The dos and don’ts for impactful HR initiatives

Creating HR initiatives can be complex, and more often than not, it’s difficult to even know where to start, who to include and how to implement ideas. Even more challenging is how to create initiatives that are impactful.

We’ve all heard of the five Ps: purpose, principles, processes, people, and performance as an HR performance framework model.

But what does that really mean when it comes to developing HR policies and initiatives? There is no guidebook, but I’ve learnt along the way that a couple of elements really make the difference.

Do

• Listen, all year long – to employees, the market, trends and industry leaders. Collecting feedback and appreciating needs from employees on a daily basis is what will inform your why. While understanding the market standards and trends will inform your how.
• Imagination overcomes the impossible. Ask yourself what the best initiative or idea is – without constraints on resources and time – and take it from there. Start big and then work towards a realistic goal, do not feed into limitations. You’ll realise that by inviting yourself and others to explore all possibilities, some out-of-the-box ideas will flourish.
• Consult and get a wider range of intel from forums, diverse committees and employees. Ask your teams what they think and build on the idea from people’s input. From there, you can provide stakeholders with a proposal, as well as different options.
• Make sure your work comes from a place of passion and compassion. As a leader, be passionate about what it is you’re implementing. Lead from the heart, and consider what your teams are asking, where they come from, and how they see the initiative coming to fruition.

Don’t

• Each organisation is different, don’t assume that what worked with past companies will work with this one. Each initiative needs to be approached individually, in order to guarantee its success. That being said, your experience is valuable and you can always leverage learnings from previous policies.
• You are the HR expert and the leader, but don’t assume that your expert opinion is always the right answer. There is immense value in gaining insight from employees and teams to round out your opinion and guide you in your decision-making process.
• While listening to the market, trends and industry leaders, don’t get complacent. Benchmarking peers and competitors is essential, but don’t let it be limiting. Adapt your own strategies to reflect your company’s goals, vision and culture.
• One of the best pieces of advice I’ve been given over the years is don’t take things personally. HR is such a broad vertical, and while team members should always share feedback with respect and constructively, you need to remember that your employee pool is diverse, and each team member will provide differing thoughts and opinions.
• Don’t put initiatives in place and then think you’re done. You need to constantly revisit and innovate them to improve. It’s about keeping the momentum, discipline and stamina. By having a retrospective discussion around what is working and what isn’t, you’ll also enable employees to reflect and bring new ideas to the table.

Overall, developing new HR initiatives takes time, and one can easily lose their sense of direction and their why. What I like to always keep in mind is that whatever initiative or policy I am working on, I try to change things for the better and make an impact. The aim is that each initiative could become the newest benchmark in the industry, so that our employees can expect the same level of care in each company they work for.

Nicole Karagiannis, chief people and culture officer, harrison.ai