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Clients.
Culture works for businesses, culture works for employees, culture works internally in companies to facilitate organizational change, stop churn and make productivity soar.
More than Human Resources, we provide the processes to operationalize culture in your organization.
We solve the problem of churn, lack of productivity and inefficient or noncompliant internal processes. We are experts at implementing organization-wide value and role alignment. We are not like other HR companies. We think and live outside the box. Our team fits into your culture.
With us you get a partner with depth of knowledge and experience and our custom created wholistic culture solutions.
Our Philosophy.
Your purpose creates our success. Our focus is culture infused QGPs. Our team impacts culture & talent by aligning & integrating people and processes.
Our team transforms role alignment which in turn increases engagement, creating an operationalized culture, aligned values and most importantly… RESULTS.
Everything Small Business Owners Need to Know About Our Basic Package
NewsFor small business owners, the phrase “HR Team” might sound a little expensive. If you were to create your own in-house team, you’d probably be right. But with an outsourced HR team, and more specifically our Basic: Culture Ops Package, you get a team of experts dedicated to creating a strong culture within your business for an affordable price. And the best part is, you can use us for however long you need us.
Culture is the character and personality of your company. It determines how your clients perceive you, the type of environment your employees operate in, and the overall productivity of the entire business. Cultivating a healthy and dynamic work culture that permeates the business from the top down should be a top priority for any business owner. But how do you create a successful culture?
It starts with you. Your goals, visions, work ethic, and your ability to empathize with clients and employees. But fostering your own positive attributes isn’t enough to instill a great business culture. You need a team that’s solely dedicated to creating and maintaining a positive culture for your business. In other words, the right HR team.
In this article, we’ll outline what small business owners get from our basic package, and how it can help your business in the long run.
Experience
A diverse team of professionals with 175+ years of collective experience in Operations, People, Talent, and HR is what you get from the Culture Ops team.
Every member of our Consultants of Service Team is certified and/or degreed in regard to HR and Business Operations. While our team is proud of their merits, they never stop learning and developing to stay ahead of ever-changing trends and practices. Being proactive is a core value of our Consultants.
Our team also has extensive experience in supporting businesses with a strengths-based team approach. They evaluate the key strengths of your employees and identify how to develop them in a way that emphasizes their strong points.
Vigilant Service
The Culture Ops: Basic Package comes with a dedicated team that you can rely on week in and week out, all for an affordable price. You’ll get unlimited access to our entire Consultants of Service Team via email and dedicated phone service.
For more complex issues, you get Live and Virtual assistance when extensive help is required. That may be potential risks that our team has identified or employee relations issue that requires immediate solutions.
In addition to unlimited access to our team, the Basic Package also comes with an annual Employee Handbook or Culture Operations Playbook to help employees get on the same page. These valuable tools will have you and your employees confident that you are compliant and culture-focused.
Lastly, you will get quarterly check-ins with our CEO to make sure your relationship with Culture Ops is running smoothly and your company culture is heading in the right direction.
Real Impact
The Basic Package delivers a real and significant impact on small businesses while remaining financially feasible. That means finding the best practices for your business to proactively promote a positive work culture. As well as reacting to any HR or employee needs with hands-on help the moment an issue comes up.
Our proactive assistance will drive your People and Culture vision or initiatives to create HR-related solutions. We foster this with ongoing virtual updates and access to:
There’s also an impact that goes beyond the services we offer. When we work on a personal level with our clients, the purpose of their business vision is realized, their employees’ talent and development is optimized, and their entire HR process is finally streamlined.
Want To Learn More About The Basic Package?
Reading about our basic package can only tell you so much. If you want a real sense of what your business will gain from working with Culture Ops, connect with us today! After all, what makes a great HR and People Operations team is the people behind it. We partner with companies and employees on a personal level, so it’s pretty important we should get to know each other first.
And if you’re looking for something more than the Basic Package, check out our Full-Integration Package, or better yet, ask us directly. We look forward to connecting.
California’s New Pay Transparency Law: What You Need to Know
NewsCalifornia’s new pay transparency law is already having a major impact on employers and employees alike. Companies now need to be transparent about what they’re paying and offering to current employees and applicants, while job seekers now have more information when negotiating salary.
