection and ensure employees are aligned behind the strategy, create an orientation program that spans the first six months of employment. Break down “need to know” information for the first few weeks, and then expand the program to include key organization concepts over the next five months that will clarify why the organization exists, who are the customers, and how each role connects to support the strategy.
3) Connect employee feedback programs to the strategy
One of the best ways P&C can support employee alignment behind company strategy is by connecting employee feedback programs to the strategy. Be it monthly, quarterly, or annual feedback, always have clear employee goals (rocks, OKRs, or whatever system the company uses) that are aligned with the most important business objectives defined in the strategy.
Cascading goals, from the strategy, to divisional / department and finally employee goals provide clarity on what is most important for the employee to achieve during the review period.
In larger organizations, several positions may share the same objectives. For example, to achieve the annual sales goal, account representatives should have a defined quota and activity levels. P&C may have goals around time to fill, employee engagement, and compensation / benefits budgets that align with growth and financial initiatives. Whereas Marketing teams may focus on sales funnel and public awareness campaigns. Smaller companies may have different goals for each position. In all cases remember that if it is not measured, it likely will not get done.
When available, connect goal achievement with bonuses and compensation to reinforce the strategy.
4) Communicate, communicate, communicate
Strong internal communication programs are key to ensuring employee alignment. Many times company goals and focus may need to shift to meet changing business environments. By investing in a dynamic employee communication system, P&C can support change management and make sure employees know what is most important for the business.
Employee communication tools, such as Slack, Sharepoint, and countless employee intranets are great methods to highlight how the company is performing, recognize employees and divisions that have gone above and beyond, welcome new employees, and allow for collaboration and pulse surveys.
While technology is essential to great employee communication, in person and face to face engagement is more impactful and long lasting to keep employees aligned and engaged. P&C leaders should spend less time in their offices and meetings, and more time interacting with employees in the work environment.
For remote-only organizations, set up routine touch points with team leaders and employees via video meetings, recorded messages, and the like.
The People and Culture team is critical to organizational success and is the glue that connects employees to what is most important in the business. Following these four tips will support organizational success and ensure P&C is “at the table” to drive strategy.