| | JANUARY 2025MANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM9As the chief human resources officer at Longo, my responsibilities include the human resources function, internal communications and risk management. This involves areas such as loss prevention, food safety and health and safety. Additionally, I oversee a team focused on continuous improvement, specifically streamlining business processes and enhancing efficiencies for our team members and guests.For example, we've collaborated closely with our human capital management system provider to enhance the employee experience by implementing various modules. These include a communications module and a comprehensive training platform accessible to all team members. Another significant focus has been our DEI committee, where we're dedicated to educating our workforce on topics such as allyship and bias awareness. We're also committed to fostering a more inclusive environment and equipping our team members with the tools to navigate challenging conversations, particularly with our customers.Additionally, we devote considerable attention to celebrating, rewarding and recognizing our team's efforts. Through our recognition platform and unique celebrations, we aim to strengthen our organizational culture and foster a sense of belonging among our teams.Are there any specific challenges in your business that hinder services from providing an optimal solution?One significant challenge revolves around continually upskilling and developing our leaders and team members, particularly at the leadership level. For instance, we're currently investigating how to scale coaching to ensure continual skill improvement, especially in a multi-unit environment with approximately 6,000 team members. Additionally, in tackling the challenge of scaling leadership, we're exploring tools like online coaching and mentoring to facilitate this process. Historically, executive coaching has been done one-on-one and at more senior levels. However, we recognize the need to extend this practice to frontline manager levels and above. We are also piloting new tools as a step towards tackling this challenge.What advice would you offer to your peers and colleagues for creating seamless processes and adapting to evolving trends?Firstly, I would emphasize the importance of aligning closely with business partners and strategy. Then, understand the objectives behind introducing new technology in most HR functions today, and by utilizing the available data, understand where your opportunities and gaps lie. Collaborate effectively with the business to make informed decisions based on factual insights, which is important as it empowers HR to provide valuable information to the business. From engagement surveys to the information stored around each team member in the system, understanding the current workforce and identifying gaps for the future workforce comprehend everything. Another piece of advice is to tap into your HR network, stay updated on trends and be unafraid to pilot new ideas, recognizing that not everything will succeed, but starting somewhere is essential. DRIVING INNOVATION IN THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTWe devote considerable attention to celebrating, rewarding and recognizing our team's efforts. Through our recognition platform and unique celebrations, we aim to strengthen our organizational culture and foster a sense of belonging among our teams
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