The New Year brings so much promise, so much opportunity, so much change. Many of us start the year thinking about the changes we are going to make, which in turn establish our goals for the years ahead. Unfortunately, by the time we learn to stop writing ‘2017’ on things, we have already forgotten the goals that we were previously so motivated to achieve at the start of the year. This is when strategic professional goal setting comes into play.
Instead of jumping headfirst into 2018, take a moment to think about what happened in 2017. Evaluate your company, your role, what’s working, and what’s not. What did you want to accomplish, and, more importantly, what did you accomplish?
Too often we think of goals as personal and not work related. When we think about work related goals, we primarily think about professional growth. We think, I will read more, take a management class, or hire a coach. All good things, but to truly succeed in the New Year, one must think bigger. Think about what is happening day to day within your business. Are things running smoothly and efficiently? Could things be better?
One of the biggest, most relevant pain points for businesses all over the country right now is HR. Now more than ever, executives are looking for more efficient ways to manage their workforce, hire the right candidates, and retain their top performers. To address your current HR situation, try this exercise to kick off your first few weeks in the office. First, get out a piece of paper and think about your current HR processes. Now write out each process from start to finish. However, instead of simply writing out the steps, I want you to peel back each step like you would an onion.
For example, think about the candidate and how they are going through your organization’s hiring process. Are they immediately aware of your employment brand and why your job is the right one for them? Did the hiring manager have an easy time requesting to fill the role? How many people were involved in the hiring process? Asking these types of questions and digging deep into each of your organization’s processes is an easy way to spot inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
Once you’ve completed this ‘peel back’ of your hiring, onboarding, benefits administration, performance management, payroll, and time and attendance processes, you’ll not only have a much clearer understanding of the way your organizations works, but also a much better idea of how you can improve your organization in 2018. While it may be time consuming with a lot of questions to ask, this exercise can reveal deficiencies within your organization that you never knew existed, and can help define your professional goals in 2018.
Like professional goal setting, to have a successful HR processes, you need to understand where you are and set attainable, realistic goals. It all starts with peeling back each step in the process and asking some hard questions. Each question could lead to a new discovery that will help you improve the efficiencies within your organization, and more importantly, help you understand the amount of resources being taken up on redundant activities that new HR technology or software solutions could help with. Once you dig into each process and understand your benchmarks, it is then time to set attainable, measureable goals for 2018 and have a successful year.
This DATIS Blog was written by Robert Bennett, DATIS, on January 4th, 2017 and may not be re-posted without permission.