For business owners, having a strong culture and HR team will be more important than ever as our working landscape dramatically changes over the next year. Acquiring and retaining talent will become a more competitive venture as worker compensation becomes more public.
In this article, we’ll take a look at what the new law is requiring of California business owners, the potential impact of this law in the coming year, and how you can adapt as employee recruitment transforms.
What Does the New Law Entail?
California’s new pay transparency law requires companies with 15 or more employees to provide workers with pay scale information on their job position as well as a wage range in all job postings. Bonuses, tips, and other benefits do not have to be included in this information.
All employers regardless of company size must keep records of employees’ job titles and wage rate history for the duration of their time at the company plus three years after they leave. These records must be open to inspection in case of an Equal Pay Act Claim so that the Labor Commissioner can examine if there’s a wage discrepancy.
In addition to the requirements mentioned, companies with 100 or more employees will have to report data to the state on pay and hours worked categorized by the establishment, job category, sex, race, and ethnicity of their employees.
Failure to comply with these new laws could make business owners subject to penalties of $100 to $10,000 per violation. These laws will require business owners to adapt their recruitment and company culture fast if they haven’t been transparent about pay scales in the past.
Potential Impact on Employers and Employees
The driving force behind this law is a public demand for pay equity. The hope is that with salaries out in the open, employers will be less inclined to discriminate against workers. For applicants, knowing the wage range for job postings will allow them to properly negotiate pay and make the application process more efficient.
While some businesses have been slow to adapt to the new law, there could be long-term benefits for business owners that embrace it early. These potential benefits include:
There is significant discussion surrounding the advantages that the new law offers to employees, but it is important to note that employers also stand to reap numerous benefits, if not more, from this law. Why? It provides the perfect opportunity to develop a healthy work culture and productive environment through trust.
How Businesses Can Adapt
The new law has created a highly competitive environment for recruiting talent because applicants now know what they’re going to be entitled to. So besides offering higher salaries, what can you do to attract and keep the best talent for your company?
Before doing anything, you should ensure you are complying with the new law. Conducting a pay equity audit of your company to find discrepancies, determining pay ranges for existing positions, and updating job postings to include pay information are the best ways to make sure you’ll be following the new requirements.
Next, consider using the 3 Pillars to create a strong company culture that incorporates the new pay transparency requirements.
At Culture Works, we use a 3 Pillar approach when developing a culture for small to mid-sized companies. These pillars are Attract, Engage, and Retain, and they can all be used with the new law.
Attract: Ensuring your HR practices, compensation structures, and talent attraction strategies are aligned with an ever-changing talent pool.
Having HR operations that know the ins and outs of pay transparency will reduce bad exposure when recruiting talent.
Engage: Creating performance and culture accountability through culture roadmaps and playbooks.
Getting everyone on the same page, which pay transparency can aid in, will drive your company’s achievements and success through a motivated and engaged workforce.
Retain: Offer career pathing and promotions to retain your talent and decrease turnover.
Having a clear path for your employees, as well as transparent salary ranges for promotions will serve as a motivator and incentive to stay with your company long-term.
In addition to the 3 Pillars, creating a strong compensation structure will be vital in staying competitive in the new landscape. A compensation structure gives you clear indicators of what pay scale, raises, and bonuses to offer to current employees and applicants.
Creating and maintaining a good compensation structure consists of gathering relevant data like employee opinions and market research, developing a pay structure that retains and attracts high-level talent, and alignment with a company’s model, life-cycle stage, and workforce plan.
Have More Questions?
The new pay transparency law is radicalizing employee recruitment and retention. Having a strong culture and HR team will be pivotal in adjusting to the new landscape.
Connect with Culture works today to learn more about the new pay transparency law, adapting to it, and how the right HR team can help your company grow.
Flexible HR for Small Businesses
NewsMany small business owners have the same questions when it comes to HR:
In this blog, we’ll break down some of these answers and look into some possible flexible HR solutions for small business owners.
First Things First: What is HR?
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines HR management as “the process of managing an organization’s employees…to effectively meet an organization’s goals.”
What is the Purpose of an HR Department?
If we were to try to simplify the purpose of HR into one sentence, we might say something like: In its most basic function, HR is responsible for employee recruitment, retention, administering employee benefits and training and development.
