S7 E5-8. (Engaging Your People for Success) Build your Core- People with LIsa Askwith

Lisa Askwith- Engaging Your People for Success

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Build Your Core- People- 4 Part series

• E5- Build your Core-What do your Employees want?
• E6- Build your Core-Develop your leaders
• E7- Build your Core-Develop your People
• E8- Build your Core-Ensure your strategy and culture are Symbiotic not cannibalistic!

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INTRODUCTION
Build Your Core- People
E5- Build your Core-What do your Employees want? Structure your Business for Your People

What your employees want is something that often gets forgotten, or not understood in the rush to get business done, so I want to help you fix this, as without a real understanding you may build some fantastic programs for your people, but you won’t get the results you wanted, and worse still may risk disengaging them further! 

To help get this right in your business, 

Episode 5 focuses on what your people want, followed by 3 more parts to build your core;

1. Develop your leaders
2. Develop your People
3. Ensure your strategy and culture are Symbiotic not cannibalistic!

We have several generations to work with, baby boomers, generation x and generation z, with differing needs, however the great news is that being able to meet the transparency,  accountability and lifestyle needs of gen z will actually benefit all generation of workers, as all workers actually enjoy the outcomes of this focus, and benefit from the programs offered to meet it.

 So what are we really looking for when we consider the future workforce? Firstly they are value based and this means they want to receive value as well as be able to give it.

Key Areas to consider;

• New value based workforce emerging and growing.
• Mass disruptions from Covid to WFH to AI.
• Change has become a constant. How you deal with this from a value creation point of view is key- you need to embrace and support change and help your people get to that point too.
• Establish a learning culture and mindset for and with your people.
• No longer after jobs for life- more flexible and the GiG economy is calling
• Need to upskill regularly, and want to do that.
• Won’t tolerate disrespect, like the past- They want acceptance, support and respect.
• Corporate Social Responsibility is gaining importance, and is now a requirement.
• Engagement is key- without it they will leave.
• Performance reviews need to change and embrace the new workforce.
• Access to supported learning and development is critical.
• Autonomy backed by rewards and recognition need to be part of the people strategy.
• Exit interviews are a must, but they must be run by HR.
• Your leadership team needs to be upskilled to support and drive all of this.

E6- Build your Core-Develop your leaders - 3 key steps to success

Develop your leaders- a recent study by Indeed showed that only 11% of businesses felt they had a strong or very strong leadership team bench strength!!!!! This is scary- think about what this means for not just your business outcomes but for your core- your people? They simply can’t be in a great space.

When it comes to getting the people right in your business and really capitalizing on your greatest asset, there are several areas you need to address.

 Part 2 is focusing on your leadership team, and what they need to be capable of to be able to actually support your people and achieve success through engaging them rather than demotivating them.

Leadership buy in and support must be created- this is key otherwise you will just be wasting your money on training programs. Use 360 degree studies and culture surveys.
 
Next
 
3 key leadership development steps for any business
 

1. Core behavioral skills- these are what will engage your people and start on the right footing- use Grow first, and focus in on learning the situational open questioning style

 

1. Authenticity and servant leadership. Encourage your leaders and show them how to use their ‘stories’ in order to engage your people through empathy and emotion.
2. Move to an agile or growth mindset. Ensure you leaders are trained in an Agile or Growth mindset, this is key for success over the long term, and being able to embrace and work with change. Great news is these programs can be cascaded down the organisation and should be to really capitalise on people engagement and success.

Your leaders are also subject matter experts- use them this way and encourage them to also run their own training programs- you will be amazed at the walls this breaks down and the value it brings.
 
Structure these core points into your KPIs, and also your vision and mission, plus behaviour goals- this is a must to ensure it is alive in your business

Put cross functional teams under the leadership KPI’s to ensure this is all kept alive in your business


E7 Build your Core-Develop your People


Your people are impacted by a fast paced changing workplace, hence their needs have correspondingly changed, and will continue to evolve, so my aim is to keep you ahead of the curve by putting your people at the center of your business equation, by fully engaging them for your, and their success. This is what takes a business to the levels of great, and what I can help you achieve. You need some great people strategies in place that are backed by exceptional leaders that can take your culture to higher levels of success.

