Individual employees have more influence than ever before. Some of that could be due to the role technology plays in our lives. Individuals have the ability to create powerful personal brands using social media. Add to that what’s taking place in the recruiting market – more job openings than job seekers – and this puts the individual in a strong power position.
I don’t mean that in a bad way. Employees aren’t trying to take advantage of their employers. But it does mean that organizations need to think about both individuals and teams when designing experiences, policies, and procedures. Let’s face it, organizations haven’t always updated policies and procedures to align with the modern workforce. It’s time.
HR plays a key role in this workplace transformation. HR needs to propose workplace solutions that create a value add in terms of productivity. Here are five things to consider:
1. Strategize company culture. This is not some sort of fluffy stuff. I’m not opposed to culture mantras about the value of people. That’s important. But it’s equally important to have a clear culture that employees understand. Employees want to believe in their companies. That means believing in the company culture.
3. Evolve the employee life cycle. The gig economy is changing the whole nature of careers. The “hire to retire” model is going away and unretirement is emerging. Organizations need to give employees a safe environment to become self-aware and reinvent themselves.
4. Invest in employee learning. During Bersin’s session, he said, “If employees aren’t learning on the job, then it’s not a good job.” So true! Never before have we had so many options to deliver learning experiences: webinars, podcasts, micro/macro learning, etc.
5. Embrace team collaboration and less hierarchy. I know the title of this article is “The Rise of the Individual” but none of us operate in a silo. Part of recognizing individuals is realizing that every employee plays a role in the organizational chart. And that communication flows in all directions.
If organizations want to hire, engage, and retain employees, they need to create environments where employees can be productive – both as individuals and as an individual in a team. Theresa Amabile said it best in “The Progress Principle” when she wrote that employees will be their most engaged when at the end of the day, they can say, “I got something done today.”