However, this is a serious simplification of what HR actually does.
The duties of a Human Resource Department also typically include:
Key HR Functions for Small Businesses
Key areas of human resources for small businesses are:
What HR Roles Does My Small Business Need?
An HR manager or HR fractional team is your best bet as a small business. There is a difference in cost and outcome in fractional or outsourced HR, but, of course, this all depends on your specific situation. Let’s take a look at these two options.
Fractional HR
Fractional HR tends to be more cost-friendly because hiring a fractional HR team can help reduce the cost of full-time employees while optimizing your existing team’s functionality. The cost of one full-time employee can be the equivalent of receiving a team of employees’ expertise!
Outsourced HR
Outsourcing, on the other hand, can mean a variety of things. It can mean completely relying on the outsourced team instead of hiring an in-house team, or it can be a partnership between your existing team with a company that performs similar or complementary functions. An outsourced team is often a replacement for an in-house team or role.
Need Flexible HR Options? Consider Culture Works
At Culture Works, we work within an extremely focused skillset, we craft Quarterly Game Plans to drive results for your business, and we believe in what we do. Our passionate HR team is here to help your team create success every step of the way. In an effort to give away a few of our secrets, we are sharing a typical 30, 60, and 90-day engagement breakdown as a Culture Works client.
Let’s take a look at each of these plans in more detail.
30-Day Check-Ins
30-day check-ins begin with the creation of a new 30-day plan and review the commitment to the 30-60-90 day process. This meeting includes stakeholders, team members, and the client success manager. We establish expectations, the approach and working dynamics, the cadence of working sessions, and joint ownership.
60-Day Check-Ins
60-day check-ins typically included a review of the previous month’s plan and the creation of a new one. In this check-in, we evaluate the partner’s commitment, the results, your team’s experience, the value-add, and how aligned you are feeling with Culture Works’ performance. Next, we work to include a 60-day committed plan for your team.
90 Day Check-Ins
Lastly, the 90-day check-in includes a reflection of the previous two months and an alignment of the next Quarterly Game Plan (QGP) for your team. We will evaluate results up until this point, focusing on your experience, the value you feel Culture Works is bringing to your team, and how aligned you are feeling within your organization. At this time, you will create your first QGP and your stakeholders will receive a complete Client Experience Survey.
Final Thoughts
With Culture Works, we want to partner with your company to create success for your team– whatever that looks like for your specific company. Our passionate HR team has the experience you need in culture ops and hospitality to create success. Our approach is centered upon the importance to humanize, customize, and simplify. We believe in what we do, and we want to help your company operationalize culture, talent, and HR to create ongoing success.
Read on to learn more about what we do. Then, read on to learn why hiring the right people can lead your business to success in a recession.
Why Did Kristi Pastore Start Culture Works?
NewsAt Culture Works, we get sh*t done, drive results, and take action on undiscovered opportunities. However, this can be a big responsibility and isn’t always as easy as it looks.
So, how do we do it and why did we start? Today we’re discussing why Culture Works came to be and exploring what the future holds for human resources.
Let’s hear from Kristi Pastore, the founder and owner of Culture Works.
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Read on to learn more about us and why we do what we do (hint: we love it).
First, Let Us Introduce Ourselves
Our purpose is to operationalize your culture through improved middle management processes that allow the front line to focus on successful operations, and the leadership team to focus on the future.
Culture Works when Purpose, People, and Process are aligned. When people and processes are aligned, you’ll reach your company’s goals faster.
Why Did Kristi Start Culture Works?
Kristi started Culture Works with the intention of building people with an outcome of building businesses. What better way to do that than have a focus on Culture, Talent, and HR?
Kristi believes in empowering people with information and the right experiences, so they can make informed decisions and drive their true purpose.
What Are Kristi’s Goals For Culture Works Moving Forward?
Kristi’s priority is to maintain a kickass culture while ensuring the safety of each of her team members. She trusts the Culture Works purpose, process, and team.
And we have no doubt that creating and practicing our inclusive culture will only continue to lead to greater company success and individual empowerment.
Why is HR Seen as a Police Force And How Do We Stop It?
HR can be seen as a police force due to a dysfunctional culture. What do we mean by dysfunctional? A culture that is not driven by purpose, role alignment and values.
