All companies today define themselves as “in the midst of a transformation”. Strategies are being laid out, action plans are being defined, tools are in place, but the reality is undeniable: there is a real delay in implementation on the ground! Why? Have we overlooked the importance of human support in these transformations?
Quite recently, we have seen the emergence of HR transformation departments to support change, implement new work modes, develop skills, and engage teams. so that everyone feels like they are part of the transformation, starting with the HR function itself.
In our white paper «HR at the heart of the company transformation», we have collected the testimonies and experiences from about twenty leaders in transformation who share with us exclusively their convictions and advice for a successful transformation. Here are the main trends to remember from these exchanges!
Mobilizing the entire company in the transformation
No transformation is possible without the commitment of everyone! That is the prerequisite sine qua non for the project to succeed. When we talk about the entire company, we mean all the hierarchical levels. All of them must be aligned around a customer-centric vision.
Jean Baptiste Gouin, CEO of talenco: «If the management committee adopts this vision, the transformation plan often boils down to a plan of action with about fifty projects. Results are guaranteed after a few months: the plan becomes a thick paste that is difficult to follow, in which the sense is lost. The projects are running in their own direction and it becomes difficult to link them to the rest of the company. The transformation plan must focus on prioritized actions that are staggered over time.»
«The OKR (Objectives & key Results) In my opinion, OKRs remain the best practice for aligning everyone with action priorities defined at the company level and implemented across all hierarchical levels. OKRs then allow action priorities to evolve over a short time scale (usually 3 months), becoming a formidable accelerator!
As Business Partners and Change Partners, HR must take on a key role in this implementation and in the animation of the approach. They will also have to liaise with the systems for measuring individual performance.»
Accompanying managers in spreading the ambition
Gone are the days when management programs ran for years in a way that was disconnected from the company’s project.. The company’s project becomes the unifying force of the Management Community and the guiding thread of a new leadership development plan.
These new skills are evaluated around 2 key objectives :
- implement the company’s project,
- develop the commitment of employees.
In everyday life, of course, these are the new ones managers leaders who will acquire the attitude of putting themselves at the service of each collaborator and who will bring about the transformation. Here again, The leader of transformation takes a key role in the development of skills.
Holding employees accountable to accelerate performance
To feel engaged, employees need to understand the meaning and the necessity of transformation, to feel useful, involved, and above all, supported in developing their skills.
Today, it is essential that organizations break down silos to foster collaborative work. Employees are no longer just performing tasks; they are becoming the sources of the company’s collective intelligence. They are closest to the customer and know what they need!
The rest of the organization is at their disposal and at their service. Of course, Managers master the techniques for facilitating collective intelligence, They know how to create management rituals that allow teams to be more dynamic and develop their sense of belonging.
The’Experience as a Collaborator The entire HR function is mobilized on this topic. The HR Transformation Manager drives the momentum and masters the techniques of Employee Experience Design to implement them in the main HR processes (recruitment, training…).
Changing culture and working methods
New work modes are a powerful lever for improving performance and developing the corporate culture. Specifically, we are talking about:
- agile methods,
- collaborative practices,
- new workspaces,
- of open innovation.
The challenge is clear: how to do what we used to do in two years in six months, with non-extensible resources?
To implement these new methods, certain soft skills have become indispensable. What will make the difference is the mindset, the ability to adapt, autonomy, and the flexibility to adapt to all situations.
The good news is that the very use of “agile tools” allows us to engage employees. Posture changes.
While HR has taken over remote work, the Developments in working methods remains often quite vague… To be credible today, HR functions must, for example, understand what an organization is and what its objectives are. team, ensuring that the four values of agility are lived out within the HR Department itself, or not considering training in Design thinking is THE answer to a goal of raising awareness of agility. How can we still see development projects for new work spaces today, considering that this is simply a real estate project?
Transforming the HR function
As you have probably noticed, if a service is to be transformed into a priority, it is the HR function that is the one to be transformed.
Of course, it must free itself from certain tasks, by modernizing its tools and interfaces, in order to better focus on its core business:
- anticipate Transformation of professions (60% of the professions in 2030 do not yet exist) and skills,
- identifying talents suited to the The future of work,
- to instill a new culture,
- to support employees in these changes.
Human resource management has become an outdated principle, associated with the industrial era, where production and resources were managed in a mass-based logic. With digital transformation, the goal is to move to a individual attention to employees.
Judging by the testimonies of our leaders in HR transformation, this is undoubtedly the biggest upcoming change for the HR function!
In our white paper, you will find the testimonies of leaders in the transformation of large groups who share their experience and key success factors for undertaking profound changes, anticipating the evolution of professions, evolving skills and working methods, and supporting and involving teams in these transformations.
