No7 | Organisational Design - HR World Magazine by HR World

A NEW WORLD OF WORK IS EMERGING: TIME FOR HR TO STEP UP ON ORG DESIGN!

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#organisational_design RECONNECTING ORGANISATIONAL DIVIDES: RESTORING ALIGNMENT INTO THE SILOED STRUCTURES IVAN STEFANOVIĆ, HYPEROPTIC HOW THE HR PRACTITIONER CAN FACILITATE A “CENTER-LED” SOLUTION, KERI MACALUSO, AMY KATES, ACCENTURE

HENRY MINTZBERG, MCGILL UNIVERSITY

UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONS ...FINALLY

WHY MUST FACEBOOK CHANGE ITS ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ZVEZDAN HORVAT, ADIZES INSTITUTE WORLDWIDE

april 2022

No 07

ERIC CORNU, MARK VODDEN, NESTLÉ

IMPRESSUM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nevena Stanisavljević EDITOR Ivan Stefanović MANAGING EDITORS Tamara Jeremić Aleksandra Fuštić Maša Vlahović CONTRIBUTORS Henry Mintzberg, Zvezdan Horvat, Amy Kates, Naomi Stanford, Boris Dragović, Gordana Fabris, Eric Cornu, Mark Vodden, Nataša Nikolić, Predrag Mihajlović, Mladen Čudanov, Maša Lalić, Nevena Stefanović, Hans-Peter Kleitsch, Alan Aastorp… CONTRIBUTING EDITORS & STAFF Katarina Đorđević, Marija Todorović, Jovana Kostadinović, Tamara Grbić, Nataša Timotijević, Jelena Dušanić, Mariana Gajčin, Sandra Gucul, Nataša Leković, Slađana Trikić, Danica Ristić PHOTOGRAPHY Unsplash, Freepik, Envato elements DESIGN Polovinas design studio, Belgrade Belpak LLC, Belgrade PRINT Belpak LLC, Belgrade 2.000 copies PUBLISHER HR WORLD LLC PUBLICATION Twice per year

CIP - Каталогизација у публикацији Народна библиотека Србије, Београд 005.96 HR World : better HR for a better world / glavna i odgovorna Editor-in-Chief Nevena Stanisavljević. - 2019, no. 1 (apr.)- . - Beograd : HR World, 2019- (Beograd : Caligraph). - 27 cm ISSN 2620-2859 = HR World COBISS.SR-ID 276133644

HR IN A WORLD

OF COMPLEXITY The world is becoming radically complicated, and naturally, so are the processes, organisations, relationships. My personal belief is that complexity affects us and governs our lives. What if it’s true? If complexity governs us, thus if we’re not governing complexity? And is it possible to change THIS or at least mitigate it?

Ownership, not loyalty. Interested people are those who contribute, invest extra effort and those who have a reason to stay. The desire to transfer ownership to teams and individuals will always be stronger than understanding the motive why someone is loyal and stays in the organisation. The first initiative is proactive, the second reactive. Think about it.

One does not exclude the other. Be fluid as much as you can. Learn not to resist. Current example – how do we do business, online or offline? Why not both? We go hybrid and use the best of both worlds. It’s simple – go agile, utilise design thinking, develop your own methodology... why not. Legend has it that a terrible VUCA world is When deciding, ask yourself if one excludes the other and if not, make emerging, that we are living in the land of the a combination that suits your organization. This is how we manage Internet of Things, and the center of conversation complexity, and how it may manage us much less than before. is becoming more and more about skills that are intended for machines and not people i.e., Machine Everything is an opportunity. In a world of complexity, everything learning, big data mining, Artificial Intelligence. is a potentially important variable. Learn to recognise opportunities. If we assume that all this came about thus inducing To take advantage of opportunities, it is important to create a a new order to be created, and that HR is at the center culture that is tolerant of mistakes. Even better, we need an of it and has a strategic role, what would be valuable experimental culture. That way you will take the best of both lessons? worlds. If we experiment, we may make mistakes, we may profit. We will certainly be curious and learn a lot. And above Stop learning, start anticipating. In a world of complexity, all, we will practice our flexibility, creativity, openness. The learning is accelerated and narrowly specialised. More and better we master the lessons above, the more successful our more companies stopped “forcing” employees to learn something experiments will be. according to a plan and are now directing them towards learning upon a need. Instead of traditional learning, The topic of this issue of the HR World Magazine is the suggestion for HR is to obtain the skill of prediction. How to organisational design. I am sure that it will be clear to predict the outcome or what is to come, based on numbers, and to you very soon how I started from OD and reached a lesser extent based on gut feeling. the topic of complexity. HR as well as organisational design take more and more factors into account, Trends come and go. An important angle of non-learning is the focus on adapt, optimise, experiment, make radical changes trends. We don’t necessarily learn about them; instead – we listen to them. and those fine–tuning turns in the organisation. HR needs to learn how to reorganise trends that are important or even how to recognise the wave which a new trend is surfing on. The goal is to spot Does this mean that organisational design is a a trend that will drown us unless we ride it in time. We will learn about what skill of the future that HR needs to master in we need, later. time in a world of complexity? Definitely... YES. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. On the one hand the priority is on maximum flexibility, on the other – instant proactivity. How to be flexible but also Enjoy the new issue. Read... Learn... be ready to jump? The key is in focus. So, we have a clear focus and priorities within Selectively. it, but we never forget to remain flexible and that both focus, and priorities can change. Learn how to get into a meta position (observe things and relationships from the outside) Nevena Stanisavljević and learn that you can let go – don’t bond, don’t identify with goals or processes. Editor-In-Chief

Content 06

ORG DESIGN RECONNECTING ORGANISATIONAL DIVIDES: RESTORING ALIGNMENT INTO THE SILOED STRUCTURES IVAN STEFANOVIĆ, HEAD OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE, HYPEROPTIC

STRATEGY UNDERSTANDING ORGANIZATIONS... FINALLY HENRY MINTZBERG, CLEGHORN PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, MCGILL UNIVERSITY

ORG DESIGN WHY MUST FACEBOOK CHANGE THE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ZVEZDAN HORVAT, PROFESSIONAL DIRECTOR, ADIZES INSTITUTE WORLDWIDE

COLUMN GENDER EQUALITY: HOW CAN WE DRIVE A REAL CHANGE? NATAŠA NIKOLIĆ, EY WOMEN. FAST FORWARD LEADER FOR EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST, INDIA AND AFRICA (EMEIA), EY

STRATEGY STRATEGY THE CENTRAL VERSUS DECENTRAL DILEMMA: HOW THE HR PRACTITIONER CAN FACILITATE A “CENTER-LED” SOLUTION KERI MACALUSO, SENIOR MANAGER WITH KATES KESLER, PART OF ACCENTURE AMY KATES, COFOUNDER, KATES KESLER ORGANISATION CONSULTING AND A MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE

ORG DESIGN FUTURE OPERATING MODELS NAOMI STANFORD, ORGANISATION DESIGN ADVISOR

TALENT LOOKING FOR THE “STARS” THROUGH THE HR HUBBLE TELESCOPE INES LARSEN-SCHMIDT, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES, CENTRAL CLUSTER, TRANSCOM

INTERVIEW PREDRAG MIHAJLOVIĆ, PRESIDENT OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD AND CEO, OTP BANKA SRBIJA

LEADERSHIP DRIVE BEYOND EXELLENCE: A TWO-YEAR JOURNEY GORDANA FABRIS, HEAD OF GROUP HR, FORTENOVA GRUPA

STRATEGY WHERE STRATEGY MEETS ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN: ENABLING ORGANISATIONS TO DELIVER SUCCESSFULLY BORIS DRAGOVIĆ, CHIEF STRATEGY AND TRANSFORMATION OFFICER, HYPEROPTIC

ORG DESIGN GAMIFIED ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN MLADEN ČUDANOV, FULL PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BELGRADE, FACULTY OF ORGANISATIONAL SCIENCES

LEADERSHIP SET THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AGENDA AND PUT SOME SKIN IN THE GAME ŽANA GOIĆ PETRIČEVIĆ, CEO, BOLD LEADERSHIP CULTURE

ORG DESIGN A NEW WORLD OF WORK IS EMERGING: TIME FOR HR TO STEP UP ON ORG DESIGN! ERIC CORNU, GLOBAL HEAD OF ORGANISATION DESIGN AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT (OD&CM), MARK VODDEN, GLOBAL ORGANISATION DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT LEAD, NESTLÉ

INTERVIEW MAŠA LALIĆ, MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, GENERALI OSIGURANJE SRBIJA

ORG DESIGN DESIGNING EFFECTIVE CORPORATE CENTERS FOR DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTION AND MANUFACTURING COMPANIES ALAN AASTORP, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, PRODUCTIVITY LAB INTERNATIONAL

EXPERIENCE FROM HUMAN RESOURCES TO HUMAN RELATIONS: THE REAL POWER OF COHERENCE ANJA ŽIBERT, HR INSPIRATOR AND HEART ENERGY RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST, FREE SPIRIT HUMAN CAPITAL

HR TECH YOU KNOW YOU NEED AN HR SYSTEM, BUT DOES YOUR CEO? IRENA DOMJANOVIĆ, CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER, GECKO HRM

HR TECH THE DATA-INFORMED REMOTE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE: WHAT TO TRACK AND WHY LUKA BABIĆ, CEO, ORGNOSTIC

WELLBEING WHAT PSYCHOLOGICAL GAMES DOES YOUR TEAM PLAY? UROŠ MITIĆ, HR CONSULTANT, COACH, BALANCE CONSULTING

INTERVIEW NEVENA STEFANOVIĆ, CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER, YETTEL

TALENT HOW DOES MTU ACHIEVE HIGH RETENTION RATES? HANS-PETER KLEITSCH, SENIOR VP, MTU

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TALENT TALENT DISCOVERIES, AND HOW TO PUT THEM TO WORK? VIOLETA MRDAKOVIĆ LUČIĆ, MANAGING PARTNER, ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS ADRIA, GÁBOR FÜZÉR, COUNTRY MANAGER, ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS HUNGARY

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TALENT THE WAR FOR TALENTS IS ON CHRISTINA WOLF, HEAD OF RECRUITMENT AND PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT, NETCONOMY

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EXPERIENCE RECOGNITION AS A TOOL MAJA STANČETIĆ, HR BUSINESS PARTNER, SCHNEIDER ELECTRICS

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TRANSFORMATION HR TOTAL TRANSFORMATION TATJANA JOVANOVIĆ, SENIOR HR DIRECTOR, HEMOFARM

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TRANSFORMATION ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION AND CULTURE – WHAT IS OLDER CHICKEN OR EGG? MARINA MATIĆ, INSPIRED BY PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT

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BUSINESS DYNAMIC PODS - THE FUTURE OF WORK AT COCA-COLA HBC NATAŠA PRODANOVIĆ, HEAD OF AGILITY CENTER OF EXCELLENCE, COCACOLA HBC

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BUSINESS WHERE THE CHANGE STARTS ADRIANA KOVČIN HR BUSINESS PARTNER, BOSCH

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DEVELOPMENT ONLINE LEARNING TAILORED TO EVERYONE’S NEEDS IVAN BILDI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MASTERBOX

112

BRANDING NAKED EMPLOYER BRANDING - ONSCREEN VS. BEHIND THE SCENES ISIDORA MAKSIMOVIĆ, EMPLOYER BRANDING SPECIALIST, POSLOVI INFOSTUD

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HR TECH ENGAGE ALL YOUR SENSES IN THE SIXSENTIX VIRTUAL TOUR MAJA DAVIDOV, PEOPLE & CULTURE DEVELOPMENT, SIXSENTIX IVAN IGNJATOVIĆ, DELIVERY MANAGER, SIXSENTIX

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BUSINESS SERVICE CENTRES – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY MLAĐAN JOVANOVIĆ, NATIONAL HR MANAGER, KUEHNE+NAGEL

120

PR TO BE OR NOT TO BE WELL MAŠA VLAHOVIĆ, COO, LIFE&MIND STUDIO

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PR EVERYDAY LIFE WITH PCM THE TOOL TO MAKE A DAILY DIFFERENCE ATRIA GROUP

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PR SOURCING – KEY MISTAKES BPS WORLD

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PR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND REMOTE WORK MARIJA ŠEKULARAC JOSIPOVIĆ, TEAM LEAD, BLUE COLIBRI

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PR HOW TO CHOOSE THE APPROPRATE HRIS? FLEDGE WORKS

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COLUMN HEY, JUNIOR! LET’S TALK ABOUT INTEGRITY. ARE YOU THAT KIND OF EMPLOYEE? DANICA RISTIĆ, SENIOR PEOPLE MANAGER, DEEL

ORG DESIGN

Reconnecting organisational divides: Restoring alignment into the siloed structures Ivan Stefanović, Head of Project Management Office, Hyperoptic

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ORG DESIGN

“Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets.” W. Edwards Deming

At some point, all organisations find themselves in a situation where they are not functioning at a satisfactory level of performance. At that moment, they are facing similar challenges – how to organise employees to produce the desired results most efficiently, how to break down the silos mentality between organisational units and make the processes run smoothly, how to establish the balance between decisions being made centrally and those that should happen at the periphery, etc. These challenges can be overcome through the process of organisation design. However, there is an important misconception that needs to be addressed first.

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SINCE THE STRUCTURE IS A RESULT OF ORGANISATION DESIGN, IT IS EASY TO CONCLUDE THAT A PROPER ORGANISATION DESIGN SHOULD CREATE ORGANISATION STRUCTURES, AND ALSO DEFINE HOW THE WORK IS BEING DONE AND TASKS BEING COORDINATED WITHIN THESE STRUCTURES, I.E., FOCUS ON RELATIONSHIPS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

ORGANISATION DESIGN MISCONCEPTION Designing organisation in practice usually comes down to designing the structure in the static sense – both macro and detailed organisation structure design focus on division of labour with accompanying responsibilities, and grouping of positions into organisational units. Division of labour slices up the overall work of an organisation into a set of distinct work packages resulting in defined individual positions with accompanying job descriptions. At the same time, the grouping of positions leads to defining organisational units, which serve as an integrating mechanism that implicitly fosters coordination of people and sharing resources within these units. Once this is done, an organisational chart is made and the process of organisation design ends. But is this enough? Working on the division of labour and creation of organisational units is enough to produce an organisational chart, but

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not to really understand the organisational structure and how it works. Unfortunately, when thinking about organisational structure, people tend to do it using organisational charts only, which is why we are facing significant problems in actually understanding organisations and how to design them holistically. Organisational charts can only show the static elements of the structure. They show the vertical relationships, the division of labour, the grouping of different positions into organisational units or several organisational units into larger units, and the number of employees in each position or unit. In terms of the vertical relationships, the organisational chart depicts the hierarchy, i.e., who reports to whom. This can be done using employee names or just showing the positions. Vertical relationships explain who is in charge of managing and controlling the work, who is responsible for doing the work, and it also identifies the lines of formal

communication through which the instructions are being given and reports being provided. As for the division of labour, the organisational chart illustrates (at least vaguely) the scope of responsibility of each position or unit. This is being done through the title or the unit name (e.g., Marketing Specialist or Marketing Department), not to mention the accompanying documents, such as job description or organisational unit scope of responsibility (these documents can be pretty detailed in terms of the responsibilities falling under the position or unit). When thinking about the grouping of positions or units, one can see immediately which positions are being grouped into the same component of the structure, i.e., organisational unit, or which units are being further pulled together under the responsibility of another unit. This is the famous “span of control”, i.e., how many people are being managed by one person.

ORG DESIGN

And finally, each position or organisational unit can have a number showing how many people are actually doing a particular type of job or even show the number of vacancies that need to be filled in the future in order to deliver the anticipated workload. But who has ever said that the structure refers only to static connections of various organisational elements? The structure should be regarded as the result of a complex interplay of variables such as strategy, culture, people within an organisation, the past and present functioning of the organisation, its history of success and failure, and so on. It comprises static parts, but dynamic ones as well. Since the structure is a result of organisation design, it is easy to conclude that a proper organisation design should create organisation structures, and also define how the work is being done and tasks being coordinated within these structures, i.e., focus on relationships and accountability. Unfortunately, this is something that the organisational chart cannot show (Kates, Kesler & DiMartino, 2021). In other words, the organisational chart cannot depict how the work actually gets done daily, who speaks to whom informally, what types of challenges the employees are facing and how they overcome them, how the decisions are made, in what way is the coordination among employees achieved, and a lot of other things. To put it simply, organisational charts are not capable of illustrating life within an organisation. Even as such, they are a useful tool when it comes to organisation design. It’s just that, when designing an organisation, one needs to be aware of their limitations and, therefore, combine them with other methods and tools to get the desired results.

RESTORING THE COORDINATION INTO ORGANISATION DESIGN Organisation design must include both differentiation and integration. It’s not just about dividing the whole work into manageable pieces and giving these pieces to individuals to be executed; it’s also about connecting the work of these individuals in order to get smooth work processes that will deliver the outputs most efficiently. Hence, besides the division of labour and creating organisational units, coordination needs to be seen as an indispensable part of any organisation design effort, as well as defining the appropriate level of centralization or decentralisation (c.f. Mintzberg, 1983). A lot of authors have been writing about coordination in the past, but Henry Mintzberg (1983) and Jay Galbraith (1992) stand out with the focus they gave to the forms of coordination. Based on their work, we may conclude that there are several forms of coordination: 1. Mutual adjustment (people communicating with each other on the go); 2. Direct supervision (the person in charge is giving orders to the other people), which can happen on multiple dimensions and levels of influence (from purely vertical hierarchies to different forms of matrix organisations); 3. Standardisation of outputs (people coordinate their work based on predefined targets while having the freedom to choose how the targets will be reached), which sets the stage for different forms of divisional organisations (from tightly coupled to loosely related portfolios of businesses); 4. Standardisation of skills (coordination is based on the years

of studying and practising specific discipline, which is inherent for professionals such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.); these individuals are capable of working together purely based on their knowledge and skills; 5. Standardisation of work processes (coordination is based on systems or procedures, i.e., all activities are being predefined and standardised, after which employees are being trained on how to work); 6. Indoctrination and ideology (coordination is being achieved through the shared system of beliefs and values that shapes the prevailing way of thinking and acting in an organisation), leading to the formation of the organisational culture that is being embraced and cherished by the members of an organisation; organisational culture acts as a glue that holds them together (think of religious organisations, terrorist organisations, but also companies like Harley-Davidson). Each one of these forms is being used in organisations, but their usage depends on numerous factors such as size, industry, level of maturity, etc. However, it is rare to see only one type of coordination being used to connect different actors across an organisation. Usually, it is a mixture of different types of coordination, with each type being used at a different level of intensity. For example, in very small entrepreneurial organisations you will usually find direct supervision being used heavily with mutual adjustments as the second type of coordination. However, in project teams, the situation can be completely reversed – a mutual adjustment is being followed by direct supervision. Choice of type of coordination depending on the level of bureaucratization and decentralisation in an organisation has been thoroughly analysed by

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ORG DESIGN

Henry Mintzberg (1983). Illustration 1 shows that direct supervision and mutual adjustment are heavily used in organisations on the lowest level of bureaucratization, while standardisation of work processes is used when bureaucratization is at its peak. On the other hand, direct supervision is used as a prevailing type of coordination in highly centralised organisations, while mutual adjustment is indicative of decentralised organisations.

intensity of supervision because managers do not need to talk to their team members every day, but rather communicate the plans and monitor the progress.

If we analyse the types of coordination depending on the size of an organisation, in a lot of industries we will see that, as organisations grow, their coordination goes from simple forms (in very small organisations) and then slowly progresses toward more complex forms. But only to an extent. After a specific point, the coordination moves away from complexity and tilts back to more simple forms. This is depicted in Illustration 2.

With the further increase in the size of an organisation, there is a need to add another dimension of the division of labour. For example, in a functional organisation, a dimension of projects, geography, product, etc. can be introduced. It starts with adding coordinator roles for the new size and then slowly progressing toward a full matrix if needed. Matrix organisation is a very complex form, so it is advised to implement only if necessary.

In very small organisations of several people, a mutual adjustment is a prevalent form of coordination. In other words, people talk to each other and agree on what needs to be done, by whom and when. They adjust their work to the changes of circumstances, learn by doing, and improve their productivity over time. All of this is done on the go and there is no need for any bureaucracy. This is the simplest form of coordination. With the growth of an organisation, tasks are becoming more complex to manage, so one person gets appointed to coordinate and control the work of the others. This is the position of a manager. Of course, further growth of an organisation will lead to adding more managers and creating a hierarchy among them. However, this will only be effective until the point in which a new form of coordination needs to be added.

It is possible to add more complexity to the structure only until the point after which coordination must tilt back. In this phase, further growth of an organisation requires a different kind of shift – not toward more formalisation and complexity, but rather less of it. Standardisation of outputs starts prevailing again. It happens with forming divisions within an organisation. Each business unit starts getting more freedom to act against their market conditions, but the targets are still being set from the corporate centre.

Usually, it is the standardisation of outputs (planning and budgeting). Adding planning to the hierarchy relaxes the

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The next coordinating mechanism is the standardisation of work processes. Higher complexity requires everyone in an organisation to perform their work in a standardised manner to get predictable outputs and become more efficient in their area of work.

Finally, indoctrination and ideology are being introduced as ultimate forms of coordination that connect the goals and values of an organisation with the personal goals and values of its members (employees). Here, coordination has tilted back toward a mutual adjustment, but this time the mutual adjustment is embedded into the set of strong beliefs and values, which make it a lot more effective.

TILTING BETWEEN CENTRALIZATION AND DECENTRALISATION A very important component of any organisation design effort is to find the optimum balance between the right to make decisions (and hold accountability) in one centre and distributing this right (and accountability) across the organisation. In its pure form, centralization allows for an overview of the whole organisation and enables decision-makers to make optimal choices regarding investments and resource allocation across the businesses and organisational units. On the flip side, centralization disconnects decision-makers from the operating trenches. The centre can never fully grasp the local situation because it is not at the spot where the action takes place, thus only being able to get the filtered information as an input for decision making. Decentralisation in its pure form allows for the speed of making the right decisions as soon as they are required. It makes an organisation much more flexible in terms of adaptation to the given conditions. However, it results in a focus on one’s own area and not seeing the big picture. Ultimately, a siloed organisation is being formed, in which inefficient utilisation of resources (i.e. resource grabbing), leads to duplicated efforts and suboptimal coordination. Having this in mind, organisation design needs to specify what decisions need to be taken in the centre and what makes sense to be left to the periphery. The precise allocation of the right to make decisions and accompanying accountability for results will significantly improve the coordination among different actors in any organisation.

ORG DESIGN

CONCLUSION

Increasing Bureaucratization (encouraged by greater environmental stability)

The misconception of organisation design to focus only on static elements results in missing out on coordination and decision-making, which leads to creating just an illusion of doing an organisation design. Organisation design cannot be done without taking into consideration all of its dimensions: division of

labour, forming of organisational units, coordination, and (de)centralization. When you differentiate the structure, you need to find a way to reconnect the resulting elements, so they can produce the desired performance. This is the only way to restore alignment into the siloed structures. So easy to understand on the conceptual level, but for some reason so hard to implement in practice.

Standardization of Work Processes Standardization of Outputs Standardization of Skills

Direct Supervision

Mutual Adjustment Increasing Decentralization (encouraged by greater environmental complexity)

Illustration 1: Types of coordination depending on the level of bureaucratization and decentralisation (Mintzberg, 1983)

Increasing Complexity of Coordination

New Dimension of Supervision Standardization of Work Processes

Divisional Form

Planning and Budgeting

Indoctrination and Ideology

Direct Supervision

Mutual Adjustment

Size of an Organization (measured in number of employees/members)

Illustration 2: Types of coordination depending on the size of an organisation

REFERENCES Galbraith, J. R. (1993). Competing with Flexible Lateral organizations. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Kates, A., Kesler, G. & DiMartino, M. (2021). Networked, Scaled, and Agile: A Design Strategy for Complex organisations. London, UK: Kogan Page Limited. Mintzberg, H. (1983). Structure in Fives: Designing Effective organizations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

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STRATEGY

Understanding Organizations ... Henry Mintzberg, Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies, McGill University You are working on a book titled “Understanding organizations... Finally”. In this book you are revisiting the topics you wrote about in your books “The structuring of organizations” and “Structure in Fives” published in 1979 and 1983 respectively. In these books you provided an extensive explanation of organization design as a configuration that is based on internal consistency among the design parameters and their compatibility with situational factors. What has changed in the meantime? What is different in your new book? 14 | HR World 07 | April 2022

STRATEGY

...................... FinaLly.... I’m not sure organizations changed so much as my perception of them. To put it in simple terms - the book focused on five basic forms of organization. And now we have four basic forms. I’ve got new names for them. One is called “The Personal Enterprise” which is the entrepreneurial organization - organizations that are very tightly controlled by single individuals, e.g. Donald Trump and the White House, Musk and Tesla and so on... The ones where single individuals are very influential. And there’s not much structure in a way, because everything revolves around what the boss is saying and doing. The second one I’m calling “Program Machines”. I used to call them “Machine bureaucracy”. “Program machines” are highly structured, highly controlled, very technocratic organizations like banks, a lot of government offices etc. The rules dominate and the people who work there are not highly skilled. McDonald’s can train someone in a few hours compared

to a hospital where it takes years and years of training. The third form I call “The Professional Assembly”. It’s an organization where professionals work largely on their own. The way I do in the University or most professors do, the way doctors mostly work in hospitals... If you want a surgeon, anesthetist, nurses, and the whole staff in a very complicated operation, watch closely - they barely communicate, because everything is so structured, but in a professional way. They’re all trained to know exactly what they do. I call it “Professional assembly” because they are assembled in a hospital or the university, or in an accounting firm or in a law office. The fourth one, I call “The Project Pioneer”. These are organizations that use expertise but use them in teamwork. They’re very heavy on teamwork. These are a creative film company, an advertising agency and so on. These are the basic forms. The way the book differs now is that it puts much more emphasis on the fact that none of these

forms can exist in a pure form. You can’t have a pure “Machine organization”. It would just go crazy with efficiency. Or if you have a pure “Professional organization” the professionals would just go out of control. You always need the forces of the other forms, and I introduced a force for each form. So, in a “Machine organization” it’s all about efficiency. In a “Professional organization” it’s about proficiency. In a “Project organization” it’s about collaboration. In a “Personal organization” it’s about consolidation by the chief. To understand organizations, you have to understand the hybrids. For example, a pharmaceutical company is not one or the other. It tends to be project in research, while professional in development. There are all kinds of mixtures. An orchestra would be a bit of a hybrid between the leader–centered personal

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STRATEGY

We are so ignorant of how organizations work. We kind of have a sense of how our own organization works but we don’t have this general understanding.

......................... organization and the skill-centered professional organization.

for it or a different angle. Therefore, we have new models all the time.

What happened with the “Divisionalized form” and to the so-called Missionary organizations?

I devoted the next to last chapter in the book to what I think is the recent thing in organizations - “Organizations Outward Bound”. Thirty, forty years ago, we talked a lot about diversification and vertical integration as the main strategies of organizations. This whole trend was about buying other companies and bringing them in. Vertical integration was about bringing in your customers or suppliers. Diversification meant you bought other kinds of companies in.

That is the second part of the book. After introducing the four forms and four forces that go with those forms, then I introduced three more forces that are common in all organizations. Those are culture, politics or conflict and division (between units). In every organization there’s some kind of culture, there’s always conflict, there’s always some autonomy for units, but, when an organization focuses on those three - then we have three more forms. So, we get the divisional form or the federation, we get the political arena or the conflict-driven organization and we get the missionary organization or the community ship. Historically looking, how are new models of organizations developing and what is influencing that? Quickly and slowly. Quickly in a sense that everybody is coming up with the latest thing. Almost all of that has been pursued for years, they just have a different name

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All of that has totally reversed when we talk about outsourcing. It is the exact opposite of vertical integration. Outsourcing means you take what you are doing and get someone else to do it on contract. Wikipedia, Zoom these are all platform organizations in the sense that some group creates a platform and then everybody comes into that platform and uses it. That’s the biggest trend I see. So, how many really new models have I seen in the last thirty or forty years? One. Even though we live in the 21st century, essentially we don’t understand organizations as we should, right?

We’re surrounded by organizations, yet we don’t understand them at all. We can see that every time consultants come into a professional organization and treat it like a machine organization. Hence the title of the book “Understanding organizations... finally”. We are so ignorant of how organizations work. We kind of have a sense of how our own organization works but we don’t have this general understanding. Let me conclude with the story I tell in the book, about two biologists. One is studying bears and the other is studying beavers. But they don’t have a vocabulary beyond “mammals”. So, they get together and compare what they learned about mammals. They get into the discussion of where mammals spend the winter. One of them says “Well, in a cave, of course.” The other says “A cave? Are you crazy? If they’re in a cave their predators will come and kill them!” The first one says: “Mammals don’t have predators!” (Because he was studying bears). They’re talking past each other because they don’t have the vocabulary. Likewise in organizations. Nobody says: “We’re a professional organization, you’re treating us like a machine organization”. However, people need to be able to say that. Or “We’re a machine organization, you’re treating us like a professional organization.” When can we expect your new book to be released and to “Finally understand organizations”? Maybe spring of 2023.

EXPERIENCE

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ORG DESIGN

WHY MUST FACEBOOK CHANGE ITS ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE?

a. et M es to elv e rs m ou is S ts naked hat w i E W d as – N ge all as G an e s w N ch n w ew ? KI has stio e n hy w EA ok ue th q g o – BR eb rst arin as c fi w Fa e he d Th ter ? on af eta sec M e

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Dr Zvezdan Horvat Professional Director, Adizes Institute Worldwide

ORG DESIGN

The term “metaverse” comes from science fiction and refers to a 3D virtual world inhabited by avatars of real people. Facebook defines it as a set of virtual spaces in which you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you. It is a broader concept than any one application, something that can be used anywhere. This is an excellent focal point for R&D efforts with the potential for a bright future. Is “meta” the new overall direction? Maybe. “The name Facebook doesn’t fully encompass everything the company does now and is still closely linked to one product. But over time, I hope we are seen as a metaverse company,” Zuckerberg said (The Verge, October 28, 2021, Facebook just revealed its new name: Meta). Facebook is trying to solve a problem: the company is bigger than the single product it has, than the product it was named after. Is the declaration of its rebranding enough to positively impact the company’s performance? I would suggest it needs more: to change its structure to implement the strategy. But that’s not happening. In a press release, they wrote, “Our corporate structure is not changing, however, how we report on our financials will”. They will have two operating segments: Family of Apps and Reality Labs. This means there will be no higher entity to coordinate its efforts, just a new brand. The organisational structure is a vehicle for implementing a new mission or strategy. Today, with

all the modern ERP systems we have, you can report from any angle you choose, but this will not change the organisation’s behaviour, and management will not know who is accountable. A submarine will not fly if you put a pilot in it; different types of reporting will not make the change; that is why you need an organisational structure. Why change organisational structure? This should be done if the company has problems that require structural change, a change of mission, or both. Nonetheless, Facebook has an identity problem: in the same way you cannot call an arm a finger; you cannot call a part of the organisation and the whole organisation by the same name. At Facebook, the business unit name, the product name, and the name of the entire holding company or group is the same, and this problem has proved to be significant enough to warrant the name change. However, it seems that Facebook wants to take a new direction without changing its structure. As Dr. Adizes says, you cannot change the direction of the powerboat by shouting, “Left, left!” You need to increase power to the engines on the right and decrease power to the engines on the left, and then the boat will turn. You need to change the power structure, which is not happening at Facebook – they are only changing the name. This phenomenon is not unknown in growing companies; they develop new

units themselves or acquire some and face the problem of a new structure of responsibilities: whom do you report to? Who is accountable? But you cannot answer this question before defining the intention of the organisational units. There are three types of organisational units with different intentions: profit, service, and support centres. We use colours to emphasize their roles. The profit centre (green) is the centre of the business, which is accountable for P&L, from things like regions, pro-ducts, client groups, etc. The service centre (yellow) provides services to the profit centre based on predefined prices, services such as Production, Transport, IT Squads, etc. The support centre (red) provides services without a transfer price, like Accounting, HR, Finance, Administration, etc. You implement your strategy by changing the order of your profit centres. If you want to open a new country, this will probably constitute a new profit centre (green) because the business needs to produce results, although it is possible to operate at a loss, at the beginning. The intentions remain the same. The positions of the service and support centres are also significant, but the hierarchy of profit centres mainly defines the strategy. A simple example: imagine you have become an international company and are opening up in some new countries. Now the question is – what is the intention? Is it just one sales office, where red Sales

FACEBOOK HAS AN IDENTITY PROBLEM: IN THE SAME WAY YOU CANNOT CALL AN ARM A FINGER; YOU CANNOT CALL A PART OF THE ORGANISATION AND THE WHOLE ORGANISATION BY THE SAME NAME. AT FACEBOOK, THE BUSINESS UNIT NAME, THE PRODUCT NAME, AND THE NAME OF THE ENTIRE HOLDING COMPANY OR GROUP IS THE SAME, AND THIS PROBLEM HAS PROVED TO BE SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO WARRANT THE NAME CHANGE. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 19

ORG DESIGN

in Country B reports to red general Sales in Country A? Or is it a new business – green – that reports to Company X’s head office in Country A, or something else?