To put it bluntly, there are some things missing in the culture of the operations or leadership accountability of culture within the workforce. But it’s also where we are as a society, so we all have to get back to developing out of dysfunction. Companies and Teams need to identify the opportunities to develop what is missing. That’s where we help!
How Can Culture Works Help Find What is Missing?
The Culture Works team starts by accessing the culture of an organization. From this assessment, we can find the opportunities and underdeveloped initiatives to kickstart culture in the right direction.
How do we do it? Let’s discuss our assessments.
Culture Works Assessments
Purpose
Our Culture Assessment focuses on purpose, values, & leadership alignment that serve as building blocks for creating your company’s culture strategy, goal alignment, and operationalizing culture.
People
We explore your current company culture by partnering with leadership and culture influencers, learning from them and inviting them to be a part of the process.
Process
We collaboratively develop a custom assessment process that includes coordination strategy, data collection targets, surveys, and interviews. We then deliver an assessment and roadmap.
What is Commonly Missing?
Some organizations are run solely by money and metrics. We’ll let you in on a little secret: money and metrics are not enough to produce a successful company culture. We focus on factoring in people and purpose with money and metrics to create a thriving workplace culture.
At Culture Works, We Put People First
We prioritize valuing employees and contributing to employee growth, engagement, and retention. Why? People are often driving the success of an organization: they innovate, they engage, they collaborate. The people at an organization contribute in a variety of ways that doesn’t just include their job duties.
That’s why we think it’s so important to have a powerful community of people in your organization and to support them in their roles and development.
Let’s Talk About the Future of HR: What Will It Look Like?
HR in the future will not look like HR today – and we’re okay with that.
Automated Processes
Many of HR’s operational functions will be automated and optimized. This can include functions such as payroll, for example. Why do we think this? Technology is advancing quickly and can be an efficient option in taking over some of the operations.
That’s why the future HR will bring the human element to organizations.
The Future of Human Resources: The Human Element
We think the future of human resources will be talent development, talent strategy, and building purpose and people-driven businesses.
While we can trust technology to take care of some processes, we still need HR to bring a human connection to operations such as team and client interactions, as well as talent strategy and talent development.
Learn More About Us
Consider Culture Works. Our goal is to work with you for as long as you and your owners, operators and stakeholders need us! We do this by operationalizing your culture, fostering the development of your leadership teams, and driving HR initiatives.
We build Quarterly Game Plans and Culture Success Roadmaps that are focused on Culture, Talent, and HR initiatives and real results.Learn more about our services, here.
Lunch and Learns Aren’t Cutting It: Let’s Talk Learning and Development that Works
NewsDid you know that 93% of employees say they will stay longer at a company that invests in their career development? Wow! Learning and development programs are directly related to greater employee retention and satisfaction.
Learning and development isn’t just about lunch and learns or a quick presentation on a Tuesday afternoon. So, how do we avoid those glazed over eyes and make programs that actually help our employees grow?
Let’s hear from Sabrina, the Culture Works L&D Specialist.
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Read on for more information about learning and development programs and how to implement these programs in your organization. Let’s dive in.
First, What Are Learning and Development Programs?
Learning and development (L&D), also known as training and development, is a part of HR that aligns employee goals and performance with that of the organization. Leaders of learning and development within your organization should identify skill gaps within teams and develop and deliver training to help bridge those gaps.
What Are the Responsibilities of Learning and Development Programs?
A learning and development team typically takes on a few responsibilities. These include:
We understand this list can seem a bit daunting and organizations may not be sure where to start. The good news? Leaders can use purposeful strategies to better implement L&D into their business. These strategies focus on creating an environment where employees can learn, practice, and apply their skills.
Let’s take a look at some strategies to implement L&D into your organization.
Successful Strategies to Implement Learning and Development Programs
Learning and development programs can be an excellent step toward improving retention. These programs can make employees feel valued, supported, and productive as well as build a strong company culture.
From our experience, we’ve found the biggest challenge for employers is creating a learning and development environment that helps their employees succeed. In order to create this environment, you need to know what you’re creating–a clear goal can help drive the process forward smoothly and efficiently.
Contextualize the Learning
Research has shown that learners are less likely to apply what they learn if it is taught in a different context than it will be applied.
