CHRO insights: The new role of HR leaders today

In the first of our 2021 CHRO roundtables, I had the pleasure of leading a discussion centered around advancing a culture of belonging with Minneapolis-based HR leaders from diverse industries.

Each of the participants shared their unique experience on how this past year of massive change has shaped the HR and business decisions they’re making and supporting each day.

Our discussion shone a light on three distinct areas: how the role of the HR leader has evolved to require constant assessment and recalibration to keep pace with evolving employee needs; the importance of keeping the energy up; and the role company values play in anchoring to actions.

The changed role of the HR leader

In 2019 — what feels like a lifetime ago now — much of the industry was abuzz with the concept of digitizing human resources practices. Then suddenly, just months later, HR leaders were suddenly thrust onto the frontlines of a rapidly changing (and highly virtual) employee experience; one that presented unforeseen challenges in recognition and employee engagement.

And now, after a year of remote work, and new procedures and practices for frontline workers unable to work from home, HR leaders are taking pause to reflect on all that they’ve accomplished during a year of turbulence.

Many roundtable participants spoke about the need for their organizations (and themselves as HR leaders) to take a step back to evaluate how they’re doing and to ask themselves questions such as: ‘How are we doing with collecting and actioning on our employee voice?’, ‘What strides have we made with respect to employee engagement?’ and ‘How do we feel about remote work?’. And of course, it was no surprise that HR leaders have been leaning in to increased pulse surveys to get feedback from their frontlines. It seems that more than ever, organizations are truly listening to these insights and using them to inform positive action to better employee engagement and business results.

One participant emphasized the importance of being open and honest with employees and letting your vulnerability show in order to build trust. In a time when we as leaders may not have all of the answers, our people truly appreciate (and respond positively to) open communication and the effort made to support them.

Amp-up the energy

Extended crisis — one of economic uncertainty and social unrest — can easily drain the momentum that HR leaders have worked hard to build. Now is the time to keep the energy (and activity) up across the organization to nurture employee engagement.

Beginning with new employee onboarding — much of which is now being done virtually — through to each point in the employee journey, it’s more crucial than ever to find innovative new ways to engage and recognize one another. Several of the HR leaders I spoke with remarked on how they repurposed their recognition and rewards budget to adapt to the new way in which their teams work. While some transitioned from in-person celebrations and events to virtual recognition ceremonies, others donated to charitable causes that aligned with their company values — initiatives that appear to be well-received by employees who see the value in giving back to their communities and feel good about participating.

Actions that anchor to values

Nearly all of our participants referenced their company values when speaking to how they’re advancing a culture of belonging at their organizations. Several took the pandemic as an opportunity to revisit and rework their stated values — taking them from words on a wall to simple and more relevant works to live (and work) by.

A common theme within our discussion was the anchoring of values to everyday actions within the organization, from the top down. Organizations today are focused on tying projects and initiatives back to their core values to: educate employees on their importance, reinforce desired behaviors, and recognize and reward against them. By weaving company values into the fabric of the employee experience, they become recognized and repeated — something that we at Achievers understand and champion as part of our solution.

These are simply a few of the points we touched on during our hour-long discussion. I hope to have the opportunity to continue the conversation with not only our roundtable participants, but with you. In the meantime, I invite you to read the Achievers Workforce Institute Manager Empowerment Report  to discover the relationship between manager effectiveness and employee engagement, and how recognition is one of the biggest predictors of manager effectiveness.