In such a case, a group or holding company needs to be established, and the same attention given to each “child” – Google did it with Alphabet, and that was more than just a rebranding.

Company X in country A

Alphabet

Sales in country A

Country B

Administration

Calico

Sales in country B

In the beginning, it could be established merely as a sales office in Country B. But then we are not a genuine international company; we are just a company with some sales export offices in various places. Later, as we grow, these countries, by definition, become new profit centres, and we want to have somebody accountable for profit. Do you still report to the sales office in the domicile country or the top of the network? If you report to Sales in Country A, the name Sales is not appropriate anymore; it should be considered a business. A green unit cannot report to a red one; a profit centre cannot report to a support centre. Company X in country A

Sales in country A

Administration

Country B

Country C

In many cases, these satellites report to the country the company started in, as presented in the picture, whereas the original country should become just one among many. Then they can grow and should receive equal support.

Sales in country A

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Country B

Sales in country B

Fiber

Working on big breakthroughs

Providing super-fast internet

Google Ventures

Google Capital

Funding for “bold new companies”

Investing in long-term tech trends

Google

Nest “Smart home” products

Android

YouTube

Apps

Maps

Ads

Graphic: CNNMoney / Source: Comapny filings

They built the group – Alphabet – and Google, from which everything started, is just one of the companies. Now they can grow independently, and Alphabet does portfolio management, which is the real business of the group. In the case of Meta, it will probably have Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus as subunits, sub-businesses, and some additional products or apps will be grouped or put inside these subunits, which will most likely comprise the Family of Apps. But do they have coordination at a higher level, or is this just an artificial group for reporting purposes? It seems that there will be no coordination. These units are businesses in their own right and should go through their separate life cycles while reporting to the mother company. Reality Labs will probably be R&D “metaverse” units (red support centres) in which new approaches and products are developed and which serve as incubators for new “meta” things. They will support everybody with these innovations. But where is the holding company or the group? Meta is a brand, not a top-level organisational unit.

Company X

Country A

Google X

Fights age-related disease

Meta

Country C

Sales in country C

Administration

Family of Apps

Facebook

Instagram

Reality Labs

Oculus

R&D

Zuckerberg said, answering a question along those lines, “There’s the financial reporting and segment reporting. There is the brand. There will be an account system. We’re not making organisational changes today as part of that. That might be something that I’ll consider in the future, but I don’t think that’s something that’s a near term on the horizon” (The Verge, October 28, 2021, Mark Zuckerberg on why Facebook is rebranding to Meta). So probably it is more along the lines of a scheme, which is not an organisational structure; they are not a group. Meta

Facebook

Instagram

Oculus

R&D

If there is no structure but only a brand at the top, the real question is, where does Mr Zuckerberg sit? What is his title? CEO of Facebook? He cannot be CEO of Meta because there is no Meta. So, are we saying that the CEO of Facebook will manage Meta? Whom will the Head of Instagram report to? To the CEO of Facebook? If so, why is the group not called Facebook? But then, who is the head of Facebook? Is it the same person with a single title for two positions? This is confusing, and system theory says it cannot work. I know somebody will say that in life you can do anything. But that does not mean you should. “When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty, but when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” R. Buckminster Fuller (brainyquote.com) They will probably develop metaverse as a basis for the future in any structure, but the organisational problem is not solved. The solution is not beautiful, which leads us to conclude that Facebook does not want to solve the real managerial growth problem or implement any new strategies. We are probably seeing an attempt to resolve Facebook’s significant PR problems but in the “metaverse” alone.

THIS PHENOMENON IS NOT UNKNOWN IN GROWING COMPANIES; THEY DEVELOP NEW UNITS THEMSELVES OR ACQUIRE SOME AND FACE THE PROBLEM OF A NEW STRUCTURE OF RESPONSIBILITIES: WHOM DO YOU REPORT TO? WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE? BUT YOU CANNOT ANSWER THIS QUESTION BEFORE DEFINING THE INTENTION OF THE ORGANISATIONAL UNITS. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 21

COLUMN

Gender equality:

How can we drive a real change? Nataša Nikolić, EY Women. Fast forward Leader for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), EY

Gender equality has hit a critical breaking point. The global pandemic has stretched the gender gap from 99 years to 135 according to the World Economic Forum. The economic gender gap has now reached a shocking 267.6 years! Would companies wait that long for any other decision that could have such a positive impact on the business? 22 | HR World 07 | April 2022

COLUMN

It’s no secret that gender equality is good for business, good for society, and good for the economy: ▪ Equality for women in the labour force would add $28 trillion to the global economy by 2025 ▪ Businesses with women at the top are worth on average $40m more than those without them (Analysis of S&P Composite 1500) ▪ Boards with 30% or more women could add up to 6% to their net margin ▪ When led by a woman, countries achieve an average of 5.4% GDP growth in the subsequent year, compared to 1.1% if led by a man (Susan Perkins, University of Illinois, and Katherine Phillips of the Columbia Business School, 188 UN-recognised countries). We need to ask ourselves why is it taking so long, despite all the work companies have been doing. There has never been greater awareness of the need for gender-diverse leadership and yet, progress is lacking. Some of the reasons may be found in the fact that some companies are not yet fully convinced that there is a direct link between gender parity and financial results and competitive advantage. Even among those that see the correlation, there are still companies that are not making this a formal business priority. Additionally, men who make up the majority of the senior leaders tend to underestimate the extent of gender bias in their organisations. It’s a matter of perception and perspective. Men need to be allies, actively working on closing the gender gap. With the pace of change faster than ever, companies will need to address this with a bit more urgency. There has probably not been a greater war on talent than what we are witnessing now. When we add the effects of the “great resignation”, companies that are not able to attract and retain the best talent will struggle to remain competitive. The only gender gap that has been closed so far, is the education gap. In fact, in many countries, more women are earning advanced degrees than men. As these highly educated and skilled women enter the workplace, they will look for companies with an inclusive culture. Another thing that must not be disregarded is how the changes in consumer behaviour will influence the companies and how they will be linked to the gender gap. Based on some research, almost two-thirds of the consumers worldwide today buy on belief. Such consumers will choose, change, boycott, and even avoid brands based on their position on political and social issues that are

“

WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG, DESPITE ALL THE WORK COMPANIES HAVE BEEN DOING. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR GENDERDIVERSE LEADERSHIP AND YET, PROGRESS IS LACKING.

important for them. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the way it has changed consumer behaviour, this trend is here to stay and will be of more and more importance. (EY Future Consumer Index). Both of these two trends are even more important when we remember that, based on some predictions, millennials will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025. With the combination of their buying power and influence, women drive 70-80% of total consumer purchasing. Consequently, as more consumers get involved with social campaigns focused on empowering women and closing the gender gap, they will turn to brands that support these goals. With diversity, equity, and inclusion more important than ever, what are some of the things organisations and individuals should keep on top of their minds to drive real change and make the workplace a level playing field for both men and women?

BROKEN RUNG A lot has been said and done about unconscious bias being the root of the problem. Although organisations are doing a lot into reducing the bias from hiring and performance reviews, there is still quite a big gap between practices in hiring and those that apply in performance reviews. Lack of actions to minimize or eliminate the unconscious bias from performance reviews could lead to the “broken rung” which is one of the main obstacles women face on their path to leadership. It’s where it all starts. This is the Achilles’ heel that stands in the way of women rising to senior-level positions and the domino effect that starts with the very first position. And they never have the opportunity to catch up.

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COLUMN

Despite the common belief, the biggest gap in promotion between men and women is not at the very top, on the C-level position. In fact, it is in the very first step up to being a manager. According to McKinsey’s study on Women in the Workplace 2019, for every 100 men promoted and hired to a manager, only 72 women are promoted and hired. This disparity is called “broken rung”. Consequently, men end up holding 62% of manager-level positions, compared to 38 percent held by women. As a result, the future pipeline of diverse leaders for senior positions is never equal and that’s why many organisations fail in building and cultivating generations of leaders that they need. At the start of their career, the proportion of women and men is 50/50 and by the time they reach senior levels, it comes down to one in four. To prevent the broken rung, in addition to programmes and initiatives that are focused on getting more women in leadership positions, organisations should also be setting targets to get more women promoted into managers.

“WOMEN ARE OVER-MENTORED AND UNDER-SPONSORED” This is probably truer than ever with so many mentoring programs that companies and various organisations have put in place in the last few decades. Mentoring is, of course, very important, but it’s just a beginning. On the other hand, companies are not doing that great when it comes to sponsorship of women which has proven to be a prerequisite to moving up the ladder. One of the big reasons for women not reaching leadership positions is that they are not getting important assignments, and that often happens because they don’t have powerful sponsors that could open doors. In her article “A Lack of Sponsorship Is Keeping Women from Advancing into Leadership” Herminia Ibarra describes sponsorship as a “helping relationship in which senior, powerful people use their personal powerful clout to talk up, advocate for and place a more junior person in a key role”. Sponsors not only provide feedback and advice, but they also use their influence with other senior executives to advocate for their protegees and ensure visibility with the key decision-makers. Sponsorship has evolved over time and today it represents a variety of different behaviours - from being a mentor on one side, to publicly advocating for a woman on the other side of the spectrum. In between, there are various other roles. For example, an executive that is willing to share insider knowledge about how to advance in the organisation, an executive that introduces

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their protegee to the influential people in their networks, or those executives that help women get higher visibility projects or promotions within the scope of their roles, i.e. ensuring they have the same opportunities as men do. While women tend to prefer having female sponsors as someone who has “been in their shoes” and can understand their challenges and dilemmas, it is actually men who are usually better placed to be sponsors. It is because they have the power and top positions that are needed here. Being a sponsor or a true ally is where men can make a big difference in advancing gender parity in the workplace.

THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING “THE ONLY” Most of us have likely had the experience of being “the only”. This is a challenge that, almost without exception, women in senior leadership positions face – being the only woman in the room, on the board, pitching to investors, and many other examples. Several studies have found that when outnumbered, women tend to be ignored by men. Their judgment is more likely to be questioned and opinions disregarded. And this is when they feel on guard, under pressure to perform, and left out. To help create a safe workplace in which women can thrive and realize their potential and ambition, being their authentic selves, organisations should look for ways to prevent these situations where women would feel like “the onlys”. Women in such environments have a significantly worse experience than women who work in more balanced environments. They are more likely to think about leaving their job, which is not something to be disregarded ever, and especially not today with the “great resignation” trends. Due to the lack of women leaders, organisations tend to spread them too thinly, trying to ensure there is at least one woman in each team. However, based on various research, it is preferable to have several women in the team rather than one in each, even if that means that there may be some teams without any women. Hopefully, that will be a red flag for organisations too. Belonging to communities and networks is proven to be successful. Identifying common experiences and learning from each other can be of great help for women when they must navigate the corporate labyrinths, and especially trying to understand the doublebind situations that unfortunately women are still faced with. Networking and relationship building, essential for strengthening engagement and commitment, help women develop the ties, visibility, and organisational know-how essential to professional success.

BURNOUT Burnout, anxiety, and depression are rising exponentially among women around the world. The burnout gap between women and men today is bigger than ever. It has almost doubled since last year - 42% of women have stated they feel burned out. That makes up almost half of the women population! (McKinsey, Women in the Workplace report 2021). Despite their increased burnout, women are stepping in to be the kind of leaders the companies need and value in these times. If they don’t address the question of burnout, companies are risking losing their women leaders, who, at these times of “great resignation”, are critical to keeping the companies going. They need to do their best to create a workplace where women feel valued and recognised.

“

WHEN WE DRIVE CHANGE TOGETHER, WE CAN END THE PREJUDICE, BIAS, AND STEREOTYPING THAT FUEL INEQUALITY.

HOW CAN YOU BE THE ANSWER? Each of us holds the power to stand up and speak out. We must boldly do both the big things and the little things to make a difference. When we drive change together, we can end the prejudice, bias, and stereotyping that fuel inequality. Small actions can make a big difference, and we all have the responsibility to help drive change with what we do every day. The ripple effect of the small steps that we can all take will make a big difference: ▪ Challenge gender stereotypes and biases, always ▪ Promote women’s achievements among your team, colleagues, and clients ▪ Ensure your team has the right skills for the future of work ▪ Recruit and promote balanced teams ▪ Sponsor a woman to support her career progression ▪ Use inclusive language, always ▪ Support women entrepreneurs as they build new start-ups ▪ Remove barriers to women’s progress ▪ Consider diverse perspectives in all your initiatives ▪ Promote the importance of equality in everything you do.

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STRATEGY

The central versus decentral dilemma: How the HR practitioner can facilitate a “Centre-Led” solution KERI MACALUSO, SENIOR MANAGER WITH KATES KESLER, PART OF ACCENTURE AMY KATES, CO-FOUNDER, KATES KESLER ORGANISATION CONSULTING AND A MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE 26 | HR World 07 | April 2022

STRATEGY

Today’s organisations need to move faster than ever before. Covid-19 exposed which companies in an industry could change direction quickly and respond to new consumer, employee, regulatory, and supply demands, turning adversity into opportunity. “Agility” is the management word of the decade for sure. But to move with agility in a complex organisation requires leaders to be confident that important decisions are being made at the right level and location across the enterprise.

HR leaders are often asked: Where should work be managed in the organisation? What decision rights should each role have? How do we promote consistency, while recognising local differences? How do we simplify the organisation and empower our teams on the ground, while building global platforms and brands? Unfortunately, the decisions are often made using an overly simplistic choice of centralised or decentralised. Work and decisions often become centralised at a corporate level for a variety of good reasons – to drive common strategy and policy, to consolidate work for efficiency and scale, to leverage scarce talent through centres of expertise. But when the wrong work is pulled out of the business it often becomes disconnected

from the needs of customers in the drive for consistency. Programs and staff grow. Efficiencies are lost in the cost of overhead. Shadow functions popup in the markets and business units when leaders become frustrated with bureaucratic colleagues at the centre.

layer can provide while empowering local teams to make good, fast decisions that are right for their market but in alignment with the whole. And we believe that the HR practitioner has an important role in leading this work. What is “centre-led”?

After some time, executives launch a corporate centre transformation project, and work is devolved back into the business in the name of speed and accountability. As consultants, we see this pendulum swing all too often. As we work with complex organisations to find the right balance, we find the concept of “centre-led” to be useful. It creates a way to get the strategic guidance, orchestration, and investment that only the enterprise

Global businesses that are trying to drive scale and agility through integration across markets must share a common design logic that enables consistent connection points that add value. The “centre-led” concept provides that logic. It gets us out of the centralised/decentralised debate and helps answer a more nuanced question: “Where will strong connections drive value and where should we lighten linkages because they create unrewarded complexity?”

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STRATEGY

Below is the Centre-Led Framework. The vertical axis denotes the degree of integration of ways of working needed. The horizontal axis denotes the level of control in decision-making required. Each quadrant is described below the graphic.

Center-led framework Empowered teams have freedom within clear enterprise boundaries (cost, risk, brand, quality, etc.)

Integration

Global

A single approach leverages our size and scale, and variation adds little value

Center-Led

Centralized

Single strategy, common process and tools where possible, decision guard rails.

Policy, controls, centralized reporting structures. Focused on brand, risk, and fiduciary concerns.

De-Centralizedt

High Control, Low Integration

High autonomy of units with little central guidance and little synergy expected.

Bureaucracy – decisions made at the center slow org down without adding cross-unit value.

Local Low

Let go where enterprise coordination adds little benefit

Centralised: Some work and decisions need to be placed at the enterprise level, often when the strategy requires policies or controls to enhance risk management and protect the brand. Highly regulated industries typically have more centralised oversight functions. But every function has some work that needs to be mandated, such as what financial reporting system will we use, what IT infrastructure will run our networks, what ethics and values will guide our behaviours. It is a small, but powerful set of drivers that should be centralised. Decentralised: In any system, there is some work where driving common processes and standards in the name of scale and efficiency actually adds little value. Translating content into local languages or adhering to local regulations are some classic examples. Decentralised work means that leaders are free to make decisions without escalating to the centre and can freely define their own processes and ways of working. It makes the most sense where speed creates value and variation poses little risk to performance outcomes and strategic objectives.

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Control

High

Avoid this! Decisions escalated without insight and value added.

Centre-Led: The idea of centre-led is “freedom in a framework.” Global standards are set, but execution within those parameters is determined locally. A common strategy is created by representatives of the network and is broadly communicated. The decisionmaking process is clear, and a rhythm of conversations is set to ensure voices are heard from across the system. The centre orchestrates, coordinates, provides resources, and facilitates alignment and connection. The network is connected through lateral integrators such as communities of practice, shared metrics, or formal integrator roles. High-control, low integration: This is a “red-flag” area. Symptoms are an escalation of decisions up the hierarchy without valuable insights added. A typical example is spending approval where the approver rarely says no because they have no useful criteria to make trade-offs. Centre-led is not just a structure or reporting system. It typically is a set of roles at the centre and dedicated or aligned roles in the operating units.

The most important part of the construction, however, are the processes, forums, and metrics that drive alignment and clear guardrails. An Example: We worked with a large oil and gas company with operations spread across North America. The project focused on redefining how a number of core activities were performed to both optimise production and improve the depth and quality of analytics. The project team had been wrestling with the question of what work should be left for the operating units to manage versus where a more centralised approach would add value. Without a framework and set of criteria, the discussions had deadlocked. Those on the team that were based in the field worried about solutions that they couldn’t afford or would be “one size fits none”. Those that came from other corporate functions felt their colleagues were just trying to hang onto power. The first step taken with the client was to define guiding principles for their business operations to help define a design logic. Some examples that they used to determine what work should be centralised, decentralised, or centre-led included: • Risk • Speed • Impact on cycle-time • Production performance • Level of knowledge of local assets required to make optimal decisions. Next, leaders were brought in for a co-creative session in which the end-toend activities were explored and assessed against the design logic. Quick wins were identified for where existing bureaucracy was slowing down work as well as where outcomes were currently suboptimised because common standards and ways of

STRATEGY

working weren’t being used. The focus was always on the customer and business strategy, but also creating better and more satisfying ways of work for employees.

interviews are first conducted to gain a clear “working draft.” Then a broader group is brought together to iterate and further refine.

Once there was a clear vision of where work would sit, ownership of outcomes was redefined through clear accountability and decision rights, and a centre of excellence was set up to drive standards through cross-asset visibility. Technical leaders were put in place as resources to deal with key challenges that arose and to drive a common vision. Work and management processes were redesigned to account for the new ways of working, and metrics were realigned to make alignment and coordination rational.

2. Challenge the business on assumptions about control Use your role as a business partner to challenge the status quo and assumptions about how work must be done and bring to light unproductive power dynamics and patterns. As the group maps work against the centre-led framework, challenge them to identify where they can empower employees and colleagues more. Help them see where senior leaders need to spend more time together setting clear direction and boundaries. And where they need to let go of decisions to create speed but also to develop talent. Bring data from the current state assessment to identify changes that will not only drive enhanced business outcomes but may also solve adjacent culture and talent management issues.

A holistic system was designed around the work and the new organisational capabilities that needed to be created. This got the team out of an unproductive centralisation/decentralisation debate and focused on the design of an enterprise-field network. Three ways that the HR professional can assist: Designing a centre-led capability may seem like a challenging and complex process to facilitate. Here are three ways to guide business leaders. 1. Identify and define guiding principles Many business leaders want to dive into reshuffling work without first aligning on the challenge to solve for and the design criteria that will set up the business for success. HR leaders can take an active role in helping the business step back and identify the underpinning principles which will help shape the future ways of working. This can be accomplished through interviews with leaders or leading an interactive workshop. Typically, we utilise both methods in which

3. Support value capture and follow-up HR leaders are in a pivotal position to activate new ways of working and ensure the new system operates as intended. Following the initial design work, it is important to translate accountabilities into clearly defined, unique, value-adding roles. Additionally, the talent profile for people in centre-led roles is critical. Leaders put into these positions must have high credibility within the organisation, but also be comfortable leading through influence rather than hands-on control. HR leaders can also coach individuals and teams in the new collaborative behaviours and conduct pulse checks to monitor progress. As the model is activated, HR can bring the data and insights needed to course-correct or refine the design as needed.

As we work with complex organisations to find the right balance, we find the concept of “centre-led” to be useful. It creates a way to get the strategic guidance, orchestration, and investment that only the enterprise layer can provide while empowering local teams to make good, fast decisions that are right for their market but in alignment with the whole. The quest for agility and scale will only increase as companies continue to face changing customer expectations, new ways of teaming and working, and evolving technology and sustainability requirements. We believe the centre-led framework is a powerful tool to ensure decisions are made in the right place to drive integration and value while enabling speed and empowerment. And HR leaders are uniquely positioned to lead this work. Keri Macaluso and Amy Kates are with Kates Kesler, a leading organisation design firm that is a part of Accenture. For more on this topic please see our most recent book, Networked, Scaled, and Agile (Kates, Kesler, DiMartino, 2021) and our website, KatesKesler.com

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STRATEGY

Future operating models Naomi Stanford, Organisation Design Advisor

There’s a lot of discussion in organisations today about “operating models”. In particular, “future operating models”. This article: • Emphasises the point that operating models follow from, and deliver a business strategy • Defines the term “operating model” • Compares current and future operating models • Challenges assumptions about future operating models • Provides suggestions on what knowledge and skills are needed to develop a future operating model.

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STRATEGY

Be clear that the operating model is generated from the strategy

of the term. There are many definitions and frameworks for an operating model. Sergio Caredda (who describes himself as a Digital Knowmad and HR Professional) in his blog, Operating Models: The Theory and the Practice, discusses these. He explains: “In plain English, an operating model should display the work that needs to be done in the organisation, the type of people and culture needed to do this work, how these people are connected in an organisation structure, how important decisions are made, where the people and assets are located, how the people work together across the structure and locations, what other organisations are needed to support the work and how the people are managed through regular planning, budgeting and performance review meetings”. This is needed to: a) deliver the business strategy b) deliver it in a way that brings value to customers effectively and efficiently.

If there is no clarity and agreement on what the business strategy is, and no high-level consensus on how it should be delivered, then it is impossible to develop a successful operating model. Take health science company Novartis’ strategy, “Our strategy is to build a leading, focused medicines company powered by advanced therapy platforms and data science”. To develop an operating model for this strategy in a way that delivers value to customers, there must be clear answers to multiple questions. For example: “What exactly is meant by a leading company?” It could be leading in market share, innovative products/services, or in global reach, etc. Without having clarity on this question, it is not possible to know what type of people are needed, how they connect, where they are located, what technologies are needed, what control and governance systems need to be in place, where decisions are made, and so on. And without all these elements, an operating model cannot be developed. Other questions related to this strategy that would need answering in order to develop an operating model include: what are the specific sources of organisational growth? Who are the target customers? What critical capabilities are needed? What are advanced therapy platforms – for what therapies? Once the answers to these and similar questions have been provided, one can start developing the operating model, usually with the leadership team.

Understand the difference between a current and a future operating model

Agree on the definition of an operating model

Both describe how the business is or should be delivering its strategy and bringing value to customers. The best practice is to develop an operating model that follows agreed design principles. Typically, the principles state, at a high level, how the operating model will

A current operating model represents how an organisation is configured today, whereas a future operating model shows a future state that the organisation should be moving towards in order to achieve its strategy.

Before launching into developing an operating model, it is essential to have a common understanding and agreed definition

Operating model

• Define ambition, purpose and values • Decice where to play and how to win • Determine specific strategy elements to optimise: - Business model - Sources of growth - Drivers of value - Priority customer/ stakeholder needs - Critical capabilities - Key decisions/objectives - Cost/profitability targets

• Implement roadmap Structure

Accountability

Capabilities

People

Process & Workflow

Performance & Rewards

Culture

• Deliver capabilitybuilding plan • Role model and rein force key behaviours • Implement performance management and feedback loops • Mitigate risks

Not exhaustive

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STRATEGY

Understand the difference between a current and a future operating model: A current operating model represents how an organisation is configured today, whereas a future operating model shows a future state that the organisation should be moving towards in order to achieve its strategy. 32 | HR World 07 | April 2022

support strategic priorities and ensure the organisation works effectively (the organisation design translates these high-level principles into day-to-day operation). A hypothetical example of a design principle for Novartis’ delivery of strategy is: “The design must improve expertise, consistency, and collaboration in marketing, sales, and R&D” (to deliver on the focused medicines company element of the strategy).

Challenge assumptions about a future operating model Developing a future operating model is problematic because “The future is unknowable, though not unimaginable” (Ludwig Lachmann). Thus, a future operating model is unlikely to represent what will really happen and therefore should be seen as a directional, rather than a clear route. Before starting to develop a future operating model, question the assumptions about the current and future operation: • What assumptions am I making about the issue or opportunity around our strategy? • What assumptions am I making about suppliers, locations, value delivery chains, organisation, information, management systems, customer/ beneficiary? • What am I assuming, based on previous experiences, that may not be true now? • What am I assuming based on previous experiences, that may not be true in the future? • What am I assuming about available resources? • What limitations am I assuming to be so – and what surprises might I find? • What am I assuming about external circumstances? • What am I assuming about what’s impossible – or possible? Follow up a discussion on assumptions with a further discussion based on questions that challenge the value of even attempting to develop a future operating model. Is developing a future operating model possible? • Are we limited in thinking about our future operating model (irrespective of whether we can predict the future) by the way we think about the present?

• What is the time horizon of a future operating model? • How much is the organisational leadership willing to put the time, effort, and resources into thinking about the future? • Does the current visualisation of future operating models constrain thinking about them? • What are some current signals about future organisations? E.g. Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), metaverses, digitaltwinning, individuals as networks, geo-political landscape shifts, cyber-security, climate-tech… Each of these six questions is discussed below. Is developing a future operating model possible? Thinking it is possible to develop a valid future operating model may depend on having a (misplaced?) confidence that the future is knowable. Listen to an interesting episode from the podcast ‘Two Guys on Your Head’, “Why we want to predict the future (kind of )” They offer a couple of suggestions of why we are interested in such things as future operating models (and Tarot cards): a) it gives a level of security and confidence (that is perhaps misplaced) b) people would like to have a sense of what they have to worry about or feel optimistic about. Are we limited in thinking about our future operating model (irrespective of whether we can predict the future) by the way we think about the present? The same psychologists, in a different podcast, discuss the fact that our relationship to the present has more to do with how we imagine the future than we might think. In another episode of Two Guys on Your Head podcast - The Psychology of Futurism - presenters, Dr Art Markman and Dr Bob Duke, note that our relationship to the present has more to do with how we imagine the future than we might think.

•

As an example, an article discussing the UK television industry and the way it is run, said it needs changing - it needs a future operating model. That picks up on diversity. The author says “There isn’t a diversity of content on UK television. The people who

STRATEGY

PRODUCTS

Reverse radical

DOMESTIC

Sharp decline, sharp partial rebound, slow recovery

The share of economists in our survey who predict the economic recovery will take this shape

73% Time

Swosh shape

U shape

GROSS

Sharp decline, show recovery

Extended period betwenn decline and recovery

15% Time

9% Time

W shape

Sharp decline, quick recovery

3% Time

Suppose an organisation was developing its future operating model at the time. Which recovery shape would they have based their operating model on? What methods/info would they use to decide? What if there was no agreement amongst the team developing the operating model?

Does the current visualisation of the future operating models constrain thinking about them? In my experience and looking at images of the future operating models, a majority of them are linear models comprising boxes and lines e.g. value chains. Will that linearity properly reflect the day-to-day complexity of any future operation?

V shape

Sharp, repeated ups and downs

shape of the U.S. economic recovery: reverse radical, swoosh shape, U shape, W shape, and V shape.

0% Time

run UK television have not got the grips with how to solve that because they see it as a problem. It’s not a problem, it’s just a lack of creative thinking”. Does the way the UK television industry thinks about diversity now limit the way they will think about it in the future? If so, it is a significant limitation that opens up the field for channels that think more creatively about diversity.

What is the time horizon of a future operating model? Is it realistic to think about a time horizon of 5 years? Or is a future operating model for 12 months out too far? If you are a social enterprise tech start-up, for example, the time horizon for a future operating model those participating in the Careful Industries’ Emerging Infrastructure Design Lab (a ten-month programme to help small voluntary, community and social organisations become more digitally resilient) may be quite different from Unilever’s, (established 1929). How willing is the organisational leadership to put the time, effort and resources into thinking about the future? Take as an example the text about the economic recovery from the pandemic “What Economists Fear Most During This Recovery” (N.Paine, A.Thomson-DeVeaux, 2020). It shows expert predictions for the

Are we limited in thinking about our future operating model (irrespective of whether we can predict the future) by the way we think about the present?

What are some current signals about future organisations? For example, could a large established current organisation become or be challenged by a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO)? Are the boundaries of an organisation becoming harder and harder to define i.e. what’s in and what’s out of any future operating model? For example, how might a future operating model change if people started to think about partners in place of suppliers?

Knowledge and skills for developing a future operating model For those who have carefully reflected on the above questions and still want to develop a future operating model – consider what knowledge and skills are needed to make it more likely that it will be useful. Here are some suggestions:

1. Learn about complexity science. 2. Be alert to weak signals and global trends. 3. Understand the organisational cultures – there are many within any organisation.

4. Challenge thinking, ask questions, be curious. 5. Investigate (thoroughly) and be sceptical of consulting companies’ mantras, management speaks, and the next big “thing”. Key message: Think carefully and beware of the risks before developing a future operating model.

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 33

TALENT

Lo oking for the “stars” through the HR Hubble telescope

Many times we have been talking about the war for talent, and we have always linked it to recruitment. But when have we really thought about what is talent? It is something very individual. It is a unique mix for every individual. It is like a package of competencies, of personal traits. But it also has to do with expectations. It has to do a bit with dreams and personal goals.