One strategy to combat this issue is to create customized training programs. In these programs, instructors target specific topics on a team or individual level.
Break Trainings into Portions
Research suggests that dividing training into smaller increments can help learners retain and apply information. Leaders may experience more positive benefits of learning and development programs if they break up training into small, structured portions.
Measure Progress and Benchmark Performance
Your L&D strategy should include clear objectives and performance indicators. Leaders should consistently measure progress by utilizing these indicators. In reviewing the performance of the L&D strategies, leaders can review:
Provide Helpful Reminders
Leaders can offer short, helpful reminders for their teams to use the skills from the learning and development trainings. These reminders, which can take the form of an email or push notification, should be contextual, friendly, and just a few sentences. These nudges can be as simple as “this project would be a great opportunity to try this skill that we learned!”
The purpose of these reminders is to keep the ideas from the training at the front of the learner’s mind as they navigate their day-to-day responsibilities.
Follow Up and Reflect
To effectively employ learning and development strategies, leaders should encourage learners to reflect on how the skills and tools they have learned can be used in the workday.
Learn more about each of these strategies in our guide to implementing L&D into your organization, here.
Need Help Implementing L&D into Your Business?
At Culture Works, we value the opportunity to help businesses implement learning and development programs into their company culture. Our team of experts is ready to partner with your team to build greater organizational success.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your business implement these programs and contribute to positive company culture.Interested in more information? Read on to see how learning and development can transform your company culture here.
What is People Operations and How is it Different From Human Resources?
NewsSome companies may use the terms “people operations” and “human resources” interchangeably. However, while people operations falls under the umbrella of human resources, the two are separate entities and maintain a few key differences.
These differences include varying goals, strategies and functions. Let’s start with some definitions.
First, What is People Operations?
Human resources has been around for decades. In fact, the first human resources department might have originated in 1901! So, where did this new term “people operations” come from?
The answer is: Google in the early 2000’s. After Google pioneered the term, it quickly began gaining popularity throughout human resources. Let’s take a look at its definition.
People Operations – also referred to as People Ops or POPs– is a people-focused approach to managing a workforce.
How is People Operations Different from Human Resources?
Human resources tends to focus on elements such as productivity and compliance, whereas people operations places emphasis on employee satisfaction, happiness and development.
Let’s review a few examples.
Main Focuses
The main focuses of traditional HR may include enforcing rules and reducing liability. The main focus of people operations, on the other hand, includes valuing employees and contributing to employee growth, engagement, and retention.
Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Old HR often responds to issues as or after they arise. People operations make an effort to proactively prevent issues through people, purpose, and processes.
Hiring and Role Alignment
Old HR fills vacant positions at organizations. People operations place more emphasis on retaining employees.
Further, traditional human resources may speak with employees about poor performance. People operations value role alignment and place employees in the best position for success.
While this shift may seem small, there are significant impacts. For instance, a people-first approach results in higher employee engagement and retention.
What Are the Main Responsibilities of People Operations?
Any People Ops department has several key priorities they’re striving to meet in an organization. While some of these goals may differ, there are a few that every People Ops department likely shares. Let’s take a look.
Connecting With Employees
The main goal of people operations is to strengthen the connection between HR and employees. At Culture Works, we believe that successful HR practitioners put their people first.
Making HR a Resource Instead of Policing Employees
Some may associate HR with awkward conversations enforcing rules and policies. People operations shifts these impersonal conversations into humanized processes. The new HR will use these processes not to enable people, but rather to empower them.
Operating With a Mindset of Growth
People operations places importance on the growth and development of employees.
How Is People Operations Implemented?
All of these benefits sound pretty great, right? We think so too. However, many HR practitioners may be wondering: how exactly does people operations work?
Shifting From Manual to Automation
Use technology instead of humans for repetitive tasks. These tasks can include, for example, payroll, data entry, or processing and reporting.
Prioritizing Data Over Guesswork
Capture, review and share insights driven by data about the workforce. What kind of data, you may ask? We’re all about HR metrics and KPIs.
HR metrics and KPIs help human resources (HR) professionals guide the development of their organization and track its efficiency. Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are quantifiable measures of performance over time for a specific objective. KPIs clearly articulate what an organization needs to achieve to reach its long-term objectives.
