Wowledge’s HR Pioneer Blog was started three years ago to inform and guide today’s HR leaders and teams tasked with creating greater value for their businesses while operating with “lean resources” (fewer people, tighter budgets, limited resources). Whether they exist in small and midsize businesses (SMBs) or within larger enterprises, they are expected to deliver responsive and impactful processes, programs, and initiatives. A major part of the winning equation lies in selecting and implementing the most effective methods to drive business impact through people, and this is accomplished by employing HR best practices.

These HR best practices are the product of teams of expert partners who have studied, designed, and implemented tailored responses to the challenges faced by the most successful and well-known organizations across the spectrum of U.S. industries, as consultants and practitioners. The guides are supplemented by weekly structured articles that offer timely (and complimentary) insights on current trends (e.g., market, social, workforce, technological) and how to respond to them across industry segments (e.g., technology, manufacturing), company size and scale (e.g., SMB, multi-national), and HR or operational maturity.

They are based on Wowledge’s co-founders' strongly held belief (and experience) that all companies, from start-ups to Fortune 100s, can design and implement leading HR programs and practices with equal levels of sophistication, while scaling those proven methods to their unique business and operating environments.

As we soar past the 150th blog post and approach the end of the calendar year, some reflection is due. It feels appropriate as so many of our thousands of loyal members (thank you!) are facing unprecedented challenges with financial, commercial, and labor market upheavals, corporate and HR function layoffs, budget belt-tightening, and socio-political shifts that are impacting company strategies and creeping into workplace environments and cultures.

The blog series is designed to provoke thought, inspire strategic action, and guide operational responses to the challenges facing organizations with Lean HR teams, budgets, and skill capabilities. It reflects what our experts believe are the topics that top HR leaders in those organizations should focus on, as a supplement to Wowledge’s comprehensive catalog of best practice “how-to” guides covering every major HR capability (from talent management processes to total rewards, to employee wellbeing, to HR process improvement), specific topic Explainers and Deep-Dives for their team members, methodologies and execution-ready tools that can be used to jump-start the design and implementations of those practices.

Consider the Wowledge platform a knowledge hub or virtual subject-matter-expert partner that provides insights and HR best practices on all those topics, as well as perspectives on responding to common challenges from a wide range of experienced HR leaders and practitioners who are regular participants in the broader Wowledge community.

Reviewing the most critical HR insights and capabilities

The weekly “Insight Articles” presented are considered by our experts to be the most timely and important for building an impactful and comprehensive HR growth and improvement agenda. The HR best practices referenced should serve as opportunities to consider when developing HR strategic plans, business-improvement initiative goals, HR team capability and skill growth targets, and HR KPI and dashboard reporting elements.

When reviewing these, consider the core elements of great HR that Wowledge experts have consistently promoted. These serve as guiding principles for building and growing a sustainable, business-impacting HR function. They include:

• Business alignment. Focusing processes and solutions on driving business objectives.
• Consultation. Guiding, coaching, and advising leaders, managers, and employees to help them improve their operations and contributions.
• Root cause focus. Identifying and resolving the core, or underlying causes of issues, not the symptoms or surface issues.
• Quantification. Using data and analysis to assess and understand human-business interface issues and trends, solution options, and levers of success.
• Leveraging human systems. Developing company culture, work environments, and workplaces in support of more agility, flexibility, resourcefulness, and responsiveness to evolving and changing market conditions.
• Continuous improvement. Creating an HR culture of development and growth of HR systems, processes, practices, team capabilities, and skills.

The HR best practices that we have been (and will continue to) promote as proven capabilities and actions can be viewed through two lenses: those that act as timeless foundations for HR success, longevity, and business impact, and others, which are timely and respond to the challenges that organizations face that their HR teams should be prepared to focus on. These are presented by topic and are of critical relevance.

Click on the links provided in each practice title for more insights and information.

Foundational HR best practices

Aligning HR goals and priorities

No matter how obvious this may seem, research consistently finds that most companies fail to plan, let alone articulate how their HR efforts are designed to drive or support the achievement of business objectives. For example, studies have shown that over 50% of HR services and programs are not connected to a specific business purpose, and less than 15% of HR functions can explain how their policies, practices, or programs impact business goals. Sadly, others have found that only 9% of companies understand which talent dimensions drive organizational performance. Additionally, and perhaps most concerning, is that aligning HR strategies with business goals ranks near the bottom of HR priorities. The key is to make HR strategies that are directly responsive to the business, and adapted to its priorities as those evolve in response to market changes.