Ines Larsen-Schmidt Director Human Resources, Central Cluster, Transcom

When was the last time you noticed all the “stars” around you? And did you wonder a bit what they are all about? You did for sure. In your organisation, you probably have a very structured process for these “stars”. It is called Talent Management. Very often it is connected to Succession Planning. The main goal is to fuel a pipeline of qualified successors. But, are we missing the purpose behind it? One can have two approaches. One is the Inside-Out approach - we need to have Talent Management. This is contemporary modern HR work and we need to do this as a business to survive and succeed. The other approach is to ask ourselves:

34 | HR World 07 | April 2022

“What about the “outside-in” perspective? What’s in it for the respective party?” It is quite clear when we look into the business. The business, especially in the service industry, is based on individuals ready to offer 100% of existing competencies to provide high-quality services. But how do we meet those requirements of the clients? We need to look into future demand and the expected competency needs. We also have to identify a future skill set we will need to have in order to nurture the “stars” in our companies. It is about the employees. Most of them look for a perspective - “What’s coming next? What can I do?” They look for feedback and inspiration.

Let’s take the imaginary HR Hubble telescope and look around for these “stars”. Let’s try to identify those future skillsets that businesses will need to have with their “stars”. There are two stories that might give us the answers.

WALK THE TALK This story is about an amazing lady. She was always seen as over-performing and always ready to do more and to leave her comfort zone when needed. Intending to prepare her to climb the ladder, the management mentioned that they have a succession planning grid in place and

TALENT

that she’s on top of it. This meant that she would definitely be a successor. But, she was wondering: “For whom would I be the successor? Which super management position am I able to take and succeed at?” She expected the management to guide her into what expectations were made upon her, but they never did. They just expected her to keep being a high achiever. So, there were expectations from both ends, but unfortunately, these were never mentioned aloud. None of the parties knew the answer to the question - whom was she going to succeed? In the end, after a while, this wonderful dedicated lady and a super manager lost her focus and left the company. It is important to think about how to create an environment that is focused on what needs to be achieved. There must be concrete goals, managers need to talk about them, to provide feedback and inspiration, especially for the party that is wondering “What’s in it for me?” The management in this story has never been precise enough to say “You are a match for this position”. So this “star” was shining in the lenses of the HR Hubble telescope, but not anymore due to inadequate succession planning.

LOOK FOR CONNECTIONS This is a story about a small team of five people quite dedicated to a specific area in the hospitality industry, which we call reservations. It was a small team but there was a big, strategic target to be delivered. One of them said, “We need to change this department. We want to create a sophisticated and upscaled revenue management department, with reservation people still there, but with much more to it - with modern revenue management.” But how to deliver this target? Soon after that, there were only two employees left in the team.

The leader then said, “It is about diverse talent. Let’s attract people with different backgrounds. Let’s have some future competencies and focus. We might not convert this department tomorrow. But we will be able to do something if we only give time to develop, if we provide guidance, if we are focused on enablement”. And this is what they did. So this “constellation”, created of different backgrounds, development, and specializations aimed at nurturing their “stars”, resulted in two promotions. And these promotions came from a tailored path. So in this case all parties were involved and were aware of which scope of responsibilities this development path would lead. Finally, this resulted in a successful conversion into a new, modern department with recognized individuals. All of a sudden, we discover that it’s about complementing skills. In many cases, one needs to be courageous and constantly scan for the possibilities.

SO, WHICH FUTURE SKILL SET HAVE WE TRIED TO DISCOVER THROUGH THESE TWO STORIES? A never-ending curiosity is what you need to have in human interaction. You need to ask people, be curious, listen to them fully and actively. What is more, you need to think of the importance of people being acknowledged and recognized. Also, the social influence. At the end of the day, what we are doing very often is not about the instructions or hierarchy. It is about organizational development, the understanding of fluctuating scopes in roles and responsibilities. And if you’re socially influenced, if you feel that your business is a community of individuals, talents of this specific package of competencies and personal traits, you might discover a lot that gives you strength, and also the courage for the future challenges.

LET’S TAKE THE IMAGINARY HR HUBBLE TELESCOPE AND LOOK AROUND FOR THESE “STARS”. LET’S TRY TO IDENTIFY THOSE FUTURE SKILLSETS THAT BUSINESSES WILL NEED TO HAVE WITH THEIR “STARS”. In the end, be aware of talent migration. A lot of people are moving in and out across businesses, industries, and borders. This talent migration offers us new opportunities for diversity in our companies, for innovation, for inspiration. There is certainly a need or even a requirement to nurture existing and inflowing talent. We have people on board, but we also have an inflow and outflow. You might think, “I am trying to nurture existing talent, I develop them but then they leave the company”. No, they don’t. Just be confident that they don’t. They will feel it. It is important to have confidence in people. This is something about the natural trust of human beings. And trust is certainly something that you don’t put under competencies. With this trust, people will just simply know that you care, and know that you are really opting to create that ideal environment for people to blossom and shine. You may have so many processes and a great structure in your organization. But keep on being an explorer. Be it you are an employee, an employer, or a business leader - keep on exploring. And this will allow you some exciting “star” discoveries with your HR Hubble telescope.

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 35

INTERVIEW

C-level spotlight interview

Predrag MIHAJLOVIĆ President of the Executive Board and CEO, OTP Banka Srbija

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INTERVIEW

goal of OTP Group. It is important to point out that despite all circumstances, the integration was completed as scheduled, on time. Today, OTP banka Srbija is the no. 1 creditor in the Serbian market, both in retail and corporate, holding a leading position in factoring, e-commerce and leasing services, employing almost 3,000 people, and servicing over 766,000 active clients with an extensive footprint of 184 branches in 91 cities and 6 regions across the country.

A BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT YOU ARE PROUD OF? Let me emphasise a few achievements since I have been in OTP banka in Serbia that I am proud of: the business results of the Bank, two successfully completed integrations, and the synergy of employees coming from different corporate cultures who most significantly contributed to the first two mentioned achievements. I became the CEO of the Bank within the OTP Group in January 2017, and I can

proudly say that we have had continuous growth of business and market share in Serbia. This is the result of successful integrations of the former OTP banka, the former Vojvodjanska banka, and the former Societe Generale Bank, but also the organic growth of each mentioned individual bank, which is an exception in such circumstances and an extraordinary success. Since then, we have achieved impressive numbers such as the growth of 915% of total loans and growth of 619% of total assets. The recently finalised integration was the most complex merger project ever implemented on the Serbian market. To comprehend this better, let me say that during the period of 19 months our employees worked in a highly devoted and dedicated manner. This process involved an investment of more than 770 thousand working hours to migrate over 100 million various data and implement more than 8300 tests. We are proud to say that, in spite of some post-integration issues, as well as the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, OTP banka Srbija managed to boost its performance and maintain the leading position in many business areas, which was the strategic

Business-wise, these results are excellent, but I am extremely proud of another dimension of the merger. I am very pleased that at key moments our team demonstrated integrity, determination, and agility in leading people from several different banks, with a different corporate culture, that needed to be brought closer and foster an atmosphere of understanding and cooperation. All mentioned results would have been impossible to achieve without the harmonious cooperation of thousands of our employees, dedicated experts in various fields. I believe people are the most important part of every organisation and that people management is of paramount importance. This is the reason why we deeply nurture relationships with our employees and promote our company’s values among them because only if employees truly believe and implement these values in their daily work, they can provide the best service to our clients. OTP banka has a strong focus on enhancing customer and employee experience so that it can demonstrate the same values both inside and in servicing our clients. The Bank has developed the concept of the employee lifecycle and employee journey to continuously monitor and improve employees’ experience.

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 37

INTERVIEW

HOW TO SURVIVE IN A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT? Client focus, innovation, efficiency, and collaboration are values we believe will make a difference between leaders and followers, and the key for success in a new business environment is agile transformation. OTP banka Srbija strives to be the everyday partner for our clients with a focus on building the relationship based on understanding of their needs and providing quality services, expertise, and support. Our vision is to be a champion on the Serbian market in customer experience and services innovation. Strengthened by the full support of OTP Group, a dominant player in the Central and Eastern European region, we will continue to lead the digital transformation of the sector through continuous development of innovative products and bespoke customer experience on every touchpoint. We are one of the most innovative banks on the market where we constantly follow clients’ needs by applying the best state of the art solutions. We achieve this by using new technologies with the dominance of artificial intelligence and adequate data use. In order to preserve our leading position, we have identified 74 actions, 22 program initiatives, and 4 strategic objectives as our driving orientation including building a digital culture,

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THE HR FUNCTION IN 2030 IS... digitising and improving operations, enhancing customer experience, and establishing data-driven management. Digital transformation is a long-term and complex process, which in fact never ends, because the essence is in constant adjustment to market tendencies, and what is most important, customer needs. Agile transformation enables us to set goals, define how we will achieve them, and be ready to adjust on that path. Digitalization has another goal - to change all processes for quicker, easier, and better servicing customer needs. By simultaneously working on digitalization and agile transformation, we come to digital transformation and creation of competitive advantage. The core of this is changing the way of thinking of all stakeholders in the organisation. We have been working a lot on this in the Bank so that all organisational areas start from the basic premise - what is the need of our customer. When changing processes, developing new products, or enhancing existing ones, we must see the bigger picture from the client’s perspective; this is the only way that can ensure us a leadership position in the future. This is exactly why it is important for us to continuously educate employees by giving them the possibility to work with numerous consultants and access modern technological solutions, and to familiarise our clients with the advantages of digital banking in all spheres of their operations with the Bank.

New trends will require everyone, especially the HR in the company, to be ready to cope with the growing expectations of stakeholders, ready for digital and technological transformation, the ability to understand social and demographic changes, constantly care about the quality of employer-employee relations, and actively participate in creating the sense for which people live. In short, new trends will require extreme proactivity, curiosity about the world around you and your own development in order to understand the events and needs of the new environment, and constant anticipation and management of change.

MESSAGE FOR HR DIRECTORS IN THE REGION. For me, HR is the key to a company’s success. The stronger the HR, the stronger the people who make the company and build its success. Be brave, curious, and constantly explore new ways and possibilities. Create and be guardians of values that will lead people to a new way of thinking, new ways of working, a new lifestyle. Be an example!

57 8 6

THE MOST CREATIVE JOINT ACTION WITH EMPLOYEES?

We have numerous solutions and programs in OTP banka that aim to support employees in living company values, a different digital concept of learning and training. Recently, we have also launched an innovation program where our colleagues have the possibility to give ideas for innovative solutions, whereby the bestselected solutions will be implemented and the proposers rewarded. One of the recent creative joint actions with employees is the introduction of the DARe development program for our talents. This completely online journey provides a different learning experience where colleagues, independently choosing the dynamics, places, and times for learning, further develop the competencies of the future - digital, agile, and resilience. We launched this program at the Museum of Illusions in Belgrade and it was a very creative and inspiring experience for me, as well as for all participants. I believe that this adventure is a good start and a strong driver in achieving the bank’s strategy.

BEST CONFERENCE YOU’VE BEEN TO?

Adris Business Forum in 2007. I was impressed by the main speaker Mr. Jack Welch who is for sure one of the most successful CEOs of the 20th century. His energy, knowledge, and experience were very visible. I would like to underline one interesting moment. At one point Mr. Welch asked if there was anyone from HR in the audience and asked to raise their hands. The next thing he said was – “God bless you!”

THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder. It is the only authorised biography of Warren Buffet, about his business and personal life, his values and his strategies... worth reading.

A TREND THAT IS CONQUERING THE WORLD?

Digital transformation is a trend that has been present for some time and that will continue to shape every aspect of our everyday lives in the future. However, I want to emphasise what is important for all of us and necessary to implement in business - sustainability is becoming imperative for every organisation and company. Sustainable financing has been growing exponentially in the last few years and further acceleration is expected in the coming period. This means financing projects, companies, initiatives that contribute to the achievement of sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth, which directly supports the goals of sustainable development. Financial institutions play the leading role in the green transition with an emphasis on the banking sector, which is expected to establish a sustainable offer, financing mechanisms, and investment principles. In addition, by their example, banks have the opportunity not only to finance

INTERVIEW

green projects but also to strengthen the real economy in the green transition. Sustainable banking involves a fundamental change in the initial thinking that social and environmental goals must be included in the creation of all financial policies and products. The ESG principles have a direct impact on all aspects of the operations of financial institutions. Commitment to ESG indicators is expected to increase employee satisfaction and brand loyalty, as the commitment to sustainable banking instils additional trust in the client and the public. In line with the EU Green Plan, OTP Group has defined the pillars of the ESG strategy with the aim of becoming a regional leader in green financing and building a sustainable future. OTP banka has developed a framework for the identification and management of ESG risks in the process of lending to the economy, as an instrument for the transition to a sustainable economy. I am proud that OTP Group has signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, a unique framework for sustainable business in this sector, developed through a partnership among banks around the world and the United Nations Environment Financial Initiative Program. We have thus joined the world’s largest banking community focused on sustainable financing, contributing to the sustainability of the community and the economy. In Serbia, the banking sector is increasingly active in this field and recognizes the importance and value of investing in green projects. Being the leader in the market, we have additional responsibility and I can confirm that OTP banka has started its green transition and sustainable business with a major step forward and we are implementing numerous initiatives along that way. Green initiatives and projects are deeply rooted in our long-term strategy.

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 39

LEADERSHIP

Drive b e y o n d

Excellence a

t w o - y e a r

j o u r n e y

Gordana Fabris, Head of Group HR, Fortenova Group

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LEADERSHIP

Fortenova Group was established on the 1st April 2019 by the implementation of the Settlement Plan sealed among Agrokor’s creditors. Through its core businesses, it operates in five key markets in Southeast Europe, where it employs around 50,000 people. n five business areas retail, beverage production, edible oil products, processed meat production and agriculture – Fortenova Group is the market leader in its key markets and it is also an important participant in the production of milk and dairy products on the Croatian market. Fortenova Group features more than 3000 products and over 100 brands, as well as a retail network of more than 2500 retail facilities in the SEE region.

How we began Over the period of only two years, Fortenova Group has established a modern human resources function with a view to: Create an encouraging work environment; Position Fortenova Group as the most desirable employer in the region; Establish a long-term employee development strategy to support Fortenova Group’s overall business strategy.

With the incorporation of the company, a strategy was defined, on the Group level that constituted the foundation for devising an HR strategy focusing on the development of the Group’s four main business verticals: Retail, Agriculture, Food Production, and Non-core Assets. Besides the Fortenova Group HR team, the HR directors of all operating companies also took part in devising the HR strategy that identifies key development areas, and the basic initiatives. The HR strategy focuses on five basic pillars: Development of wages and remuneration policies;

Promotion and key employee career management system; Improvement of employee experience; Employment and retention of employees; Development of organization and operational governance models. Given the different activities in the Group’s operating companies, a job evaluation was carried out at all companies following the Mercer methodology, where all job positions across the

Group were defined and uniformly aligned in a methodologically standardized and transparent way. The process evaluated more than 4,500 job positions and identified managerial positions. The next prerequisite for the development of a promotion and career management system within the managerial structure was to identify key employees through a Talent Management Process, which was carried out in late 2020 and early 2021 for all managers of the Group (1,200+ employees).

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LEADERSHIP

recap

Fortenova Group’s Human Resources have carried out a comprehensive process of job screening and identifying key employees in the management structure. The process happened over a period of only two years.

April 2019

Fortenova Group was established on 1st April 2019

Talent management process of identifying key employees

The Talent Management Process used a standardized methodology of assessing performance in the previous period, key managerial competencies, and the estimated potential to assume more complex or additional tasks. 42 | HR World 07 | April 2022

The Group started building a new corporate culture from scratch

Individual Development Plans made for all managers

Development of a modern Human Resources function

IDP for all managers, leadership skills was the key competencies that needed to be improved on a group level

Development of key employee promotion and career management system A strategic determinant at the Group level has been the focus on the development of a key employee promotion and career management system, and hence in late 2020, a Talent Management Process was initiated at the level of all managerial positions within the Fortenova Group. The project included 27 companies: Konzum plus, Konzum B&H, Tisak plus, Mercator Slovenia, Mercator Emba, Mercator IP, M Energija, Mercator Serbia, Mercator B&H, Mercator Montenegro, Pik Vrbovec plus, Jamnica plus, Sarajevski kiseljak, Mg Mivela, Nova Sloga, Ledo plus, Frikom,

Mercer project — More than 4,500 managerial positions were evaluated by applying the Mercer methodology

May 2021 Kick-off DRIVE Beyond Excellence.

Ledo Čitluk, Zvijezda plus, Dijamant, Roto dinamic plus, Belje plus, Pik Vinkovci plus, Vupik plus, Agrolaguna, mStart plus, and Fortenova grupa. The Talent Management Process used a standardized methodology of assessing performance in the previous period, key managerial competencies, and the estimated potential to assume more complex or additional tasks. Once the assessment process was completed, an Individual Development Plan was created for each manager, and it included a career plan with identified areas for development. It represented the greatest value and a basis for preparing a central leadership competency development programme. The preparation of the Individual Development Plans was a

A total of 273 Fortenova Group managers have been involved in three highly successful tailormade programmes

It represented the greatest value and a basis for preparing a central leadership competency development programme. two-way process that required the active participation of the evaluated manager and it enabled them to gain insight in their career development planning, from the key activities that they need to take over to their role and accountabilities for outcomes. Hence, all managers co-created their development plans.

LEADERSHIP

By April of 2021, the process was over, and more than 1,200 managers were assessed, which resulted in the identification of 280 talents, or 23% at the Group level. In late 2020, the Human Resources team, together with the Executive Directors of Fortenova Group, initiated the process of defining key improvement areas. All development needs were thoroughly elaborated, and Human Resources initiated the process of selecting the best quality suppliers who were able to meet the requirement of delivering tailor-made programmes for a potentially large number of participants. Six months of preparation and detailed elaboration of leadership competencies development programmes resulted in the DRIVE Beyond Excellence programme, which consists of three different tailor-made programmes for Fortenova Group managers: Navigate – a programme for senior managers who showed potential to take over more complex positions within a very short time. The programme started in May 2021 and is attended by 35 Group managers. Accelerate – a programme for middle managers who showed potential to take over more complex positions over the next

1-2 years. The programme started in May 2021 and is attended by 98 Group managers. Discover – a programme for junior managers who showed potential for assuming leadership positions for the first time. The programme started in September 2021 and is attended by 140 Group managers. The managers from all Group companies took part in the programme, which is also a great opportunity for them to get to know each other, exchange ideas and share the best practices.

Focus on leadership skills Fortenova Group’s long-term strategy related to employee development is focused on employee excellence in everything they do, on the development of leadership skills, internal promotion vs. external employment, and employee engagement. In order to realise the set strategy, DRIVE Beyond Excellence programs refer to the development of leadership skills that represent key managerial competencies. The DRIVE Beyond Excellence programme lasts 18 months, and the first benefits and improvements are expected to be seen in H1/2022, by following previously defined performance criteria.

Fortenova Group’s long-term strategy related to employee development is focused on employee excellence in everything they do, on the development of leadership skills, internal promotion vs. external employment, and employee engagement. The success of the programme is monitored through previously defined criteria

the Navigate programme – more than 75%; Number of future promotions of programme attendees – over 50% of vacancies / open positions; Key employee turnover – 0%; Increased percentage of positions where successors are “immediately ready” – compared to the results of the previous monitoring in 2020; Improved results in the Leadership dimension within the scope of the corporate climate and culture survey compared to 2021 results; Improved results in the criteria of Employee Engagement and Belief in Strategy compared to 2021 results.

First-generation participants become ambassadors of the programme

Number of attendees that successfully completed the programme – more than 90%;

The interest to take part in the DRIVE Beyond Excellence programmes was expressed by more managers than it was planned for the first generation. Employees have expressed their satisfaction with taking part in the programmes and have become ambassadors of the changes that the DRIVE brings.

Number of successfully implemented projects of

Many participants of the programmes have sent

The performance of DRIVE Beyond Excellence will be monitored through the following indicators:

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LEADERSHIP

The preparation of the Individual Development Plans was a two-way process that required the active participation of the evaluated manager and it enabled them to gain insight in their career development planning, from the key activities that they need to take over to their role and accountabilities for outcomes. positive feedback at their own initiative, particularly praising the curriculum and welcoming the possibility to meet and work with colleagues from all companies in the Group and expressing their satisfaction to be part of the programme.

Strong impact on the sense of belonging to the Group 44 | HR World 07 | April 2022

For the first time, the Fortenova Group has got a comprehensive analysis of its leadership potential at the level of all Group companies, while the GAP analysis has made it possible to create tailor-made training programmes. Key management has been defined at the Group level, for whom the career development has been made possible, and for each key position in the Group a successor has been determined, who is being trained through the DRIVE Beyond Excellence programmes and is thus getting prepared for new roles within the Group. In terms of quality, the project has had a strong impact on the sense of belonging to the Group and indicated the possibility of career development across all Group companies, not only in the current company of the manager. Furthermore, given that, as part of the programme, the participants will work on projects of strategic importance for the entire Group (projects aligned with the Group’s top management), the implementation will constitute an exceptional added value both for the participants and the Group as a whole, with the possibility to quantify it through the realization of the Group’s strategic determinants and budget.

Contribution Sense of belonging to the Group; Possibility of career development across all Group companies; Participants worked on projects of strategic importance; Exceptional added value both for the participants and the Group; A strong positive effect of the programme on the first generation of participants; Participants have expressed satisfaction and have become ambassadors of the changes initiated by the DRIVE.

the Fortenova Group has got a comprehensive analysis of its leadership potential at the level of all Group companies, while the GAP analysis has made it possible to create tailormade training programmes.

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STRATEGY

Where strategy meets organisational design: Boris Dragović, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Hyperoptic

INTRODUCTION

2 3

This is a story of a hairy back and how to deal with it. It can also be a story of hockey sticks, whichever topic motivates you more. How familiar is a business performance that looks like the one in Figure 1? Repeated ambitious plans, hockey sticks vs failures to deliver – resembling hair growing on a back.

In this article, I will approach this challenge from three different angles:

Major variables a strategy needs to hit to realistically deliver a hockey-stick-like performance

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Practical set of organisational design levers which have proven to be effective in making an organisation deliver efficiently. Actual Plan

Company performance

Hockey sticks are nothing more than ambitious strategies translated into required business performance – revenue, profitability, etc. And hockey sticks are legitimate – especially when it comes to growing businesses, startups and scale-ups. The trick is how to deliver a hockey stick and not allow it to turn into a hairy back.

The disconnect between strategy formulation and the ability of the organisation to deliver – organisational design

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Figure 1: The hockey stick and a hairy back

Year 5

STRATEGY

ENABLING ORGANISATIONS TO DELIVER SUCCESSFULLY WHAT DO BEST-PERFORMING COMPANIES DO STRATEGICALLY TO OUTPERFORM THE MARKET? The hairy-back Figure 1 shows a board having an ambitious strategy against a much more mundane performance. Why such strategy is signed-off in the first place goes broadly back to three groups of reasons: • The inherent uncertainty. Strategy is about making highimpact, hard-to-reverse choices in the face of uncertainty. And the reality sometimes plays out differently to the assumptions made in the strategic planning process. As Yogi Berra wisely concluded: “Predictions are difficult, especially about the future”. • Ignorance. Lack of knowledge, insights, experience, skills, tools, etc. One could, in a benign way, call it “lack of maturity” overall. Being overly optimistic lands in this bucket – there are many examples of leaders, most illustratively founder-ownerCEOs, who just remain deeply believing in their “child”, no matter what the odds are.

• Social element: institutional and individual biases, culture, politics, incentives, etc. This bucket is often larger than it may appear from distance. Consider the effects of confirmation, anchoring and biases typical for ego-filled board rooms or status quo bias due to lack of boldness, to go out of comfort zone or simply inability to make decisions. As another example, there has been a lot of criticism for years now on board incentives that do not capture setting up the company for long-term success, but rather focus on short/medium-term financial results. The first message: even the strategy formulation is a challenging step if it is to be done properly and “honestly”. Whatever the role of the above three, the first step in delivering a hockey stick is boldness as a mindset and as a culture. This is very nicely reflected in almost seminal work by McKinsey, titled “Strategy beyond the hockey stick” (Chris Bradley, Martin Hirt, and Sven Smit - Strategy Beyond the Hockey Stick: People, Probabilities, and Big Moves to Beat the Odds; Wiley, 2018). The authors show the outcome of a long-term (10 years) study of the performance of 2,393 companies.

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STRATEGY

THE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS NEEDS TO DELIVER A STRATEGY THAT IS “HONEST” TO THE ORGANISATION, AND TO THE WIDER MARKET FROM THE ANGLE OF A SPECIFIC ORGANISATION. THIS CAN ONLY BE DONE IF STRATEGIC PLANNING IS NOT DONE IN ISOLATION, IN THE “IVORY TOWER”. They identify 10 strategic variables that have a disproportionate contribution to the ability of the company to deliver on a hockey stick. While I leave you to explore the book, I highlight the category of five variables called Moves: • Programmatic M&A – a steady stream of deals, executed as per an established internal M&A playbook • Dynamic allocation of resources – this simply means to be bold to put your best people and invest your capital in the most important things; this can really hurt – who wants their best people suddenly placed elsewhere? • Strong capital expenditure – invest boldly a percentage of your sales if you do want to grow and perform • Strength of productivity program – improve quicker than your competition on your efficiencies • Improvements in differentiation – differentiate your proposition so you can command premium prices. What these variables have in common is boldness.An organisation needs significant guts to adopt an approach to delivering a strategy that will hit some, if not all, of the above variables. The second message: executing successfully on a winning strategy requires boldness while managing a high level of discomfort on the way.

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HOW TO MOVE THE STRATEGY PLANNING OUT OF ITS IVORY TOWER – BRIDGING THE DISCONNECT WITH THE DELIVERY SIDE OF THE ORGANISATION? Many strategies fail in their expectations on what an organisation can deliver with the available resources and/or within the required time frame. In many cases, a strategy descends upon an organisation like a prophecy, from the skies – with no possibility to give feedback or shape, no ability to influence, no ability to set it up to be more successful. To address this, the strategic planning process needs to deliver a strategy that is “honest” to the organisation, and to the wider market from the angle of a specific organisation. This can only be done if strategic planning is not done in isolation, in the “ivory tower”. Figure 2 captures the flow often found in organisations. In this model, strategizing happens in the “ivory tower” and the final product is then communicated, in a single direction, to the organisation which then pulls various organisational design levers in the attempt to deliver. The “ivory tower” is typically a small group of core decision makers – anything from a founder/owner/CEO setting his vision and calling it a strategy that is to be delivered, to an isolated group consisting of a CEO, CFO, a small strategy team and, where applicable, a few key shareholders who really must be asked for their opinion, or some variation of that. The theory has it that to break the ivory tower silo, a feedback loop needs to be introduced, indicated by the circular arrow in Figure 2. The feedback loop implies bringing key stakeholders of major organisation design elements into the core group early in the process. Why and what

(target market, value proposition, product, thstnbution, marketing, business model, etc.)

Strategy & Biz model

vs. How and who

(handwdtwe tree:d execute and the what?)

A Processes

Performance Management

Organisation and governance

E People And skills

Org Design

C Technology

D Sourcing and location

Figure 2: From strategy to execution

STRATEGY

In practice, the sequence of steps at the high level should resemble this:

High-level strategic scenarios get framed by the strategic planning (or similar) function almost outside-in, considering external forces dynamics – suppliers, competition, customers/ clients, substitutes, and supply and demand dynamics; these scenarios are almost true for any company in a given industry, market and, likely, of any given size.

Internal perspective is quickly brought in by involving a wider leadership team to frame any major challenges that the strategic scenarios may face in the context, and constraints, even opportunities, of the specific company; no operational detail yet but strategic scenarios that are no longer necessarily true for any company in the same market. This is the step where a small set of priority KPIs for the company are identified and set – painting a concrete target to aim at with strategic scenarios.

3 4

This gives us the strategy that the board discusses and provides preliminary approval on.

Now, to reach an executable strategy, the scenarios do need to be turned into a roadmap. Output is the set of programs, projects, and/or efforts that need to be implemented together with a high-level plan. This is where an even wider operational leadership team gets involved – strategic scenarios get communicated, and individual departmental/divisional strategic plans are developed.

Roll-up, integration, and prioritisation of these plans give us the company’s strategic roadmap. The roadmap is a starting point to kick-off any required organisational design activities that will take the organisation to the required target state to deliver on the strategy within any required constraints (timing, resources, etc.).

6 7

This is when the strategy gets translated into the budget and other longer-term financial and business plans.

Anywhere between steps 4 and 6 above, we may realise that operational realities are too far away from the strategy discussed in step 3. This may then require a revisit of step 2 (and potentially 1) to adjust. What is unfortunate though, if this situation arises, is that it illustrates how detached even the wider leadership team is from the operational reality – a clear call for the attention of the organisation!

Organisations that are especially nimble and closely knit together will execute steps 1 and 2, and sometimes bring in elements of

step 4 into an efficient, “agile”, sprint-like loop. In fact, in fastmoving markets that we are increasingly living in, the strategy review process actually runs continuously throughout the year, rather than periodically (e.g. once a year, to get to a budget). Otherwise, the world just moves on while we are waiting for the strategy cycle. Three tools that I love to use (among others) for steps 4 and 5 in particular, where prioritisation is of critical importance, are as follows: • Driver tree. Start with the strategic KPIs identified in step 2, and draw a tree plotting underlying KPIs that drive them (e.g. profit is driven by revenue and costs). Go all the way down to the KPIs that your planned initiatives directly impact (e.g. outsourcing impacts on labour costs, which in turn drives the overall cost; labour costs are driven by required man/day for a particular activity). This way you will clearly understand what KPIs you are hitting and whether there are any gaps (for refocusing of effort, perhaps).

WHETHER WE TALK ABOUT BEING SUCCESSFUL AT IMPLEMENTING A STRATEGY OR TRYING TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR BUSINESS, THE PRACTICE HAS SHOWN THAT FOUR ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN ELEMENTS HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT IF NAILED RIGHT. THE OTHER WAY AROUND, IF THEY ARE NOT IN THEIR CORRECT PLACES, YOU WILL STRUGGLE TO PERFORM. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 49

STRATEGY

• Impact vs complexity (ease of delivery) 2x2 matrix. Layout all your initiatives on a matrix showing whether each is low/high impact (on the strategic KPIs) vs low/high on ease of delivery (including capital required). This will give you clear prioritisation, and even the opportunity to eliminate all those nice-to-have pet projects with low impact and high(er) complexity initiatives that distract. • Lastly, use another 2x2 that plots low/high criticality vs low/ high urgency of initiatives/activities in your plan. First, throw away low criticality and low urgency initiatives – they are a distraction. Make sure you don’t focus only on high criticality and high urgency activities (so you’re not stuck in fire-fighting) but allocate enough resources for high criticality and, actually, low urgency activities – these are your enablers for delivering in the future. Examples of the latter are – culture initiatives, work systems, professional development, etc. Getting to an agile strategic planning process is the best outcome, though it does require discipline to set it up. Still, if performed properly, the above steps will greatly increase the odds of not getting into the hairy back situation. If the preferred strategic scenario does imply a hockey stick performance, these steps will be an important contributor to the performance, actually delivering the hockey stick. The major risk in the above is to find a balance in the level of detail – boiling the ocean may lead to paralysis by analysis. Striking the right balance is a matter of practice and experience, but also, at times, being bold at pushing through aspirational goals and targets. The third message: efficiently formulating a strategy that can be implemented requires breaking the ivory tower.

NOT ALL ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN LEVERS ARE CREATED THE SAME Whether we talk about being successful at implementing a strategy or trying to improve the performance of your business, the practice has shown that four organisational design elements have the biggest impact if nailed right. The other way around, if they are not in their correct places, you will struggle to perform. The four are: • Clarity of organisational roles and responsibilities, for all employees but, fundamentally, starting with the senior management • The efficiency of information flow (required to produce the output/deliverables, provide service) • Performance management approach and methodology • Organisational structure (boxes and lines).