Through using this data – and not just gut feelings or quick conversations – HR practitioners can focus on concrete improvements and where the organization is thriving.
Learn more about HR metrics and KPIs, here.
We understand that some parts of HR will have to stay. However, many of these systems and processes can be upgraded or automated.
This is the New HR. Ready to Get Started?
Consider Culture Works. Our goal is to work with you for as long as you and your stakeholders need us! We do this by operationalizing your culture, fostering the development of your leadership teams, and driving HR initiatives.
We build Quarterly Game Plans that are focused on Culture, Talent, and HR initiatives and real results.
Learn more about our services, here.
The Four Keys To Talent Development In Your Organization
NewsTalent development—designed to attract, develop, motivate, and retain productive, engaged employees—is essential to an organization’s success and sustainability.
According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Workforce Learning Report, 94% of employees say that they would stay at a company longer if the company invested in their employee learning.
This considered, leaders should prioritize continuous efforts to:
So, how can you facilitate talent development in your organization? Let’s find out.
Why Is It Important to Develop Talent in the Workplace?
At its core, talent development is the process of building your people in line with your company’s goals and plans (and just a little secret from us: your people are your greatest asset).
Let’s be honest: When organizations are not actively striving to help employees achieve their potential and goals, people are more likely to jump ship and look for something better.
This harsh reality is WHY talent development is so important in your organization!
Talent development can make employees feel seen and supported; therefore, making them more likely to stay and grow within their current organization.
What is the Process of Developing Talent?
The process of developing talent is not as quick as a bi-monthly “learn and lunch,” a set of slides for employees to click through, or a brief meeting before the team heads out for the weekend.
What does this mean for leaders? It might be time to ditch the idea of leaving new hires to complete courses on computers or grouping the whole team together for all learning and development efforts.
Instead, the process of training and development is continuous throughout the lifecycle of an employee and should be performed on an individual, ongoing basis.
The good news? Leaders can kickstart and maintain talent development in just a few simple steps (and some patience and dedication never hurt anyone either!)
Wondering what these steps are? Let’s dive in.
What Are the Four Steps of Talent Development in Your Organization?
Engage the Talent
Leaders can access the talent of the team as well as get employees involved with the process. A cookie-cutter approach to developing talent won’t have the same results as a collaborative, adaptable process.
But what does this process look like?
Employees can play an active role in how they want to develop their talent. For example, the skills they want to perfect, career opportunities they may want to pursue down the line, and how the company can help them accomplish these goals (i.e. what learning opportunities will work best for them).
Identify Learning and Development Opportunities
Leaders can take an inventory of current employee skills and identify opportunities for learning and development within their team.
Leaders can do this by asking questions like:
Train For Expectations
Leaders can consider company objectives and strategies, effectively training employees to meet these expectations. These expectations can include:
Leaders may implement the strategies of upskilling, reskilling, or cross-skilling to meet expectations.
Let’s Talk Upskilling, Reskilling, and Cross-Skilling
What the heck is upskilling, reskilling, and cross-skilling!? Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.
Upskilling
Providing existing employees with new or more advanced skills within their role through education and training. Read on to learn more about upskilling.
Reskilling
Helps employees learn new skills that will be useful in an entirely different role.
Cross-Skilling
Gives employees the skills to perform multiple functions at a company.
What is the Difference Between Talent Development and Upskilling?
Talent development and upskilling are similar but have a few key differences.
We like to think of it like this:
Upskilling focuses on just that: Skills! Talent development, on the other hand, takes a broad approach to encourage employees to learn and grow.
Moreover, talent development includes skills and upskilling but is not just limited to those attributes. A talent development strategy may include more soft skills, culture, and role alignment than upskilling does.
Manage Outcomes
A talent development strategy should include clear objectives and performance indicators. Leaders can consistently measure progress by utilizing these indicators.
Need Help Developing Talent in Your Organization?
At Culture Works, we value the opportunity to help businesses implement learning and development programs into their company culture. Our team of experts is ready to partner with your team to build greater organizational success.
Contact us today to learn how we can help your business implement these programs and contribute to positive company culture.
Interested in more information? Read on to see how learning and development can transform your company culture.
What HR Metrics and KPIs Should You Be Tracking?
