More often than not, when my phone rings, it’s NOT because the client is doing GREAT, has no people issues, and a winning culture to boot. (Although wouldn’t it be nice? 🤔)
And when your People and Culture strategy isn’t groovy, that’s when we start to see turnover, resistance to change, disengagement, and even strategic misdirection at the very top.
So I put together a set of key questions to ask your HR team and people leaders to ensure your People & Culture strategy is aligned with your mission and contributes to productive growth, sustainability, reputation & well-being.
Boost Your People and Culture IQ with These 8 Questions
The dynamic nature of today’s landscape (think Generative AI, generational shifts in your workforce, and the evolving hybrid work equation) gives us PLENTY of compelling reasons to revisit our People and Culture strategy.
With these 8 proven questions as your guide, you’ll be able to make the right plans for your organization and set you up on the path to success.
Did you make time to reflect?
It’s easy to jump into the new year, but don’t miss the opportunity to learn from the previous year.
→ What went well and what didn’t?
→ How did our people investments impact our business goals?
→ How did our accomplishments/goals align with our values/mission?
→ What do we need to start/stop/continue doing to better meet our goals?
Are we listening to our employees?
Make sure you take time to ask the tough questions, engage your fearless listening, and engage with the feedback. You can start with:
→ What does it take to be successful here?
→ Do you have what you need to do your job well?
→ What can we do to help you thrive at work?
How can we make our Performance Management practices more effective?
Setting expectations and providing constant feedback is key to employee success, so ensure that your process is focused on what’s most important.
→ How valuable are performance conversations at our organization? How do we measure this value?
→ Do our processes and measures align with how our employees work, and do they encourage performance improvement?
→ What do our managers and employees say about the operations of our performance management system? Is it easy to use? How can we make it better?
What will help us get ahead on compliance?
Compliance can sneak up on you and has become increasingly complex with remote work practices. Make sure you have a good process for staying up to date!
→ Are there new laws or regulations we need to implement? (Keep in mind federal, state, city, and other local requirements. You may have obligations even in locations where you don’t have an office if you have people working remotely there. Talk to your attorney!)
→ What internal policies need updating to align with our culture, values, and legal requirements?
→ How are we getting feedback on our policies and processes? How are we monitoring for impact across all employee segments?
→ How do we know they’re working? Are they incentivizing the right behaviors and outcomes?
How can we optimize our Total Rewards Spend?
Compensation and Benefits are a huge line item in your budget, so make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck!
→ Is our total rewards offering attracting and retaining the level of talent we want?
→ How will we manage the trade-offs when we have to prioritize our costs?
→ Are we getting the most value from our brokers and vendors?
Are we keeping up with our HR Calendar?
From filing your 5500s to kicking off the annual review process and scheduling next month’s lunch and learn, there’s a lot going on in HR. A Calendar is a simple yet critical tool to ensure nothing gets missed!
→ Can we list all of the HR activities we will conduct this year, including events, activities, and submissions?
→ Have we included sufficient time for planning, communication, etc.?
Are we collecting the right data?
Metrics are a must for any organization that wants to build a solid, data-driven management strategy.
→ Given the size, goals, and context of our organization, are we collecting the right sets of data?
→ Do we have the right reporting strategy? (Are the right people getting the right information at the right time?)
→ Are we gleaning insights from the metrics to inform business decisions?
What emerging trends are on the horizon?
There’s always something new happening in HR, and depending on your culture, you may be leading the charge or waiting to see how it all plays out, but regardless, you don’t want to be caught unaware.
→ How are we staying up to date on people and culture trends?
→ What impact will the upcoming HR trends have on our organization?
What other questions would you add to make sure your People and Culture Practices are locked down for the year ahead?
[BONUS] Watch my Session on Harnessing Conflict for Transformational Change
Check out my session on the power of conflict in change from the Leading Transformational Change Forum. I delve into how we can truly embrace and capitalize on transformational change.
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