Listening to understand.....

How often do you feel fully listened to at work? And, when you are listened to, how much more engaged are you with your role and employer?

It is well known that people feel more valued when they are actively listened to, something I try to bear in mind when I am working with an in-house HR team.

How on earth?

If you see something unusual when you’re out and about, do you think about how it got there, what its history might be? Does it puzzle you?

Or do you just ignore it?

For me, I am always curious. I’ve seen the occasional abandoned boot, shoe or glove, sometimes in the strangest of places, usually when out with the dog. And, when I do, I can’t help but think about it. What is the backstory, where did it come from, how did it get there, why is there always only one??

And it is the same with me at work, finding the backstory, working out how a team got to where they are now, what the legacy processes or actions are that have contributed to the current situation.

This can only help with making successful changes. If you know the background, you can understand and empathise, supporting teams to make their own changes and improvements. You’re not coming in with the proverbial fresh broom and making changes for changes’ sake, you are making improvements that acknowledge and build on the team’s experience and take people with you. 

There’s so much more to benefit from when I really take the time to listen and understand when I’m working with an in-house HR team.

1) I can fix the actual problem - its easy to take a surface view and find a quick fix but this may not be what is really needed. By taking the time to think about root causes, I can address the underlying cause. For example, looking solely at reasons for sickness if you have a sickness issue, when looking at engagement or wellbeing initiatives might be more useful.

2) I can gain engagement and credibility - by being thorough and involving all of the team, it can increase how my work is viewed. It is also useful to be taking soundings from other stakeholders in an organisation, again contributing to the full picture.

3) There’s data and metrics available - by listening, I can dig into the numbers behind an issue, I can uncover data that helps point to the root cause of an issue, that identifies common factors occurring or correlations across different areas of HR. Then, of course, the data I’ve uncovered can be used to measure the impact we make when we implement improvements.

In summary, finding the root cause of HR issues can be a critical step in effectively addressing and resolving challenges within an organisation. By going beyond surface level problem solving, I can support an HR team to really provide value in their organisation. And I can only truly find a root cause by listening….

If you think your HR team would benefit from my listening and process improvement, get in touch for a free initial chat on how we can work together.