Chanel Finnigan No Comments

Developing the right HR plan for 2023

If nothing else, the past few years have taught us all how important it is to have the right people, with the right skills and motivation in our businesses. Having staff that will cope with change, support each other and make the right decisions has been a critical part of organisations successfully weathering this extremely difficult period.

And 2023 is shaping up already to be another year full of curve balls and surprises that your business, and team, must cope with.

Being prepared, focusing on the right HR areas, and having a strong HR plan in place will take centre stage this year as we navigate the year ahead.

So, how do you get the right plan in place?

  1. Start with your business goals.

Key to having the right HR plan in place is being clear about your business goals for 2023, and understanding what you need from your people to achieve them.

  • Are you planning growth? Then you will need a strong employment brand and recruitment strategy to attract top quality candidates
  • Are you changing your product or service offering? This will mean you need a team which is comfortable with change, and ready to grow and develop their skills.
  • Do you expect it to be a tough year? Your team will need to be resilient and engaged, to help them cope with the challenges this brings.

Knowing what you need from your team for success will enable you to focus on the right areas and ensure your plan is meaningful.

  1. Conduct an environmental scan.

Legislation, economic conditions and immigration settings all impact on your people. In today’s world it is essential to understand what is going on around you and to plan how you can work around impediments by having strong HR initiatives which enable performance and deliver staff retention.

  • Do you expect a fair pay agreement to be initiated, or has one been already?
  • How will immigration impact your talent pipeline? Do you need to work hard to retain staff as it is difficult to recruit?
  • How will your people cope with the increased cost of living? Do they need help with financial planning and are your wage levels keeping up with the market to support them through this?
  1. Assess your current HR practices.

Most Companies have gaps or improvement areas in their HR practices. Having a real understanding of deficiencies by working through each HR topic thoroughly will give you a clear overview of potential focus areas. It is important to dig deeper and go beneath the surface when undertaking this assessment.

  • You may have a performance review process in place, but do the reviews actually happen? And does it result in improved performance or is it a tick box exercise?
  • If you do conduct engagement surveys, do you create a strong plan off the back of them? And does your plan improve engagement?

Be honest as a business on what you do well and what areas don’t work as intended. This will ensure you identify the right areas to work on.

  1. Prioritise and create your plan.

Once you have assessed your current practices and highlighted areas for improvement, it is time to link these back to your business goals and environmental scan.

  • What HR areas will have the most impact?
  • What improvement initiatives will support your business goals the most?
  • What areas will cause your plans to fail if you don’t get them right?

In every business there are always any number of people initiatives that you can introduce.

Identifying the key actions in your HR plan will ensure you take the right steps in 2023 to create a highly engaged and productive workforce.

Positive People has been helping businesses create fit-for-purpose HR plans for organisations for over 25 years. Contact us now or call 09 445 1077 to discuss your 2023 HR Plan.

 

 

PositivePeople No Comments

Hot HR topics for 2023!

Hasn’t it been some start to the year??!!

After a seemingly never ending 2022, and the slow but apparent disappearance of the nasty Covid experience, most of us were looking forward to a long, relaxing, sunny Christmas break. However, the challenges just keep coming!

Being well prepared for whatever the year might throw at us is of paramount importance in 2023, as we look to settle back into the work routine and set our goals for the year.

With 2023 being an election year, we predict more uncertainty in both the labour market and with employment legislation. There may be changes to immigration settings, Fair Pay agreements may be halted, and we still haven’t seen how much change our new Prime Minister will make to current policies.

Operating in an environment where the future is unpredictable can be a challenge. The key to successfully navigating through this will be knowing what is important to your team, focusing on what you can control and doing it well.

Our predictions for what will be important in 2023 in the HR space are:

  1. Wellbeing and resilience

A Wellbeing strategy is no longer a “nice to have”. With all the challenges and uncertainty in the environment, it is a critical focus area. The success of your business will rely heavily on your team’s ability to cope with change, external economic pressures, and the stress this can cause. Having a well-planned and executed Wellbeing plan will help your team navigate through this period personally and ensure it doesn’t impact their performance.

  1. The talent shortage will continue.

While the labour market has cooled slightly, and even with changes to the immigration settings in some sectors, the talent shortage looks set to continue. We anticipate that the massive pay offers we saw last year won’t be repeated, as businesses start to realise the long-term impact of these, but it will still be competitive. Your employer branding and offering must be enticing and unique if you want to ensure top quality people join you and stay.