NewsHR metrics and KPIs help human resources (HR) professionals guide the development of their organization and track its efficiency.
Peter Drucker, management guru, famously stated: “What gets measured, gets managed.”
These measurements show the methods that are working, aren’t working, and where to focus future efforts. But what measurements should HR professionals be tracking to drive their organization toward success? Let’s take a look at some key metrics.
What are HR Metrics?
Human resources metrics, or HR metrics, provide data on a business’s performance.
What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are quantifiable measures of performance over time for a specific objective. KPIs clearly articulate what an organization needs to achieve to reach its long-term objectives.
KPIs provide:
Successful strategic plans may have between five and seven key performance indicators to keep a pulse on how a team is performing.
What’s the Difference Between HR Metrics and KPIs?
While ‘HR metrics’ and ‘KPIs’ are often used interchangeably, there are a couple of important differences.
We like to break it down like this:
Key performance indicators help to define strategy and provide a clear focus for an organization. Metrics are measures of everyday activities that add value to an organization but aren’t the critical measure for achievable goals.
Think of it like this: Every KPI is a metric, but not every metric is a KPI.
For instance, ‘organic inbound website traffic’ is an example of a metric. While this metric is important to track, it is not as considered, or clearly defined as, a KPI.
An example of a KPI would be ‘targeted new clients per month.’
Now that we understand what each of these measurements is, let’s dive into what HR metrics and KPIs you should be tracking.
What HR Metrics You Should be Tracking
HR metrics help HR professionals understand and maintain efficiency in the daily operations of their organization.
While there are dozens of important HR metrics, let’s focus on a few that may be valuable for your business:
Quality of Hire
Quality of hire is an essential metric for evaluating the effectiveness of an organization’s hiring process.
A healthy quality of hire metric shows that:
However, attempting to define this measurement can be difficult.
HR professionals may choose to review turnover, performance reviews, and hiring manager satisfaction as proxy measurements. The combination of these results can help indicate if a new hire is happy and performing well in their position.
Demographics and Diversity
Diverse teams are necessary for any company–but they don’t build themselves! HR professionals and hiring teams should be making cognizant efforts to build and maintain diverse teams.
To gain an understanding of their company’s demographics and diversity, HR professionals can analyze data such as the gender diversity ratio and pay gap.
Let’s take a brief look at each of these metrics.
The Gender Diversity Ratio
This ratio helps HR professionals determine whether there is an equitable or fair representation of different genders within a company. While this metric is most commonly used to measure the ratio of men vs. women, it can also include people who identify as non-binary or other gender identities.
Pay Gaps
HR professionals can make closing pay gaps a priority in their organization.
In the United States, the gender pay gap between men and women is approximately 18%. However, this gap varies by race and ethnicity as well.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, white women earned 82% as much as white men, black women earned 85% as much as black men, and Asian women earned just 70% as much as Asian men.
By reviewing these gaps, HR professionals can understand their organization’s culture and how their policies apply to different gender groups.
Absenteeism Rates
Absenteeism rates are important for HR professionals to review because they can indicate poor management, employee burnout, workplace stress, and/or employee disengagement.
If an HR professional notices an employee is taking short absences regularly, they can schedule a 1:1 to check in on their health, well-being, and company satisfaction.
What KPIs You Should be Tracking
Time to Fill
Time to fill is the measure of days a company takes to fill an open position from the date the job is listed to the date the new hire accepts the position.
This metric is often expressed through dividing the total number of days for each position by the number of new hires or positions filled.
Typically, organizations measure time to fill for external candidates because hiring internal candidates includes a different process.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) set the benchmark for time-to-fill at 42 days.
Employee Turnover Rate
High employee turnover can have a range of negative effects on an organization. For example, high turnover can be costly, cause reduced morale, and make it difficult for employers to hire and retain high-potential talent.
To thoroughly measure employee turnover, HR professionals may choose to monitor several different metrics, including:
By analyzing these rates, an HR professional can understand where the organization is excelling and where it may need improvement in terms of employee retention.
What is the Purpose of Tracking These Metrics?
HR metrics and KPIs help HR professionals to address company issues head-on, maintaining a clear understanding of where their company is at using data.