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ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE CHANGE IS IMPORTANT, OFTEN NECESSARY, BUT IT WORKS ONLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH OTHER LEVERS, ALMOST AS A CONSEQUENCE AND OUTCOME, AND NOT ON ITS OWN. THINGS WILL NOT MAGICALLY FALL IN PLACE IF YOU ONLY CHANGE THE ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE. No rocket science really, and you will recognize these as something you most likely worked with. However, one potentially surprising piece of information is that the specific order of the above is not by chance, it is actually by the level of impact and importance. Organisational structure changes command least impact by themselves, and yet they are often the first and only levers to be pulled. Reason: organisational changes are tangible, highly visible, and create a sense of big accomplishment. Everyone gets exhausted in the process. There is anxiety, stress, people are often laid off and hired, etc. Seems like a tectonic move – however, on its own, it is likely to have far less than a tectonic impact (except a negative one). Organisational structure change is important, often necessary, but it works only in conjunction with other levers, almost as a consequence and outcome, and not on its own. Things will not magically fall in place if you only change the organisational structure.

STRATEGY

The fourth message: organisational structure changes are in many cases only an outcome/consequence, rather than the means.

Once roles and responsibilities are individually nailed and commonly understood, we need to ensure that the information flows, so responsibilities can be fulfilled. The basic question is: do people have inputs they need and do they produce outputs required down the information flow? Further tuning is: if there are major flows, is it exactly the information, and at the level of quality, that allows for the next stage to be efficient? Are there excess flows that can be optimised? A workshop exercise would be to plot responsibilities, required input and output information flows, and do gap analysis vs the actual flows. Are the flows synchronised? Note that information flows and underlying processes go hand in hand, a process implicitly defines respective information flows. This means that in order to have effective information flows we must fix overarching processes. However, it is important to explicitly focus on information flows as one of the key determinants in process design. Finally, we come to performance management. Remember the “driver tree” I mentioned previously? We need it again. Two elements make the difference: • KPIs – make sure that i) you set KPIs for each individual; ii) there is no more, and no less, than 3-5 KPIs; iii) the KPIs that link to the top-level company KPIs clearly show it in the driver tree. To support information flow and delivery, in the end, consider including some end-2-end KPIs in the selection of 3-5 for everyone in the chain. Yes, only those at the end of the chain will have a direct influence on the deliverable, however, everyone needs to row in unison all the way to enable the deliverable to be produced.

The first to get right are the roles and responsibilities – is it clear what roles are required to deliver on the strategic objectives (tactical as well for that matter)? Would the employees in the organisation you are looking at (starting with the Senior Management) be able to write down precisely their own role(s) and responsibilities? And if so, would the senior management agree on each other’s view, would there be an implicit alignment? Try this exercise (and act on the results)!

• Choreography – make sure you have performance management meetings where you check KPI measurements vs targets and discuss any deviations. Quick stand-up meetings every morning to monthly performance reviews are all well-known practices. Where it gets tricky is i) making sure those meetings happen – discipline; and ii) that meetings are run with serious focus (not just formalities) – rigour. The final message: make sure everyone understands who is doing what, and why; they have the information they need when they need it; and that they are measured. All this as the function of strategic objectives set.

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ORG DESIGN

Gamified organisational design

Mladen Čudanov, Full Professor, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organisational Sciences

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ORG DESIGN

INTRODUCTION Sometimes, I try to apply the most important lessons from my childhood to the paradigms of organisation. Among the most vivid memories from my childhood literature is the picture of Tom Sawyer watching friends having immense fun painting the fence. The fence painting job was a punishment from aunt Polly until Tom made it fun and play. Others might remember a quote from Mary Poppins 1964 musical: “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun, and SNAP! The job’s a game”. But most of us seem to forget such truths while in the serious, money-making business environment because business is beyond such childish concepts like games and play. Or is it? As future corporate leaders start to develop today in kindergartens, we are still thinking about nicknames for their generational cohort, but we know for sure their view on digital technology will be a far cry from what it is today. According to the research by AVG company, new “Technotoddlers”1 aged 2-5 know how to play a ‘basic’ computer game (58%), can make a call on a mobile phone (28%) or start a web browser (25%), but only 9% of them can tie their shoelaces.2

1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/nov/18/techno-toddlers-a-for-apple 2 http://www.avg.com/us-en/press-releases-news.ndi-672

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ORG DESIGN

ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURES FOR THE GAMIFIED ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN Imagine economic and social consequences when that cohort starts climbing up the organisational ladder? Having in mind that the first such AVG research results were published in the Guardian 11 years ago, we can expect that as soon as in the next ten years. Imagine their horror and resentment when they meet organisational structures and hierarchies developed for a different era and technology. Although organisational structures have improved in time, they are still substantially founded on the concepts of Frederick Winslow Taylor, Henri Fayol, and Max Weber and their views on hierarchy, job division, authority, chain of command, rules, and responsibilities. Relations between a middle and operative manager, a tenured professor and assistant or expert and novice specialist are still too based on military hierarchy and too similar to relations between colonel and captain. Even hierarchies in the modern, multidimensional matrix structures proposed by Galbraith (2012) can be burdened by slow feedback, fewer opportunities for formal advancement, obsolete performance review practice, and numerous other problems and challenges (Sy, Beachand D’Annunzio 2005; Janićijević and Aleksić 2007). If we compare organisational design and technology improvements to support organisational design, a gap in favour of the latter is obvious. One in many examples, the advent of enterprise social networks provided the channel to improve organisational design. Current forms of hierarchy generally hinder formal employee advancement in all directions except vertical. If an employee wants to advance horizontally, or even vertically, formal options shrink or are rather unorthodox and such advancement is left to informal means. Working as a consultant in different companies, I did not see fewer business benefits and potential in rare employees with horizontal and diagonal multifunctional skills than from common employees, vertically highly specialised in one function. Today, the information and communication technologies to give regular and flamboyant feedback on employee progress in more directions, besides vertical, are available and affordable to most companies, we only need a design to support it. As I recall climbing up the organisational ladder, I do not find it conceptually any different than progressing the character in role-playing video games like World of Warcraft; only the latter seems to be relatively more fun. In that video game, like in all role-playing games, you have a wider set of formally defined skills and attributes of your character you can advance, immediate feedback on how your actions influence them, and an informative report on your current state of development just a mouse-click away. I suppose most top managers who regularly take game breaks to feel productive (McGonigal, 2011) will agree with me. Management development has been considered a game since long (House, 1963), but that game was not formalized and included in the organisational design. So why don’t we gamify organisational hierarchy design, i.e., use game design elements

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(Deterding et al., 2011) there? If we see the hype, enchantment, and deep motivational drive, a segment of populations showed e.g. toward watering digital crops in Farmville, we cannot help but wonder if we can raise motivation for everyday business tasks in a similar fashion. The action should be wide, we aim to help all employees - not just at the obvious “young gamer” employee segment. It is worth remembering that average social gamers are 43-year-old females (Ingram, 2010). However, the gamification layer cannot be viewed as a magic-wand solution for motivation in an organisation. It is just the package for the content – the work itself. If your employees like the package, it does not necessarily mean they will like the content, but a majority of both gamers and non-gamers will

TOP ACCOUNTABILITY: maintai available pool of required capabilities

Guild leaders

AUTHORITY: assign guild members to games / raids

Analyst’s guild

Designers’s guild

Customer relations guild

Legal guild

Financial guild

Medic’s guild

RESPONSIBILITY: track individual formal and informal development; provide supportive resources for development

Fig1: Proposed organisational structure Project line managers become game designers, and their role consists of five steps:

ORG DESIGN

probably prefer the gamification layer to exist in a military-based system of hierarchy, titles, and advancement. There is no one-size-fits-all enterprise gamification approach based on incrementally iterative, trial-and-error implementation. Inspiration and general framework for implementation of this article are found in prof. Kevin Werbach’s outstanding “Gamification” project on Coursera3, an imperative resource for managers who go into practical implementation. A great place to pick low-hanging fruits and gather experience would be creative departments in companies, like R&D, marketing, engineering etc. Experience from applying solutions in your organisational contexts, even in specific organisational departments, might prove especially valuable when “Techno-toddlers” come of age.

MANAGEMENT

ACCOUNTABILITY: reach goals of the games / raids

AUTHORITY:

Game designers

assign tasks related to games / raids, distribute gains to players

Here we suggest an organisational structure design pattern for this endeavour. To find which modality of the pattern actually works, you have to experiment. Every organisation is a story for itself, and solutions that work in one will not work in another.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT IN GAMIFIED ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN Theoretical background for adding a layer of gamification is matrix organisational structure and balanced scorecard. This system requires simple intranet “social-networking-like” software support for distributing and administrating games and raids. In general, group task management software with social interaction is commonly present in corporations with major telework platforms (Hurst, 2020). So, addition can be inexpensive and straightforward, and there are even free open-source alternatives.4 Matrix organisational structure is a common solution when creativity and dynamic open-ended tasks are demanded from the company, vividly described through Charles Handy’s task (Athens) culture. Such structures are also common in innovative and creative departments of otherwise more rigid organisations. Extension of that structure is based on different authority, responsibilities and accountability distribution for the project and functional department management lines. Fig1: Proposed organisational structure - Project line managers become game designers, and their role consists of five steps:

Raid 1

Raid 2

a) In cooperation with top management, game designers convert financial, customer, internal business processes, learning and growth perspectives (Kaplan and Norton, 1996) into concrete endeavours with objectives, measures and targets. Those endeavours can be called 1) games, elaborate long-term endeavours with strategic importance, and 2) raids – shorter, common projects with simple goals like internally developing a training program for new technology in the company.

Game 1

Game 2

Raid 3

Game 3

RESPONSIBILITY:

convert higher-level projects into games and raids; suggest desired player traits and bonuses; lead games and raids

b) Game designers connect games/raids with the value of the project for the enterprise and propose a point range for top management’s approval. Value of 100$ for the company might be worth 1 point. That ratio should be a fiduciary agreement of top management, since it can be subjectively and maliciously interpreted. For example, a specific project might have an expected range of 300700 points depending on its success, measured by a) revenues, b) external feedback c) costs or d) judgment of top management. Points will be distributed to employees working on the project.

3 https://www.coursera.org/course/gamification 4 http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/2807-14-Online-Task-Management-Tools

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ORG DESIGN

MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN CONSIDERED A GAME SINCE LONG (HOUSE, 1963), BUT THAT GAME WAS NOT FORMALIZED AND INCLUDED IN THE ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN. SO WHY DON’T WE GAMIFY ORGANISATIONAL HIERARCHY DESIGN, I.E., USE GAME DESIGN ELEMENTS c) They analyze the list of corporate skills and decide how this game will engage them. For example, the development of an inhouse training program for operational workers in-house developed improvement will engage 20% interpersonal skills, 30% change management, 10% software development, and 40% teaching/ coaching skills. The distribution of points to employee players will be correlated with that engagement. d) They post games/raids on corporate Intranet software to assemble the team. e) Most importantly, they will lead games and raids toward accomplishing set goals. Instead of functional department managers, we have guild leaders on the second management line. They are the best in their functional specialization, proxies between game designers and employees. They cooperate with game designers to determine exact skill requirements for games and raids. They are to be consulted on game/raids design, and when it is posted on intranet software they will promote it to recruit volunteers from their guild.

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If there are too many volunteers, they fill positions according to their judgment. In some cases, vacancies can be filled with freelancers, but the frequency of such practice may indicate guild leaders’ inability to maintain a steady pool of required capabilities in-house. Unless organisation structure is primarily networked/ virtual, that should be the measure of their (in)competence or some external factor such as workforce market disruption. At the centre of the network, players (formerly known as employees) start with initial points based on their formal education. For example, fresh MBAs can have 300 points distributed among finance, marketing, interpersonal and other skills, roughly according to credits they have earned in their formal education. Later, they can join games/raids and earn experience they can direct to boost their skills or earn freedom points, which permit them to focus on their interests during some of the work hours (similar to 15% fixed percentage of time in 3M and 20% in Google). Narrative of rewards is important by itself, Intranet application should say: “Congratulations! You have earned 43 EXP points for your performance in training program development, which you can distribute among interpersonal skills, change management, software development, and teaching/ coaching skills. Please click on the slider bar to distribute your points.” Some degree of freedom must be permitted, balancing between extremes of too much - skill boost can lose connection with actual skill engagement, and too little – employees feel a lack of impact on self-development. Other tangible and intangible rewards can be distributed on variable schedules, correlated with skills statistics. Some tangible rewards might even be rewarded by chance, dependent on the number of points earned. In the long run, all employees should average such rewards, and water-cooler gossip will anyway be that whoever won the reward got that due to luck. Fig2: Example of an interaction window

INTERVIEW

CONCLUSION This organisational structure provides management with stronger tools to direct the general development of players, but at the same time players feel the freedom to develop inside set game rules. In addition to tangible rewards, desired specialisations can be encouraged with more experience points. Management also has realtime, intrinsically based levers of control to direct employee efforts toward desired goals. There is more meritocracy in progressing because the system has more chance to average positive and negative assessment mistakes in real-time than common offline monthly or quarterly performance reviews. 360° performance reviews can also be integrated into that online system but on the level of games/ raids. The author’s experience in developing performance assessment and management platforms indicated that introducing such a system is a 12-18 months endeavour, very demanding but even more rewarding. Employees can think of work as of more game-like activity in which your goal is to enhance and realize yourself at the highest possible level. That should be the goal of the organisational change described here. Business results as tangible prizes will come along then. However, if we solely focus on business results, this structure is more likely to fail, and be ignored by employees as another form of an e-whip. This resembles an ancient Chinese story, where an archer shoots upon the target next to the pot of gold – the prize for the best shot. Should the archer’s gaze be upon the pot of gold, instead of the real target, there is more chance that the arrow will miss the target and the archer should lose the prize. The real goal of the organisational design solution should be what Kevin Werbach states gamification is all about: making people better, making them more awesome.

REFERENCES: Deterding, S., Sicart, M., Nacke, L., O’Hara, K., and Dixon, D. 2011 Gamification: Using gamedesign elements in non-gaming contexts. Proceedings of the CHI EA ’11, ACM Press pp.2425-2428 Galbraith, J.R. 2012. The Evolution of Enterprise organisation Designs. Journal of organisation Design, 1(2): 1-13 House, P. J. 1963. Management Development Is a Game. Harvard Business Review, 41(4): 130-143. Hunter, D. and Werbach, K., 2012. For the win. Philadelphia, USA: Wharton digital press. Hurst, E.J., 2020. Web conferencing and collaboration tools and trends. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 20(3), pp.266-279. Ingram, M. 2010, ‘Average Social Gamer is a 43 Year Old Woman’ Gigaom [Online, last accessed 16th Sep. 2012 at: http://gigaom.com/2010/02/17/average-social-gamer-is-a-43-year-old-woman/] Janićijević, N. and Aleksić, A., 2007. Complexity of matrix organisation and problems caused by its inadequate implementation. Economic Annals, 52(174-175), pp.28-44. Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. 1996. Using the balanced scorecard as a strategic management system. Harvard Business Review, 74(1): 75-85. McGonigal, J. 2011. Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. London, UK: Penguin Press. Sy, T., Beach, L. and D’Annunzio, L.S., 2005. Challenges and strategies of matrix organisations. Human Resource Planning, 28(1), pp.39-48.

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Set the leadership development agenda and put some skin in the

True leaders frequently ask themselves - what can they do better, how can they develop their skills and expertise, hence becoming capable of achieving extraordinary results. Today’s reality for all leaders is extremely complex and challenging. To be able to respond to all challenges of the intricate business environment, thus be able to perform at their best leaders must evolve. Setting the leadership development agenda is a crucial topic for improving and accentuating effectiveness.

Žana Goić Petričević, CEO, Bold Leadership Culture

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LEADERSHIP

Development and growth are nonnegotiable in the contemporary business context due to their ambiguity, volatility and uncertainty. What was once science fiction, has become our reality, and whether you have a formal leadership position or not, you can certainly relate to the pressures and challenges that we are experiencing today. In the process of changing the narrative, we must ask ourselves - what do we all need to grow into? The answer is - a new breed of bold, diverse and entrepreneurial leaders. When thinking of skills and tools which might equip us with becoming better leaders, it is crucial to understand the significance of questions. Bold leadership is defined by the questions we dare ourselves to ask and stay with, not by our addiction to the right answers. If we want to lead boldly, we do it by welcoming daring enquiry, rather than blindly following safe instructions. So, how may we approach all the questions that arise when setting the leadership development agenda, and how can we reframe them so that we become capable of creating far bolder initiatives, conversations and decisions within this process? By utilising the SOUL framework, which can provide us with the courage to go from bold intentions to bold actions, we can disassemble each step and its impact on our environment. Self - When planning the leadership development agenda, a major concern for companies lies in the process of carrying out the change in a comfortable manner, thus not straying from the essence and culture of the organisation. But there can never be comfort when change is involved. Therefore, we must start by understanding what is the change we all need, how can we be bolder in

proposing it, and what we need to change about ourselves in order to contribute to the success of the change agenda.. Other - Whilst we can’t change others, we can always learn more about ourselves, hence becoming strong role models. When approaching the design of change initiatives, we usually pose power questions - how can we get other people to change. However, we must focus our attention on stimulating change, rather than practising control over others.

enjoy the fruitful change. We must act as entrepreneurs in leadership, thus relating to change as a feeling, experience or concept profoundly meaningful to us as individuals and to our organisation. And remember, similar to happiness change is not the destination, but the journey!

The more we’re willing to take risks, the more safety we bring to the organisation. Success is all about having something to lose and sharing risks with others. Therefore, it is crucial for us to build and nurture bold relationships. Only by stepping into change together, by providing adequate feedback and fortifying support, can we go through change successfully. Universe - We cannot go through change without discussing values, affirming doubts, intuitions and feelings of our environment. Rather than having a ready-made change, we focus our efforts on initiating bold conversations. By having the power to listen and the choice to hear, we can welcome diversity of opinions, thus adequately approaching the decision-making process for implementing change. If the power to listen does not come together with the choice to hear, we have a missed potential, and none of us wants potential to just pass by.

The more we’re willing to take risks, the more safety we bring to

Legacy - As a final step of establishing the leadership development agenda, we must boldly ask ourselves - are we playing to win, or are we playing not to lose? Those who are setting the agenda must be passionate about growth, knowing that it will bring discomfort. If we’re incapable of finding the meaning of change, we will not be able to take risks, make bold choices, and finally

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ORG DESIGN

A NEW WORLD OF WORK IS EMERGING: TIME FOR HR TO STEP UP ON ORG DESIGN! Eric Cornu, Global Head of Organisation Design and Change Management (OD&CM), Mark Vodden, Global Organisation Design and Development Lead, Nestlé

A new world of work is emerging. While it is too early to predict its exact shape and extent, we can only have one certainty: it will be different. The good news here is that if you are an HR professional, there has never been a more exciting time to work in this function. But there is a catch: the HR function is not ready and HR needs to step up big time. 60 | HR World 07 | April 2022

ORG DESIGN

Intro The relationship of people to work is transforming in a way not seen since the industrial revolution, following two years of “forced” virtual work. The future only holds one certainty: the way work is organised and managed has just initiated a radical shift. In this context, building solid expertise in Organisation Design and Change Management (OD&CM) capabilities is even more critical than it was before, as we need to re-design the work and our structures. This is the type of work leaders are going to expect from their HR business partners. Unfortunately, while these skills are in high demand, they are also in short supply, especially concerning organisation design. In this edition, we will cover how at Nestlé we are building

“Organisation design is a deliberate process of configuring structures, processes, reward systems, People Practices and Relationships and policies, to create an effective organization capable achieving the business strategy.” Jay Galbraith We use this model as a compass to constantly keep in mind as we assess and challenge our organisation’s effectiveness. Its strength lies on three critical foundations: 1.

2. OD&CM capabilities, the methodologies we have developed and, finally, we will share our views on the exciting challenges we have ahead of us and how we should approach them.

J. Galbraith’s 5 Star Model 3. First things first. While change management is an area generally well understood and close to HR hearts, organisation design is complex by nature as there is no defined path to a solution. Each situation will be unique and will require its own solution. In this context, you need to establish a few concepts that will help guide your work and your customers. At Nestlé we have adopted Jay Galbraith’s Star Model as a core reference. It is simple, easy to understand, and it resonates well with business leaders. While this model may be old, it is still fully relevant today and continues to be applied even by some of the largest “digitally born” companies (think FANGs) that weren’t even around when the model was first developed.

It all starts with the strategy. No organisation design work should be undertaken unless there is a clear strategy understood by all key stakeholders. When you consider an organisation, you need to consider four distinct types of capabilities, and structure is only one of them. Beyond this, we must consider how the work flows through key business and management processes, what our people capabilities are, and finally, how our measures and rewards help us steer the efforts into the right priorities. The third and most important characteristic of the model is shown by the connecting lines. They illustrate that an organisation is an interconnected ecosystem where each part can impact all others. For example, if you change your strategy, you should review what you are measuring and how people are incentivized to achieve it. Or, if you change the structure and create new units, you may have to consider other connecting mechanisms with other parts of the organisation as well as probably look at the new skills you may require.

The corollary of Jay Galbraith’s model is that an organisation is effective when all its components are optimally aligned to enable the strategy. Any experienced leader intuitively understands this model, hence its power. The difficulty is that it is also a living entity that constantly evolves. This is where HR needs to step up, to constantly help realign their organisations as the business needs evolve.

Strategy

People Practices

Structure

Metrics & Rewards

Management Processes & Lateral Conn

Jay Galbraith’s Star Model

FROM THE EARLY FAILED ATTEMPTS TO INDUSTRIALISE AND RUN LARGE-SCALE TRAINING PROGRAMS, WE NOW FAVOUR A MORE TARGETED APPROACH THAT PUTS GREATER EMPHASIS ON PROVIDING ONGOING SUPPORT WHEN AND WHERE NEEDED. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 61

ORG DESIGN

How is the model relevant to your job today? As we mentioned earlier, while the model may be considered “old” by some (there is always somebody who wants to reinvent the wheel!), it continues to be widely used today. The reason is simple. It remains relevant to almost any challenge an organisation faces. Let’s take the example of the post-covid context. All our organisations face disrupted marketplaces where both consumers’ & customers’ expectations have shifted as well as the workforce’s expectations. The marketplace shifts require strategies to be rewritten and adapted in a fast-changing environment. This requires agility that static hierarchical structures do not facilitate. Mechanisms must be created to build this agility. Alongside, if we want our people and our managers to be more agile, we will need to equip them with the necessary tools and incentives that facilitate and reward the expected outcomes. If you miss any of these elements, your solution will most likely fail to deliver. If we now turn to the Hybrid Debate, we can see how this model can help frame a solution too. As the workforce’s expectations are shifting, failure to address it will certainly impact our ability to attract and retain the talent needed to execute our strategies. But, Hybrid is much more than a question of where and when the work is done. As more flexibility is given to knowledge workers, management processes need to evolve. Performance management needs to shift towards managing outputs (instead of managing tasks and presence) and leadership skills need to evolve with this. And soon we will realise that work could be managed differently and that our current organisation structures are outdated and could be completely reshaped to take advantage of what today’s technology has to offer.

THE FUTURE ONLY HOLDS ONE CERTAINTY: THE WAY WORK IS ORGANISED AND MANAGED HAS JUST INITIATED A RADICAL SHIFT. IN THIS CONTEXT, BUILDING SOLID EXPERTISE IN ORGANISATION DESIGN AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT (OD&CM) CAPABILITIES IS EVEN MORE CRITICAL THAN IT WAS BEFORE, AS WE NEED TO RE-DESIGN THE WORK AND OUR STRUCTURES. 62 | HR World 07 | April 2022

Keeping this simple model at the back of your mind will help you surface all the aspects of the organisation that need to be considered in any given OD challenge.

Nestlé’s general OD&CM framework Whilst the Star Model will be of tremendous help to challenge your organisation’s effectiveness, it doesn’t offer a clear path on how to proceed, and this, of course, is the first question a business manager who wants to review their organisation will ask you. The bad news here is that the process is far from linear with many interdependent aspects that need to be looked at in parallel (as illustrated below).

OR alternatively:

The main challenge any HR organisation faces in building organisation design capabilities is that it’s a complex topic. The best way to manage complexity is to divide the work into manageable pieces and while there is no single path to drive this work, there are logical steps and phases to address or consider. At Nestlé, we use a roadmap to help HR people navigate these steps. The Roadmap integrates both Organisation Design and Change Management activities into one holistic three-step approach.

ORG DESIGN

Organization design roadmap 1

Diagnose ne

Understand the challenges and opportunities of your organization and agree on a clear mandate to drive the redesign of the organization

Agreed diagnostic Design criteria Case for Change ey stakeholders for project itself Project scope and business case



Design High Level Design

Detailed Design

ne the new organization and its main consequences and validate it prior to mobilizing resources to work out details

Agreed operating model and Top level structure Agreed key decision rights Change impact assessment and people related Stakeholder strategy Resources commitment

Those familiar with the work of Organisation Design and Change Management won’t be surprised at all by the key deliverables that are shown here. However, the simplicity of the summary belies a more complex piece of work that is often required to define the key questions and key steps that can help the Organisation move forward, particularly in an environment that is as dynamic as the one we have faced over the past two years. The challenge can be further compounded when, as an HRBP/OD practitioner, you are not involved at the outset of the discussion. In these situations, perhaps your most important first task is to better understand what work has been done/not done and/or what direction (aka “business case”) has been agreed/not agreed. Here you can sometimes find some surprises requiring retrospective work to move forward on a more solid foundation. The complex, dynamic and non-linear nature of Organisation Design work also presents some challenges when it comes to training. More on this below but suffice to say that one of our key learnings has been the need to place as much attention on the “How” as the “What”, with a particular emphasis on some key watch-outs/questions that are often less obvious but can have a significant adverse impact on a project if not considered. The list below (which is by no means exhaustive) illustrates the point: 1. Data: What data do you need to run the project? How robust is it? Is the data available on an ongoing basis? Is there a cost to getting access to the data? 2. Accountability: Who is accountable for making the change a success? 3. Business Case: Is this clear? Are stakeholders aligned? What’s the baseline? 4. “Red lines”: Does the project have any must-have nonnegotiable elements? 5. A case for Change: How compelling is the rationale? Do

10.

Implement & Sustain

Complete design of the organization and ways of working

Build the organization capabilities to implement the change and monitor

implementation plan

and adapt as needed

Full organization including org. charts, sizing, SoC, locations… Documented processes Roles & Responsibilities Detailed implementation plan Communication and capability building plans



Business objectives

we really know how people feel about the change? Do we understand their concerns? Design Criteria/Principles: Are the implications of the Design Criteria understood by the Business? Is it clear what choices are being made to support the future strategy? Decision Rights: What decision-making principles have been agreed upon? How important is this for the Organisation? What are the priority areas to address? Who has been involved? Change impacts: How well are these known? Who has been involved in defining them? Are the benefits clear? Have any new capabilities been clearly defined? Change resources: How many people are available to support and drive the change? How much time do they have? How long after the project has been implemented will they be available? Sustaining: How and when will we know the Organisation change has been successful? How will this be tracked?

Knowing when and how to ask the key questions is perhaps the most difficult challenge when it comes to OD training, given so much is a) context-dependent and b) best learned through experience.

The challenge of building OD capabilities and how we have approached it “The road to hell is paved with good intentions!” Like many companies, it has taken us time to optimise our approach to training in this area. From the early failed attempts to industrialise and run large-scale training programs, we now favour a more targeted approach that puts greater emphasis on providing ongoing support when and where needed. This means that one of the entry requirements for access to the

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ORG DESIGN

AS THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR ORGANISATIONS WILL INCREASINGLY BE CHALLENGED IN THE FUTURE, LEADERS ARE GOING TO SEEK STRONG ADVICE AND GUIDANCE FROM PEOPLE WITH STRONG ORGANISATION DESIGN AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT SKILLS. NOBODY IS BETTER POSITIONED THAN THE HR FUNCTION TO TAKE ON THIS CHALLENGE.

need to become more resilient to systemic shocks while becoming more agile, flexible, and innovative.

Programme is having a “live” OD or Change Project. This is essential as it not only provides a meaningful context for learning but the opportunity to apply and test different approaches – particularly important in an environment where so much of what we’ve faced over the past two years has been new.

The exponential expansion of AI is opening new possibilities with consequences we are still to fully understand. One of the lessons the most advanced companies have drawn from the Covid-19 disruption is that with the existing technologies (e.g. Talent Marketplaces) we can already think of organising the work in a radically new manner. For example, by directly matching activities to be performed to skills available, without the constraint of defined jobs and hierarchies, we create fluidity in our organisation and enable dynamic talent allocation to the most important tasks at hand without the rigidity of a hierarchy. Furthermore, it allows people to volunteer to do more of what they are good at and what they really want to do or develop into. Everybody wins!

Whilst our model continues to evolve even from cohort to cohort (as we learn more), there remain some foundational elements that we see as central to our approach: • A 9–12-month cohort-based program • Relatively small cohort sizes of 20-25 to maximise driveengagement • Experiential learning at the core • 1:1 in-project coaching • Group coaching in Webinars • Peer to peer collaboration and support. It’s clear the above requires a significant commitment from those joining the network. However, by ensuring members join with a “live” project we aim not only to maximise the benefit for the individual and the business but raise our level of functional expertise in an area that is becoming more and more critical.

The key HR trends and why OD&CM is critical As we slowly come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are seeing an increased demand for organisation design and change of management skills. The unprecedented disruptions we face have led most companies to accept that the future is anything but predictable and that organisations

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The three macro converging trends that are currently reshaping the world of work in a way we haven’t seen since the industrial revolution are: 1. Skills-based organisation: where the work is being looked at in terms of skills required (both current and future) and build/ securing them through the workforce 2. Unbundling of jobs: where the management of work is looked at in terms of tasks and activities to be performed instead of rigid jobs whereby activities are clustered and managed through a strict hierarchy 3. Talent Marketplaces: where AI-powered platforms match the work to be done with the skills needed and ensure a flexible resourcing model.

As the foundations of our organisations will increasingly be challenged in the future, leaders are going to seek strong advice and guidance from people with strong organisation design and change management skills. Nobody is better positioned than the HR function to take on this challenge. But there are two prerequisites. The first one is to integrate the organisation dimension into the HR function. There are still too many companies for whom HR is a “people only” function. Maybe renaming the function from HR to People & Organisation will help make a clear statement and send a message. But beyond just a name, the most important of all is to build our capabilities in both organisation design and change management because these are the skills that are going to be needed. The good news is that this new world of work offers exciting opportunities. For people, it is an opportunity to trade activities they dislike with others they want to do more of. For companies, it is the opportunity to be fully agile. As for HR, it has simply never been more exciting to work in this function!

DEVELOPMENT

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INTERVIEW

C-level spotlight interview

Maša LALIĆ Member of the Executive Board, Generali Osiguranje Srbija

A BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT YOU ARE PROUD OF?

