HR, Employees and the ‘Pursuit of Happiness’

(includes research and insight by Dovetail Software, SHRM, London Business School, Deloitte and Hitachi)

“Many people have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Helen Keller

Inspired by SHRM’s and London Business School’s (LBS) post, How to Be Happier at Work, this month’s Dovetail HR News Roundup focuses on employee happiness. Learning the ‘happiness skill’, and the links between employee happiness and productivity, the Future of Work and artificial intelligence (AI), are all explored as ways of boosting employee happiness and company performance.

Organizational Transformation, Employee Experience, HR Jobs of the Future, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in HR

(includes research by Dovetail Software, Gartner, Deloitte, Oracle and McKinsey)

The yin and yang of life and work has changed forever. The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the way we work, rest and play, which is unlikely to be reversed in the short to medium term. Mask wearing, remote working and virtual learning are our new daily habits. 

That’s why in this month’s Dovetail HR News Roundup we highlight the transformational effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on organizations,  their employees and HR. Employee Experience design thinking, new workforce environments, Employee Vaccination Tracking, and AI technology for HR, are just some of the ideas and concepts you'll find in this month's issue.

• Introduction to the Employee Experience
  • Adopting Employee Experience Technology
• What is the Employee Experience (EX)?
  • History of Employee Experience
  • Advantages of Adopting an Employee Experience (EX) Approach
• How has COVID-19 Changed the Employee Experience?
• What Can HR Services Technology Do to Help Improve the Employee Experience in a Post COVID-19 World?
• How to Design an Employee Experience That's Fit for a Post Covid-19 World
  1. Map the Employee Journey
  2. Determine Your EX Goals
  3. Get Your Organization’s Cultural, Technological and Physical/Virtual Environments Right
     • Get the Technological Environment Right: Invest in the Best Employee Experience (EX) Technology for HR Services and Employees
     • Provide Consumer-like Technology Experiences
     • Ensure Your HR Services Technology is COVID-Ready
  4. Use Employee Experience Metrics to Measure EX Performance
• Conclusion

Introduction to the Employee Experience

Imagine what the employee’s experience at work would be like if HR Services, and the technology that supports them, didn’t exist. A picture of employees with a multitude of questions and requests going unanswered comes to mind: employees, in need of assistance for a variety of issues and concerns, feeling frustrated and annoyed. Throw-in antiquated workplace technology, and the employee's experience at work would be dire, with the likely outcomes of lower employee productivity, deteriorating morale among the workforce, and higher employee turnover. 

2021: A New Beginning

In this month’s Dovetail Monthly News Roundup, we would like to start by wishing you a very Happy New Year, and look forward to a new beginning in 2021!

This issue takes a look at:

• the do's and don’ts of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) strategic planning
• the Sapient Insights 2020 - 2021 HR Systems Survey whitepaper
• the emergence of “Superteams”, a trend identified by Deloitte in their 2021 Human Capital Trends Report, and the use of AI Chabots as HR virtual assistants for employees
• Brian Kropp’s (Gartner) predictions for HR in 2021

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Society is changing and businesses will have to too. That was one of the key messages at Gartner's virtual IT Symposium/Xpo EMEA held in November.

Speaking on Gartner’s Top Strategic Predictions for 2021 and Beyond, Daryl Plummer, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, said that by 2024, 30% of major organizations will use a new 'voice of society' metric to act on societal issues and assess the impacts to their business performance. “Being tone deaf to societal issues can hurt, and a brand can go away overnight”, Daryl added, before mentioning the almost overnight demise of the Uncle Ben's brand, directly resulting from societal pressure.

"You better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone"
Bob Dylan

Recent dramatic changes in public (and employee) opinion around issues such as Public Health, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and Climate Change, as well as large scale social and political unrest, are accelerating transformation within organizations, as businesses respond to the pressures for change.

In this month's issue of Dovetail's HR News Roundup, we take a closer look at the latest research and insight about the 'big' external pressures that are driving change within organizations today:

Employee Live Chat is an application that allows you to instantly communicate with your employees in real-time when they visit your internal website. If the website is an Employee Portal, also known as an HR Portal, communications between employees and HR is enhanced, improving the delivery of HR Services.