Determining which metrics should be tracked as KPI’s can vary based on an organization’s goals, values, areas for improvement, and needed areas to highlight in reporting. All metrics are important to keep a pulse on, but KPI’s are highlighted to provide a spotlight on those metrics that need focus.
According to the SHRM HR Magazine, HR is held back by the following shortcomings:
By tracking metrics, identifying high-impact KPI’s, and using data to drive your people-minded decisions, you can align your HR initiatives with your organization’s goals, obtain buy in from stakeholders, and have a clear vision of where to focus your efforts.
Need Help Tracking Your HR Metrics and KPIs?
At Culture Works, our assessments focus on purpose, values, and leadership alignment that serve as building blocks for creating your company’s culture strategy, goal alignment, and operationalizing culture.
Read on for more information about our culture assessment and other services. Then, check out our article to learn how to bring emotional intelligence into the workplace.
Psychological Safety: How to Establish it in Your Workplace
NewsAs a leader, one of your main priorities should be to create a safe and productive workplace that helps your employees thrive and succeed in their roles. Psychological safety is a key factor in creating such a workplace for your employees. Never heard of it? That’s okay, we’ve got you covered.
In this article, we’ll discuss what psychological safety is, its benefits, and how you can establish it in your workplace.
What is Psychological Safety?
The term was coined by Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor. Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.”
Forbes simplifies the concept as employees “knowing that the things you say and do won’t be used against you — as long as you mean well.”
Benefits of Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Establishing a climate of psychological safety allows space for people to speak up and share their ideas. Imagine this: You work in an environment where you know your leader has your back, where your ideas will at least be listened to if not implemented, and where the team is open to new solutions.
What kind of innovations do you think this type of environment would lead to? How do you think this would affect the organization as a whole?
A workplace with psychological safety creates an environment that fosters innovation, teamwork, and productivity.
How to Establish Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Leaders can implement a few strategies to establish psychological safety in their organization.
Welcome Questions and Curiosity
By embracing questions and curiosity, leaders create a space in which their team feels comfortable clarifying concepts and introducing new ideas.
According to Forbes, just three out of 10 workers strongly agree that their opinions seem to count at work. Employers can improve employee retention and engagement by making an effort to listen to ideas.
Consider Breaking the Golden Rule
Yes, we mean to consider breaking “treat others as you would like to be treated.” Instead, treat others as they would like to be treated. What’s the difference?
Each team is made up of a collection of people with different personalities, communication styles, and goals. Take the time to ask individuals on your team how they prefer to be treated in terms of communication style, check-ins, feedback, and so on.
For instance, some employees may benefit from frequent check-ins whereas others may feel as if such check-ins suggest leadership doesn’t trust them to get their work done.
By understanding how your team wants to be treated as individuals, you contribute to establishing psychological safety in your workplace.
Minimize Negativity
Negativity can be contagious in a workplace, especially when it comes from leadership. This can cause employees to feel uncomfortable sharing their ideas or speaking up, hesitant due to a worry that they will receive negative feedback from leadership or others.
Include Your Team in Decision Making
Consider consulting your team before making major decisions. Asking for their input can make them feel valued and included. Once a decision is made, leadership can take the time to briefly explain the reasoning behind it and how the employee’s feedback contributed to this decision. Even if the team disagrees with your choice, transparency will be appreciated.
Be Open to Feedback
As a leader, you likely provide feedback since it’s a necessary part of improving and developing your team. However, you need to be open to receiving feedback as well. Invite your team to challenge your choices or offer opinions on how you can improve.
Earn and Extend Trust
Employees in high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 40% less burnout, and 50% higher productivity.
Edmondson’s research ties trust to psychological safety: “It describes a team climate characterized by interpersonal trust and mutual respect in which people are comfortable being themselves.”
Prioritize Active Listening
Active listening is the practice of making a cognizant effort to pay attention and fully engage in a conversation. This can take the form of paraphrasing to show understanding, using nonverbal cues such as nodding and eye contact, as well as verbally inserting short affirmations.
Learn more about active listening and how to bring emotional intelligence into the workplace.
Interested in Improving Your Company Culture?
Building a healthy company culture, including psychological safety, is often easier said than done. That’s why we’re here to help. We align our purpose to operationalize culture with your people. For more information, check out our culture operations, here.Read on to learn how to build trust with your employees, here.