Have you ever found yourself doing things, just because others do them? Perhaps you feel attracted to the new current thinking or business trend?

It’s actually pretty common. I’d like to say HR professionals aren’t guilty, but we can be just as bad as other professions when it comes to the latest business trends or hype…

  • Dressing it up – we do like to use trendy names rather than just calling it like it is. I’m not quite sure when “human capital” became an acceptable term for employees or people. But in my book, it’s not acceptable. No more “bigging it up” – let’s use plain English.
  • Jumping on the latest trends bandwagon – seduced by the latest fad that will “fix a problem”. We’re bowled over by a concept that promises to resolve recruitment challenges, performance issues and so on. That is until we realise the impact doesn’t materialise.A colleague recounted a story from many years ago, when the company she worked for sent everyone on a two-day training course called Putting People First. It was clearly a big investment, run for several weeks, staff staying in a hotel etc. And yet, she recalls very little about the event. It is a great example of jumping on a trend and signing up, without thinking about what is right for the business, or how it might be implemented.
  • Believing the “hype” – the “ninjas” or “gurus”. The non-fiction sections of virtual and physical book shops are lined with books by experts offering sage advice on how to miraculously turnaround your business. We all know that in the business world there is no such thing as a miracle – it’s sheer focused hard work that pays off. So why do we find those books so tempting?We’ve got to stop and think about the needs of our business. It’s far better to engage a professional organisation to give tailored advice suited to your company, than try to implement half-baked ideas from a book…
  • Annual performance reviews – I’ve talked about this before. Just sitting down with members of your team once a year to discuss their performance is a waste of time. Issues that arose at the beginning of the year are long forgotten by the time the review comes round. Suddenly sharing your thoughts on poor performance out of the blue will not produce the desired results, and instantly puts the employee on the defensive.Instead, make sure you sit down regularly with your team. Ideally once per month, on a one to one basis, but certainly no less than once per quarter. Remember too, that the more open communication you have, the more your people will trust you, and share their ideas.
  • Annual employee surveys – I know what you’re thinking: hasn’t she just talked about the benefits of these surveys? And the short answer is yes, I have. But the survey is only as good as the questions you ask. Asking a lot of meaningless questions, which produces a lot of numbers for someone to crunch isn’t helpful. Benchmarking against another company that isn’t comparable to your own, is counter productive.Instead, ask quality questions. Give your team the opportunity to really share their thoughts and feelings. But essentially, it’s not the survey; it’s what you do afterwards that really counts. If you don’t act upon the responses, you shouldn’t bother to do the survey. Your team starts to question why they are wasting their time if you never listen.
  • System investment – getting easily sucked in by the nice chap selling the software, rather than thinking about how you are going to get a return on your investment. So often, we have been to clients who tell us they have an online HR system, but they don’t use it, it’s not fit for purpose, or they’re not really sure what it can do.Don’t get me wrong – online HR systems can be fantastic. They can reduce workload, and produce some incredibly powerful reports for you to use. But only make that investment, when you’ve scoped out what the business really needs, not what the salesman wants to sell you.

Much of what I have described is not peculiar just to the HR profession. It applies equally in management roles across the business.

Yes, it might seem controversial. And no, I’m not averse to a bit of that. However, what I really want to do is make you think. Are you guilty of falling prey to trendy ideas? Then, it’s time to start evaluating the needs of your business.

If you’d like help with improving your business, please contact us on 01256 328 428 or click here to request a callback, and have a free 15-minute consultation with us.