Keeping it Simple

We have more tools to use, tons of data, incredibly powerful computers, and the ability to be anywhere and everywhere in the world all at the same time (think Zoom). With all the speed and data, we analyze and complicate and discuss and review and algorithmize and hypothesize and test and evaluate. For hours, days, and months on end. Yet somehow, it feels like we rarely actually learn anything new or get anything done.

I've never been particularly fond of acronyms, yet I'm finding that KISS - Keep It Simple Sweetheart (or, more frequently, another not quite as gentle "S" word) - works. Take the challenges of leading a Human Resources organization. It is amazingly complicated. Employment laws frequently change. Skills, disabilities, languages, cultures, and norms must all be acknowledged. Important holidays like Juneteenth, International Non-Binary People Day, Nelson Mandela International Day, and many others, must be learned from and meaningfully observed. There is a lot to consider.

Yet, at the heart of it, the entire role and responsibility of an HR organization can be reduced to three core responsibilities:

1. Recruit the best people

2. Keep the best people

3. Help each and every person perform at their very best

That's it. Everything an HR leader does, whether in the largest of corporations or the smallest of businesses, is in service of these three goals.

Yes, this may be an oversimplification. After all, simplifying is the point of this post. But I challenge you to think hard and carefully. Think about what you do every day. In one way or another, isn't every single act in service of one or more of these three goals? Or, going deeper, if anything you are doing is NOT in service of one of these three goals, is it worth doing? Should you be doing it? If so, why? What is the goal you are striving to accomplish? Even when you are focused on compliance, you are striving to fulfill two of these three goals. If you are not compliant, you won't be able to recruit or keep the best people.

One of today's hottest - and most difficult - topics is Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. For years, I've argued that most organizations have been "checking the box," merely hiring individuals to meet some quantitative definition of what they should be doing without really paying attention to the long-term success of those individuals. Yet, real DEIB is all about the three key goals: Recruiting the very best you can, keeping the very best you can, and helping everyone perform at their best.

How do you know if you're meeting those three goals with DEIB as your foundation? Consider a couple of important metrics:

1. What is your "wash-out" factor? That is, how many of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans, Queer, and others (LGBTQ+) communities that you hire are still with the company six, nine, twelve, twenty-four months after they start? And how does that compare with those who are cisgender and white?

2. What is your promotion rate and your pay equity? Do BIPOC employees get promoted at the same pace as their white counterparts? Do your LGBTQ+ associates get paid the same for equivalent work? For that matter, how do your male/female stats compare?

Stay tuned - we'll post another blog with more on this critically important subject.

As you move forward in this ever-changing 2021, challenge yourself and your entire organization with three questions:

1. How do you keep your focus clear and simple?

2. How do you make sure that everyone on your team and in your organization understands the critical nature of the roles and responsibilities of the Human Resources team?

3. What are the tools, techniques, and resources you should be using to most simply and most efficiently meet your three critical goals?

Quantuvos can support you with those tools and resources. Our approach to providing executive coaching for everyone can help your organization progress on all three key goals at the same time - efficiently and affordably.

Offering a Quantuvos coaching program as a benefit or development opportunity tells incoming recruits that you care about them, that you intend to invest in them, and help them become the best they can be. The same is true with your current staff. Why would someone leave for another organization when you are demonstrating that you care enough to invest in their personal improvement? And, of course, Quantuvos coaching, like traditional Executive Coaching, helps individuals improve their performance. And you get the benefit of those improvements while solidifying the core foundation of your team.

Sure, there are other ways you can (and should) address the key challenges of your organization as an HR leader. But do not neglect the opportunity that is simple and affordable to implement - and can be started as early as today.