JYSK Canada

Brit Cabral

Not too long ago, Human Resources used to be called “The Personnel Department”, and the primary functions were to maintain employee records, hire new employees, and handle general administration. Now, many companies are switching to “People Operations”, where the HR team is responsible for managing the Employee Experience (EX) by optimizing the employee lifecycle, preventing quiet firing, solving the quick quitting trend, and fighting the war for talent, to name a few. Many of these ideas aren’t new. Although the lingo might change, I’ve seen (and grappled) with many of these issues over the years by implementing a variety of initiatives and programs. I am sad to say that many had short-lived success. Why?  

One possible explanation is that HR is often seen to be driving these initiatives. You might even hear grumblings from the field, such as “Onboarding new hires or managing performance issues isn’t my job; it’s Human Resources”. Human Resources is often tasked with not only coming up with the solutions but also implementing and managing the programs.

For illustration purposes, let’s look at the Employee Engagement Survey. While the research shows an engaged workforce results in less turnover and better performance – including better employee on-the-job performance, increased sales, improved customer service, and bigger shareholder value- HR is often seen as the leader and owner. Sadly, the process often goes like this…

The Human Resources team usually spearheads a pulse survey and/or a formal employee engagement survey. To pique the employee’s anticipation, the Human Resources team prepares standardized communications – such as pre-survey emails, articles for the company intranet, and posters for the lunchroom. Employees dutifully share their thoughts, insights, and ideas with the vision of making the company an even better place to work. Post-survey, emails are sent from the Human Resources team or the CEO (but usually drafted by HR in my experience) thanking everyone for completing the survey.  

“If we want to improve the employee experience, we need managers, supervisors, and team leaders to lead – not simply manage”

Armed with both positive and constructive feedback and ideas from the survey, the Human Resources team presents the company-wide findings, the major trends, and the action plans for corporate-wide initiatives with all employees. “We heard you” is the main message. Then the manager shares team results and department action plans with their team possibly over a pizza lunch – reiterating the “we heard you” mantra. 

In a few months, the survey and action plans are completely forgotten.

Finito! Done!

To have a lasting positive impact on the culture and to capitalize on the opportunity to enhance the Employee Experience (EX), change can’t lie solely in the hands of the Human Resources team. While the HR team may manage the corporate-wide initiatives (for example developing career growth opportunities, introducing reward and recognition programs, and enhancing organizational communication strategies), the ownership for following through with the plan involves the managers and their teams – not the Human Resources Department. 

Employee Engagement Surveys with no action plans are seen by employees as useless - “just going through the motions”. Creating action plans from the results shows that the employees’ voice was truly heard. But action plans without the necessary implementation are doomed. Managers and employees must be involved in identifying their top three to five solutions based on the results of the survey and their hands-on work experience. They need to drill down to find the first steps (e.g. who will do what and when?) aimed at making improvements in the work or the work environment. Going forward, the manager needs to keep the team focused on progress to date. Making time at weekly, quarterly, or annual team meetings to celebrate successes, discuss action items, and brainstorm solutions to any new challenges is a priority. In short, we “Heard You” is done; now we need to move to the next step. We “Have Done it”.

What is HR’s role in Employee Engagement Surveys then? We are all the change we want to see! Human Resources must partner with the managers – not the sole owner. They can support change by championing the need to change, asking the right questions, collaborating with managers to find potential opportunities to improve, setting up manager groups to allow for an exchange of ideas with other managers, tracking and communicating progress, and creating opportunities to celebrate the wins. 

Furthermore, HR also needs to prioritize the process; they need to hold managers accountable for taking time and resources to implement the changes.  

To conclude, if we want to improve the employee experience, we need managers, supervisors, and team leaders to lead – not simply manage. 

They need to participate in setting realistic goals, carrying out the necessary ongoing follow-up and generally building a positive, supportive, and vigorous environment to keep staff engaged. HR is a catalyst – not the only change agent.