New HR Manager Strategy
Introduction
Business environment constitutes one of the most complex profiles of interpersonal relationships and communication. The reality shows that employees of the modern organizations value not only the work, job function and compensation that is involved in their position, but also are motivated by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors, individual for each of them. It is evident that working environment and social relationships, which employees build in the companies, constitute important part of their internal motivation. With that in mind, the “outsiders” opinion, management and leadership styles will always be seen as different from the corporate culture that the employees are used to. Resistance is the natural and normal reaction that managers, especially at the top levels of organizational hierarchy, who come from outside the organization, will have to deal with. It is critical in this situation to understand that the buy-in from the employees is the key to succeeding in the Human Resource Management role. That said, the decision to organize the meeting with the entire staff is the right choice for Jill.
HRM function in the contemporary business environment is part of the long-term and strategic planning process. With that in mind, retention, motivation and employee satisfaction and compensation are critical for addressing the issues of job performance. The principle objectives that Jill set for himself in view of his new appointment are to review and re-structuring the filing system in the office and improve the company´s performance in terms of absenteeism in the office.
Meeting Agenda
Before moving forward with the specific agenda, it is critical to outline the strategic issues, which surround Jill in his new role. Jill should be able to see this meeting as a threefold agenda. First of all, he should be able to “reach out” to people and create comprehension and bond with his personal agenda. In the situation, where “buddy-buddy” relationships dictate the atmosphere in the office, without face-to-face “tough” conversation with the staff, an “outsider” will not be able to gain buy in from the employees. In other words, Jill should be able to explain to people the reasons why he assumed this position, should give them better idea about himself and his goals for the company and people and create an open channel to listen to people´s concerns and questions. Secondly, when new management comes to play, the company faces a new communication channel. Traditions and rules, created within the company over the years by the previous supervisor gave people stability and certainty. It is a challenge for Jill to build on a new communication and information exchange strategy without destroying the confidence and certainty of the staff. With the above in mind, the goals of the meeting should include building on the explanations with regards to upcoming changes in departmental and corporate communication, culture and regulations. Finally, it is evident that Jill starts in the company with clearly outlined primary goals to improve filing system and solve the issue of absenteeism. Transparency and openness in communication process from the first steps in the company is the key for reducing the resistance and building on cooperation within the company. It is critical that Jill clearly outlines this agenda for the staff and explains his expectations with regards to both agendas. It does not mean that the new HR manager should go down to operational and tactical levels of his Balance Scorecard goals, but it is essential that he is able to answer the high level questions of employees and build on stability and certainty with regards to his purpose in the company.
Taking into consideration the above objectives and concerns, it is important that the agenda, prepared for Jill´s meeting with the staff addresses all the above before these doubts and questions are expressed by the employees. The below is the suggested outline of the agenda that Jill should be able to cover (Sadler, 2003):
- Self – introduction;
- Company´s Strategic Goals and Objectives;
- Areas of focus and concern;
- Targets of HRM department;
- Upcoming Changes in the organization;
- Questions and Answers (Q&A) session;
- Conclusions and wrap up.
The above should be done in a limited time frame and it is recommended that Jill ensures to comprise his speech in no more than one hour, leaving at least thirty minutes for the Q&A, followed by the wrap up session.
Discussion of the Agenda Items
Each of the above items is important for this meeting as it builds on the understanding and the bonds between the company, employees and the new manager. As an “outsider”, Jill has to introduce himself and give people some insight into his personal and professional background. This will allow the employees feel closer and more comprehensive towards the new manager and will build on the necessary bridge between him and his direct subordinates.
As much as the majority of the employees on the top and senior manager´s level have clarity about the organizational strategy, the situation is different with the employees on the lower levels of the organizational hierarchy. With that in mind, when HR manager decides to organize the meeting for the entire staff, he should be able to prepare the agenda in a way that will be comprehensive for all the employees on all the levels, strategic, operational and tactical. By taking the staff back to the ultimate goals of the company, Jill we be able to demonstrate the employees that he is aware about the company´s culture and objectives. As the major doubt of the staff at the time of change is whether it will benefit them or become a major obstacle, by talking through the strategic goals will help him to demonstrate that his aim is to enact improvements rather than destroy the current culture and structure.