We know your people will leave you quickly today if they are not engaged, but what does this really mean for you as a business?

If you have a new hire you need to focus on engagement and development from day 1- This focus is equally important for existing staff, and if you are not doing it now, you really need to start!

Open training and development backed by a clear career path is key. This training needs to be optional, supported, and easily accessible.

To help develop your people you need your leaders support and endorsement, to help you achieve this some key tips are;
 
 

1. Strong leadership in place that is focused on developing a support and positive people culture- regular 360 degree feedback and culture surveys
2. Consistent and constant leadership training that reflects the company values, culture and empathic leadership
3. Visible leaders
4. Leaders walking the talk
5. Available leaders- working teams can help with this
6. A living breathing culture that is distributed through all parts of the business
7. Regular open communication with management
8. Regular praise and recognition from management
9. Psychological safety
10. Space to try new ideas and be supported
11. Focus on developing a learning culture
12. Transparent and clear performance management systems that allow your people to be in control of their output. 

Develop low cost high impact training programs- Most of these can be done internally.

The 2 key parts of training;

Job Demands- often technical training
 

• Should support business needs and growth
• Should be broad where possible,
• Should be part of the JD steps and growth

 
Career Development

This should include not just the next step training but a large range of soft skills and optional training. This not only improves your people and allows them to develop, but engages them to stay.



E8 Build your Core-Ensure your strategy and culture are Symbiotic not cannibalistic! - 4 steps to successful integration

To build your core you need to set a true playing field for success. So in part 1 we looked at understanding that your people want and structuring accordingly, in part 2 and 3 we looked at developing your leaders, the crucial link for success and then developing your people. Now we need to further strengthen your playing field for success and ensure your culture is not only positive but that it works with not against your strategy.

Step 1

Use Culture Surveys and 360 degree leadership feedback to diagnose where you are now

Must be synergistic for success- review your culture now, really ask what it is, does it exist, is it positive……or is it something you prefer not to think about….if that’s the case then you need to start looking more deeply, and thinking about if a culture survey is needed to really start to dig into the problems.

If your culture and strategy diverge, it does untold damage, as you will find the core of your people live in the culture piece and are influenced by it strongly. Your leadership team lives mostly in the strategy piece. So you can see if your leaders are focussing on strategy and it does not match your culture you are going to have a massive problem with getting anything done, and particularly with getting it done well or in a way that allows the company to excel and fight off the competition.

Step 2

Set up your key indicators to diagnose where the issues are in conjunction with the results from Step 1

1- Exit interviews
2- Staff turn over
3- Length of average staff stay
4- Length of stay post training
5- Leadership feedback
6- Culture feedback
7- Have anonymous feedback channel

Step 3

Clarify the issues and plan solutions

1- Gain agreement from the leadership team on exact issues
2- Fact check these issues with a working group from the people in the business
3- Compare the answers for both and decide on the most pressing issues to solve
4- Set up working teams from across the business with only 1 or 2 leadership members to help support and carry through recommendations
5- Make these 3 monthly rolling projects and drive success.

Step 4

1- Make culture review part of the leadership team's responsibility and KPIS
2- Culture must be part of the quarterly leadership reviews- including the key indicators from Step 2
3- Consider a yearly culture initiative run by a working team form across the business
4- Ensure culture needs are embedded in all documentation and strategy

 
Shows
●      Previous: Episode 1 Season 7 - Recruitment 101- Engaging your People for Success
●      Next: Episode 3 Season 7- Strategy and Culture Alignment for Business Sustainability- Engaging your People for Success
 
Written by Lisa Askwith

Director of ApexBRS | ApexBRS, Regional Director of See Global Media, Chair of  EGN Singapore, and Associate Professor Cambridge Corporate University | At the Age of Change, providing the HR component of the Global Executive MBA and BBA. Lisa has worked for some of the largest companies in the world and successfully led restructures and change management programs in order to improve the bottom line through engaging the people for success, while developing exceptional leaders who can make a positive impact on Culture and long term business sustainability.

You can connect with Lisa on any of her platforms

LinkedIn Lisa Askwith - Director - Apex BRS
https://www.apexbrs.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ApexBRS
Shows

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