How can we systemically determine where value is created and place more intentional focus on its contributors?
Opportunity
A Senior HR Leader at a Fortune 500 multinational retail organization was pursuing innovative ways to help his division, the Global Staffing Team, achieve its human potential. Global Staffing’s work plays a critical role in the organization’s success. However, the absence of a clear strategy for maximizing value seemed to be creating roadblocks to departmental and collective growth.
To address this gap, the leader approached us to assist in developing a research-based Value Proposition. His vision was one we were excited to help realize: a bold declaration of the team’s true value, along with a focused plan for integrating it. Core objectives for our partnership included:
- Defining the Global Staffing contribution to the organization;
- Data-based recommendations for HR and Operations;
- A cross-division, cross-functional focus;
- Providing hiring managers with greater ownership and access; and
- Increasing executive visibility into these systems.
Approach
We began with a co-created strategy to maximize leaders’ ability to drive and sustain impact. Guided by our 6i ModelSM (see inset), this approach was designed to embed change efforts directly into the organization’s practices. As the work progressed; however, constrained resources within the division led us to pivot from this co-creative process to a more consultative one. Our adapted solution was to deliver a Global Staffing Value Proposition and detailed strategy map.
We continued to apply the 6i ModelSM across the Global Staffing Team’s Talent Management operations to support a research-basis for our recommendations. In this model, each phase of change builds upon the next to actualize the work and ensure its successful implementation. Each one includes respective outputs of research interviews, data collection, analysis, reporting and presentations.
In our experience, deep insights come from being research-oriented but practical in application of how those insights translate into daily strategies leaders can use. At the heart of this model is the desire to simplify the research process so that organizations can develop and adopt this consultative approach to insights and direction.
This six-phase process generated a clear understanding of value-creating activities, both existing and aspired. This was key to delivering real human value and doing so in connection to the project’s purpose.
Impact
In collaboration with our partner leader, we developed a Value Charter (see inset) accompanied by a report guiding overall strategy for the next fiscal year. This included recommendations for operations, structure, reporting and supporting metrics. In addition to the Value Charter, we shared a presentation and engaging visual story with the staffing team using Prezi software.
The Value Declaration, “Partner Opportunity and Growth,” was the product of in-depth interviews and discovery. It succinctly captures the link between the team’s service orientation and that of the organization. This definition also targets a priority for multiple stakeholders: providing managers with greater ownership, as well as the expectation of meaningful ongoing development.
As illustrated, “To intentionally embed responsibilities and capabilities into the company DNA” clarifies the role of Global Staffing within the organization. Rather than simply “doing the job” of recruiting, their core service is to empower hiring managers to guide, measure and support their own growth. For each section of the Value Charter, we provided specific focus areas and taglines: position statements that would create continuity and strengthen alignment among team members.
Our recommendations included: integration, branding milestones within and across the division, and executive sponsorship against key metrics. We advised that managers and departments use the following metrics to track the impact of these changes and clarifications:
- Time to Hire: Shorter time from job opening to offer to onboarding.
- Retention: Longer time from hire date to end of employment.
- Promotions: Employees are being promoted within the company.
- Manager Engagement: Leaders are Responsive, Action-oriented and Involved throughout the recruiting process.
- Thinking Time: Recruitment and staffing teams have consistent time allotted for innovation, ideation and value-creating activities as a result of manager ownership.
Insights
In addition to providing clarity for the organization, this partnership was also deeply educational for our own team. Three primary takeaways have enriched our understanding:
- Bold thinking makes all the difference: Innovative leaders realize untapped value.
Our partner leader is a creative thinker who is unafraid to challenge traditional paradigms for management – a quality that made him a driving force in the success of this project. With ambitious goals for himself and those he serves, he sees the world beyond where it is and where others expect. He sought a partnership with Symbio not only for our experience in value creation, but also for our commitment to nudging leaders beyond the status quo.
- Ownership accelerates growth: Hiring managers thrive with greater autonomy.
When hiring managers are equipped with systems they trust to use in their own departmental growth, autonomy increases – and with it, effectiveness. A culture of consensus decision-making slowed the recruiting process, costing the organization talented candidates and creating self-doubt among employees. Our investigation revealed that the Global Staffing Team can address this issue through practices that intentionally foster decisiveness and self-sufficiency.
- Flexible processes, successful adoption: Be adaptive while holding firm to impact.
Rarely does initial planning align perfectly with what will be implemented. While our original intent was to “train in” our approach, logistical realities led us to “do the work” in a more independent role. Despite this shift, we ensured that managers still gained tools for use in future decision-making. Involving team members in the discovery process provided experience with the 6i Model without formal training on it. Ultimately, being flexible while delivering high value and quality was key to this partnership’s impact.
Learn More
For more information about this and other client collaborations, contact the Symbio team. We look forward to learning about your organization’s vision and how we may be able to help bring it to life.