In this month’s Dovetail News Roundup, we've selected a range of topics that are at the top of mind for HR professionals today. From the new 'employment deal' and answers to common coronavirus questions, to the latest evidence on diversity in the workplace and the distractions of employees talking politics in the workplace, you'll discover a plethora of new and original content, that will keep you up-to-date with what's happening in the world of HR and beyond.

In this month’s Dovetail News Roundup, we shine a light on several prominent, newsworthy topics that are currently having impact in the HR world, including: 

Are you looking to create, maintain and improve 'employer-employee' relations in your organization? Are you placing greater emphasis on helping line managers establish trust-based relationships with the individuals in their teams? Perhaps you have difficulty tracking employee investigations and sticking to ER case deadlines? Is the COVID-19 pandemic placing a strain on the employer-employee relationship, causing new issues to arise, making the management of Employee Relations more complex?

It's in Your Hands:

A Workforce That Is as Diverse as the Hands That Built It

Do you want to fight inequality in the workplace? Is building a diverse workforce at the top of your organization's agenda? In this month's News Roundup we lead with the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) Together Forward @Work campaign, which aims to fight racial inequality in the workplace. SHRM believe its members, and the wider HR and business community, can bring their unique professional talents together to stand against all forms of social injustice. Citing new and original research, they claim the answer is "in your hands". 

Of course, the coronavirus is never far from the top of our minds. And recovering from its effects is the focus of the authors of the Deloitte report, Workforce Strategies for Post-COVID-19 Recovery.

The authors believe the biggest challenge facing organizations during the recovery is the tension between preparing for a return to work and rethinking work. Read their report to discover how your organization can move beyond crisis response, towards strategies that accelerate recovery. 

Jason Averbook (CEO and Co-founder at Leapgen, a global digital transformation consultancy) outlines 5 radical resets for our new world of work, in his Human Resource Executive article, which have been caused by the radical disruption that occurred this year. Read his article to find out more about these 'resets' and the 'rewiring' of the organization to empower the individual in the workplace. Or join his 5 Radical Resets Webinar on Tuesday September 8, 9:00 am PT / 12:00 ET.

In the HR Director, a UK based magazine for HR professionals, discover 50 Tips to Find Work/Life Balance When Working Remotely. Don’t be embarrassed about interruptions says author, Michelle Duval - dogs, kids or shirtless husbands will eventually make an entrance on a video call, no matter what you do! Michelle's answer is 'to just laugh it off and don’t get stressed'. 

In this month's Book Corner you'll find 6 books that will help you progress in your career. Our choice is HR From the Outside In: Six Competencies for the Future of Human Resources, by Dave Ulrich, Jon Younger, Wayne Brockbank and Mike Ulrich because it helps HR professionals get the skills they need to be successful in the future.

Dave Ulrich came to prominence when his model that explains how to drive efficiency in HR operations (which became known as the Ulrich Model) was adopted among corporations throughout the world. In his, and his coauthors', latest book, six core competencies (that the successful HR professional needs today) are identified. They include 1) Strategic Positioner, 2) Credible Activist, 3) Change Champion, 4) HR Innovator & Integrator, 5) Capability Builder and 6) Technology Proponent. It's an interesting and thought-provoking read throughout. Why not pick up a book today, and get started on gaining a new competency, or two, before the end of year? 

Fun for all the family is Bupa's aim with their Fun Activities to Do with Your Children During COVID-19 article. It's a perfect read for those racking their brains for ideas on how to keep the little ones entertained during COVID-19. Our favorite's cooling off with a water fight!

And finally, a couple of articles by Dovetail:

• 5 Reasons Why HR Technology Helps Your Remote Working Teams Perform Better
• and The Ultimate Guide to COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Read these posts for insights on how to improve the performance of remote working teams, and to understand how health screening and contact tracing technology can help your organization protect its employees as they return to work.