Qualifying the Unquantifiable

As Human Resources professionals, we strive to quantify the work we do as business partners. I’m from the old school of thought that “we cannot qualify what we cannot quantify.” We focus on how our practices and initiatives, change management and innovation impact top line growth, bottom line profitability and overall metrics, productivity, culture and engagement in the business. 2020 was an unprecedented year and provided reinforcement for me that the impact a company has on employees is often difficult, if not impossible, to quantify in the short term. The long-term benefits and impact though, are of significance. What matters most and became most memorable were our relationships, behaviors, leadership and culture sustained by compassion, empathy, trust, resilience, transparency, integrity and learning, all of which cannot be quantified; efforts to do so diminish the quality of our experiences. Our barometer for measuring success shifted as we created deeper meaning around culture and values. We recognize that this pandemic and the year we just experienced was an accelerator for cultural and leadership transformation, but it goes beyond the quantifiable aspects and focuses more on the human condition.

We must acknowledge and encourage strong leadership that sustains us in trying times, perpetuates team cohesion, motivation and provides forward momentum to business operations despite a pandemic that has made decisions and everyday activity much harder. We don’t have all of the answers and we have had to shoot from the hip and provide responses and solutions that have no precedent or parameters. Our ability as leaders to be empathetic and compassionate has mattered and believe it or not – has a long-term effect on profitability and productivity. 

Empathy is not just a buzzword. Feelings and emotions are key to making strong connections with our employees. Emotional intelligence – being aware of yours and others’ emotions to effectively manage and inspire them is not highly quantifiable, but incredibly meaningful. Truly caring for our teams, coaching, demonstrating sensitivity, risk management and showing humanity exemplifies what your people mean to you and your company—AND they feel it. When faced with challenges, leaders that respond and rise to the occasion with the smallest of gestures and genuine spirit mean the most. In 2020, our calling was to distinguish ourselves and measure our value and impact by supporting our employees’ well-being and exhibiting agility in response to unprecedented circumstances.

Recognizing that empathy takes energy, time, and emotions from us, we cannot underestimate the impact on long-term company affiliation and loyalty and how much we are impacting our team members’ personal and professional lives. Throughout the last year, the psychological impact of this pandemic has been raw and real, including the family dynamics and pressures our employees are facing at home. The demands due to the tumultuous and unpredictable world that accompanied 2020 profoundly influenced our business and our employees. While the impact of our responses is unquantifiable in the short-term, the quality of our results will be realized long-term.

In 2021, as companies continue to rapidly change and get a better handle on crisis management, HR and our leadership must seize the opportunity to re-define and fundamentally shift our roles. This will ensure cultivation and sustenance of better and more engaging relationships, communication and strengthen alignment to our culture and values. Without minimizing any of the difficult issues and obstacles that we have encountered, I know that were are not victims of the status quo—we can change and must drive change.  Management guru Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can't measure it, you can't manage it.” With crises and deliberate responses, I’m not sure that is the case. As we work to live up to our responsibilities as good corporate citizens, human beings taking care of our own, we are a better company for the qualities and quantities of leadership, engagement and motivation during this unprecedented time—most of which cannot be measured in raw numbers but set the tone through connection, emotional intelligence, patience, openness and acceptance.