Controversial employment policies are causing companies to contemplate shifting them to avoid backlash. Critics argue that many policies are overly politicized, superficial or divisive. Therefore, many companies are shifting their focus in favor of performance-based policies.
However, it should be noted that for many companies their goals remain the same. The goals are improved hiring, fair promotions and enhanced team collaboration.
As the consultant you are often expected to guide your clients on their company goals and accountability. You are in a good position to help your clients understand how to analyze and improve processes while still focusing on their goals.
Tips to guide your client to shift employment policies to performance-based policies.
To help your clients shift their focus to have a performance based environment, consider the following tips:
Align policies with mission and values.
Help your client understand how their employment policy aligns with the company’s vision, mission, and values. For example, the purpose of hiring might be to gain the best benefit for their team and add the most opportunities for growth. Furthermore, a core value for hiring might be innovation that leads to more creative solutions.
As you consult with your client to restructure their employment policy, help them clarify ways that hiring and employment based on merit and capabilities improves operations, fosters employee growth and promotes accountability through clear guidelines.
Conduct an assessment.
Before you can provide consulting services for how to shift your client’s hiring strategy & policies, you need to know where their organization currently stands regarding that strategy. Consider performing a strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis focused on employment policies and performance.
The assessment should focus on the skills their employees have within the organization. Review who is working in the organization based on skills and whether those skills match their titles, roles and departments. Review skills versus needs, including discussing what performance gaps might be missing overall throughout the company, so you can help departments become more efficient and effective.
Define clear expectations and goals.
Using the information from the assessment, encourage your client to start developing performance standards for the titles, roles and departments. All too often, companies either neglect to develop specific performance standards for each role or they forget to update the standards, with the evolving times.
Relative strategies should have clear, measurable goals and objectives. The goals should focus on specific challenges and opportunities for employees based on what was found during the assessment.
Remember, these should be performance-based. For example, if your client has determined there is a performance gap in a particular department, aim to improve that gap with a strategy and milestones that can be tracked. Clearly outline what constitutes improvement in performance, how it will be measured and who will be responsible with expectations to hold them accountable.
Engage employees at all levels.
Help your client evaluate how they are communicating performance and develop a performance tracking system if they do not have one already. This should include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will be used to track performance, aligning them with organizational goals.
It is important for your client to have a good flow of information that is effective and engaging. They also want to have ongoing feedback, both positive and constructive, to help employees improve and stay on track. To do this, they can conduct regular performance reviews to assess progress, discuss achievements and clearly identify any performance issues along with areas for development.
Embed policies into all aspects of the employee lifecycle.
Consistency in implementing employment policies based on performance is essential. Your client cannot have favoritism. They must be able to apply the policy to everyone. Work with your client to analyze and improve processes to achieve maximum effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. For example, they can leverage technology with performance management software and time-tracking tools.
By using analysis software like The Profit Enhancer Analysis, you will help your client streamline the performance management process, track data and facilitate communication. With time tracking tools, they can monitor employee productivity and ensure tasks are completed on time. The data obtained by software can then be analyzed to help identify trends, patterns and areas for improvement.
Provide ongoing education and training.
For many companies that are revamping their employment policies, the policies are already in place, but they fail to provide ongoing training. Communicating performance is not enough. Yet training is often lacking, causing employees to become frustrated, unengaged and ineffective in their work.
Assist your client by providing consulting services that look deeper into their existing training and help them to revamp it so that it is more directly tied to employee job responsibilities. Their training should be comprehensive, yet not too simple nor overly complex. They should also recognize that training is not a one-size-fits-all. It is an investment that is necessary throughout the year.
Measure progress and hold leaders accountable.
Restructuring employment policies is not a quick and done line item. You and your leadership team will need to regularly communicate performance-based goals. As a consultant, emphasize to your client the importance of maintaining open and honest communication with employees about their performance and expectations.
In their communication, guide them in developing a strategy to motivate, recognize and reward good performance. In addition, they should continuously review and refine their employment policies and practices, ensuring they are effective and relevant.
It is not only individual employee performance that should be tracked. One of the best advantages to consulting your clients comes after they restructure their employee policies. You can help them continue to monitor how restructuring of the employment policy affects the overall performance of the company. This is essential for the success of the company.
The Profit Enhancer Analysis is a consulting software that provides a detailed quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a company, checking how the company is performing and how it is positioned for growth. The software is designed to help consultants capture accurate and relevant data quickly during client sessions for analysis and also to develop benchmarks for growth strategies.
Visit us online today to take a tour of the software and to learn how it will give you a consulting advantage!