The next step is to demonstrate that he is not only aware, but also competent in the questions and aims attributed to him. That said, Jill should be able to accurately and diplomatically outline the strategic issues and challenges of the company. As it was already defined that the filing system and the absenteeism constitute two major concerns for the company, Jill should be able to provide a high level insight into the situation and explain to his audience why addressing the issues is am important task and how the issues will be handled. It is possible argue that such approach, while will make employees aware of the targets and goals of the new manager, will also help to reduce the “tension” of uncertainty among the staff and will help building on buy-in for the new strategy (Armstrong and Baron, 2002).
Furthermore, Jill will focus on the overall goals and targets of the HRM department to reinforce the work and efforts that are being done and will continue to outline the major objectives of the department under his leadership. This step is a simple answer to the question which concerns many employees at the time of change: “What will come next?” being open about the goals and future direction of the company is critical to avoid or, at least, minimize, resistance.
After outlining the targets of HRM department, Jill take the audience through the major changes that will happen in the company or which he is considering to implement. At this stage, it is important to make employees in some way participate in the process, creating debate and hearing the opinions of the staff.
One of the most important elements of such kick-off meetings is the Questions and Answers (Q&A) session, which makes the meeting a two-way dialogue. While the first part of the meeting is dedicated to reducing the uncertainty and explaining the purpose of the change in management and strategic shift of the HRM focus, the second part should be able to eliminate any basic questions and ensure that employees if do not agree and follow, but have clear understanding of the future change. Additionally, such session will allow Jill gather opinions and better understand the situation and current culture of the company. He will be able to discuss some of the concerning issues and open the door for the employees to contribute to his work and make part of the better organizational future (Sims,2007).
Potential Outcomes of Successful Meeting Strategy
Drucker (2004) notes that to become an effective executive one should be able to follow the basic steps, which include: gathering the required knowledge, preparing an adequate plan of action, act with integrity and conviction and always consider his actions as “we.” Preparing for the kick-off meeting will help Jill to ensure that he clearly understands the company´s culture and that he has a specific plan to align his agenda with the company´s strategy and targets. Successful implementation of the meeting agenda will mean that Jill establishes first level relationships with the employees and changes the perception of himself from an “outsider” to a “challenger.” When people stop seeing managers as those, who do not comprehend the culture of the company and have no insight in their work, they shift their attention to the challenges that these managers create. After the meeting Jill have effectively addressed the issues and turned the attention of the employees to the challenges. At this stage, he will have tools and needed attention to build on buy-in and create ambassadors of the organizational change (Anyim, 2012).
Kick-off meeting like the one that was discussed above is a common practice at the top and senior management levels especially when it comes to the situations, when leaders have to manage change and bring forward the “new approach to old strategy”. Jill is an outsider and to be able to become “part of the family” he should be able to demonstrate individuals that he is competent in what he does and that his approach and strategy will not destroy or disrespect the values, which the company´s culture is built upon. Goleman (2004) argues that an effective leader is the one, who is able to demonstrate his weaknesses and, in spite of these weaknesses, passes confidence and long-term vision to his followers. The agenda, outlined for the first staff meeting helps Jill to build on the above qualities and open the first communication channel with his employees.
References
Anyim F. (2012). The Role of Human Resource Planning in Recruitment and Selection Process. British Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 68 August 2012, Vol. 6, Issue 2.
Armstrong M. and Baron A. (2002) Strategic HRM . The Key to Improved Business Performance. London: Chartered Inst. of Personnel and Development. Print.
Drucker P.F. (2004). What Makes an Effective Executive. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 26 October 2014, http://harconllc.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/HCLLC_Harvard_Business_Review_Effective_Executive.pdf
Goleman D. (2004) What Makes a Leader. Harvard Business School. Retrieved 26 October 2014, http://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader/ar/1
Sadler Ph (2003). Strategic Management. 2nd Edition. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Sims R. (2007).Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities. Greenwich, UK: Information Age Publishing. Print.