Making HR a trusted partner

Establishing confidence among business leaders as a team of business-savvy, operationally focused HR advisors, facilitators, consultants, and problem-solvers for a group of HR leaders and team members requires a disciplined, well-informed, and structured approach. It requires a focus on the skills and capabilities (e.g., competence, consistency, integrity, compassion, communications) of the entire team, but especially those in internal customer-facing roles (e.g., CHRO, HRBP, HR Manager or Generalist, COE leader or SME), and a commitment to providing them with advanced tools and methodologies. Trustworthiness is also generated and influenced by enhancing HR infrastructure through the deployment of user-centric technologies and streamlined processes with optimized self-service interfaces. It also demands a focus on responsive, accurate, timely, and reliable delivery of HR services and products.

Adopting structured HR consulting approaches

Fulfilling the role of the strategic business partner does not come naturally to many traditionally developed HR leaders, or the up-and-coming counterparts who will eventually replace them. The solution is the introduction and adoption of proven, structured approaches based on evidence-based HR (EBHR) and the application of a form of the “scientific method” to define a problem, research options, test resolution assumptions, analyze data, select a solution, and engage line management. Consider adoption or methodologies such as organization development (OD), performance consulting, or process improvement (Lean, Six Sigma). This calls for training and providing practice opportunities to apply this to introducing new or updated HR best practices, incorporating it into HR leadership and HRBP goals, rewarding and recognizing its application, and identifying skilled champions who can serve as internal guides.

Developing change management expertise

Focus on the development of strategic change management skills as a cornerstone requirement for any HR team members who become involved in making HR policy or process updates, supporting the introduction of new technologies (e.g., AI, robotization) or workflows (using new reporting and analytics) for, or in their assigned business units, facilities, or functions. With the levels of volatility in strategic directions, financial and commercial market forces, and even social trends and standards, the rate and volume of change have increased to the point where HR teams need to be skilled to minimize operational disruptions and prepare the workforce to respond to changes in their work priorities, processes, assignments, and even organizational structures.

Expanding data literacy and the use of analytics

Organizations that rely on HR analytics are significantly more likely to report higher customer satisfaction, lower operating costs, and higher revenue. With the prevalence of automated systems and rapidly advancing HR technologies, the use of data to inform objective decision-making lies at the core of efforts to drive HR’s increased success. Data literacy is the foundation for such efforts, with team members from the CHRO down to administrators being trained and held accountable for their abilities to understand, interpret, extract relevant insights, make informed decisions, develop effective strategies, and communicate the rationale and learnings from reviewing and using quantitative analyses and insights in the course of their daily work.

Upskilling and refining HR team capabilities

Make continuous development a priority, as the skills and capabilities of HR team members are linchpins to advancing the function’s contributions to the business. Great strategy and analytically-informed decisions often fall short of their mark due to poorly equipped or ill-prepared team members. Given their role in strategy development and execution, it is essential that team members possess and can apply the advanced HR skills required to plan, design, and execute HR best practices. Upgrade the knowledge, skills, and abilities (and performance expectations) needed to perform each role, such as the HRBP, HR Generalist, recruiter, HR shared services specialist, or L&D professional.

Shifting to outcomes-based HR

Change the focus of all HR strategies, plans, initiatives, KPIs, and reporting away from process to critical business, financial, operational, and talent outcomes. Partner with analytic experts to evaluate the extent of impact that HR processes, practices, and initiatives have on those outcomes, and prioritize strategy and goal-setting efforts on the HR activities that make a business difference. Get away from measuring and worrying about policy compliance (e.g., % completed performance appraisals) and process efficiency (e.g., learner hours) that make no impact on operational objectives. Assess and target improvements in integrated talent activities that DO influence sales, profitability, revenue per employee, product quality, and customer loyalty. Measure, report, and identify improvement opportunities in employee experience, organizational culture, talent assessment, and candidate experience.

Targeted HR best practices

Wowledge’s HR Pioneer Blog is committed to raising awareness of HR best practices and approaches that respond to current and emerging trends and challenges facing HR leaders and their teams. Given the issues and volatility in commercial, financial, and labor markets, a number of practices have risen to the top and have been highlighted as solution sets for consideration by those in roles of a CHRO, CPO, HRBP, or COE leader and specialist.

