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Building A More Human Enterprise

Forbes Human Resources Council

Award-Winning B2B CMO | VP, Brand Marketing at Workhuman | HR Futurist | D&I | Content Producer | Best-Selling Author | Keynote Speaker.

Based on recent economic and job indicators, it looks like 2021 is shaping up to be an employee market. And after all that we’ve been through over the past year, I think it’s also safe to predict that employees will be favoring employers who prioritize them as humans, not just as workers. Is your HR department ready to meet that challenge? What do you need to do so that you can effectively adapt to this accelerated focus on the human-based enterprise? 

What It Means To Be A More Human Enterprise

A human-centric organization is one that balances operational resilience with our need for human connection. The concept isn’t new, as CHROs and HR leaders have been talking about the employee experience as a human experience for ages. What is new, however, is that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other regulatory bodies have begun issuing rulings that underscore the growing importance of investing in development, pay equity and other key elements of a more human-centric workplace. Plus, the government is putting its money where its mouth is. In September 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the “availability of $150 million to invest in workforce training for key U.S. employment sectors” — just one example of the renewed interest in investing in human capital.

Right now, human capital management (HCM) reporting for a public company typically involves tracking metrics, such as the number of current employees, revenue per employee, percentage of employees enrolled in mentorship programs, etc. While much of that will likely remain the same, it is critically important for HR leaders to start thinking about these metrics in new ways. 

Being human-centric means being able to take strategic action on HR metrics so that you can implement the infrastructure to support employees in a truly meaningful way.

The Challenge: Changing The HR Orchestra Into A Jazz Ensemble

Historically, HR has been asked to create the kind of predictability, scalability and sequencing you would expect from an orchestra. That means every employee must know their place, know which part to play and at what frequency to play it. That approach has its merits, of course. But it is also very limiting.

If you are going to start competing on enabling people to do the best work of their lives in a more meaningful way, you won’t succeed by sticking so closely to the score. These days, HR can’t only be an orchestra. Instead, it also has to be able to create the magic and innovation of a jazz band. The orchestra approach is very much about controlling for the business. The jazz approach is about providing tools to bring out the humanity in your workforce. It’s about creating a world of belonging, especially for women and minorities who so often have to fight for equity in the workplace.

Start Building A More Human Enterprise By Asking Different Questions 

Most companies are at stage one of building a more human enterprise. That means leaders need to get practical and start asking different questions, ones that are shaped by all the changes we have just experienced. Use these three to get the ball rolling: 

1. How do I create a human enterprise or place of belonging at scale?

2. What are the new measures for the human-centered workplace?

3. What do we start, stop and continue tracking?

Be sure that your entire team collaborates on the responses. Encourage improvisation. A broader conversation around these considerations means you will get you one step closer to the workplace of the future — where HR is about innovation, not about one-size-fits-all. Your goal is to be able to accommodate differences so that, ultimately, every employee is able to say, “I belong here. I am able to do the best work of my life. I am able to express ingenuity and innovation that only I can bring to this business and I know the impact.” 


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