What I am the proudest of is the way Generali looks and feels right now. I have been growing with my company and in these 14 years, we have become a place where people enjoy being and working together, a place where one can feel a high level of energy, optimism and empathy. Trust, honesty and innovation are the building blocks of our culture. Ambition,

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teamwork and ownership are the main ingredients of our business results. In the company, we go the extra mile to wow our clients and be their lifetime partners 24/7. In HR, we run the extra mile to wow our people and show them we care about their lives and their dreams. Our top management believes in a balance between the needs of our people and the company’s goals, and invests a lot to prove it to every single one of our 1800 employees. I am proud of the fact that we are the most profitable and innovative insurance

company in the market. Our CEO was recognized by the Serbian Association of Managers the best manager in 2021; we won the ICERTIAS’ Customer Friends Award two years in a row and we are the first financial institution to get a full Family Friendly Enterprise Certificate. As a Chief HR & Strategy Officer, responsible for business as well as cultural transformation, I couldn’t be prouder of the synergy and the passion for great results, strong leadership, client and people centricity.

3 2 HR FUNCTION IN 2030 IS…

HOW TO SURVIVE IN A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT?

The pandemic has closed and opened many new topics, both in life and in the HR field. The most challenging one is how to keep the people engaged, connected and energized in the hybrid working environment that is here to stay. Everyone is overwhelmed by virtual meetings. From the employees’ point of view, it is easier to work from home. Although at times we feel disconnected, we find it hard to return to the office full-time. From the company’s point of view, freedom and flexibility are benefits, but they come at a cost of disconnection, low motivation and loneliness, which can trigger resignations. The time has come to change work culture – again! For our company to rise to this challenge, our leaders need to find a way to give a clear context to the people, keeping the freedom and engagement high in a hybrid work model. Not just write the rules. It is easy to say, “Let’s all come back to the office”, or “Let’s work in shifts”. But setting the rules is not always the best.

Setting the context, sharing it regularly with the teams, and leading by example is more effective. We definitely need to rethink virtual meetings, its effectiveness, duration - preferring live meetings when it comes to brainstorming, discussing, creating and staying online when peace is needed over collaboration. This change of culture while staying hybrid, is coming together with the digital transformation that is imposing new tools we should try to maximize the benefits of, but stay smart and sensitive, following the culture, our people and business needs, finding the way that will work for everybody.

The story of human resources is becoming more about people and culture. It will not be so easy to keep this human focus with the pace of digitalization that is changing lives, not only work. Strategic workforce planning is becoming the name of the game. I really hope that by 2030 most processes are done automatically so that people have more time for strategic and creative thinking. We will need to focus on clients’ problems, perceptions, emotions and expectations. AI, RPA and automation, in general, will shape and dictate the processes but for HR it means more than just adapting. The first challenge is to reset HR processes and adjust them to the new ways of working, being innovative and a role model for other functions and companies. The second challenge concerns reskilling and upskilling, not only HR people but the entire organization. HR needs to boost, sell, live and implement the idea of strategic workforce planning, work hard on proper reskilling, i.e. understand the business model and, above all, keep the wellbeing of employees as the top priority of the management agenda.

Although it sounds quite demanding, I really hope that in the future we work less but perform better. It doesn’t make sense to work more with all these robots around. I think that the four-day working week could become the new normal. Remote work will be a standard, not an option for the companies. HR will use people analytics to meet their employees’ expectations before they are even aware of them, keeping its ears peeled and hearts open, recognizing and helping everyone in need.

MESSAGE FOR HR DIRECTORS IN THE REGION

We are and should always be all about people. The key is to have not only satisfied but loyal employees. Engaged, skilled employees, strong culture and clear leadership context is a must on the list of ingredients of a company’s success. The talent and energy of the people are directly driving the profit up.

That’s why HR needs to be at the top management table and act as a co-pilot while creating and delivering the strategy. We advocate the right of employees to have a voice and the balance between business results and employees’ needs is our responsibility. It would be wonderful if we, in the HR community, shared more. Sharing best, worst, or any practices for that matter is always inspirational and beneficial. With the magic of community sharing, we could all build a better and stronger HR function, directly bringing more value to all our people’s lives. And that’s what really matters.

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5 6 INTERVIEW

THE MOST CREATIVE JOINT ACTION WITH EMPLOYEES?

Generali Serbia has been involved in the Generali Group initiative The Human Safety Net since 2017. Its aim is to support low-income families during the first six years of their children’s lives, helping them realize their full potential. In 2018, we joined forces with the Novak Djokovic Foundation. The Foundation invests in the early stages of child development and helps children and their parents to better prepare for school. Jointly, we have held workshops led by local experts for more than 500 parents in 30 cities in Serbia. While parents attend workshops, our employees volunteer their energy and love to look after their children, reading, playing, singing, dancing. I am proud to say that our HR team, along with dozens of volunteers from the company, has organized many fundraisers in which most of the employees were involved. We were running together, riding bicycles and walking for charity. We organized Christmas and Easter auctions, where anyone could sell and buy all kinds of goods. Not only did they collect a significant amount of money for the Foundation and our common purpose, but our employees had a lot of fun doing it. This was inspirational even when it was held virtually, and energy was spread through each and every branch in Serbia.

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BEST CONFERENCE YOU’VE BEEN TO?

Since my comeback from maternity was right after the pandemic started, I was very selective in choosing sources for external inspiration. Apart from HR Week I wasn’t following much of the local conference scene. Building up formal education was more about concrete learning and exchanging with the HR community of Generali Group. I was super energized and honored to attend various programs at INSEAD, IMD and London Business School, organized by Generali Group. Keeping up with the trends, innovative learning and sharing approaches, hot emerging topics, such as agile, DEI, remote leadership, are really making the difference. My experience has confirmed their high rankings among the best business schools.

THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I am currently reading No Rules – Netflix And The Culture Of Reinvention by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer. It really made me think again about talent density and the amazing impact that a high level of talent and collaboration can have on an organization. Also, I liked the idea of an open feedback culture among employees, the one that is straightforward and sincere but also candid and constructive. At first, I was touched by the “craziness” of removing controls: no vacation or travel or any expense policy. But I was also moved by the brilliant concept of reinforcing a culture of freedom and responsibility. Putting all of these in our Serbian context and mentality, it becomes so powerful, like a dream that we really have to explore and try.

A TREND THAT IS CONQUERING THE WORLD? Meritocracy, equity and fairness in general, are the main points of each and every HR and business activity. Great resignation is already here, on our market. High turnover, salary market growth and war for talent co-exist with a hybrid working model, which is challenging in itself. DEI will be hard to achieve in a hybrid working environment because of the common misconception of the management that people are performing better if they work in the office. On the other hand, HR has to resist the push for returning to the office because freedom and flexibility are game-changers when it comes to retaining talent. A four-day working week might become the standard, not from a wellbeing perspective but from the no-salaryincrease perspective. HR has to keep one eye on the business strategy and results and the other eye and both hands on people’s needs, motivation, engagement, skills and culture, which, if it is not strong and clear, could eat strategy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

ORG DESIGN

Two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered with water; the other third is covered with auditors from headquarters (Norman R. Augustine)

DESIGNING EFFECTIVE CORPORATE CENTRES FOR DIVERSIFIED PRODUCTION AND MANUFACTURING COMPANIES: THE ART OF BALANCING RISK, DIVERSITY, EFFICIENCY AND COST The Corporate Centre (CC), Corporate Headquarters, or simply Headquarters, all describe a part of modern, diversified business organisations, in which diversification can be across a range of dimensions, including geography, products, and/or services. Alan Aastorp, Principal Consultant, Productivity Lab International April 2022 | HR World 07 | 69

ORG DESIGN

The Corporate Centre (CC), Corporate Headquarters, or simply Headquarters, all describe a part of modern, diversified business organisations, in which diversification can be across a range of dimensions, including geography, products, and/or services. Kunisch et al. (2020) defines the CC as “the central organisational entity which hosts top executives as well as centralised staff functions that fulfil distinct roles for the overall business entity which comprises (structurally) separate operating businesses that compete in geographic, product and customer markets”. In modern organisations, the CC generally comprises operational governance, central functions (technical and administrative) and potentially a Shared Services Centre (SSC) that may or may not be present, depending on the company.

even the best designs are far from foolproof, and care should be taken during the approval and implementation stages to give the change the best chance to succeed, and to ensure the final third of the Earth’s surface is covered with an effective CC that strikes the right balance between BU support and governance. Typically, the main challenge with CCs for diversified companies in the production and manufacturing (P&M) industries is the excessive bureaucracy that can result from the role and the governance not being clearly defined, approved with, and communicated to all stakeholders. A poor organisation design and implementation in many cases exacerbate the situation.

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CORPORATE CENTER (CC) OPERATIONAL GOVERNANCE (CEO, Leadership team)

CENTRAL FUNCTIONS

SHARED SERVICES CENTER (SSC) (Shared skills / processes)

Functional divisions

OPERATING UNITS BUSINESS UNIT 1 Support function

BUSINESS UNIT 2 Support function

BUSINESS UNIT 3 Support function

Figure 1: Diversified business schematic (Wyman, 2013) The result is poor relations between the BUs and the CC, tribal mentality within the CC, excessive time spent on even the smallest of decisions, and a lack of accountability for key business results. As globalisation and diversification increase, so does the need for effective CCs, and it is perhaps surprising that Norm Augustine’s quote echoes the sentiments of many Business Unit (BU) leaders in the P&M industries, even today.

across theory and practice and appear to be industry-agnostic. The guiding questions from Wyman (2013) are shown below:

No correct corporate centre design

4. 5.

The widely accepted approaches for designing effective CCs are rather straightforward in formulation, but not so in execution. The approaches are complicated further by the fact that there is no blueprint for the “perfect” CC (Roland Berger, 2014). Each approach relies heavily on the defined role of the CC, as well as the structural attributes of the organisation in question. This view is supported by Wyman (2013), BCG (2013), and others. Approaches presented by research, as well as by the major consulting companies, typically exist as a series of guiding questions and themes, they are remarkably similar

1. 2. 3.

What role and positioning for the CC? Distribution of responsibilities between the corporate centre and global business units Articulation of central/regional structures and support functions (sizing and structure) Operational governance model Move-in the value chain for established shared service centres.

The key feature of any CC design is the definition of the role of the CC. This exercise frequently results in a series of extremely hard-to-manage workshops with senior management having conflicting interests, or the CEO simply taking the decision based on limited data and understanding. Having a starting point for the discussion based on selected structural attributes of the company and the company strategy will greatly increase the chances of designing an effective CC.

ORG DESIGN

To centralise or not to centralise

Since the approaches are similar, it is not surprising that the resulting CC archetypes are similar too.

Source BCG (2013)

Decentralised CC Hands-off owner

Financial sponsor

Centralised CC Family builder

Strategic guide

Functional leader

Hands-on manager

Strategic architect

Integrator / Controller

Operational corporate centre

Wyman (2013)

Financial holding

McKinsey (n.d)

Financial holding

PwC (2017)

Financial holding company

Strategy and oversight

Active staff involvement

Operationally involved

Bain (2019)

Portfolio manager

Challenger

Integrator

Operator

Several, including ‘strategic drivers’, ‘dynamic entrepreneurs’ and ‘adjustors’

Operators

Table 1: Corporate centre archetypes Excluding BCG’s “hands-off owner” archetype, the most decentralised form of a CC is the Financial Holding (FH). There are smaller differences between the sources in defining this archetype, but essentially, this is recognisable by a large delegation of authority to the BUs, infrequent review, and primarily management by exception in the event of targets not being met. Such CCs would, in most cases, only contain a finance function with a risk management capability, and with financial control being the main activity. At the opposite end, the most centralised form of the CC is the Operational Corporate Centre (OCC). This archetype can be identified by the limited or no delegation of authority to BUs, frequent reviews based on a rigorous governance system, and the CC being responsible for business results. Such CCs could include all functions, technical and support, and the primary role would be the operational control. The Integrator archetypes (INT) are those one step to the left of an OCC in Figure 1 and feature prominently in the P&M industries along with variants on the OCC itself.

Kunisch et al. (2020) define the CC as “the central organisational entity which hosts top executives as well as centralised staff functions that fulfil distinct roles for the overall business entity which comprises (structurally) separate operating businesses that compete in geographic, product and customer markets” In an article on CCs in the oil and gas industry (a P&M industry), McKinsey (2016) argues that with complex, unique operations, the technical functions should be centralised as much as possible, i.e., an OCC, whereas with simpler, repeatable operations with little to no innovation, a CC model closer to an FH would be better. In essence, high-risk activities favour an OCC, whereas low-risk activities favour an FH. There is no reason why the concept of risk-based CC design should

not be extended to business support functions and across industries, although different risks may be relevant (financial risks are considered prevalent in the McKinsey article). Modern oil and gas supermajors have, apart from traditional production, refining, transportation, and retail activities, more and more diversified portfolios, particularly into renewables and social enterprise. As an organisation diversifies, an OCC tends to become bloated and inefficient, as more and more employees and processes are added to service the new portfolio items. While this would not warrant a move to an FH type CC, it would probably warrant a move towards the INT roles, rendering diversity another factor in designing an effective CC. This makes sense also for other industries. Geographical diversity carries less weight than portfolio (or product and service) diversity. While strategy remains the key influence for the CC design, risk and diversity are core inputs to the CC role definition and allow for a starting archetype to be selected. Efficiency and cost are additional factors to consider when it’s decision time.

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ORG DESIGN

Bring on the strategy Now that the potential CC design has been ‘boxed in’ by considering the risk and diversity of the company, it is time to define the role of the CC using the collection of strategies within the company: • Corporate strategy (what business should the company be in) • Business strategy (how to stay competitive) • Functional strategy (implementation considerations by business function). The key to understanding the impact on CC design of the collection of strategies

boils down to understanding the main influential levers of each strategy, in terms of risk. Significant changes to the diversity through implementation of the chosen strategy of the company will also impact the CC design. Most companies will be exposed to the full range of risks as shown in Table 2, but at different intensities. Pay particular attention to operational risks, as they include the HSE risks inherent in operations. The corporate risk register/ matrix developed should be a key input into this process provided it is consistent with the strategy. Aim for the top 2 – 4 risks to govern the CC design.

While strategy remains the key influence for the CC design, risk and diversity are core inputs to the CC role definition and allow for a starting archetype to be selected. Efficiency and cost are additional factors to consider when it’s decision time.

Risk

Type of Control (BCG, 2013)

Corresponding CC Archetype

Economic

Financial Control – CC sets financial targets and challenges financial planning of the BUs

A constant drive to conserve cash and keep the CC lean, favouring an FH

Strategic Control – financial control, and CC sets strategic targets and challenges strategic planning of the BUs

The tendency is a need for detailed strategic planning that is reviewed relatively frequently and transfer of best practices, favouring an INT

Operational Control – strategic control, and CC tracks detailed plans and budgets

The tendency is to implement stringent operational controls, favouring an OCC or an INT, depending on the trade-off between risk and diversity.

Financial

Reputational

Competitive Operational Compliance Security and Fraud

Table 2: Business risks and main CC design implications C and INT types can be successfully combined, as can Strategic types (STRAT) and FH types. There is a significant gap between an INT and a STRAT, and it is not recommended to try to make combinations between the two. If there is a conflict between INT and STRAT, the corporate structure should be reviewed for potential spin-off opportunities. Once an initial design has been selected, the governance (control) method should

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be determined. Archetypes indicate a preferred mode of governance as per Table 2, but the implemented mode should be tailored to the specific company, strategy, and situation. It is important to ensure the governance focuses on mitigating the most important risks and not on controlling administrative minutiae. Consider the use of technology here, as much as possible, particularly if the CC is geographically distributed. Don’t forget to involve stakeholders from all parts of the business at this stage.

Additionally, the CC will have results to deliver by executing a range of business processes. Whether or not an SSC is/will be present, there is evidence that efficiency levels between functions in a CC are highly correlated (McKinsey, n.d.2), indicating that if a company manages to get one function to an efficient state, others will likely follow, and vice versa. In the event a technical or administrative function will not work efficiently under the given role, make the necessary allowances. Under no circumstance should a congruent

functional strategy be changed to fit the role of the CC. This issue occurs quite frequently with business support functions but is much rarer with technical functions.

surface is covered with an effective CC that strikes the right balance between BU support and governance.

Only at this stage can the CC organisation be designed using common organisation design principles, with the role, governance, and efficiency considerations as major inputs. Once designed, however, what might seem like an ideal role may be financially unviable under current business conditions, and this is where trade-offs must be made. PwC (2017) indicates that staff levels in an OCC (excluding any SSC staff) can be as much as 20 times higher than that of an FH type CC. Operational control is more expensive than a more hands-off approach, and whether we like it or not, the cost will be a factor in the final selection of the appropriate CC type.

REFERENCES

Common pitfalls: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Kunisch, S., Menz, M. and Collis, D. (2020). Corporate headquarters in the twenty-first century: an organization design perspective. Journal of Organization Design, 9(1). Zimmermann, T., Huhle, F. and Stocker, A. (2014). Think-Act Magazine “From Headquarters to Ahead-quarters”. Munich, Germany: Roland Berger Strategy Consultants GmbH. www.oliverwyman.com. (n.d.). Redefine and Adapt the Role of the Corporate Center. [online] Available entity which hosts top executives as well at: https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2013/apr/redefine-and-adapt-the-role-of-the-corporate-center.html [Accessed 3 Jan. 2022]. Designing the Corporate Center How to Turn Strategy into Structure. (n.d.). [online] Available at: https://image-src. bcg.com/Images/BCG_Designing_the_Corporate_Center_ May_2013_tcm9-97479.pdf [Accessed 3 Jan. 2022]. ‌www.mckinsey.com. (n.d.). Why corporate-center efficiency matters | McKinsey. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey. com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/why-corporate-center-efficiency-matters. Bain. (2019). Are You Getting Value from Your Center? [online] Available at: https://www.bain.com/insights/are-you-gettingvalue-from-your-center/. PricewaterhouseCoopers (n.d.). Fit for Growth. [online] Available at: https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/gx/en/unique-solutions/fit-for-growth.html [https://twitter.com/strategyand/ status/869218133684432896/photo/1]

Risk and diversity of the enterprise not sufficiently understood Lack of strategic congruence

McKinsey & Company. (2016). The oil and gas organization of the future. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/ industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/the-oil-and-gas-organizationof-the-future.

Organisation design initiated before role, governance, and efficiency requirements have been adequately articulated Poorly implemented organisation design, with no attention paid to culture Lack of performance management for the CC as a whole.

www.mckinsey.com. (n.d.2). The future corporate center | McKinsey. [online] Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/ business-functions/operations/our-insights/the-future-corporate-center-functional-efficiency-runs-in-the-family.

Conclusion Adopting a risk-and diversity-based approach to defining the CC role, with checks for efficiency requirements and costs will significantly increase the likelihood of arriving at the right organisation design for the CC. However, even the best designs are far from foolproof, and care should be taken during the approval and implementation stages to give the change the best chance to succeed, and to ensure the final third of the Earth’s

The key to understanding the impact on CC design of the collection of strategies boils down to understanding the main influential levers of each strategy, in terms of risk.

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EXPERIENCE

FROM HUMAN RESOURCES TO HUMAN RELATIONS THE REAL POWER OF COHERENCE Anja Žibert, HR inspirator and Heart Energy Recruitment Specialist, Free Spirit Human Capital

Just as neuroplasticity is described as “training the brain through learning”, what if we trained our hearts using positive emotions so that the brain releases chemicals that support healing and well-being more consistently?

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EXPERIENCE

Yes, a lot has happened in the last two years. There were some historic events that took place and shook absolutely everything that is surrounding us. It would be so easy to say though that only the pandemic turned the business and recruitment upside down. And it would be very convenient to claim that only the virus caused all the changes regarding companies in the last two years, from remote/hybrid way of working to the, so-called, global “Great Resignation”. But the real truth lies beneath all these illusional facts that were presented to us in the last 24 months. People have been dealing with challenging life circumstances as individuals (mostly on how to survive in the “rat race”) for years, even before the groundbreaking 2020s hit the fan. But, we rarely notice the individual battles. Covid became a collective battle. And the concept of a global war against the virus found its way into every single cell of our brains (and hearts). We had to make some very difficult decisions during this time – some of them were based on existing knowledge and a fixed mindset. Others completely opened their minds and looked for solutions outside of their existing mindset frame. We could say the pandemic hasn’t really changed the business environment and employment processes in general, but it did

completely change people’s perspective on their life priorities and their existence. So, what is the “Great Resignation?” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour report, 4.3 million people quit their jobs in August 2021, which means 242,000 more than in July 2021. Though quitting is still happening across all job sectors and among workers at all skill levels, it was mostly up in hospitality and food services, wholesale trade, and in state and local education. At first glance, we could say that this makes sense since the covid pandemic strongly hit service sectors – but on the other hand, it’s obvious that these service industries have been known for their specific working conditions (and low payment) so, in a way, a lot of people have just started to feel the need to liberate themselves no matter the cost of their decision.

Let’s take a few steps back to the past and see what was happening with the term “HR” over the years. HR wasn’t always around, but people have been working since the dawn of time. So when did managing people and their information become important? Here are some very interesting facts about HR that were presented in a web-based blog article (Callum Sharp, 2019). From farms to factories The introduction of steam power and machines marked the start of the Industrial Revolution which changed the way the world thought about work. However, even amidst astounding progress, production in the factories was not regulated. Being a worker in the Industrial Revolution meant: • Drastic hours. On average, workers, including children, completed up to 14-hour shifts, six days a week. • Hazardous conditions. Factories had little to no ventilation and workers performed their duties in high temperatures. They worked next to the moving parts of heavy machinery, which was the primary cause of the thousands of workplace accidents. Michael Ward, a surgeon in Manchester in 1819, reported treating dozens of school children for injured or lost fingers and limbs. • In 1910, at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York, 145 workers died due to known hazards and unsafe working conditions. • No bargaining power. Employees had no rights to press employers for better pay or hours and an injured worker was considered “abandoned” with no claim to his position or compensation. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 75

EXPERIENCE

The managers and owners of the factories didn’t understand the link between working conditions and improved productivity. Workers had no official and effective advocate within the factories to address their work conditions. Rachel Levin Sarfin wrote in her article “The History of Human Resource Development” that World War I brought huge changes in the labour market. After World War I, the government and businesses realised that employees would no longer contribute to the economy if mistreated. In 1928, social scientist Elton Mayo began researching the effect of better working conditions on employees. Not surprisingly, workers under improved conditions produced more. Mayo discovered that under better conditions, employees worked as a team and generated a higher output. He promoted stronger human relations between subordinates and supervisors, which he called “the Human Relations movement.” The late President John F. Kennedy once said, “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.” With that statement, President Kennedy expressed the philosophy of many industrialists and researchers who sought to improve labour productivity and the individual potential of employees. Their methods ultimately led to a greater emphasis on developing humans as resources.

In the past, jobs were about muscles, now they're about brains, but in future they'll be about the heart! (Dame Minouche Shaﬁk, Director of London School Of Economics)

The Earth’s magnetic field rises, falls, and regulates everything, from climate to ice caps and sea levels. This magnetic field joins all life on Earth from a blade of grass to an ant, to a goldfish, a hamster, to us. When many of us come together and create a common feeling, that experience is called “coherence” and it can be measured. It is 0.10 Hertz. That is the measurement of the coherence created between the heart and the brain. Scientists first found out about this during 9/11 when our satellites, 22,000 miles in space, began to register changes in the magnetic field of the Earth, when humans were having feelings about September 11th and the World Trade Centre. This was a surprise to science. They asked, “Why would people’s experience of 9/11 possibly affect the magnetic fields of the Earth? There’s no connection, right?” Well, wrong. They found that there is a connection.

EVEN THOUGH COMPANIES ARE PROMOTING BREATHING TECHNIQUES, YOGA LESSONS, AND OTHER MINDFULNESS PRACTICES AMONG THEIR EMPLOYEES, THERE IS STILL A HUGE LACK OF EMPATHY IN HR DEPARTMENTS.

Magnetic Field of The Heart Greg Braden, best-selling author, scientist and pioneer of emerging new paradigm based on science, social policy and human potential is saying that, in the past few years, our science has made a radical, revolutionary discovery that changes everything about the way we think of ourselves and the world. What they found is that when we create heart-based feelings of gratitude, appreciation, care-literally, using the muscle of the heart to create these feelings, what we’re

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actually doing is generating a magnetic field inside our bodies that is a part of the magnetic field of the Earth that changes.

The heart is responsible for pumping blood to the entire circulatory system so that organs, tissues and cells receive nutrients and oxygen, while waste, such as carbon dioxide, is eliminated. Research is proving the heart may be as intricate as the brain, referred to as "the little brain." The heartbrain actually sends more communication to the head-brain than the other way around.

The heart beats before the brain forms. When the brain is dead, the heart continues to beat so long as it has oxygen. In fact, the heart has 40,000 neurons and the ability to process, learn, and remember. It also has its own emotions. Thanks to the field of neuro-cardiology, we are learning more about the intuitive nature of the heart and how we can apply this information to the relationship we have with ourselves and others. The Heartmath Institute has been leading research related to heart-brain coherence. According to Research Director Dr. Rollin McCraty, “Coherence is the state when the heart, mind, and emotions are in energetic alignment and cooperation. It is a state that builds resilience.” When the parasympathetic and

EXPERIENCE

the sympathetic system are out of sync from emotions such as anger, anxiety, or frustration, this produces an erratic rhythm or incoherent state. The brain receives this input which affects whether higher cognitive functions can be accessed to self-regulate. (Morales, 2020).

Positive emotions generate a harmonious rhythm in the heart enhancing well-being and emotional regulation. Positive emotions such as compassion and love generate a harmonious pattern in the heart’s rhythm, leading to coherence and greater emotional regulation. When harmonious interactions exist among the body’s systems, this is referred to as physiological coherence. As this increases, so does the brain’s alpha activity which supports stress relief and creativity.

The heart's energy is said to reach about three feet outside of the physical body and can be detected in another person sitting nearby via an electrocardiogram (ECG). Can you bring to mind someone who, without even speaking a word, makes you feel light just by being in their presence? Have you ever been told, "You have such a positive energy?" The potential of how far our heart's electromagnetic energy field can reach continues to be studied as technology plays catch-up. Additional benefits of heart-brain coherence include: • Reduction in stress • Adaptability to change • Psychosocial well-being • Higher cognitive capacity • Performance improvement • Resilience/Problem solving • Mental Clarity/Emotional stability • Access to intuition and creativity • Regenerative process/Anti-aging. As the brain can be re-trained through neuroplasticity, so can the heart. In the same way we build mental habits, we can develop new heart habits. Whatever the heart informs the brain, the brain responds accordingly. If it has become the “norm” for the heart to feel chronic stress or anger, it is accustomed to communicating this to the brain. The brain triggers the body’s response in the form of stress hormones, constricted blood vessels, increased blood pressure, chronic

inflammation, and makes the heart work harder. Putting the heart through constant emotional distress disrupts the body's balance and can lead to physical diseases. As many have said, "Happiness is a choice" and so is sustainable joy. Just as neuroplasticity is described as “training the brain through learning”, what if we trained our hearts using positive emotions so that the brain releases chemicals that support healing and wellbeing more consistently? By increasing awareness of what we are “feeding” the command centre, we can be intentional about what we allow in, what we permit to spread to the rest of the body, and even how we inspire others to feel around us (Morales, 2020).

Can a Person’s Negative Heart Energy Affect Mine? When we are in a highly coherent state, we are less likely to be affected by another’s negativity. We can remain emotionally composed and adaptable to whatever is going on in the external world. In fact, we can disrupt the incoherence in another person, who is much more susceptible to external influences. We can even enter a room and sway the hearts and brain waves around us. When you feel light and joyful, take notice of how you got there. If you are in the company of another, allow yourself to wonder if it is your heart or theirs who caused that to happen? The next time you encounter others, practice using your heart's electromagnetic energy field to redirect their emotions to the upside. In what ways can you put to good use your most powerfully attracting organ? (Morales, 2020).

Our subconscious mind is 30,000 times more powerful than our conscious mind. Let’s stop underestimating the power of our subconscious. You have probably heard that, most of the time, we are all in “automatic mode” which means that only 5% of our daily reactions are led by our conscious mind. And 95% of our actions are based on our subconscious patterns from past experiences (also from our past lives).

So, what does this have to do with HR you may ask? Well, a lot! At the beginning of the article, we learned about the evolution of the term “Human Relations”. With new scientific findings about the real power of coherence between brain and heart, it’s almost necessary to create a new knowledgeframe regarding relations in organisations and business in general. For the last couple of years, I’ve been focusing on recruitment transformation, and research experiences have been nothing but astonishing.

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EXPERIENCE

WITH NEW SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ABOUT THE REAL POWER OF COHERENCE BETWEEN BRAIN AND HEART, IT’S ALMOST NECESSARY TO CREATE A NEW KNOWLEDGEFRAME REGARDING RELATIONS IN ORGANISATIONS AND BUSINESS IN GENERAL.

them. And until they are trapped in survival mode, we can control their life. Harsh truth! But so real.

WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, NOT HUMAN DOINGS! COMPANIES AND LEADERS (AND HR PROFESSIONALS) NEED TO CHANGE THEIR FOCUS FROM EMPLOYING HUMAN DOINGS TO EMPLOYING HUMAN BEINGS.

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”

We are human beings, not human doings! Companies and leaders (and HR professionals) need to change their focus from employing human doings to employing human beings. And people, in general, need to start realising their true value, which lies in their (unlocked) potential. Today, there is a huge gap in understanding the term “human resources” as JFK has once explained the term “human resources” that most of the corporate world still understands and promotes – people are only tools/ resources that we can use/exploit to earn more money! When they sign an employment contract - we own them, because we pay

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Not everyone is ready to see and accept it. Because of our strong subconscious patterns, this is simply not possible. Can you see the irony?

We need more hr (human relations) professionals with a high level of self awareness Let’s go one step further. Let’s talk about mindfulness. What exactly is mindfulness? “It is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally,” says Kabat-Zinn, an American professor, emeritus of medicine. A lot of companies have started implementing the concept of mindfulness in their “employee wellbeing programs.” But something interesting is going on. Even though companies are promoting breathing techniques, yoga lessons, and other mindfulness practices among their employees, there is still a huge lack of empathy in HR departments. Everything that we have already mentioned in this article we can sum up in one single quote by Alvin Toffler:

It is time to open our minds and give space to new knowledge, practices, and experiences regarding the true potential of people. In the traditional narrative, we call them talents. But in reality, a talent is everyone. We just need to learn how to place ourselves (or others) in the right environment where they will thrive and evolve their full potential.

Not every place where you fit in is where you belong! Our past experiences do not define us. What we are in this very moment and what we believe we can become – that defines us! Let’s make recruitment human again! Energy is important and so is the level of self-awareness. Below you can read 3 pre-screening questions that you can use in the recruitment process. Expect that people are not comfortable with speaking about themselves outside of working mind frames. But if we return to the finding that we are human beings, not human doings, then it’s essential to learn how to create space for candidates to show their souls. Pre-screening question 1: How do you feel when you hear the word “purpose”? What kind of story would you like to leave behind? Pre-screening interview question 2: I would like to know more about you as a person (a human being), not you as an expert persona.

www.spark.me

INTERVIEW

Pre-screening interview question 3: I’m a 5-year old child. Can you please explain to me (in a simple way) what it is that you are doing? Quiet revolution is happening right now. But it is becoming louder and louder among employees worldwide: We are not a “resource”! We are A SOURCE! We are not “staff” or “employees”. We are MANAGERS of our own life! We are not “a workforce”. We are a FORCE! We are not “headcount”. We are “HEARTCOUNT!” We are not “Human Capital”. We HAVE amazing Human Capital within! We are not a “full-time equivalent”. We are full-time CONSCIOUSNESS! We are not “workers”. We are MANIFESTORS! We are not Human Doing, we are Human Beings and we deserve to be treated as one.

