Employee Self-Service: Your Key to Employee Engagement & Retention

Transcription

1 Employee Self-Service: Your Key to Employee Engagement & Retention Presented by: Kim Cressell, President, CSG, Inc. January 16, N. Shore, Sarasota, Florida office

2 Agenda Defining and Building Company Culture Employer-to-Employee Communications Internet Adoption Rates The Employee Paradigm Shift HR s Ability to Strategically Contribute A Two-Prong Approach Eight Steps to Employee Communications Success Select the Best Medium Employee Communications Messaging Successful Self-Service Rollouts/Implementations

3 Defining Company Culture Culture refers to values that are shared by the people in a given organization and that tend to persist over time even when group membership changes. At this level, culture can be extremely difficult to change, in part because group members are often unaware of many of the values that bind them together. *Source: Corporate Culture and Performance, John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett, At the more visible level, culture represents the behavior patterns or style of an organization that new employees are automatically encouraged to follow by their fellow employees. Culture, in this sense, is still tough to change, but not nearly as difficult as the level of basic values.* Who is responsible for creating the culture of an organization? Do you think you have a great company culture and why?

4 Building Company Culture It takes engaged, committed, energized and focused employees to have a great company culture Savvy employers and HR departments recognize that: Building a strong, loyal and engaged company culture and strengthening employee satisfaction with their jobs ultimately impacts retention and improves overall business results One key way to build a strong culture is through effective, clear, consistent communications Increases employee trust in management Helps employees become aligned and engaged with company vision, mission and values Increases company performance* From 1998 to 2002, companies with highly effective employee communication programs delivered a 26% total return to shareholders. Companies communicating least effectively with employees experienced a NEGATIVE 15% total return to shareholders. Decreases employee turnover High levels of effective communication have a positive impact on employee turnover. Companies that communicate effectively report turnover rates of 33.3%, as compared to their industry peers (51.6%). *Source: 2003/2004 Watson Wyatt Effective Communication ROI Study--Connecting Organizational Communication to Financial Performance.

5 Building Company Culture Increasingly, employers are turning to HR portals and self-service for their employee relations efforts Communicating important company changes Encouraging and / or changing behaviors Reinforcing company vision, mission, values Increasing awareness Improving utilization / adoption of intranets and portals Improving enrollment rates in company initiatives, including benefits, insurance, retirement plans, ancillaries, etc. Empowering employees with the tools they need to manage their careers and HR information and choices online

6 Building Company Culture Monies invested today in this area translate into profits and savings downstream Hard cost savings and cost avoidance Reduction in costs associated with delivery of human resource and payroll services, including labor, paper, postage Higher level of service delivered to employees without associated increases in headcount Relevant statistic: A Hunter Group 2000 HR Survey found companies with successful selfservice implementations reported a staff-to-employee ratio of 1:151, while companies without self-service had a ratio of 1:99. Soft cost savings Reduction in administrative burdens, freeing HR staff to focus instead on strategic activities Increased employee satisfaction

7 Employer-to-Employee Communications The Employee View Employee use of the Internet is rising 70% of American adults use the Internet 141 million people are online 79% use the Internet to look for health and medical information 58% use the web to go to websites that contain information related to medical or other issues Employees expect that they will be able to manage everything online -- their careers, their jobs, and their insurance coverage and retirement options Employees expect to be kept informed by their employer

8 Internet Adoption Rates

9 The Employee Paradigm Shift Employees need to understand: The things that are changing How it affects them What they need to do Our job in communicating is to get them to accept: They must be more involved They are in charge Employees need to agree to: Take advantage of the tools made available to them by their employer

10 HR s Ability to Strategically Contribute Source: 2006 Strategic HR Management Survey Report, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM 80% 80% of of HR HR professionals professionals see see employee employee communications communications as as one one of of the the most most significant significant areas areas to to which which HR HR can can make make strategic strategic contributions contributions to to an an organization* organization*

11 HR s Ability to Strategically Contribute HR can: Be the driver in the development of an employee communications strategy and plan for internal stakeholders This communications strategy/plan serves important strategic functions Supports organizational success and sustainability Assists in the retention of talent Cultivates employee engagement Helps facilitate the rollout of new human resource and/or organizational initiatives (such as ensuring the successful rollout of a self-service HRMS portal, increasing portal utilization or boosting enrollment/participation rates) Serves as a means to gather feedback Enables the sharing of information Develop it in alignment with the overall business strategy Assess, evaluate and measure the effectiveness of current employee communications programs Once the plan is implemented, it should be revisited periodically to gauge effectiveness

12 A Two-Prong Approach There are two important components of an effective approach to employee communications via portals and self-service applications Branding / marketing Making your employee portal consistent with your company s brand identity Employee communications Communicating often, consistently and effectively via your employee portal

13 Eight Steps to Employee Communications Success When communicating with your employees via HRMS, always remember to: 1. Define your communications objectives. 2. Know your employee audience well. 3. Speak to them in a way they understand. 4. Select the best communications vehicle or approach for the job. 5. Promise your employees something they perceive to be a benefit. 6. Do it in a concise, clear and clever way. 7. Be consistent. 8. Be repetitive.

14 A Comprehensive Approach: Select the Best Medium for the Message Top-down (Employer to Employee) Bottom-up (Employee to Employer) Employee HRMS/self-service portal and/or company intranet Employee attitude surveys Focus groups Management report cards Employee suggestion programs Face-to-face presentations Company-wide meetings Staff briefings Round-table luncheons with crossfunctional/cross-departmental groups Lunch Q&A with CEO, executives and/or HR All-staff s

15 Successful Self-Service Rollout/Implementations When rolling out HRMS and/or self-service, you must consider: Design of the portal Content within the portal Employee and manager trainings to support the rollout Design Name and brand the HRMS and/or self-service portal (develop look and feel) Develop and implement: Name Customized logo Colors to match company brand Develop a theme/message for campaign» As an example: Announcing [NEW NAME]: One solution for all your payroll, HR and benefits needs Or» [COMPANY NAME] is going paperless

16 Successful Self-Service Rollout/Implementations Content Plan your portal home page content and messaging Communications Develop implementation communications around the portal Letter from executive leadership to employees Series of internal announcements Printing and mailing to employee homes is also an option Employee intranet announcements Frequently Asked Questions document Client communication reminders Employee documentation for the portal Manager and Employee User Guide and Quick Reference Guide» Other suggestions:» Update employee handbook to reflect changes» Poster for common areas of offices/worksites» Giveaways/premiums» Tri-fold brochure

17 Employee Communications Messaging Step One: It s coming! HRMS/self-service announcement message Step Two: Instructions on where to go/how to access/how to use Step Three: It s here, accompanied by employee guide with highlights of how to use the system (printed and PDF versions with screen captures and step-by-step instructions)

18 Employee Communications Messaging Employees: Managers: Improved level of service Greater control Faster turnaround and accessibility to vital information Higher degree of accuracy Manage all HR, payroll, benefits and retirement information in a single place Faster turnaround Greater control Rapid access to reporting and real-time data, enabling better and faster planning and decision-making A more satisfied and productive employee population For the HR manager, more time to focus on strategic initiatives