  1. Culture as a priority

The ‘talent disaster’ sparked by the great resignation has highlighted how important it is for people to be aligned with the Company’s mission and values. A positive and strong Company culture is essential to attract and retain top talent. Toxic workplace behaviours have been exposed and are no longer tolerated by staff. Having a real understanding of your Company culture and what needs to change is essential.

  1. Employee Experience

The recent staff shortages have turned the tables and meant a strong focus needs to be placed on what you can offer your staff. Recognition, growth, career opportunities, rewards and flexibility have become “non- negotiables” for employees. More and more staff are looking for a Company that genuinely values them and offers them what they need at work.

  1. Learning and Development

Much of the personal and skill development of staff has been on hold over the past few years, and motivated team members will be keen to move forward, learn and progress their career. Continuous learning supports change readiness, and staff are more open to trying new things and moving forward. It also is a key motivator for most people. Reassessing your development programs to ensure they are hitting the mark, and that you have options across all your team will pay dividends for you as your business moves forward this year.

Now is the time to truly reflect on your HR practices, culture and employee experience.

  • Do you have it right for 2023?
  • Is what you offer enough?
  • What do your team think?

Create a strong HR Plan

Creating a strong HR plan, which develops these aspects of HR and ensures you and your team are ready for success in 2023 will have you well placed to weather any other storms which come our way this year.

We can help with the development of your HR Plan. Working with you, Positive People have over 25 years of HR knowledge and experience. 

Call us on 09 445 1077 or email info@positivepeople.co.nz

 

PositivePeople No Comments

Leading your team through change

Change is inevitable, and as businesses adapt to rapidly changing markets it is more certain and more frequent than ever before. But how do you effectively lead your team through a restructure, relocation or major system or process change? Almost as certain as the need for change itself is the likelihood that you will encounter some form of resistance.

We embrace many massive personal changes in life like moving homes, marriage and new jobs. But these are elective changes that we’ve chosen for ourselves. Imposed change can bring about quite a different reaction.

This might be due to:

  • Loss of control
  • Fear of losing our job, status or responsibilities
  • Having to deal with ambiguity and additional workload during the transition
  • Being pushed out of our comfort zone resulting in concerns about whether we have the right skills or experience to be successful in the new environment
  • Loss of things that are valued

These are some of the reasons that people even with relatively minor changes proposed to their job can strongly resist.

To successfully negotiate change as a leader you must seek to understand and address the different emotional impact on each person in your team.

Most of us will move through a cycle of denial, resistance, exploration of options and information and finally commitment or acceptance of the change. Recognising where each member of your team is at will help you to move them through the process.

  • Denial – allow people time and space to let things sink in, provide as much information as possible and clarify why you are making the change
  • Resistance – encourage involvement, provide channels for feedback, keep communicating and reinforcing your key messages
  • Exploration – share the progress that has been made and what needs to happen next
  • Commitment / Acceptance – measure and celebrate successes, set short and long-term goals and focus on embedding the change and continuing to make improvements

If you’re still facing negativity and resistance, encourage your team to focus their energy only on what they can change or influence and then take action. Set up a session to discuss their concerns and divide these concerns into three groups:

  • What they can change or control themselves
  • What they can influence
  • What is outside of their control or influence

Follow this up by brainstorming what actions they can take to change or influence the issues from these categories. You can also talk about strategies for letting go or moving on from what cannot be controlled or influenced.

Lastly – look after people impacted by change, and look after yourself!

In restructuring processes, it’s important to check in with your team regularly. Offer them support and encourage them to seek support from others in their network. This could include family, friends, a counselor, careers counselor or financial adviser. There are a number of government-funded organisations and resources available as well as services your company can access to assist and support your employees.

Remember to:

  • Acknowledge and celebrate the wins – big or small
  • Accept people’s actions and behaviours as their responses to change and don’t take them personally
  • Take care with your own responses
  • Vent when you need to – but to the right person
  • Take care of yourself by eating well, getting enough sleep and making time for exercise and relaxation

 

In any change or restructuring process, it is essential that you follow proper HR processes.

 

Here at Positive People we have a proven track record in managing successful change processes that meet legislative obligations and support you to help your team feel respected, supported, involved and informed throughout the process. If we can help you with a change process, please call us on 09 445-1077.