You've got big ideas, and now it's time for action. But it takes a team to make meaningful HR initiatives stick. So, how do you get your leadership team and other stakeholders on board?
As a human resources professional, you need stakeholders to listen, understand, and support your views before they give you the go-ahead to spend time and money on things you want for the organization.
Whether you're focusing on office culture or the overall success of the entire organization, there's a wide variety of HR initiatives you can focus on.
In this article, we'll discuss what HR initiatives are, some common examples, and how you can get buy-in from stakeholders in order to succeed.
The human resource department for a small business or larger company has the power to make a lasting, positive impact. Innovative HR practices, initiatives, or strategic priorities improve performance over time. It's a game plan meant to help a human resource department focus on growing talent acquisition, reducing turnover, enhancing the hiring process, boosting employee engagement, and bolstering employee development across the organization.
There's really no limit to what your HR initiatives can be. You can let your creativity lead the way or look at what's working well for other HR departments.
The Academy to Innovate HR1 (AIHR) offers a few innovative examples. They include:
Introducing platforms for collaborative work. There are several software options to choose from for communication, team meetings, and project and task management. You have Slack, Zoom, HubSpot, and Google docs, to name a few.
Hybrid workplace design. The COVID-19 pandemic increased the popularity of remote work. Several companies and organizations have made adjustments to give their employees some added flexibility. A hybrid office design gives your employee the freedom to choose: do they want to be a remote worker? Or a traditional, in-office worker today? Of course, your own hybrid policy could also determine their work-from-home schedule.
Employee recognition and appreciation programs. When you recognize key talent for a job well done, you remind them they play an important role in your organization. This can lead to increased productivity, performance, and better employee relationships throughout the employee life cycle.
Resilience training. This type of training can focus on things like managing emotions, improving interpersonal communication, and coping with stress.
Heading into 2023, Gartner2 conducted an annual survey to identify what HR leaders planned to focus on to improve the workplace in the year ahead.
Their top 5 strategic HR priorities for 2023 included:
Once you've nailed down some great ideas, it's time to bring in some help to make them happen. Getting buy-in from stakeholders in your organization means having their support. Here's how to grab their attention and keep it.
Once you've settled on an area that needs work, bring it to the attention of your leadership team. Explain to your colleagues why this issue hinders the organization's success, and then present your solution to the problem. Provide examples of how your idea would improve the situation. This is also a good time for you to take ownership of what you can handle and point out the gaps where you'll need more assistance.
Think about what's important to each of your stakeholders and how they'll react to hearing your initiatives. Ask yourself: Why should they care? What's in it for them? What will the organization get out of this? Knowing these answers ahead of time will help you curate your pitch in a way that piques their interest.
After presenting your idea, it's natural for others to give feedback. Be open to what your team has to say. Inviting others to expand on your idea could make it better in the long run. It also shows that you're a team player who's willing to compromise.
Along with observations and opinions on the matter at hand, use concrete data to back it up. HR metrics are key figures for accurately tracking an organization's human capital, people strategy, and the effectiveness of its HR programs. They offer valuable insight into your organization's overall efforts. Use the data at your disposal to better explain your initiatives. Most stakeholders are known to make data-driven decisions rather than emotional ones.
Never underestimate the power of your interpersonal skills. Being a familiar face in your organization is important. Try to get to know employees at all levels, from the entry-level to the executives. Not only does this give you a better grasp of how your organization functions from their perspectives, but you'll also get an idea of who may be interested in supporting your initiatives.
Here are six tips for how HR professionals can gain employee trust while building rapport:
As a human resources professional, you play a crucial role in creating meaningful change within your organization. When it comes to HR initiatives, you have hundreds of options to choose from; you just have to get your stakeholders to back you up. With the right HR initiatives, you can have happier employees, improved communication, and better business outcomes.