We’ve been warned about a looming 18-month recession. With this coming hard on the heels of the Pandemic, a complex move to increased flexible working, the great resignation, a surge in quiet quitting, unsustainable salary hikes across the past year, double figures inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and endless strike threats… phew… there is, without a doubt, trouble ahead for HR.
Is your seatbelt fastened?
A car safety theme…
With one of our team having just this past week been in a road traffic accident resulting in their car being written off after being smashed from behind on the infamous M25 and then doing a dirty tango with a crash barrier at the front, here is our HR Blast with a road safety theme…
Current HR Road Hazards
Before we explore how a few familiar car safety features might apply to HR functions, let’s take a brief look at some of the current challenges:
Recruitment
- Desperation to recruit can result in job offers being made to people with the wrong skills and/or the wrong attitude.
- A shortage of skills can result in some businesses paying eye watering amounts of money for certain recruits – often without checking the business sums. Are such high salaries sustainable?
- Job applicants can get greedy in this incredible job market, some flitting from job to job without a care in the world, continually seeking out more thrills (instant gratification) and/or more money. How do we identify those who won’t keep ‘flitting’?
D&I
- Do too little to address D&I issues and you may get ‘blasted’, deliver the wrong kind of training and you may get blasted, even use the wrong trainer in some business and you may get blasted, fail to join the dots between training, culture, leadership etc. and you may get blasted. It’s an employee relations, social media and PR minefield.
- Taken your eye off your gender pay gap in recent years due to so many other pressing business issues? In the next 12-months, this may bite you in the proverbial!
L&D
- Employees are demanding more and more development but are they aware of the cost? It doesn’t always improve loyalty as we like to think. You need to ensure you are developing the right people, in the areas that add real value.
- Do we want bite-size training that is fun? Do we want detailed training that delves deep? Do we want to go all out on the tech? Do we side-line the team building and more frivolous stuff? So many options during a time when the world is moving to blended, bite-size learning that is very much delegate (personal interest) led, rather than organisational led. Plus, how many in L&D have the skill sets to deliver what is now needed?
Employee Relations
- Anxiety caused by high staff turnover resulting from the Great Resignation. There are few people like change. Currently, our team members are experiencing endless and significant change, often inadvertently created by themselves or their colleagues searching for the ‘perfect’ role.
- Changing expectations around flexibility, inclusion etc. are causing headaches for HR. Who is managing whom is also a continual problem in many areas, with many managers feeling they have their backs against the wall.
- Employers are increasingly told that employee wellbeing is their responsibility, but how do employers support when this is outside the skill set of many? There are swathes of exhausted managers and there are too few or even non-existent NHS resources to signpost employees to, so if the only support options available are using in-house mental wellbeing champions, sending people home, or reducing workloads (when we are struggling to recruit anyway) … is this sustainable for businesses?
- There are millions of people who have recently changed jobs seeking more flexibility, more money etc. but this means that they have no employment rights in the event of redundancy as they don’t have 2 years’ service. We have no doubt that employers will be blamed for being callous when dismissals are made, and employees don’t have the financial safety net of extended statutory notice periods and/or redundancy pay. This is going to cause unrest.
Productivity
- When ‘quiet quitting’ is becoming the new topic of conversation (employees doing the bare minimum not to get sacked, often aided by the ‘invisibility’ of home working) what impact on productivity? What impact on managers’ time to manage?
- How do we plan resources and output for the recession given that some businesses continue to boom whilst others are going to the wall?
Succession Planning
- How can anyone succession plan when we are still in the midst of the Great Resignation? And we have over 1 million skilled and experienced over 55’s who have decided to suddenly leave the workforce?
Given all that – which in fact barely touches the sides when you look at what is occupying so many HR teams at present – where do our car safety features fit in?
HR safety mechanisms
ABS brakes
When you brake hard, you need your ABS to stop you from skidding.
In the workplace, braking hard now will result in recruitment being halted, some staff being laid off, nice to have initiatives being stopped, bonuses halted, reviews of benefits etc.
