The idea of “personalization” is on the rise in HR circles,
with more companies buying into the notion that individually
cared-for and respected employees are engaged
and productive employees.
People who have been in HR for a decade or more have seen a
massive shift in how companies approach benefits, total rewards
and health and wellness initiatives. Far beyond simply looking
after employees as a collective at work and providing standard
benefits, some companies are now taking care of workers in virtually
all aspects of their personal and professional lives.
There are no signs of this move towards personalization slowing
down. HR seems to have had an awakening – a realization of
how much more it could offer by breaking out of the status quo,
listening to the real needs of an increasingly diverse workforce and
becoming truly compassionate and empathetic.
However, not all companies are on the same page. Personalization
is only possible when HR teams treat employees as individuals,
but recent Mercer research found only 25 per cent of
organizations currently either offer or communicate HR
services differently to individual employees. While that
sounds bleak, 59 per cent are planning to revisit their total
rewards strategy in the next six to 18 months, and only 20
per cent are not considering personalization at all, so rapid
change is expected.
If this is news to companies and HR teams struggling
to define a total rewards strategy and move to personalization,
here’s some advice. Before getting started, understand
that a mindset shift is required. HR professionals need to
view emotional components such as purpose, wellness and
pride as key aspects of their strategies, not replacing but in
addition to genuine career development, financial wellbeing
and benefits offerings. Keeping these abstract, flexible terms
top of mind allows you to work towards an individualized
approach that can be shaped to the needs of each employee.
This is easier said than done. Whether it’s Millennials struggling
to get on the housing ladder, GenXers who are now in the
“sandwich generation” taking care of aging parents and their own
children or older workers planning for retirement, there is a lot to
juggle in providing compassionately for today’s workforce. How
can HR teams personalize their service to teams of hundreds, if
not thousands of employees – now split across no less than five
generations – while keeping the overall strategy consistent and
well managed? By building a strategy around the new “purpose
and wellness” mindset, finding a selection of vendors that fit this
strategy and continuously measuring the success of the individualized
services introduced.
For example, the scope and number of individualized programs
offered by SAP Canada to its employees has ballooned in recent
years, and it has been a process of constantly evaluating employee
feedback and the usefulness of each service and working with vendors
to tweak them.
strategy
HR PERSONALIZATION IS BECOMING
A KEY DIFFERENTIATOR IN
BUSINESS SUCCESS
By Stefany Bonanni
COMPANIES MIGHT CONSIDER
TAKING THE VIEW THAT
IF THEIR TOTAL REWARDS
STRATEGY IS NOT GETTING
BETTER, IT’S GETTING WORSE.
Rewarding
the Individual
tomwang/123RF Stock Photo
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ APRIL 2018 ❚ 35