Employee Strategy: Transformation vs. Restructuring

Merely four years ago, human resource departments were building their organizations on cost-effectiveness. After the economic turmoil, companies were faced with downsizing, outsourcing, and furloughs. Presently, corporations are transforming entirely by keeping their current employees happy, engaged, and productive.

Human Resource departments are creating organization development diagrams, building succession plans, seeking the right people for positions, and studying demographics in order to keep their employees engaged. Realizing that talent is hard to find, but even harder to keep, is key in building a high performing business.

In a recent study performed by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, high performing organizations excel in five core areas:

• Strategy
• Leadership
• Talent
• Culture
• Market

Strategy includes corporate restructuring, knowledge management, offshoring, productivity, strategy execution and alignment, and workforce technology. Developing an effective employee strategy has been essential in company success.

A large financial service corporation presented the idea of sending out an employee engagement survey requiring individuals to answer open ended questions such as: “If your boss could do one thing to help you become more productive, what would it be?” HR and leadership teams then review these answers and take their employees’ opinions to heart. Empowerment encourages staff members to offer suggestions for improvement. This leads to increased productivity and satisfaction.

After reaching out and listening, it is important to recognize which employees volunteer for extra projects or who reach above and beyond the normal scope of their job duties. These employees are the ones you should focus on developing into future leaders.

Keeping your subordinates content and involved in your organization will also ensure employee retention. If workers are happy, they are less likely to look elsewhere for employment. This will keep costs down, rather than spending the extra money it costs to hire and train a new employee.

Companies are currently focused on growth and transformation. Employee empowerment and engagement are the vital factors in constructing a high performing organization.