FUELED BY DREAMS

REFERENCES: https://schoolofthedeepheart.com/the-magnetic-field-of-the-heart-by-gregg-braden/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/building-the-habit-hero/202011/the-heartselectromagnetic-field-is-your-superpower HeartMath.org Matcha.com. (2019, January 15). Dr. Weil explains how to do his 4-7-8 breathing technique. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8fjYPC-k2k&ab_channel=Matcha.com McCraty, Rollin. (2003). The Energetic Heart: Bioelectromagnetic Interactions Within and Between People. The Neuropsychotherapist. 6. 22-43. 10.12744/tnpt(6)022-043. https://bizfluent.com/info-7737165-history-human-resource-development.html https://www.turbinehq.com/blog/history-of-hr

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HR TECH

YOU KNOW YOU NEED AN HR SYSTEM BUT DOES YOUR CEO? HOW TO BUILD A COMPELLING CASE FOR INVESTMENT IN HR TECH

Irena Domjanović, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, GeckoHRM

We think HR is a strategic function in the company. HR teams are determined to be perceived as such and that they’re adding strategic value to their business. And we strongly believe this is the case. A lot of people say that this is the case, but, is it really something that is given enough budget when it comes down to it?

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HR TECH

We think HR is a strategic function in the company. HR teams are determined to be perceived as such and that they're adding strategic value to their business. And we strongly believe this is the case. A lot of people say that this is the case, but, is it really something that is given enough budget when it comes down to it? As an HR professional, you want to be able to show to your management and your stakeholders that there is a better and more efficient way to manage and develop your people, and extract value from all of the newest technologies that the market is offering to you in this wonderful new age. Our surveys have shown that forward-thinking HR leaders do see the advantages and extract a lot of value out of HR technologies. Over 45% are planning to increase the budgets they're already spending on HR technologies, and those that have invested have seen a 50% overall improvement in their company performance. The most important fact was that 54% of their HR staff has their time freed to perform more strategic work. A lot of HR tasks can be automated so that they can focus on really important things: developing people, making data-driven decisions for the management, etc.

As HRs build their business case for investment into HR tech, they need to be very careful with the preparation. The proposal needs to demonstrate how the new system will support all the individuals, teams, and the business as a whole during that change. What are the main reasons to invest in HR systems? This is something that each company must see for itself, as it is very company-specific. But of course, there is a whole range of tangible and measurable benefits associated with investment into an HR system.

First of all, there is the reduction in attrition. Employees want to work with a company that listens to their needs, enables their career advancement and promotion, and has a forward-thinking approach. Implementing a new HR system will bring all those benefits and demonstrate that a company is committed to creating an agile, engaged organization. With that in mind, it will show performance improvement. As employees crave attention, they crave appreciation and visibility, and the new HR system will help HRs provide a clear path for them towards improving their performance via regular feedback and communication. HR systems can help HRs and their stakeholders have a standardized process towards people management. Some of the obvious benefits are: reducing recruiting time, finding the right people quicker, helping HRs to see all candidates and how they compare to one another. They make recruitment processes fast, effective, and reduce the overall time to find the best candidate. Productivity is a significant reason why HRs need an HR system. Because if they improve their workplace experience, they can reduce the time spent on repetitive administrative tasks, as an HR system will do this for them. Finally, HR systems help make better, data-driven,

decisions. Having the data in a single place such as an HR system, HR managers will have a very clear and unique source of insight into the business.

Having HR systems will make HRs the drivers of change that we all want. Two important elements to remember are leadership and planning. Those are very important elements to drive change. Change management is about having a clear vision for the future and communicating this vision to the stakeholders. As HRs build their business case for investment into HR tech, they need to be very careful with the preparation. The proposal needs to demonstrate how the new system will support all the individuals, teams, and the business as a whole during that change. So, who do HRs need to influence? For each organization, this is quite specific, but there are some of the usual suspects. After thinking about the main benefits of introducing the HR system, it is time to identify key decision-makers and how they will respond to the proposition. They might be the tech expert, which is usually the CTO or the IT director. It can be the CFO, the Director of Legal or Compliance, some of the key managers, etc. And of course, the most important person, the CEO.

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HR TECH

To make a successful business case it is important to consider all their interests and then talk to them. See what their needs are, not just in terms of an HR system, but also their overall motivations and overall goals - to the measure that they relate to HR. HRs need to try to find out what would appeal to them the most, and what difference will the new system make to their working life.

clearly. You can group them into three most common groups: 1) Your current needs and problems The needs might be: reducing errors in data management, reducing your recruitment time, etc. But it's important to think about it clearly and include not only your problems but the problems of your stakeholders as well.

the number of problems that you have as an HR or as the whole organization. It's also about creating a positive experience for your employees. And that is why you have to talk to them as well and see what kind of system they would like to have, how you can make their lives easier while dealing with some processes that you might have within your organization. That will greatly improve your employee satisfaction, it will positively influence your culture, and it will definitely improve your talent management processes. Regarding the overall vision, ask yourself two crucial questions: What is it that you want to achieve? How will your ambitions connect with the overall business vision?

1 2

There are seven steps to building a case with the stakeholders and convincing them you need an HR system. STEP 1 - DEFINE YOUR VISION AND BUSINESS NEEDS

Carefully consider what the needs of your business are. You probably have a range of reasons to replace your HR system or implement a new one. The best way to start is to lay out these reasons very

Get your management and key stakeholders to buy-in. Your business case can be flawless, but if nobody believes in it, you will not get very far. 84 | HR World 07 | April 2022

2) Your upcoming challenges

What we see quite often is that people think about what their problems are right now. And while this is good, it is not enough. Buying an HR system is not always about money. It’s about the energy that you will have to invest into implementing your system. So, don't just think about your current needs, but think about what's about to happen in the near future, or the distant future, if you can think that far ahead. Some upcoming challenges that you might have can be: improving applicant experience, how to make an onboarding experience more positive, how to manage risk, how to manage fraud, and how to extract some business insight through predictive analytics, or visual intelligence… 3) Aligning your employees’ calls with your organizational values, and goals Implementing an HR system is not just about reducing

STEP 2 - IDENTIFY BENEFITS AND DEFINE WHAT SUCCESS WILL LOOK LIKE

Once you have identified your needs and your vision, you can now work with identifying benefits and defining what success will look like. You should give careful thought to how these benefits specifically relate to your business and then outline them very clearly in your business case. They can be workforce visibility, enhanced productivity, improved workforce experience, etc. For example, you’ll say “Okay, this is what we're trying to accomplish. We want 7% talent acquisition,

labour cost savings, we want 15% people management, labour cost savings, we want 30% management and overall labour costs cost savings, a reduction in paper documentation, compliance to be compliant…”

STEP 3 - MAKE A VENDOR LIST AND COMPARE THEM

Investing in a new HR or people system is a major decision. That’s why it is essential to research all the vendors and solutions to make a rational, wellbalanced decision. When comparing different solutions, there are several key factors to be considered. The most important is how well do vendors support your current and future business needs. You have to talk to them, spend a lot of time with them and see how they have done this for others. The other factors might include the usability of the solution. Also, are they able to offer consulting or business processes? Do they offer local support? What are their references and how are their customers satisfied with what they have done both in technological terms and then in business consulting terms? In the end, you talk about the initial cost, longterm costs, how easy it is to use the system, how easy it is to implement the system, and how well the system will work with your business systems.

HR TECH

Investing in a new HR or people system is a major decision. That’s why it is essential to research all the vendors and solutions to make a rational, well-balanced decision. When comparing different solutions, there are several key factors to be considered.

it further.” But, of course, there are many risks of doing nothing. A lot of companies can unfortunately confirm this. So if you want to stay competitive and be on the right side of regulation and track and retain the best talent, you will have to think about investing in tech.

if you want to stay competitive and be on the right side of regulation and track and retain the best talent, you will have to think about investing in tech.

5 6 4 7

STEP 4 - IDENTIFY AND EVALUATE RISKS OF DOING NOTHING

When you do all of that, you will have to talk about the risks of doing nothing. This is your greatest enemy. It is the easiest thing to do - just do nothing and say “Look, I've lived with this what I have now, I will live with

STEP 5 - CREATE A BUSINESS CASE AND DEMONSTRATE THE ROI OF NEW TECHNOLOGY

Once you've done all that, it is time to create a business case. HR people, unfortunately, might not be used to doing this. A lot of other managers in the company are much better at this because this is what they do regularly. Here's some advice: among other things, in your business case, demonstrate how your new technology will benefit the organization, what are the expected costs, and what are the possible savings of benefits.

involved. For each stakeholder consider the following questions:

• What are their goals and motivations? • What will they expect from the system for themselves and the whole organization? • What will they want as a return on investment? • What questions will they have? • What may be their objections?

STEP 6 - GET YOUR MANAGEMENT AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO BUY-IN

STEP 7 - MAKE A PLAN AND BE DETERMINED IN YOUR EXECUTION

Get your management and key stakeholders to buy-in. Your business case can be flawless, but if nobody believes in it, you will not get very far. Remember to consider all of those needs about the goals and motivations of your stakeholders and get them

Make a plan. Because even if you convince your stakeholders, they will ask about the next steps. And your plan also has to be flawless. Take the phased approach and identify the quick wins, something that you can show in the first phases of the

project. Because the project is not done until it's done. Even if you get the approval, you will have some enemies and some people will ask why is it taking so long because they are not seeing any benefits immediately. So think about easy things. First, think about front-loading quick wins. Think about delegating responsibility, maybe even hiring consultants. Communicate your progress often and keep the key people involved. You want to make them collaborators. You do not want to make them spectators or, god forbid, enemies. Track your success. Track your challenges. Communicate what you have done, be very flexible because things go wrong. And keep it simple.

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THE DATA-INFORMED REMOTE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE: WHAT TO TRACK AND WHY Luka Babić, CEO, Orgnostic

This article should help you understand the butterfly effect of recent HR tech ecosystem changes and why now is the best time to start using data for building HR strategies. You will also learn about some of the analyses that you can conduct and some less obvious metrics you need to track to better inform your (post-)COVID strategy.

People management in the COVID era - what has changed? Some of the changes that we have observed in the last two years, such as a large share of the employees working remotely, are obvious. For this reason, I would like to focus on the changes that may be less apparent but have largely impacted the HR space. 86 | HR World 07 | April 2022

Changes in people management The shift to remote settings has affected a lot of managers’ sense of control, which in turn also affects their confidence in their own abilities. I’ll use a mock chart to illustrate the story:

Remote Work Induced Manager Anxiety Manager’s slack asense of control

“Hindsight is 20/20” must have been a great joke by a time traveller. Obviously, the employee experience has profoundly changed since March two years ago. In the last two years, the focus of our team at Orgnostic has been to help companies grow, introduce people analytics practices, and start making data-informed decisions about their workforce. In this article, I will share some of the learnings we got along the way.

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Employee’s distance from office Managers’ Sense of Control

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The X-axis represents the employees’ distance from the office; zero means that every employee is working from the office, a hundred means that the workforce is fully remote. The Y-axis illustrates managers’ perception of losing control. Zero is when managers feel in control over their team (e.g., know what the employees are working on, what is the progress); a hundred is when managers feel they don’t control the team (e.g., feel unsure about what the employees are working on, or whether they are working at all; sometimes they may even not know who are the people they should be supervising). Back in 2019, when most people were working from the office, managers were quite confident that being physically close to their team members they had a better sense of whether their teams were productive or not. But even then, we could see some differences in the management of the remote employees, and of those who were working from the office. We can explain these differences through a phenomenon called proximity bias. Organizational psychologists use this term to describe a tendency to perceive someone to be a better employee due to the mere fact of having this person physically close (e.g., in the same office). Even before the pandemic, the people that were much closer to the headquarters were likely to have more growth opportunities, higher chances to be promoted, etc., compared to the colleagues who were working in a subsidiary, or remotely. Out of sight, out of mind, as the proverb goes.

Technological changes To a certain extent, the post-COVID reality has been a wake-up call - now the managers don't see people around in the office, they feel compelled to do something to regain control. The shift to the remote setup has caused a lot of concerns about employee retention, experience and productivity, although, in reality, the elements of team effectiveness in the remote setting are not much different from those in the co-located teams. Even before 2020, we already had the technology needed to manage teams in a remote setup. However, the pandemic pressure has triggered a massive change in the HR technology space, which is hugely impacting the HR practice itself. According to recent studies (PwC, HR technology Survey 2020), around 4% of the surveyed companies (which corresponds to approximately 600 companies), reported an average of 30% increase in their HR tech budgets in 2020 - quite a significant bump to happen in a single year. We have also noticed a change of focus when it comes to purchasing HR tech solutions. While before the pandemic the HR tech trends were all about centralizing data and using all-in-one solutions, like SAP or Workday, now we see companies frantically searching for the best-in-class tools to manage a particular HR process.

As a consequence, more and more organizations use several vendors to cover different processes that they manage. This shift has fueled the growth of HR tech unicorns. In all of history, there were ten companies in the HR tech space that achieved a $1 billion valuation; and in only one year we have seen fifteen HR tech companies getting to that status. All of this money flowing into HR technology is actually an investment in strengthening the position of HR departments within companies. Investors and markets are betting that HR tech is a great new space for investment, and this sudden interest and wave of money that is poured into HR technology is strengthening the position of HR departments and CHROs within companies. For this reason, now is the best time ever to push for HR budgets to introduce and increase the needed support for the management area that was traditionally quite neglected. What does the fast growth of HR technology have to do with a datainformed employee experience? Given that during the COVID pandemic the interactions between employees and

But when the pandemic started, suddenly everyone was working from home. Looking again at the chart, organizations moved on the X-axis from zero to a hundred overnight. We can expect that, with proximity bias being off the table, many managers felt that they lost control of employees, and started thinking about the best ways to keep their cool and to get back in the driver’s seat. The number of HR tech companies with a $1 billion valuation

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face-to-face communication have decreased, this data is opening up new possibilities of exploring the employee experience and understanding the organization more tangibly. It allows for capturing valuable information about every HR area in the organization: • talent acquisition and candidate experience through applicant tracking systems, • payroll rewards and organizational changes through the HRIS, • the promotion and performance feedback through performance management tools, • learning experience through learning management softwares, • employee sentiment through employee engagement and service softwares. I believe that the reason why HR has traditionally been lacking this data orientation, as opposed to functions such as finance or marketing, is not because of the lack of talent or competencies in these teams, but rather due to the limited degree of HR process digitization and insufficient data. Currently, with an increasing number of available HR tools, even small companies have a chance to store good amounts of relevant employee data and use it to inform their decisions and people management strategies.

Recruitment & onboarding

potential employees is positive, and that the candidates will become ambassadors of your employer brand.

Let's start with the analysis of your organization’s recruitment and onboarding experience. With the intense growth and changing volumes that are happening in many companies around the globe, talent acquisition has been a hot topic.

Once you have an overview of the recruitment funnel set up and you're tracking the consistency of your process, you can link this information to your onboarding data. A good practice here is to send onboarding surveys right after the new employees start working.

Applicant Tracking Systems and other HR tools organizations use for tracking recruitment processes usually don't permit detailed analyses, but almost all of them allow to extract and analyze raw data using people analytics platforms. One technique that I find particularly useful in determining efficiency and consistency of a hiring process is looking at the stage conversion flows across times and stages. It allows us to check whether people move from one phase of the hiring process to another following some structured path or rather a random pattern. We can also explore how much time candidates spend in each stage and what are the differences among the candidates’ experiences in particular stages of the hiring process. The more consistency within the business unit, the higher likelihood that the experience of your

Then, through the review process within the first 90 days, you can collect employees’ and their managers’ feedback about their onboarding experience and the newcomer-company fit. Another measurement that you can track in these 90 days is the quality of hire. It’s one of the recruitment holy grail metrics. It links the hiring process with its actual results, something that oftentimes is missing in recruiters' minds. In addition to information about whether you have achieved your recruitment targets, this metric can also provide valuable feedback about the correlation between the quality of hire and the efficiency of recruitment sources or your referrals. It can also show whether there are certain recruiters or hiring managers who have better assessment capabilities.

Time in Stage Shoving

I will focus on the recruitment and onboarding experience, interdepartmental collaboration, environmental support, and retention analysis as these four areas have been particularly in focus for many organizations in the past two years.

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HM+1: Video Review HM: Interview Stage HM: Oﬀer HM: Review HM: Task Stage

HM: Task Stage 0 24 31 Time to reach stage

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That said, let’s explore some of the analyses you can conduct in your organization that can feed into your (post-)COVID strategy.

(Senior) Product Manager (EMEA) CAND: Video Requested 4,5

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Tracking HR processes metrics that matter

Role

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REC: NO (Senior) Technical Talent Acquisition Partner (EMEA) Account Associate (EMEA) Americans Tech Customer Support IC Time in Stage preview in Orgnostic

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Interdepartmental collaboration

connectors (i.e., the employees who have multiple and valuable connections with people in and outside the organization).

The rising popularity of tools for managing goals, performance feedback, and praise, like Lattice, Leapsome, or 15Five, has certainly contributed to the ease of exploring networks in organizations.

By monitoring the super-connectors' engagement over time and its impact on the super-connector's network, we can explore whether the super-connectors become more emotionally fatigued or cynical about their work, and detect a wider network of people that can get affected by their low engagement or burnout.

What’s more, just by tracking how people are praising or giving feedback to each other across teams, you can potentially detect the isolated groups. This is particularly interesting in the remote setting, where people barely have contact with their coworkers - without being proactive, they can experience real challenges when it comes to communication with colleagues and supervisors. You can also overlay interdepartmental collaboration data with information about engagement. For example, you can track the engagement levels of, so-called, super-

WITH AN INCREASING NUMBER OF AVAILABLE HR TOOLS, EVEN SMALL COMPANIES HAVE A CHANCE TO STORE GOOD AMOUNTS OF RELEVANT EMPLOYEE DATA AND USE IT TO INFORM THEIR DECISIONS AND PEOPLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.

The last source of information I suggest looking at is retention analysis. Analyzing retention using the turnover rate or data from exit interviews can be particularly informative as it allows us to analyze the employee experience from a different perspective.

Environmental support Burnout is one of the topics that has been particularly pressing in the past year. We can measure it using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). I encourage companies to analyze their own data and try to find out if any groups of employees are at higher risk of burnout. A higher probability of burnout may be related to, for example, tenure or professional role. For example, looking at their data in Orgnostic, one of our users discovered that their risk group included senior employees, long-tenured employees and team leaders. At the same time, we saw that the elements of environmental support, such as psychological safety or peer support, tended to decrease the likelihood of burnout among these profiles.

For example, we can collect data about what employees expect to gain or lose by moving to the next employer. Such information can reveal both the quantitative and the qualitative sides of why people are leaving the company. Another useful strategy is to break down turnover data by other variables. For example, you can look at turnover data through the prism of tenure. By running the reverse survival analysis on your employees and filtering through different employee attributes, you can get valuable insights about the likelihood of employee exits by different categories at different points of their career. In that way, you can narrow down your focus to the employee segments where the risk of resignation is higher, dig deeper into their reasons for leaving, and take effective actions to reduce voluntary turnover.

Share of given kudos

Givers (Total Department Size)

It is important to highlight that this approach focuses on the patterns of collaboration based on how people praise each other, and who is actually working on which projects with whom. The great advantage of looking into data in this way is that it's not intrusive such as, for example, looking into chat or email data.

Retention analysis

65.05%

2.23%

5.54%

26.73%

0.00%

0.45%

Marketing (20)

6.84%

66.84%

4.96%

20.85%

0.00%

0.51%

Operations (24)

13.82%

6.59%

51.43%

27.74%

0.00%

0.43%

Product & Eng (136)

6.08%

1.23%

3.39%

88.99%

0.00%

0.31%

Strategic Adv. (1)

0.00%

33.33%

0.00%

33.33%

Customer Exp. (36)

CEO (1)

0.00% Customer Exp.

0.00% Marketing

0.00%

Operations

Product & Eng

Strategic Adv.

CEO

Receivers Example of measuring interdepartmental collaboration

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To conclude These are just some examples of how you can use data to answer questions like: • “Why am I not able to hire the right talent?”, • “How do our employees collaborate in a remote setup?”, • “What employee groups are at the highest risk of burnout?”, and • “When and why are my employees most likely to leave?”. I hope that this article inspires you to explore these four groups of analytics and start 2022 by making your people management strategies more data-driven. Want to make it easy to track your remote employee experience? Check out the Orgnostic people analytics platform to start your people analytics journey.

Overview of Exit Reasons in Orgnostic What employee attributes incrase and decrase the likelihood of burnout risk?

Tenure - < 1 year Tenure - 5-10 year Department Seven S Age - 25 -29 Tenure - 1-2 year Role - Senior Fronte... Team - Games - Virtu... Team - Rola Devel... Role - Senior System... Role - Product Mana... Role - Software Archit... Role - Senior System... Department - Rolla Role - Senior Business Age - 30-39 Team - Mobile

Burnout Risk Analysis in Orgnostic 90 | HR World 07 | April 2022

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What psychological games does your team play? UROŠ MITIĆ, HR CONSULTANT, COACH, BALANCE CONSULTING

PSYCHOLOGICAL GAMES ARE SETS OF UNSPOKEN BUT TRANSFERRED MESSAGES IN COMMUNICATIONS THAT LEAD THE RELATIONS TO THE END PHASE, E.G. THE “PAY OFF” PHASE, AND THERE IS THE REASON WHY THE GAME IS EVEN PLAYED. This is a story about a case based on psychological games. It starts with an email that got us into the project.

and management wanted him to try the new role of the production leader with a team of twenty employees.

Knowing this, there were two measures to start with to approach the situation properly.

One day, we received an invite for a meeting from the HR team of one domestic company. There wasn't a lot of information other than they needed our support as soon as possible. These kinds of inquiries usually mean that the house is burning and that it is necessary to act quickly.

Four months later, he asked the management to move back to his previous position, otherwise he would resign. The reason to do so was, as he described, serious bullying by the members of the production team, both on professional and private level.

The first measure was a psychological assessment of the leader. It involved filling up personality tests on our online platform, such as:

The problem was that their production team had a new leader. He was young, ambitious, dedicated, and he was promoted internally after he applied by himself. He was in the company only for a year, but in that time, he showed great potential, he had adequate education

In situations like these, consultants need to react quickly. Nobody wants a consultant who comes after a situation passes to say what was wrong. On the other hand, it's important not to start solving problems too quickly, because if the situation isn’t approached properly, it could become even worse.

1. Personality Assessment HEXACO test 2. Motivational Factor Assessment, by Herzbergs’ Theory of Motivation 3. Team Roles, by Belbin 4. Competency Assessment based on SHL theory 5. Interview about conclusion 6. 360° assessment of his competencies. The second measure was to talk with his team members about the current situation.

DURING THE FIRST MEETINGS WITH THE TEAM, IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THEY ALSO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL GAMES AS “A SET OF UNCONSCIOUS BEHAVIOURS AND COMMUNICATIONS”, IN A SCENARIO IN WHICH THEY HAPPENED. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 91

WELLBEING

Why was it so important to start in this way? In the beginning, it was very important to understand the leader, his values, the way he reacts, and the leadership styles that he takes. Every leader has one very important role in the company that goes beyond task delegation and meeting the targets. The leader is also there to shape the attitudes, direct rebellion, connect team members and build a strong core to which the team can get back whenever they need. The inability of this leader to do so in this situation was holding him back from creating a strong bond with the team. With this assessment, we got a very clear image of what the leader wanted to achieve and what his missteps were. With the 360 degrees assessment, we found out the team attitude about the competency of the leader and their opinion about all important aspects related to him. It was essential to get all this anonymously: non-filtered and completely honest. A conversation with members and the leader about the current situation provided us with all sides of the story

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from the beginning, a lot of details, and different pieces of the puzzle that we put together. What helped us achieve better transparency and cooperation of all participants was showing them they are appreciated and important for this process. Every single one of them.

own the role and direct their emotions, he responded in an aggressive manner.

Until they figure out that they are important, they will not cooperate.

The fact that no one showed him what to do with rebellion and how to direct team dynamics was important. He was left to make guesses and decide on his own. Now, when we make guesses we usually do it in the wrong way. So this young leader looked at his past and found a leader whose leadership style he thought he should copy. Unfortunately, he used this behaviour as an “intervention” and it stifled every discussion about the perplexity of the team members. However, these “interventions” function similarly to covering forest fires with hay. At first, it looks like there is no more

ANALYSIS LEADER After hours of conversation and assessments, the analysis was the following: the leader is a young and ambitious guy in his early 20s. His psychological profiling says that he is a value driven-person, anxious, dominant, rough, direct, and aggressive on the behaviour level. The factor that made him show these types of behaviours towards his team was anxiety. He tried to recreate the image of a leader with whom he worked in the past, thinking that leaders need to be dominant and rough. TEAM This dominant-leader style was not accepted well by the team. They described feeling confused, cheated, angry, and disappointed. In situations where they turned to him for help and guidance, wanting him to

Unfortunately, nobody prepared the young and ambitious manager for that. He wasn't even ready to delegate or give feedback.

fire, but soon after, the fire is even bigger. In other words, his behaviour caused their rebellion. Through this rebellion, the team found a way to play a psychological game to manifest their needs. Psychological games are sets of unspoken but transferred messages in communications that lead the relations to the end phase, e.g. the “pay off” phase, and there is the reason why the game is even played. In other words - “We felt hurt and disappointed with your behavior. We couldn't get the understanding from you so we kept it a secret for too long. Now we had enough and you will see how we can function.” The previously playful team members were now having a rebellion directed against the leader, professionally and privately. They formed a Viber group where they sent funny photos referring to the leader, refused the tasks he delegated, etc. They did everything that kids do when they're rebellious. The leader couldn't stand this so he spoke with the HR team.

EVERY LEADER HAS ONE VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE COMPANY THAT GOES BEYOND TASK DELEGATION AND MEETING THE TARGETS. THE LEADER IS ALSO THERE TO SHAPE THE ATTITUDES, DIRECT REBELLION, CONNECT TEAM MEMBERS AND BUILD A STRONG CORE TO WHICH THE TEAM CAN GET BACK WHENEVER THEY NEED. Now that we discovered the entire story, it was time for our next move. THE ACTION PLAN had three phases. Phase 1 - Develop the leader The first phase was to develop the leader. Through individual training and coaching sessions, he built his own identity, so he didn't need to imitate authoritative persons he met in the past. This phase was channeled to understanding the concept of psychological games, and his options to manage them. The first subjects of the individual sessions were: • Leader identity • Personal strength and zones for developing the leader role • Understanding of the team dynamic • Understanding of the concept of psychological games. These subjects are considered the most important for working with a team. To confirm team dynamics and understand what is happening in the team and

what they want from him, the leader needs to understand and go through all the sessions. Phase 2 - Meeting with the team members He continued with the individual work during phase two. After understanding team dynamics, the focus was to make stronger leader competencies through ndividual soft skill training, like feedback, delegation, conflict management, assertive communication, motivational team, etc. He was ready to meet with the team members because he needed to apply everything that he adopted in the first phase. The team gathered twice a month to understand the psychological games they were playing and learn how to articulate their needs organically. Phase 3 - Leader guides the meetings The third phase was the one where the leader guided the meetings. This phase is the most important for development because the leader then has a chance to adopt and use everything that he learned so that he can build a strong team core shaped to fit every team member, to which they can always go back. A “LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO” PSYCHOLOGICAL GAME During the team meetings, the team members tried to separate themselves from their past behaviours. They thought they were challenged to react like that so they decided to take revenge. In the first phase of this psychological game, the team was silent and they suffered.

Something bothered them but considering the pressure, they didn't communicate that. Unfortunately, the glass was getting fuller and fuller with suffering and it was just a matter of time when it will overflow. In the meantime, the leader believed that everything was okay. Soon after, the catastrophic situation with the team escalated. Everything the team did after that was trying to find a way to get their revenge. Each of their little acts of revenge carried the message “Look what you made me do”, or, in other words, “You are responsible for our behaviour.” He saw multiple small childish acts of revenge that went further and further until they became unbearable. In the end, that motivated him to talk to the HR team.

victims of the situation. After four meetings, they accepted that the game they were playing was a “Look what you made me do”, and they were ready to change. The next two meetings were aimed at finding a way for all of them to respect each other’s need for understanding. Also, to make sure that this plan suits everyone included in the process: a company, leader, and team as well. This phase is always the most beautiful because there are almost no demands. Creative potentials are waking up and there are a lot of ideas and suggestions on how to solve problems.

During the first meetings with the team, it was very important that they also understand the concept of psychological games as “a set of unconscious behaviours and communications”, in a scenario in which they happened. We started with the theory of these games which eventually led to their full understanding of why they behaved as they did on a team level. When they realized that, in fact, everyone has the psychological games they play, the team accepted the truth that said “We ARE playing psycholoical games”.

By giving the leader a wind in his back, he adopted the skills to ask questions, actively listen, recognize the needs… These skills helped him to make relationships based on respect with the team, so he can help them to articulate their needs. The team spoke about situations and the leader led them towards the common solution. They agreed to have some rules of internal communication, ways to complain, and ways to give positive or negative feedback. They agreed on how not to fill the “suffering glass” again.

The hardest was to make sure that it was also accepted by those who were quiet the entire process. Their rebellion was even harder because they refused every possibility to take responsibility. They explained the situation like the game in which the leader or the company moves the strings. They saw themselves as the

Six months later we did the reassessment of the team dynamics. It showed us exactly what we expected: they know how to function in a conflict, they are able to articulate their needs, they actually listen to each other. Finally, they have trust in each other. They now have all the characteristics of a great team. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 93

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WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW BRAND, ITS CULTURE AND VALUES? HOW WAS THE BRAND CHANGE COMMUNICATED TO THE EMPLOYEES? HOW HAVE THEY ACCEPTED IT?

Chief Human Resources Officer, Yettel

C-level spotlight interview

Nevena STEFANOVIĆ

INTERVIEW

Yettel is a modern brand, created to help customers find balance in their lives easily, particularly when it comes to technology and the way it fits into our lives. We want the same thing for our employees as for our customers – to find balance, and we are here to help them with that. We are lucky to have built the new culture on solid foundations. We are all proud of what we have built with Telenor; it is a brand that we have been building carefully for 16 years. Now we are going a step further, keeping all the good things and making changes to become even better. We are fully aware that changes don’t happen overnight.

It takes time. We will use this year to understand what must be done to make our culture part of our work. In the second half of the year, we will define together what balance is, we will ask questions and listen to our employees, as we always do, so that together we can make the change happen. We will hold several workshops on the new culture for all employees. There is also a project we are currently developing – ideatons. These are events for employees through which they will be able to design and propose the best initiatives and ways for our organisation to stay consistent with its purpose and values – to be fast, responsible, simple, and helpful. For each of these values, we have a clearly defined meaning and a direction in which we want to develop them. We already know what is important to our employees: private health insurance, flexible working hours, 25 days of vacation, and many other issues. We will keep that and move forward. What remains a part of the new culture is that our employees are always the first to know about the innovations we are preparing for our customers and the market. And this is particularly important when we talk about the new brand and introduce the new culture. We have opened a forum for all their questions and we provide answers regularly, both online and faceto-face. We have noticed that employees are looking forward to the change.

WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE CULTURE DURING THE TRANSITION FROM TELENOR TO YETTEL?

In short – we have kept what was good, and we are working on what needs improvement. Telenor was loved by customers and employees, and we are proud of that. Now is the time for a change. Yettel culture builds on Telenor culture. The culture is similar but different. It is still us because people make a brand, people make a culture. The biggest change Yettel brings is a focus on balance, on wanting to do the best thing for employees so that they can find their balance. Work is just one part of our lives. We want to start each day with a smile and end it with an even bigger one. We believe that this is possible if we have balance in life, and we are aware that it can mean something different for each of us.