The ABS brakes of the workplace come in the form of slick, ready to use processes and procedures for budget/costs control and change management. Also, a staff representative forum in place, able to work as a team and ready to support with communications. Plus, an HR team that is competent and confident – and not exhausted – and well positioned to professionally support.
Is your team competent, are your processes and procedures reviewed and ready to go?
If you can’t jump into emergency mode with just a few hours’ notice, then you may find yourself less protected than your competitors
Traction control
For when you do lose grip on the road, traction control helps to slow down the rate of spin enabling you to get back the control you need.
Here we look to our leaders and company directors, trustees even. We need senior teams who are on the ball, have a grip on what is happening, experience of downturns and understand the strategies they can implement to smooth the ‘bumpy ride’.
Senior teams with their feet up at home still enjoying the whole relaxed WFH experience as they near the end of their careers are a disaster waiting to happen – we need total focus at this time!
Roll bars
In a nutshell, these can keep your tyres on the road when fast cornering and can help reduce any potential car sickness of passengers!
Here we need good grievance and conflict management procedures and managers who are confident and competent to use them. People don’t like change, especially fast change, so conflict in some form should be expected.
Speedy management of issues when the tyres come off the road will smooth the process of change for everyone.
In the same way good project management and organisational skills will be valuable too, both ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of what you do.
Seatbelts
Safety from personal injury
Here we would encourage you to focus just a little on accountability and personal responsibility. You cannot worry about everyone all of the time so asking people to step up with accountability and responsibility will be invaluable – for both you and them
Your staff are adults so taking personal responsibility should be a given, it sometimes needs to be reminded though!
Accountability and responsibility when times are tough often looks like: people really making an effort to pull in the same direction, maintaining focus and efficiency with work, errors or problems flagged early, speedy resolution of conflict, speaking up as needed rather than waiting for others to check in with you, doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it etc
The benefits for team members are being in a business that is better positioned to not just survive, but thrive meaning fewer job cuts, a quicker return to normal trading, and a more positive working environment etc
Airbags
More safety from personal injury
Here you might consider your social events, your staff surveys, your down time to be your air bags. An opportunity for people to let their hair down, build relationships and be in an environment that allows them to relax.
Letting the ‘steam’ out when life is unsettled and people are anxious or unhappy is a great way to minimise any conflict or damage that might occur.
Speed limiters
To keep your dare devils and day dreamers in check and within a safe and legal speed limit.
Where are your checks and balances? As they say, if you don’t measure it you can’t manage it.
A lot of checks and balances have gone out of the window in recent years including focus on keeping data safe, adherence to processes and procedures, knowing where staff are, managing professionalism etc.
It’s time to quickly get back into the swing here so you have your own internal ‘speed limiters’ that will keep you safe on the road.
Insurance
For when the wheels come off…
Actually, at Jaluch, we believe that most tribunal insurance is badly spent money when it comes to employee claims. Tribunal insurance often prevents business owners from taking commercial decisions about managing people so no recommendation from us to take out more insurance.
Instead, how about you view your insurance policy as investing in a really solid, commercial HR business partner who knows how to keep your business safe from claims plus training your managers up so they are both competent and confident to operate within your policies and procedures.
Note: be careful not to assume anyone with an HR job title has any clue how to protect a business. Ask lots of questions at interview and check, check, check if you want someone capable.
And finally…
We hope this has given you a few ideas for actions that will help best protect your organisation. If you have any questions, issues or ideas of your own please do comment below or call us directly on 01425 479888.
Jaluch delivers pragmatic commercial training for managers and leaders, provides down to earth support and advice on HR matters. We’re owner-managed and have been around for over 20 years! Flexible payment options, no onerous contracts, and a friendly team waiting for your call!
Or why not ask us about our effective staff representation training, our leadership development programmes, pragmatic D&I training or how we can support building the confidence of your managers to manage the tough issues!