People-First HR, Part 1: Why you need a cohesive strategy
Companies in the startup and SMB range tend to have a view of HR somewhere in the range of “it’s a necessary evil” to “compliance is important in our industry”. This seriously holds them back.
When you view HR as a cost of business—a thing you do to check boxes to protect yourself from legal exposure—it’s self-fulfilling. It doesn’t get enough resources or strategic time in leadership meetings to truly flourish.
It’s like leaving a plant in the shade and then being satisfied with its lack of growth. It is what you made it, but it could be so much more.
How can an HR strategy do more for our company?
The first step—if we’re still indulging the plant analogy—is to give your HR some time in the sun, and water it regularly. Ok, moving on from plants now: you need to actually devote some time and resources to a well thought out HR strategy.
The good news? You don’t have to do it all by yourself, and the return on your investment is significant. An expert HR consultant or a skilled people leader can take the lead and run with it.
The secret is right there in the name: Human resources. We’re going to make a human-focused strategy. One that puts people first, instead of just checking boxes and filling payroll.
A People-First Strategy
To put people first, we’re going to reframe what an employee is: they are customers.
Imagine a highly talented person, at the top of their game. They do great work and form lasting relationships with their teams. This is someone you want at your company! They would be great anywhere they choose to work, but you want them on your team. That means you’re selling a job at your company…to them.
And like a customer, these talented people won’t just knock on your door and ask to sign up. They get offers from all kinds of employers. You’ll need to attract and convince them. And when they arrive, you’ll need to continue to provide reasons to stay. And instead of upselling them on your premium service, you’re going to develop their career skills and promote them.
Our people-first HR strategy will exist across three areas:
1) Job Posting and Hiring
This is where you advertise your product (a role at your company) to your market. The work is equal parts preparation and process. To attract top talent, your job postings can’t just be a list of duties. The top players you want already know what they’ll be doing.
You’ll need postings that inspire and entice candidates. What makes a role at your company such a good experience? Why is it desirable? This is very much a marketing effort.
You’ll also need an interview process that is intentionally designed to find only the best fits. One that removes the ad hoc, reduces bias, and filters out unqualified applicants. There’s a lot to unpack in there, which we will explore in part 2.
2) Onboarding and Early Success
Once you’ve attracted the right person for your role and made an offer that they accepted, they’re entering phase two. Most companies have some kind of plan for a new hire, but quality matters here.
Of course there are the first impressions to take care of—introductions, a buddy to show them around, lunch with their manager and their tech setup—but the strategic focus on their success matters so much more.
Strategic focus on day 1? Yup! Because that’s just one day of their entire tenure. You’ll need a plan that sets them up for success in the short term (30/60/90 days), but also with the long term in mind. Critically, this plan should echo the criteria for which you interviewed. (The title says a cohesive strategy, after all!)
What are the expectations for their first months? How will they be supported? How will they be evaluated? And how does that fit into the bigger picture?
Having good answers to these questions is what puts the person first. If they feel unsupported or that their manager is flying by the seat of their pants, they’ll already be looking for another offer. We want them to feel like they have everything they need and to know the expectations up front.
3) Performance Reviews and Development
The old top-down style of performance reviews just don’t work anymore. They put numbers first, instead of people. And in so doing, they create a negative experience for the person being evaluated.
Instead, we will put the person first by framing accomplishments and opportunities in terms of their development. In this way, the performance review provides value and direction to the employee; in which skills have they grown, and on what areas should they focus next?
Using familiar and objective standards—like ones tied to your interviewing and onboarding plans—promotes fairness, and aligning them with your company values creates a sense of ownership.
We can take this a step further by creating pathways between roles and even job tiers. You made standards for interviewing in Step 1, so you already know what it takes to enter a role. Using those to guide performance review conversations creates a kind of synergy that will give your people great confidence in their ability to advance their career.
Part 3 and part 4 of this series go deeper into the importance and strategy of developing your team through performance reviews, and the impact that has on your people—the bottom line.
Putting it all Together
Having your hiring strategy, onboarding plans, and performance reviews aligned is a recipe for retention. It’s just like a successful customer cycle: you find your audience, bring them into the fold, and then nurture and grow the community.
What about the bottom line? You’ll waste less on mis-hires and people who exit early due to having the wrong skill set or misaligned expectations. You’ll also promote more from within as you develop your people with laser-like purpose. That saves you on recruitment costs and retains institutional knowledge.
The cherry on top? Employees that feel valued, invested-in, and positive about their future with the company will recommend other great people to join your team—just like customers advocating on your behalf.
How to Get Started
Moving to a people-first HR strategy is not a small feat. It’s an investment and it will take time. Even if you have an entire HR team, they’ve already got daily ops on their plates. Hello HR provides expert strategic consulting and insight. We’re like a superpower both for leadership and HR teams!
Drop us a line and we can get the ball rolling with a free discovery call.
We’d love to hear from you!
Reach out directly or send a message using our contact form. Yes, we do custom projects!