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3 INTERVIEW

HOW HAVE THE EMPLOYEES ACCEPTED THE CHANGE IN CULTURE AND VALUES; WHICH ASPECT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT TO ACCEPT AND WHICH WAS THE EASIEST? WAS THERE ANY ASPECT WHERE THEY WERE ASKED TO TAKE A PART IN CREATING THE NEW CULTURE WITH THEIR OPINION OR SUGGESTIONS?

Yes, employees play an active role and will always be part of creating the new culture. When we talk about accepting change, the transition is a psychological response. It involves a process of acceptance and a process of leaving the past behind. Often it can be time-consuming. What is important to us at the moment is to include as many employees as possible in the process of creating the brand, and the promise for all of them is: you can be yourself and make an impact. That means appreciating one another for who we are, for the diversity we bring, the way we work, and what we can accomplish together.

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I have the impression that the change itself - new colours, new energy, and a sense of belonging because we built the brand for the region - all of this is bringing excitement and joy. When employees first heard about the new name, they wondered what it meant. Once we explained that the name has no meaning and that we will give it meaning through our approach to customers, society, and employees, they were motivated.

HOW CAN WE HELP OUR EMPLOYEES CHANGE THEIR MINDSET WHEN SWITCHING FROM ONE BRAND TO ANOTHER?

It’s not so much about changing the mindset, it’s about everyone going through emotional phases whenever there is a change. When we talk to people, we always say that every feeling is OK, every reaction. People go through changes in different ways, at a different pace, and have different needs. Everything they feel is completely fine and we understand that. We will continue to listen because we do not work for the brand, we ARE the brand.

56 CAN THE SUCCESS OF THE TRANSITION, THE CHANGE OF CULTURE, BE MEASURED?

It depends on what you mean by that. Basically, I think it can. We have created a new brand, purpose, and values based on the needs of our customers and the impact that technology has on them and their lives. Therefore, our brand is the key to achieving our strategy. And we certainly measure that. If we think about how our employees feel about the change, we can measure it in several ways. We use a social network platform and monitor employee engagement, where we get an insight into how employees feel, how they are going through the change, how they see the new brand and many other things. Our leaders are always available for any questions, helping people during the process through a direct and informal relationship. We don’t measure the atmosphere at meetings, when people meet in hallways, at lunch or coffee breaks, or with their friends after hours. You can feel the excitement. When something is good, you can simply see it and you can feel it, and when it is not, you can also see that. What we are seeing is pride, energy and joy because of the change.

WHAT ARE THE FURTHER PLANS FOR THE NEW BRAND IN TERMS OF CULTURE, VALUES, AND EMPLOYEES?

In addition to everything I have said about the plans, there is an ongoing brand ambassador project. Our employees have selected their colleagues from all divisions who present our brand in the best way. They will attend preparatory workshops with us from the HR Department, and then deliver workshops to employees and exchange ideas with them. They will be the key people for bringing the new brand to life. And they will also be our new faces in internal and external branding campaigns. We will continue to work with our leaders, so they can further develop their potential, with special attention to ways of guiding people through strategic changes. All of this will be accompanied by innovative projects that will support the entire process of adopting a new organisational culture. We are aware that we are at the beginning of a long, exciting journey, and we are very much looking forward to it.

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HR WEEK TALENT

HR WEEK 2021 PARTNERS

HOW DOES MTU ACHIEVE A HIGH RETENTION RATE?

HANS-PETER KLEITSCH Senior VP at MTU GERMANY

98 | HR World 07 | April 2022

TALENT

The manufacturing industry has faced significant challenges in terms of employee turnover, particularly in recent years. In fact, the manufacturing industry’s turnover rate increased from 25.6% in 2015 to 31.3% in 2019. Moreover, despite the global health crisis that resulted in layoffs and high unemployment rates, turnover has recently remained stable.

Retention rate - that painful topic Aero Engines has been awarded this thus support through their daily activities. wrapped in a cloud, flowing through HR title yearly since 2006. With more than MTU’s leadership values are built upon departments. Although there’s no “one size 10,000 employees across the globe, MTU the relationship with their people and fits all” solution for improving retention, devotes extensive resources towards their mission - we transform, we empower, we, as HR professionals, employee development, with we create trust. continuously strive to more than 3 million euros Although there’s find adequate examples spent annually. Recent reports Not only are these their leadership values, no “one size fits of good practices and have shown that the company but they truly base their internal processes all” solution organizations whose has a 96% retention rate, on open conversations, allowing their retention strategies are where the remaining 4% employees to have a strong voice and for improving truly successful. mostly refers to retirees. But be comfortable to ask an abundance of retention, we, as how can such a high rate be questions. MTU has also established a The manufacturing achieved? clear and effective succession plan, and HR professionals, industry has faced this allows them to, in contrast to their continuously strive MTU’s SVP Hans-Peter significant challenges competitors, fill their vacant leadership to find adequate in terms of employee Kleitsch has shared his positions with their own people - rather turnover, particularly opinion on how companies than recruiting a high percentage of them examples of good in recent years. In fact, should approach retention externally. By having such a strategy in practices and the manufacturing in order to attain desired succession planning, MTU has been able industry’s turnover rate rates and the first step is to to develop true loyalty, thus fortifying their organizations whose increased from 25.6% develop employee-employer values whilst putting forward effective and retention strategies relationships in 2015 to 31.3% stimulating development are truly successful. which are in 2019. Moreover, opportunities for their Recent reports despite the global health built on employees. have shown that crisis that resulted in layoffs and high trust. On the other the company has a unemployment rates, turnover has recently hand, establishing and So - the recipe for the remained stable. Manufacturing companies nurturing a strong 96% retention rate, success is clear - set the must understand why employees leave leadership culture right example, have clear where the remaining objectives and pertinent manufacturing jobs and what they can do because without it, you to keep a strong workforce if they want to can’t really have a high 4% mostly refers to values, nurture your attract and retain talent effectively. performing organization. employees and be open retirees. Similarly, it’s essential to with them, and remember Obtaining the title of Top Employer in set clear and concise leadership values, that people are - and will always be - the Germany is not an easy task, yet MTU with which employees can identify and greatest capital an organization may have.

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HR WEEK

Whilst the topic of talent management was always the focus of conversation within companies, the narrative regarding this invaluable aspect of business has changed in the recent period.

TALENT DISCOVERIES

VIOLETA MRDAKOVIC LUCIC

Country Manager at Assessment Systems Adria

GABOR FUZER

Country Manager at Assessment Systems Hungary

We’ve been able to comprehend a shift towards personalised talent programmes and companies have started speaking about flexibility a lot more than in prior years, and new topics of conversation have emerged, thus becoming a priority for various companies - liberation, identification and engagement of talents. 2021 has certainly brought a lot of changes to processes even though talent development may look as an evergreen topic. Multiple research and surveys have strengthened the belief that the future will induce much more complex changes to talent attraction and key-employee retention. Reasons behind this transition may be perceived as trivial - but the extent of this challenge is significant nonetheless.

passive job-seekers, whilst more than 50% of people would, without a doubt, change their profession if they could. Hence, although we’re pumping money and time into talent management, based on the results of it, it looks as if we are in a war against our own talents. These numbers depict the loudest, most extreme wake up call for businesses to change their strategies and double their efforts, if there’s any desire to change the results. We have been hearing a lot about the fact that every employee has a talent of some sort, but we’re neglecting the fact that a small percentage of them belong to the talent pool. Research has shown that almost 80% of the results are produced by only 20% of the employees - thus pertaining to the importance of identifying talent.

We’ve witnessed some of the greatest changes in the supply and demand of In the attempt to change these numbers, labour within the global market, e.g. with AS deploys 5A method for successful Talent white collar employees such as engineers, Management Programmes: Architect lawyers and programmers joining the - companies must start by defining food delivery industry as they’re able to talent, and focusing their attention and be compensated much resources on the joint work more whilst having far less of all stakeholders - all parties Research has responsibility. And while have influence on the shown that almost which problems within this sector process of talent management; 80% of the results Assess - strategy and talent keep piling up, companies have still not grasped that management must be aligned are produced by it is not enough to be at least on the level of skills only 20% of the aware of the challenge. and competencies, for both to Now what’s left is for succeed; Activate - targeted employees - thus organisations to develop talent development without “one pertaining to the a strong set of strategic size fits all” approach; Accelerate importance of steps for minimising the - Multidimensional approach to consequences of their identifying talent. talent excellence, and Assure previous inactivity in bring value to talents and talent solving the aforementioned challenges. to value. The future will only be as bright A recent study has shown that as you’re willing to change and adapt your approximately 60% of employees act as talent management processes!

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HR WEEK

The war for talents has been the focus of our attention for the last couple of years. Each war requires endless resources, strategic thinking, and powerful warriors - so how does this translate to talent wars, and what are the effects on businesses around the globe? HR departments experienced serious Monthly Sprints, Clear Commitments, challenges to their setup, activities and Retrospectives, which have significantly goals, and employer branding became alleviated the process, whilst maximizing one of the most significant aspects of the potential results. Each step was correlated HR function, especially during the first with others, thus, for instance, Monthly few months into the health crisis we’re Sprints required the team to make monthcurrently living in. We were obliged to long plans and goals, which would therefore rethink and radically modify processes and be strengthening their commitment to the each step that contributes to the goals, whilst Daily Standups would overall employee experience, in allow them to conduct retrospective Research order to survive and come out of and analyze their prior has shown meetings this puzzling situation with the operations and results. Aside from that same, or slightly altered teams. this, the employee experience lifecycle Such a change in the narrative was chunked down 12 Monthly almost prompted Netconomy to further Sprints, which were then divided into 80% of the numerous small pieces - thus tasks, tackle the 8 phases of employee experience, thus focusing on each results are which was one of the most beneficial phase with a far more in-depth they’ve made to the old way produced changes approach than before. By taking of resolving tasks and assignments. by only into consideration each phase, The primary benefit this change Netconomy’s HR department 20% of the has brought to the organisation was avoided the possibility of being the fact that smaller pieces allowed employees the team to estimate them better, overwhelmed, whilst developing an analytical, yet personal approach to comprehend which resources are - thus dealing with the change. and alleviate the possibility of pertaining needed, being overwhelmed by a project whilst to the The first step was to actually achieving success quicker. consider and select a certain importance methodology that could benefit Apart from the success this system of processes and the company as brought to the organisation in terms of a whole. In consultation with identifying numbers and checked boxes, 3 main the rest of the departments, the learning points had been accentuated talent. HR team decided to make use which might have been the key benefits of Scrum increments - an agile of this project. Specifically, team project management framework, as they’d members had learnt the importance of setting been utilized prior to the health crisis, and clear objectives, whilst nurturing proactive and have been deemed as effective and efficient flexible communication, and estimating the for similar processes. The HR team had effort required and adaptations needed to fulfil thereupon established a 4-step, intuitive these objectives. plan for employee experience lifecycle maintenance, which had also strengthened So, don’t forget that aside from their interpersonal skills and teamwork, methodologies, resources and strategic whilst achieving substantial company-wide thinking, you always have to focus on your improvements. warriors, and how you can make them and The 4 steps included: Daily Standups, their work environment better.

THE WAR FOR TALENTS IS ON -

Employee Experience Matters!

CHRISTINA WOLF

Head of Recruiting & People Development at Netconomy

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RECOGNITION AS A TOOL: SCHNEIDER WAY

MAJA STANCETIC HR Business Partner at Schneider Electric SERBIA

As HR professionals, we always strive towards increasing motivation and engagement among our employees. We develop extensive and intricate plans, constantly learn about new methods and tools, ask for advice and take notes from others’ good practices. Yet, we often forget the first and most important step in this process - recognition.

Although often neglected, recognition is one of the most powerful tools an HR can have, thus when utilised, it can have a substantial impact on business performance and productivity. Abraham Maslow recognised a five-tier hierarchy of human needs within his motivational theory. The logic behind this hierarchy is based on the belief that in order to progress to higher levels and arrive at self-actualization as our end goal, we must satisfy our basic needs. In the business world, basic safety needs include contractual agreements, compensation and benefits - hence the overall feeling of safety and security. Social needs and self-esteem levels, however, revolve around the sense of belonging and being appreciated.

culture of recognition and appreciation can have a revolutionising effect on motivation, engagement and productivity. Having this in mind, Schneider Electric developed a special programme for their employees, whose goal is to promote their core values, positive behaviour among people, as well as to provide recognition and appreciation in a far more proactive and interesting way. This game-changing tool named Step Up allowed employees to recognise and award other peers in a timely and sincere manner. In order to award a colleague or a group, the platform would ask the employee to select a core value and a points value - based on their contribution. What is more, the program allowed peers to continuously promote and award beneficial behaviour such as embracing diversity, prioritising external customers over internal matters, acting boldly and challenging the status quo, demonstrating strong integrity and sense of accountability, and far more.

Dale Carnegie once said that people work for money but will go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards, which directly emphasises the importance of recognition as an HR tool in improving engagement, decreasing stress levels, and reducing turnover rates. What is good for a Five years after Step Up’s initial launch, person’s growth is good for business growth, metrics have shown immense success and and studies have shown integration among employees, with more that the intention to leave the than 2 million people having Recognition company is two times higher been recognised, and above 1.2 among employees who don’t takes just a few million recognitions having receive recognition and praise, demonstrated the company’s minutes of your than that of those who do. core values during this period. time - don’t forget And while receiving recognition has immense benefits on Recognition takes just a few to keep caring employees, so does providing minutes of your time - don’t and trusting one forget to keep caring and recognition, with evidence showing that peer-to-peer trusting one another. another.

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TRANSFORMATION

HR TOTAL TRANSFORMATION

The unprecedented health crisis which is still relatively active, induced substantial disruptions to the global market and thus each organisation - no matter its size or structure. Pharmaceutical corporations experienced a significant business transformation, especially due to the fact that their business model was reshaped without prior notice.

TATJANA JOVANOVIC

Senior Human Resources Director at Hemofarm A.D, STADA Group SERBIA

NENAD ANDJELKOVIC Novo Nordisk

MILICA JOVIC

Philip Morris International

Whilst the most significant changes to the industry were visible in Western Europe and Asia, the access to healthcare services all around the world gained a totally different narrative. With virtual healthcare consultants becoming increasingly popular, and CHC and other over-thecounter healthcare products becoming available in various points of sales, ultimately empowering end consumers - thus patients, to develop a higher sense of responsibility for their health care, by allowing them to have a voice and hence nurturing this new form of independence. By utilising countless benefits that digitalization has to offer pharmaceutical companies now have a chance to put their end-consumers at the centre, hence providing them with a unique and personalised digital experience, whilst

By utilising countless benefits that digitalization has to offer pharmaceutical companies now have a chance to put their endconsumers at the centre, hence providing them with a unique and personalised digital experience whilst improving their services and products to better answer their needs.

improving their services and products to better answer their needs. The transformed relationship between pharmaceutical corporations and their consumers, stimulated the organisations to rethink their business models and processes. Hemofarm’s Tatjana Jovanović defined three interrelated pillars of change which she has observed during the past 2 years in her organisation. The first pillar revolves around technology, specifically simplifying technology which can transform fundamental problems that require extensive resources and competencies - into something simple, and predictable.

EVA ZEHETNER A1 Telekom Austria Group

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TRANSFORMATION

Whilst riding on the wave of digitalisation was a necessity, rather than the free choice of companies, organisations were still obliged to adapt to new working conditions and correlate novel technologies to organisation’s values, in order for their employees to stay effective and efficient.

The second pillar refers to business model innovation, especially when considering the implementation of technological enablers, since each and every new integration or change within the organisation has to be embedded into the business model, in a sense that it has to promote profitability for the organisation, whilst being affordable and conveniently accessible for employees, customers, and end-users.

The third and final pillar alludes to the synergy among the organisation’s values and innovativeness, primarily with the utilisation of novel technologies and how these changes may influence the stakeholders. Whilst riding on the wave of digitalisation was a necessity, rather than the free choice of companies, organisations were still obliged to adapt to new working conditions and correlate novel technologies to organisation’s values, in order for their employees to stay effective and efficient. But what are the implications of these changes on human resource management?

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This million dollar question doesn’t have a “one size fits all” answer - however, what we’re able to grasp from our invaluable experience is that modern human resource management So, requires more the role flexibility and agility - not only of HR proin policies and fessionals procedures but also skills and will, from competencies. now on, Aside from that, be much HR professionals are expected more to promote focused on flexibility although supporting this concept employees has multiple and dimensions, the emphasis is enabling put on helping them to employees to adapt to flexible acquire environments, a set of cope with modern ambiguity, and learn to be skills thus as resilient as ultimately possible. So, the role of HR allowing professionals the orwill, from now ganisation on, be much more focused to stay on supporting competiemployees and enabling them tive and to acquire a set relevant of modern skills in an thus ultimately allowing the everorganisation to -changing stay competitive and relevant in business an ever-changing environbusiness ment. environment.

TRANSFORMATION

In the beginning, organisational culture change sounds very nice. But the hard part of the story comes when people are invited to change their behaviours, habits, beliefs, especially if we are talking about people on the highest level in the company, because why should they change anything, right? The question “What is older - chicken or egg?” is a good question, but the answer is not simple. Let’s try to do something that might be unusual but could serve as a good explanation. Let’s put organisational transformation in an equation: Organisational transformation = vision x structure x courage x emotional intelligence.

VISION

A person who is driving the change, a CEO, a shareholder or someone else who is in charge of it, must have an intrinsic vision. In If you don’t have the very beginning, the vision an intrinsic vision, doesn’t have to be verbalized or visualized. But intrinsically, it a structure for must be strongly present.

transformation, courage, and enough people with strong emotional intelligence within your organisation to implement transformation, I’m afraid that the result of this reorganisational transformation will be quite poor.

Between all four elements, we have an “x”, a multiplication sign. I heard this phrase once from one of my dear colleagues and mentors: “If any of these four is zero (if it’s missing in the process of organisational transformation), then sorry, guys, I’m afraid that result will be zero”. If you don’t have an intrinsic vision, a structure for transformation, courage, and enough people with strong emotional intelligence within your organisation to implement transformation, I’m afraid that the result of this reorganisational transformation will be quite poor. Let’s talk about each of the elements mentioned above.

Here is an example: once, when one of my employers, NELT, decided to reorganise the company into NELT Group and turn it into headquarters for many local companies, it started with a strong vision. In the beginning, we had the “We can do more, we should do more with strong synergy” mindset. For me, as a young professional, it was a little frustrating, because it was not clear enough. But today, I understand that to have a clear vision, you need to take some time to think, and that is not so simple. Fortunately, with time, we came up with a clear vision - to achieve half a billion euros turnover in at least one new market. That was good because it was clear enough for all of us who were involved. The key is to understand that, if you need the support, if you are driving a process of organisational transformation, from time to time it’s wise to get some external support, to have a partner who will help you verbalize or visualise it. Why? Because during the transformation it is useful to have fresh eyes and someone who will help you verbalise the vision for further communication during the whole process.

STRUCTURE The roadmap of the transformation requires a structure, a clear plan and risk analysis. It is also good to have a financial analysis showing the expected mid and long-term results of the reorganisation and transformation because many transformations increased costs in the first year and then kicked in with real effect in the following years. Talking about structure, the reorganisation and transformation communication plan is highly important. The leader driving the transformation must communicate all important information to the people because during any transformation people feel insecure and there are a lot of unknown things for them. The questions that most often arise regarding the transformation are: Does it mean cost-saving? Or what? And the answer is - it could be both. It could be cost-saving if this is the business goal. On the other hand, the aim of some transformations might be to grow the business. It is then normal to invest in people and tools to achieve it.

COURAGE There are two reasons why courage is important during transformation. The first is that, during the transformation of any organisation, a person who is driving the change must have the courage to do new, different things, to often make hard decisions. There is no organisational transformation without some changes in personal solutions. And this is the part where a leader of the transformation must have the courage to manage.

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The second reason is that one needs to have the courage to make important decisions despite not having a full scope of data or information to support the decision. There is no transformation without some risks, and it should be calculated whenever it is possible, but also taken if there is no full picture about the decision during the transformation process.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Seems like a buzzword, but it is not. It is very important for transformation in any organisation. How did I realize it? Based on my experience. When I had the challenge to transform the HR function in my first company, I had a large team. In this process, it was hard to give my full attention to the entire team. This resulted in the division of the people who had more of my attention and those whom I had shown less of. Because of this, my team lost two great people. The key is to learn that if you want to change things, you cannot do it by yourself. You can only do it with your team, and it should be tightly connected. Let’s go back to the equation again: Organisational transformation = vision x structure x courage x emotional intelligence A new question arises. Of all these four elements, which one can be delegated to someone else? Let’s be fair - only structure. Everything else must be within the personality of the leader who is driving the change.

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ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE CHANGE In the beginning, organisational culture change sounds very nice: the process of defining values, talking about new expected behaviours, etc. It’s the honeymoon period of this process. But the hard part of the story comes when people are invited to change their behaviours, habits, beliefs, especially if we are talking about people on the highest level in the company, because why should they change anything, right?

process. This caused some strategic decisions for organisational transformation. In my current company, we had a clear plan from the early beginning that it will be an organisational transformation with many aspects, including organisational culture, cultural change... So, it could be both - organisational culture could come first, could come after this, or, there is a third option - it could come simultaneously. Culture change is, actually, a part of the transformation. This is the simplest answer to the question.

This is not a fancy, fluffy HR process. It’s a serious management process, which should be led by, again, the CEO, the top management and the whole management involving all employees, and be supported by a credible HR function within the company – that is the receipt for success. If we put organisational culture in an equation, it goes like this: Organisational culture = a strong CEO attitude x strong management attitude and commitment to values x credible HR x structure. But again, the structure is something that can be delegated to someone else and hopefully, there are competent people on the market to support this. All the other elements must be within the company, within the management of the company and within the HR function, which supports this change. Here we come to the main question: What is older - chicken or egg i.e. transformation or organisational culture change?

More often than not, we come across the question of organisational transformation in rigid organisations. Is it possible? To answer this, we need to think about what it means to be a “rigid organisation”? If we are talking about an organisation with strong rigid systems, then it is possible. If we are talking about an organisation where the top level has a rigid in transpoint of view, then it is also formation and possible, but it’s an uphill culture, we can battle and it is good to assess whether you should go in as delegate only an HR professional or not. structure. All I always opt for giving it a other elements chance, because one cannot know what is possible or not must be present without trying to make the change. within the

personality of the person who is driving the change and within the management of the company.

In one of the companies I worked in, we started an organisational culture change

Let’s mention again that, in transformation and culture, we can delegate only structure. All other elements must be present within the personality of the person who is driving the change and within the management of the company.

What is actually the oldest is leadership, which is driving the change, persuading people with facts, and inspiring them with pure emotions in parallel.

BUSINESS

FUTURE OF WORK AT COCA-COLA HBC – DYNAMIC PODS

NATASA PRODANOVIC

Head of Agility Center of Excellence at Coca-Cola HBC

Dynamic pods are those are small, custom teams, ranging from three to nine members, dedicated to business critical missions. They have end-to-end ownership and their work is responsive, always busy and measured for business performance. They’re accountable for performance. It’s about flexible staffing and smartly leveraging the capabilities we have.

The most volatile year in modern history was 2020. As we move forward, the rate of disruption will potentially accelerate further. The worker-employee relationship is being disrupted. Employees are reconsidering everything, from whom they want to work for, with 40% of the global workforce considering leaving their employer in the next 12 months, to the role that they expect employers to play when it comes to their purpose and values. We can expect flexibility to continue shifting from “When are you working?” to “Where are you working from?” It’s becoming more about the location rather than time. In a very recent global survey, only 3% of the employees who worked fully remotely during the COVID pandemic are planning to return to the office full-time. Navigating through rapidly changing requirements is a challenge that everyone is facing. It’s a natural reaction to a stressful situation by reverting to what we’re used to. But thriving in a pandemic requires a different mindset - an agile mindset that is about flexibility, adaptability, and openness. It’s about prioritising people over processes.

Navigating through rapidly changing requirements is a challenge that everyone is facing. It’s a natural reaction to a stressful situation by reverting to what we’re used to. But thriving in a pandemic requires a different mindset - an agile mindset that is about flexibility, adaptability, and openness. It’s about prioritising people over processes.

Why is Agile eating the world? Jeff Sutherland, who created Scrum, defines agility as “doing twice the work in half the time”. Agile takes us from a traditional approach to a new way of doing business. It breaks large, complex issues into smaller modules in an incremental and adaptive manner. It takes us from perfect plans and avoidance of failure to rapid adaptation and failure recovery when circumstances have changed. It takes us from multitasking everything to a dedicated focus on the most valuable work that brings the biggest value, from layers of hierarchical approval to customer collaboration and approval, and from controlling power as the dominant leadership style to trust in coaching as a dominant and a primary leadership style. In a traditional approach, we go step by step, and only at the end we have a final product that we could test with end-users. In

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BUSINESS

Agile, we go with an immediate prototype, perfection” mindset and not trying to we start testing, we start iterating and predict all the time and to overanalyze improving and throughout the process we everything. It’s not about just training capture the feedback. We minimise the people, it’s about continuous coaching risk of failure so that, in the end, we’re on what new behaviours are required. constantly seeing the value of it. It also helps us not to build Based on all those learnings, We learned very sophisticated products and looking to our ambition to that dedication evolve as an agile organisation, when all our end-users need is something simple. we developed an interesting makes a huge concept - the dynamic pods. difference. It Hellenic started this journey This is our Agile 2.0, which is is about the almost three years ago. For us, scaling Agile through missionAgile is not just a global trend. based, self-led cross-functional “progress vs It’s one of the HOWs for our teams through dynamic pods, in perfection” growth. order to work, to further scale mindset and not agility and improve the actual This is when we set up Agile quality, and delivery of trying to predict speed, 1.0. Our approach in the last critical missions. We identified all the time and several critical business enablers two and a half years was quite simple. We started with pull to overanalyze on top of Agile ways of versus push. We invited our working, which are dedication, everything. countries across the Hellenic end-to-end responsibility, and to decide if they want to pilot identifying what teams are, It’s not about or not and if they wanted to after continuous coaching and just training define their own pace. Our having the right capabilities people, it’s about within the pod. approach was centralised. The common methodology, continuous leveraging synergies between What is a dynamic pod? coaching on what the countries and our approach, starts small - we new behaviours Those are small, custom teams, learn from mistakes and ranging from three to nine are required. successes, and we start scaling. members, dedicated to business critical missions. They have end-to-end The biggest enemy to new ways of ownership and their work is responsive, working is not a classical traditional always busy and measured for business approach, but the bad Agile. performance. They’re accountable for performance. It’s about flexible staffing and We run a lot of surveys with participants who smartly leveraging the capabilities we have. are equally involved in Agile initiatives. From those surveys, we see the great appetite and The roles within the dynamic pods are enthusiasm displayed by people. They see the different - there is no Line Manager of the speed and quality of delivery driven by Agile team. The leadership is spread across roles, teams being much higher, team morale and the Product Owners ruthlessly prioritising productivity significantly higher, and that initiatives and deliverables, the Scrum Master learning through the retrospectives is rapidly owning team and ways of working, bringing increasing. magic to the team tasks - that feeling to perform and be the best of themselves, while We learned that dedication makes a huge the team fully owns their own HOW. There difference. It is about the “progress vs are also very important roles of sponsors and

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different stakeholders, where a sponsor is there to remove any obstacles, provide direction, and also support career placement for talents when they finish pods. Not everyone is an ideal fit for a pod. A good fit would be people high in agility and high in curiosity, who have the depth of expertise relevant to the mission. They’re also motivated by learning and experiences vs career advancement, and they’re truly highly collaborative. What we’re looking for is about culture change. Culture change is needed to turn pods into reality, starting from a leadership mindset. What we’re trying to promote is the “If we’re failing - fail fast and learn” mindset. We try to go to the team to ask for forgiveness, not for permission. We try to coach leaders to trust and coach their teams and to celebrate diverse thinking. At the same time, we’re trying to coach teams to let go of over-analyzing, of trying to predict everything, relying on hierarchy. Also, to let go of the “this is not my job” mindset. The results we ex-pect in the end are a much better ability to manage change in priorities, faster time to market, reduced project risks, and increased team productivity and morale.

The roles within the dynamic pods are different there is no Line Manager of the team. The leadership is spread across roles, the Product Owners ruthlessly prioritising initiatives and deliverables, the Scrum Master owning team and ways of working, bringing magic to the team tasks - that feeling to perform and be the best of themselves, while the team fully owns their own HOW.

HR WEEK

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HR WEEK

Employer branding and culture are essentially different sides of the same coin. Happy employees are the key component that differentiates us from competitors, and their happiness solely depends on our dedication to building and nurturing a positive and supportive culture.

WHERE THE CHANGE STARTS

ADRIANA KOVCIN

HR Business Partner at Bosch SERBIA

All happy companies are alike, but each unhappy company is unhappy in its own way. This controversial statement is exactly why we must focus extensively on culture and employer branding processes. Employer branding and culture are essentially different sides of the same coin. They are inextricably linked and are essential ingredients in creating a happy group of people. Happy employees are the key component that differentiates us from competitors, and their happiness solely depends on our All happy dedication to building companies and nurturing a positive and supportive culture.

are alike, but each unhappy company is unhappy in its own way. This controversial statement is exactly why we must focus extensively on culture and employer branding processes.

It’s a well-known fact that employer branding is basically how others perceive our organisation, whilst corporate culture acts as our perception of the organisation. These aspects and related processes are usually segregated among departments, therefore minimising people’s impact and dissemination potential.

This perception has to be changed in the future because now more than ever - culture depicts a property of a group that has enough common experience from which the culture can begin to form. Whatever your posters say about the organisation’s values - if they are not lived and embodied by people - you can

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immediately take them down. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t hang up something just as a means of influencing people, but rather you should focus on disseminating culture throughout the hierarchy since your key change agents are sitting at the strategic desk. For instance, Bosch, a German multinational engineering and technology company, had somewhat of a different experience when considering change and cultural adaptation. In that sense, Bosch carried out in-depth internal research and a series of workshops which ultimately provided the company with knowledge and relevant insight into what can be done better in terms of culture and its adaptation to growth and other significant changes. The results of the aforementioned workshops allowed them to develop a set of activities and projects which would help them in communicating values, beliefs and end-goals, thus further strengthening their culture. Out of four newly introduced projects - the one that stood out the most was “Coffee talks”, sessions initiated by a plant manager who had just been assigned to the role. This was crucial for further development of the company’s culture due to the fact that such an initiative promoted open communication, trust-building activities and competence development - whilst practically implementing the company’s values. Bosch had also introduced a number of distinctive processes and projects, hence focusing on skills enforcement and enhancing succession planning within the company. Such extensive devotion to strengthening the company’s culture and their effectiveness in continuously enhancing employee experience and overall satisfaction allowed the company to reap the benefits of growth and change, whilst building upon relationships within the company - acting as the company’s privy recipe for success.

HR WEEK

Online learning has been the hottest topic. The accelerated digital transformation that the world has been going through has only pumped the gas for companies to implement online learning at a much faster pace than ever before.

Online learning has been the hottest topic of the last couple of years. The accelerated digital transformation that the world has been going through has only pumped the gas for companies and individuals to implement online learning at a much faster pace than ever before. We don’t have to address the elephant in the room - the cause of this acceleration in digital transformation - however, we must acknowledge the immense effect it had on people’s perception of the digital era as an indispensable part of our lives from now on. We’ve learned that we can function online with as much autonomy and efficiency as in real life. We’ve also learned that productivity, effectiveness and success rate are not a function of physical presence, but - guess what of the work done!

learning can truly and adequately replace traditional learning methods.

