What would happen if you put the world’s best musicians, and their instruments, in the same room? Would it guarantee success? I’m reliably informed by a talented musician friend that it wouldn’t. In all likelihood the end result would be complete and utter chaos. Everyone would fight for attention, wanting to be the first, last, loudest, or the one with the fastest tempo.
The vital component in the mix that brings everything together is, of course, the conductor. The person dressed like a penguin who stands in the middle of the orchestra waving their magic hands and the white baton. While the role of conductor is central to the success of the music world, it’s arguably lacking in the HR space.
A few conversations with business leaders in recent months have left me feeling somewhat troubled. They highlighted a growing trend of people strategies being built by simply adding more instruments and with minimal to zero attention on the conducting.
For clarity, when I say “instruments”, in the HR sense, I’m talking above point solutions, digital apps, transformation plans and people programs. The UK market is generally flooded with clever technology, wellbeing solutions, and the latest ‘silver bullet’ to fix all things. Individually these platforms and solution may be powerful, however, they often fall short due to a lack of integration and connectivity.
A cohesive orchestra needs a Conductor to succeed
Just like an orchestra needs each musician to play together in harmony, it’s the conductor who leads and co-ordinates every section and keeps the team on time. People leaders need to take the same approach when they deliver their organisational wellbeing strategies – although the tempo may change in rhythm with the business or market, it’s the conductor’s role to enable every musician to adapt with the time.
The good news is that similar to Conductors, people leaders are equipped to be adaptable, responding to environmental changes and powering the energy of the team. They hear and see things individually and know how to bring it all together for the collective good.
Yes, but what next?
As a people leader the chances are that you’re currently challenged with solution fatigue. Countless webinar invites, LinkedIn messages, unprompted phone calls from companies claiming to have the answer to everything (at a cost).
While the pandemic continues to impact organisations across the globe, people leaders will place the highest priority on the wellbeing of their teams. But a lot of the noise generated by providers claiming to provide solutions to the wellbeing issue aren’t far reaching enough. They may solve one of your problems, at that moment in time, but what about the next problem? And what about the integration between solutions?
The key theme we kept hearing at our Gallagher HRD Forums over and over again from our clients was:
“The challenges our people are facing during the pandemic have made it really difficult for us to truly engage, support and communicate with them."
That got us thinking. Credit to everyone who’s been working from the kitchen table for the last 12 months – you’ve kept the engine running, and the wheels turning. The question remains on how can we harness all this learning into a positive people experience?
Ready to feel different about work?
Covid-19 has changed the way your people want to connect and engage, there’s no going back. The requirement is real people solutions – not quick-win, band aid solutions - that can be easily implemented and fully integrated across your business. There’s a direct correlation between wellbeing, productivity and growth. Get it right and you will see both top and bottom line improvement.
Thinking back to our orchestra/conductor analogy – we need to look at the experience we deliver to our people 3-dimensionally. With a framework for organisational wellbeing that looks at every area of your business, whether it’s culture, leadership, benefits, pensions, communications, technology or mental and financial wellbeing.
Gallagher’s People Experience Px™ model helps people leaders orchestrate superior workplace experiences for their teams. And in doing so, enjoying the results of better productivity, profitability and improved organisational performance.
This isn’t a pre-determined journey: shaping organisational wellbeing is different for every business. That said, they all start in the same place: your people experience.