Managing reductions-in-force (RIFs)

Companies across industries are conducting layoffs, and as many lean HR team leaders will agree, managing the organization’s planning, execution, and recovery can be an overwhelming task. HR best practices have evolved, as have the tactics and services offered by outplacement firms. With the primary goals of managing and controlling reputational risk (consumer, market, labor pool) and legal, financial, or operational disruptions, conducting these with skill is essential. Treating impacted workers with dignity, compassion, and appropriate levels and types of support is paramount. Taking proactive measures to educate, reassure, and engage the remaining workforce, while making necessary changes to workflows, responsibilities, and productivity expectations, is a critical consideration.

Developing and supporting leaders at all levels

Leaders and managers have a significant influence on the performance of any organization, and, by many measures, are falling short of expectations. The performance pressures on top leaders are a constant challenge, and new leader tenures are too often counted in months, and total average tenures are in single-digit years. Add to that the pressures and workloads placed on middle managers, whose performance as guides and developers of talent has been slipping, with historically low engagement rates. Understanding how to address these with HR best practices, such as with new leader onboarding and transition support, and middle manager development and role redesign, can substantially increase HR’s impact on operations.

Managing workplace polarization

Socio-political changes have become headlines in nations globally, and whether leading domestic or multinational operations, HR best practices can be tailored for organizations of all sizes and scales. Helping guide employees, managers, and their leaders to address differences in opinions and beliefs is essential, especially when those differences create unproductive barriers to collaboration, innovation, and acting in concert with company values. This extends beyond traditional organizational boundaries, as employees' interactions with vendors, subcontractors, consultants, and even customers can be negatively impacted by differences in perspective and affiliations.

Assessing and retaining top and critical skill employees

With labor markets shrinking and layoffs squeezing new or replacement hiring, maximizing the retention, productivity, and output from an existing workforce has become a high priority for line and talent managers alike. To better assess and prepare leaders and individual contributors alike, increasing the accuracy, fairness, and equity of talent decision-making through talent reviews is a robust starting point. Similarly, improve the design and application(s) of traditional tools that are rarely reworked, such as the nine-box. Equally powerful is making the fewer, and thus more valued, new hires’ success and retention more likely through a more effective onboarding and enculturation process.

Addressing employee financial challenges

The volatility in consumer and financial markets has created challenges for many workers, especially those in the middle and lower rungs of organizations. Rising prices in food, consumer goods, child care, healthcare, and real estate (rentals and purchases), along with student, auto, and home loan commitments, are straining many employees’ ability to live comfortably and save for larger purchases. With low financial literacy rates being reported, providing education, reimbursements, investment tools, and support are becoming HR best practices. Topics and tools for budgeting and financial planning, savings strategies, debt management approaches, and company-sponsored plans and benefits can be leveraged to support employees. The goal is to relieve employees of distractions to their performance, productivity, and contributions that such financial worries often create.

Tailoring HR practices to industry and company size challenges

HR best practices are most useful when tailored and scaled to meet the unique needs and requirements of the industry and the company's size. Organizations face unique challenges, such as heavy regulation in the energy, financial, and healthcare industries, and limited resources and access to capital for small-to-medium businesses (SMBs). HR leaders must become experts in their industries and resourceful in managing HR’s business impact in smaller organizations. While HR best practices can be applied to most environments, they often require adaptation to meet the unique needs of industries such as financial services, technology, construction, healthcare, or manufacturing.

Relevant Practices & Tools

Advanced HR Strategy Practices to Plan for Delivery of Impactful HR Services and Support. >

Advanced HR Strategy is a refined approach to planning long-term HR priorities. It involves increased specificity of plans and goals around key employee groupings and uses detailed workforce data and projections to clarify the needs and trends impacting those groups... more »

Applying Organization Development Principles to Uncover Opportunities for Improving Organizational Performance and Health. >

Organizations are constantly in flux, with multiple change efforts underway. HR is being called upon to facilitate more and more of these endeavors, using Organizational Development tools, methodologies, and frameworks... more »

Evaluating Stakeholders to Understand Supporters and Blockers for Critical Initiatives. >

It’s well known that no matter how effective an executive is at their job, if they don’t have the support of other stakeholders, they will be limited from the start... more »

Deploying Advanced Statistical Methods to Better Assess and Predict Trends in HR Processes, Policies, and Programs. >

Deploying advanced methods involves moving from descriptive or basic mathematical metrics to more sophisticated techniques that provide more meaningful analyses and reveal relationships or predictions between processes, programs, behaviors, and their outcomes... more »

The External Environmental Scan Tool: Capture and Categorize Factors Outside of the Company’s Scope Impacting its Objectives. >

This template provides a structure for identifying key external topics that should be considered in a formal analysis of the business’s upcoming challenges... more »