All we had to do was stimulate people to rethink the narrative and thus explore the opportunities that online learning offers. It goes without saying that change is complex, especially when it requires us to get out of our comfort zone and work around our beliefs to comprehend new concepts and innovations. Online learning did just that it disrupted our reality by providing us with an endless amount of opportunities and workarounds for the main issues experienced in traditional We’ve learned we’ve learning processes.

ONLINE LEARNING TAILORED TO EVERYONE’S NEEDS

IVAN BILDI

Managing Director of Masterbox SERBIA

that we can function online with as much autonomy and efficiency as in real life.

But, we also shifted education online and whilst it was a great challenge, it showed us how quickly and effectively we’re capable of adapting to the volatility and unpredictability of the modern world. Finally, once the transition to the online world was concluded, we came across various misconceptions which unfortunately resulted in resistance to using technology in expanding and improving knowledge. The most common misconceptions revolve around adverse beliefs and frequent concerns about whether online learning can be as personalized, interactive, easy to implement and utilize as offline learning, thus raising the question of whether online

It allowed us to become cost and time efficient in our learning processes, but it also provided us with the chance to have a self-paced learning experience, i.e., to ask an unlimited amount of questions and watch lessons as many times as we need. And what’s more - online learning is available 24/7/365 - whenever you need it. The casualness of a digital learning environment exemplifies the importance of a supportive atmosphere where discussion is encouraged and nurtured, and where each participant can feel safe in asking all types of questions. Today, as the majority of the world population utilizes online learning services in their day-to-day life, and has thus alleviated prejudice regarding the digital learning environment, we look forward to seeing the path of expansion and development these services will take on! And remember, online learning is not only the future - it’s already here!

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HR WEEK

NAKED EMPLOYER BRANDING On-screen vs. Behind the Scenes

Employer branding is not a new thing. But it’s hot! As always, when there is something new, change management is also ongoing. We can easily say that Employer Branding is an infinite game.

Employer branding is not a new thing. But it’s hot! In recent years it has been introduced to many companies and industries, especially in the IT industry. As always, when there is something new, change management is also ongoing. We can easily say that Employer Branding is an infinite game.

ISIDORA MAKSIMOVIC

Employer Branding Specialist at Poslovi Infostud

entitled to interfere in EB, campaigns, goals, activities. One reason to do so might be because EB can be subjective. People can like or dislike things from this field based on their preferences but, at the end of the day, this is something that an EB Manager decides on. No one should just go around telling salespeople how they should make their phone calls, right?

The main thing is to see EB as a strategic That brings us to an important question function. When EB Managers are doing why do people like to get involved like this? any kind of planning (quarterly or yearly, or any other) they are expected to bring Probably because they consider that visuals more value to people. More visibility. This or copies are a matter of taste. Also because can be a better reputation, better this can be discussed since it is results in recruitment, or higher not something concrete, like Working as employee satisfaction with the an EB Manager KPI or financial resources. As company they’re working in. This mentioned above, EB can be might not be means that EB Managers should subjective and this is what EB measure results. They need to Managers often deal with. for everyone. talk in numbers. It is important Sometimes you HOW TO DEAL to see it as a strategic function.

SERBIA

just have to put

TINA MILICIC Atlantic Group

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WITH THIS?

Companies can switch their focus your foot down from internal communication and EB Managers should gain the and say: “This is confidence to hold their ground employee experience to external communication. But the way they when others challenge their my decision!” work with their stakeholders and visuals and copies, but they also need to be practical. What helps in these the way they talk to their personas, target groups, is something that needs to stay the situations and in general in communication and marketing is having a book of same or even be better and provide more. standards. In the book, a visual standard and a tone of communication should be BEHIND THE SCENES CHALLENGES clearly predefined. Predefined channels of communication should be predefined as well, Employer branding is a fun field to work those that are recommended, and the ones that the company should avoid. In this way, in and it looks fun from the outside. On EB Managers can undeniably handle the the other hand, it has its internal (behind inputs or suggestions they get in this part of the scenes) challenges. The people from their work. other departments in companies often feel

JELENA VASILEV NOVCIC Levi 9

BRANDING

IT’S CHALLENGING BUT IT’S PART OF THE JOB The best campaigns are the ones in which EB Managers are open-minded to listen to the business because they’re the ones who know the target audience the most, just like only marketers know what is sexy for marketeers and only people in production know which kind of sentence is going to resonate with their clients. Sometimes, one can think something is sexy because it sounds cool. But, for example, the people in the production will not get the point. Therefore, the key to getting the most successful results is to be open-minded to hear the business. The content of EB is something that people like more or less. As it happens, it is not bad to have these kinds of discussions, as long as they are open and constructive. It’s challenging, but it’s part of the job. Working as an EB Manager might not be for everyone. Sometimes you just have to put your foot down and say: “This is my decision!” When creating any kind of content, the goal is to interact with the external audience to get constructive feedback. But when it happens internally, it should be the same. Any dialogue produced should be aligned with brand standards, guidelines, tone of voice, and everything that is already set in the strategy. Behind the scenes, EB certainly has its issues. But, are the challenges of EB the same in all industries? There are differences in target audiences, of course, and in things that represent the company’s values - who is the company and its target audience, what kind of offer are EB Managers supposed to build, etc. The offers formed internally, the value proposition that the company is giving as an employer, and the target audiences might be different. But clearly, the mechanisms and the principles are very similar in all industries.

The mechanisms that would be the same are the tools that all EB Managers use at the end of the day. As an example, EVP is a very successful tool, it just has to be managed around the target audience. But the EB challenges are shared in many industries.

EACH LETTER COUNTS A good part of EB comprises efforts to create a campaign that would look good “on-screen”. Everything is up, everything’s planned, the research is done. It all looks perfect. What could go wrong behind the scenes? Let’s take an example of an EB Manager dealing with blue-collar workers. About two-thirds of people are their target audience. This is the type of people who are very active on social media. The issue here is that they seldom give a compliment and most often notice the bad things and this is what EB Managers are well aware of. Even though EB seems fun and inventive, high-pressure situations can often happen, and they can easily trigger panic mode. But whatever the situation, there are three phases of how an EB Manager can deal with it: 1. Own the situation 2. Embrace it in order to listen 3. Face it, find a solution. There is no hiding behind, no pretending that the situation didn’t happen, whatever it might be. That is the worst thing to do in EB. To ignore any critical situation. One must own it. In which way? Firstly, the situation should be analyzed and described in a report: what happened and when it happened. Then, the report should be presented to the stakeholders. Lastly, recommendations should be made to face the challenge and solve the problem. The main objective in this kind of crisis is to manage it and stay cool, to have both

feet on the ground, and to go through the situation as smoothly as possible. It is always good to exchange ideas and opinions with the team. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a long, deep discussion. Sometimes it could be about the smallest details, such as comments to certain social media posts, two to three words that will be posted on social media. But in the end, these two or three words are something that counts because they can grow bigger and, if not handled well, possibly start another storm or a problem. Dealing with social media in the background of EB, it is important to remember that each letter counts as well as each reaction. Lack of reaction is also a reaction. As mentioned before, EB is subjective. Even in good EB teams, there are communication challenges. Disagreement happens. It’s not bad to disagree with the team. This opens space for further discussions and ideas on how to improve EB, its content, the copies, the images, etc. As long as there is a constructive dialogue with the bigger picture as the essence of EB, it is good. In the end, all decisions must be made together. It all comes down to EB Managers. They need to believe in the company they’re representing. Their values should resonate with the company’s values for them to have the passion, the drive, and to authentically and genuinely represent the company. EB is not the kind of job that one can do just like that. A good EB Manager should have a strategic mind.

It all comes down to EB Managers. They need to believe in the company they’re representing.

Everything can be learned. EB can be learned. It’s not just a matter of talent. But, the most important thing is to find a match between the person who will be in charge of EB and the values of the company. This is something that can make a difference. EB is more a vision, a mission, a vocation, rather than a job. One needs to be all-in.

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Unprecedented changes in the global market and thus businesses all over the world prompted the majority of companies to create elaborate plans or products which would make the process of adaptation for their clients and employees much more efficient and effective.

Maja Davidov, People & Culture Development, Sixsentix Ivan Ignjatović, Delivery Manager, Sixsentix

ENGAGE ALL YOUR SENSES IN SIXSENTIX VIRTUAL TOUR

HR TECH

HR WEEK BUSINESS

Whilst many of these plans were a total fail and had hence inefficiently consumed resources - primarily funds, time, and labor, some companies succeeded in creating a sufficient transition to the digital workspace. Among others, Sixsentix has proved to be a good example of an organization that sufficiently transitioned to the digital space, without any significant turmoil. What differentiated Sixsentix’s approach from other companies was the fact that they’d sufficiently analyzed the implications of the digital work mode on both potential and existing employees and clients, thus developing an effective strategic project for all the possible challenges to come. That’s how the Sixsentix Virtual Tour came to exist. This Virtual Tour had thus served multiple purposes and was beneficial for all stakeholders, as it could have been utilized as evidence of good business and employer branding practices whilst stimulating employee engagement, but it also came to be a great marketing tool for potential clients to get informed about the company - through such an innovative and contemporary approach. The first and most important step in preparing for the launch of the project was for the company to identify the key assets which would make up for the success of its execution - hence people, ideas and budget. It goes without saying that there’s no company, projects, nor ideas - without people. Therefore, gathering diverse perspectives and nurturing a people-centric approach even in such difficult circumstances, made this project much more multidisciplinary than expected. On the other hand, having a budget constraint on projects prompts organizations to focus their utmost attention on efficiency, rather than on diversity of ideas and perspectives, but creating a blend of these factors allows the company to change the narrative and utilize their biggest potential - people. The main purpose of the project was achieved shortly after its launch, and potential clients and employees were given the opportunity to not only get to know Sixsentix’s practices but also get in touch with the atmosphere and company’s culture. In addition to that, teamwork and creativity went through the roof, and employees were deeply engaged in project development and execution, which further proved the importance of the people factor in project management. Subsequently, success metrics grew exponentially, with the number of visitors on the About us page increasing by 300%, whilst the reach of sponsored campaigns on social media accrued a 1000% growth in comparison to the average. And now, as more than 10 months have passed since the project has launched, we can say with certainty that Sixsentix has unlocked a totally new dimension of employer branding, thus boarding on the rocketship towards the future.

SERVICE

CENTRES –

GUARDIANS

OF THE GALAXY Mlađan Jovanović, National HR Manager, Kuehne+Nagel Serbia

Prior to even considering the concept of Service Centres or splitting an organisation between Core and Service, you need to think of a proper WHY - why could this be highly beneficial? In all likelihood, a financial aspect will be the first thing that comes to mind. However, money should not be the main reason for this, but rather one of the outcomes of this concept. April 2022 | HR World 07 | 115

BUSINESS

Part one: The Sun As highlighted several times during the HR Week, KN Global Services are framed to provide fast-paced support to an evergrowing and changing core business model. This is where the story about Organisational Design meets the one about Service. Prior to even considering the concept of Service Centres or splitting an organisation between Core and Service, you need to think of a proper WHY - why could this be highly beneficial? In all likelihood, a financial aspect will be the first thing that comes to mind. However, money should not be the main reason for this, but rather one of the outcomes of this concept. If you think of your organisation as a galaxy, try to reflect on the following questions: • What are its “must keep” stars/planets? • Which cosmic elements in your galaxy have the greatest growth potential? • What would your galaxy look like if you could vanquish all those invaders called “one more template, approval on approval, a procedure created before the galaxy was even established, we did like this forever processes…”? Once you have noted this down on a piece of paper or in Excel or Visio… you will know how your ideal organisation looks. You will fall in love with your creation. BUT… … before you say the magic words to your creation, please stop again to reconsider its concept and look a bit further from your galaxy. Only then will you realise that your new creation may not be a perfect fit to other galaxies in a universe called Your Company. To your horror, you will also discover that galaxies outside of your galaxy are ever-shifting and that you will never have the “fit for life”. In these dark times, do not despair as there are always various paths to take when the brain is involved. One of them is a Service Centre.

Part two: The Stars Once you have realised what the most precious stars and planets in your galaxy are, as well as what cosmic elements have the greatest growth and development potential you have grasped one more point that is of paramount importance - that all those invaders can be put to good use.

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They can work for you and ultimately become the Guardians. of your galaxy. With all the tasks that you perceive as a burden to your galaxy, placed where they should be – on the borders – soon you will see that they evolve into something they should have been from the very beginning: • Someone kept only must-have templates and even assisted you with the revision of fields • Someone helped you review all the processes and showed you that it is the road that matters and not only the “pay tolls” • Someone assisted you in creating the best in class procedures which would be your shield or sword/laser/blaster in times of need. Just as every other beginning, this one will be humble as well. As if suffering from the “Stockholm syndrome”, you will be reluctant to let go of those things that slow you down and even frustrate you.

BUSINESS

Part three: The Galaxy In time, you will realise that there are people who would gladly bear this burden together with you. By the end, you will understand that some are keen on taking over processes or at least a part of them, optimising them, working on them, improving them, and even automating them so they can work on the next process/task. In time, you will start considering those people as a part of you, part of your team, people with whom you share your good and bad days, your ups and downs. In time, you will ask yourself: • Why haven’t I done this earlier? • Why haven’t I given them the entire process and not just a part of it? • Why don’t I include them in our talent pool, as they are very talented and adept people? In time, you will realise that you can also dedicate time to enjoy and improve your galaxy and not only focus on fighting more invaders. In time, guardians become experts in certain areas and receive new titles, take on diverse tasks and projects, as well as different areas of responsibility. In time, you understand that Guardians are a part of your Galaxy. In time, you become one. Translation to business The Service Centres are not new. The first ones were open in the 1980s with clear purposes: • To increase organisational and operational efficiency • To maximise productivity and increase service levels • For headcount optimisation and transferring of noncritical activities. Nowadays, the Share service centres are continuously developing, adopting new technologies, methods, and tools that lead to operating profitability increase. The main benefits of the HR Service Centre are: • More strategic HR – high impact roles and processes are left in the entity • Consistency and compliance – processes and tasks done in the HR Service Centre will always be done in the same way (as agreed during process/task takeover) • Operational excellence – constant high level of quality and quantity as part of agreed KPI settings

• Improved employee experience – win/win situation as both sides are satisfied with the work done • Cost reduction – paying per task or in countries where labour cost is smaller • Robotic process automation – end goal for HR Service Centre is to optimise tasks on the level that they will be automated • Broader succession opportunities – employees in the HR Service Centre should be considered as yours. Star/HiPo is what it is, regardless of where it is located • Best practice sharing – since the Service Centre is the gathering point for all countries/regions/corporations, it can see everything that is done, and share the best practices among entities in this way, improving overall productivity • Process improvement – working on tasks/processes, but not being a part of the “we did it always like that” mindset will lead to out of the box solutions. Every HR Service Centre must have the following pillars, before even considering offering services: Clearly defined portfolio • Recruitment Administration Support • HR Systems Data Maintenance • Documents Management • Time & Attendance Support • Payroll Support • Comp & Ben Support • Learning & Development Support • E-learning Design • HR Systems Expert Support • HR Analytics Support • Employer Branding Support Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) • Ensuring the task fits the portfolio • Ensuring the SOPs are up to date • Ensuring the business continuity (in case of absences/leaves) • Ensuring the quality of work Ticketing tool • Monitoring the quantity of work • Monitoring the quality of work • Ensuring data quality and consistency • Increasing transparency • Utilisation reporting. There are many good things stated above, why opening or contracting an HR Service Centre is good for business, but it will never be an easy decision and it is too expensive to be easily reversed. It is on company leaders to take into consideration the need to unify processes, provide

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BUSINESS

The answer to the question of opening your own HR Service Centre or contracting a third party comes after answering the most important question How important is your company culture? the same level of service to an entire organisation, focus on core activities and improve company P&L. If a decision is made that opening an HR Service Centre is a favourable option, several important steps need to be taken into account: 1. What processes or parts of them are scalable to be shifted to SC? 2. What is the necessary level of service that would keep the entire company satisfied? 3. What core activities per each department must remain “internal” 4. Will the company open an internal Service Centre or contract an already existing third party? Possible answers to these questions: 1. When dealing with the case to open or not to open HR SC, the project team must look at each department and see what processes are scalable up to which level. Do not think that there are no scalable processes. Each of them has at least 3-4 steps from start to finish. Each of them can be shifted out of core business. The project team needs to look, make a list and agree with the sector/department lead that everything is covered and taken into consideration. 2. Taking into account all processes, there are options for how their quality and quantity can be measured. If the company is satisfied with all task/process KPIs then this becomes ground for service quality expectations. If not, then the target must be set from the beginning with an option that it needs to start lower as the new

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“team” gets acquainted with the task/process itself and increase the time when the team becomes fully productive. 3. There will always be a list of activities that company/leaders see as “close to their heart”. You will be surprised that salary calculation is not one of them. It is usually high impact processes like GDPR, labour law, budgeting, creation of employee development tools, head-hunting, HRBP high-level tasks, organisational design and development… However, each of them contains some tasks that are scalable and do not need to be done on-site. Even more, as cooperation grows, the HR Service Centre can become a new Centre of Expertise as some of the above-mentioned high level/high impact processes can be done off-site. Work from home due to COVID or outsourced agencies already showed us that it is possible. 4. The answer to the question of opening your own HR Service Centre or contracting a third party comes after answering the most important question - How important is your company culture? The upside of an internal HR Service Centre is that it will have the same culture and goals as the mother company wherever it is, as it is the same in each company location. The downside is the fact that the company needs to create everything with the cost going into the company P&L and often buying knowledge from the labour market to assure quality foundations. Thirdparty HR Service Centre will always be that because you can’t physically separate “your teams” from teams that are working for other companies, stop them from talking to each other and management, who are leveraging between your company and their company goals. All of this creates a mix of cultures that may not be your cup of tea, especially if you would like to move from basic HR Services to a Centre of Expertise. BUT – in this case, you get the keys to an already built house and enjoy decorating the work. From where I stand, the choice to go with the HR Service Centre can be the best in your career. I can give you a million reasons. I can even provide several ego trip reasons that will make every decision-maker glow and grow to heaven and back. Taking into account all weights you now have while trying to keep up with most entrepreneurial and future-looking companies, there are last two questions for you as an HR leader: • How strong are you now? • How strong would you like to be? As the HR Services Centre is “only” that, it can help you create a bright future for the company, but to see it, you have to open your eyes and see it yourself. Oh, how beautiful it looks (from here).

HR WEEK TALENT LEADERSHIP

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TO BE OR NOT TO BE WELL. Maša Vlahović, COO, Life&Mind Studio

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Countless organisations are nowadays devoting extensive resources into mental health support and counselling even though that’s only a fraction of the well-being notion we’re talking about today. Instead, building a culture of holistic wellbeing should have been the first task on the strategic to-do list of organisations, thus promoting physical, emotional, financial, and social stability and security.

Hey you. I guess time has finally come to talk about employee well-being. You might already be familiar with this notion and the significance it carries within organisations, but let’s take a step back and try to establish an objective and proactive outlook on what has to be done to achieve overall effectiveness and efficiency within the workplace. Countless organisations are nowadays devoting extensive resources into mental health support and counselling - even though that’s only a fraction of the wellbeing notion we’re talking about today. Instead, building a culture of holistic wellbeing should have been the first task on the strategic to-do list of organisations, thus promoting physical, emotional, financial, and social stability and security. We’ve been witnessing a rise in new methodologies and theories about possible ways organisations may implement practices to promote employee well-being, hence positively affecting other processes and strategies as well. No wonder the well-being market’s value has been forecasted to grow to $87.4 billion by 2026 (Meister, 2021). I mean, they gotta make a living - right? So where does this leave us? Well, let us begin by stating the obvious - no amount of benefits or employer branding efforts may mask a dissatisfied and unproductive workforce within an organisation. Now that we got that out of the way, it’s time to dabble in mental health stats and info. Greenwood and Anas (2021) claim that a new era of mental health has begun a few months prior to the unprecedented global health crisis, and increased attrition rates show just that more and more employees are willing to leave an organisation that doesn’t have an acceptable mental health plan and supportive culture set in place. More than 81% of Gen Zers have left their

workplace willingly or unwillingly due to the aforementioned reasons, and 67% of employees said to have experienced symptoms of mental health conditions in the past year.

sense of well-being by giving out gift cards or discounted gym memberships because, if this was possible, I definitely wouldn't be writing as much on this topic, and you’d be bored as hell by now.

And whilst high attrition rates and prevalence have taken organisations by storm, research has shown that the vast majority of companies have still not put out an adequate plan to resolve this issue. In simpler words, organisations are addressing the consequences rather than the root causes. This strategy may be fruitful in the short run, but you can’t duct tape a wrecked car, and presume it will function intactly.

We now come to a point of convergence, thus understanding that everything is intertwined and dependent on one another. Remember the term - correlation does not mean causation? Well, in this case, it does. Every decision, every conversation, every slight change you might think will go unnoticed, every element of your organisation - has a great impact on the workforce and their well-being. In times of unprecedented uncertainty and moral ambiguity, extensive resources must be devoted to improving, nurturing and accelerating a supportive organisational culture. And this cannot be done with cost-cutting and decisions made out of necessity, legal obligation, or in an attempt to keep up with market standards and competitors’ progress.

So, if your organisational culture is held by duct tape and a prayer - please be informed that you’ll be doomed to fail - respectfully. Organisations have, thankfully, increased their investments into employee mental health - but to a certain extent. Specifically, these investment decisions are made out of necessity, rather than true desire to make an impact, thus achieving cultural change in this scenario is almost impossible. We’ve seen a plethora of organisations which have provided mental health support - i.e. counselling, but we’ve also seen that a negligible percentage of employees actually asked for psychological assistance. This should have raised a red flag for companies since a bad investment is still a bad investment - even though the intent may have been positive. Who wants to provide a benefit no one uses, or even better - who wants a benefit they don’t see the value of? Unfortunately, you can’t improve people’s

It’s not the uncertainty or fear surrounding the pandemic that had induced the Great Resignation or the era of absenteeism, it’s the fact that organisations have not provided sufficient support nor answered questions of employees who had just experienced a great disruption in their lives. Putting up a “We’re all in this together” poster as your background during Zoom calls doesn’t make you a great leader. Instead, educating your people about communication skills,

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stress and time management, and various wellness activities should have been your first priority.

single one of your processes, standards and rules. Utilise your employees as a free and accessible focus group that has relevant feedback about things that need to be changed for the better.

Employees cannot be inspired to achieve organic well-being with a “carrot-andstick” approach. So, if your leadership style can be defined as somewhat similar to the Theory X style - you’re only inducing high levels of stress, uncertainty and fear - thus leading to the death of a culture of trust, support and feedback (RIP to that culture). The worst thing you could be doing in a crisis like this is to micromanage and pressure your people into obeying your (uncalled-for) rigorousness and stringency. Losing your cool and getting mad for every single thing, is also something that may set your people off.

Develop an objective and analytical perspective. This task is not the easiest one, nevertheless, it is crucial in the process of establishing a culture of well-being. Create a list of pros and cons of your organisational culture from your point of view, no matter whether you’re a CEO, HRBP or have some other function within the firm. You’re there because you value - and your opinion values too. Think about what you would do differently if this was your company, or in the case you’re the CEO, reflect on the way your employees are being treated - and whether you’d like to be in their shoes.

In times of crisis - support and trust are the only valuable currency that could ultimately lead to a sense of appreciation, belongingness and satisfaction. Can you recall Maslow's hierarchy of needs? To have truly happy and productive people, you must go step by step to assist them in satisfying all of their basic, psychological and self-fulfilment needs. Now that we know what’s wrong with the “traditional” approach to employee wellbeing, we have to understand what needs to be done to achieve radical change for the better. Here are a few steps we suggest you take, to reach higher productivity, efficiency and effectiveness, thus attaining desired targets and metrics. Rethink everything that’s “set in stone” within your organisation. Change of behaviour only comes after a change of mindset. The first and most important step in this strategic battle is changing the organisational perspective. Analyse every

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Investigate all the symptoms your organisation might be experiencing due to the absence of a sense of well-being. Look at all the possible metrics and reports - notice whether there are even the slightest differences in the levels of absenteeism, productivity and resource-efficiency, and remember - money has never been the most important resource. Try to understand the behavioural patterns being created as a response to deadlines, inadequate external and internal communication, workloads and interpersonal skills. The first stop on your investigative research should be the HR department. HR professionals have (or at least should) internal reports covering the changes in the levels of satisfaction, stress and potential challenges employees might have experienced in peer-to-peer communication and relationships in general.

programme, designed specifically for your employees’ needs. An investment into your workforce is the best investment you can make, but remember that no one solution fits all. By having a personalised training and development programme, the return on your investment can be enhanced and thus more successful in the long run. And that’s about it. There’s only one thing left to say - if you’ve come this far there’s about a 98.9% chance that you’ve recognised yourself or the leadership in your organisation in this text. It’s okay to say that your well-being programmes suck, because only by saying it out loud do you allow for the situation to be ameliorated. What’s left of you to do is to - research all the possible trainers, mentors and coaches who you believe would be an adequate fit for your organisation’s needs. Although, I have to tell you one thing in confidence - we’re the first training centre in the region to develop a specialised corporate well-being training programme, that develops your people and equips them with contemporary and invaluable knowledge, techniques and skills - which will allow them to resolve all the personal and professional challenges (root causes) they might be facing, thus enabling them to achieve a sense of satisfaction and wellbeing in a much more straightforward manner than ever before. Get in touch with us to get more information, and see whether we’re the right fit for you! PS - trust + support + respect + soft skills = well-being = success. References:

Outsource professionals who have a clear understanding of your organisation’s vision and strategic outlook for the future, and can provide an objective, integrative and valuable training

Meister, J., 2021. The Future Of Work Is Employee Well-Being. Forbes. Guest, DE & Conway, N 2004, Employee well-being and the psychological contract : a report for the CIPD. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, London. Greenwood, K. and Anas, J., 2021. It’s a New Era for Mental Health at Work. Harvard Business Review.

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IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EVERYDAY LIFE WITH PCM THE TOOL TO MAKE A DAILY DIFFERENCE

There are various things which, once we try them out, become a part of our daily routine. You have surely experienced the moment of realization when you say to yourself, "How come I didn't think of that before?" This is very useful for me in my daily activities." You may experience a similar case with the Process Communication Model, which allows us to understand the deep personality structure of each person we come in contact with. The Model was developed by a clinical psychologist, Taibi Kahler, and is based on transactional analysis.

When we become aware of the strengths of our personality, discover what we like and how we like to communicate with other people, then we have an advantage. When we realize this in ourselves, then we recognize the same in others and it is PCM that unlocks the path to successful relationships and communication. 124 | HR World 07 | April 2022

PCM talks about the fact that each one of us has six different personality types and that we develop each of them during our life, as well as that we show the characteristics of the dominant type. After completing our personality profile assessment, we are able to grasp how to develop and better apply the strengths of each type of our personality. We get a personality profile by filling out a questionnaire, which is the starting point for Discover PCM training. This is not one of those methodologies that we "store away in the drawer" after the first meeting. It provides us with the opportunity to analyze ourselves and the people around us. It guarantees many "aha" moments that give us an insight into how we should position ourselves in a number of given situations in the future. With different life experiences, growth and development, each of us has created behavioral

patterns that set us back more than they benefit us. We encounter challenges in communicating with others and sometimes we feel that we cannot build good relationships with certain people. That’s fine, but if we have these challenges every day it knows it burdens us. That's why having PCM skills can improve our daily lives. When we become aware of the strengths of our personality, discover what we like and how we like to communicate with other people, then we have an advantage. When we realize this in ourselves, then we recognize the same in others and it is PCM that unlocks the path to successful relationships and communication. Who is PCM intended for? PCM is for each one of you who enjoys the process of personal development and pushes their boundaries striving to progress in every aspect of life. By applying

PCM in your daily lives, you will avoid stress-related situations and conflicts because you will know how to position yourself in challenging situations. You will become aware of your strengths, your needs and you will get along easier with the people in your environment. PCM is more than applicable in people-friendly companies. Connect employees into one team, increase the engagement and motivation of each individual.

Interested? Learn how to live PCM every day! With the promo code PCMWORKS you can get a discount of 15% until the 5th of May. Get in touch with us: Atria Group nadezda.pejic@atriagroup.org +381600290137

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Uverite se zašto Saville Assessment alate koriste najbolje svetske kompanije! Atria Group je reseller partner za Srbiju, Severnu Makedoniju, Hrvatsku, Bosnu i Hercegovinu i Crnu Goru Ljubiše Jovanovića 7, Beograd | info@savilleassessment.rs | (+ 381) 11 4123 470 | (+ 381) 60 029 00 69 April 2022 | HR World 07 | 125

126 | HR World 07 | April 2022

Many people look at recruitment agencies as a one-way street with only one possible measurable success: how many people do you hire at the end of the day? What fewer know is that there are many, many steps prior to a successful hire, and the first one is the one that may lead you to your perfect candidate, or the complete opposite. This task is well known as sourcing, and even though it represents just a search through a database, it could be led wrong if not prepared thoroughly.

Marija Šekularac Josipović, Team Lead, BPS World Serbia

Sourcing – Key mistakes

Just like Alexander Graham Bell said – Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. When it comes to sourcing, we couldn’t agree more! Once the client is onboarded and all the relevant data about the project and the role are in your hands, a recruiter needs to take a deep dive into their website and available platforms in order to stand out the core of their business and vision (and to prepare himself for the sourcing stage). A recruiter should always do prior research about the position, and not rely only on the title-based search. Finding out if there is a new title or buzzword sometimes can be crucial due to company systematization since they are not using the same titles for the same roles and responsibilities. If a recruiter hasn’t been working on a given role before, it is essential to explore in detail all the key duties, tech stack (if the role is more technical), and all the stakeholders included. Another thing worth mentioning is your database – the best starting point where some good candidates may be hiding. Those are the people you have already been in contact with and a recruiter should always reach out to them to see where they are currently and if they are interested in some new opportunities. If not, you can always ask them for a recommendation! From our experience, a database of existing contacts sometimes really saves you both time and money in the upcoming stages of the recruitment process. Investing the time in the presentation of the role itself is also one of the most important steps in this first stage – making sure that the job description is appealing and looks interesting to the candidates. There are a lot of companies that are not taking into account the importance of the well-known first impression, since they are usually focused on the superpowers an experienced candidate should have. Having it all in one place (including the budget for the role within the job description document) really could be a dealmaker. The most valuable advice we could give to all the recruiters out there is: dedicate your time to the creation of a proper message. Recruiters should always highlight what matters the most - clear information about the client (what kind of product they are offering, official website, type of engagement, hybrid or remote work, benefits, and information about the expectation from the role). Nothing makes us feel better (besides hiring someone) as receiving positive

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comments about the messages we thoroughly prepare and create for the candidates. Actually, the largest part of negative comments addressed to recruiters is related to unprofessional messages and rude approaches. Having this in mind, one of the biggest no-no’s is a generic, basic search – basic keyword searches will lead recruiters to the same basic results, which will not help them in finding the best possible talents. Does Boolean search ring a bell? We hope it does, and we hope that you are not making the same mistakes as we did once we entered the recruitment world back in the day. I am talking about the keywords required for a Boolean search to be your best friend. Using NOT and OR can be crucial when you need to clear out all the profiles that you don’t want to appear any further and block your way. We have also encountered a phenomenon called profiles analysis paralysis; presumably, all recruiters were dealing with this problem: how to figure out how much time you need to dedicate per each profile? Is 10 minutes enough to read every single fact or maybe 2 minutes by checking the most important information? When you sharpen that skill of scanning profiles, you are becoming a great recruiter. Last, but not least, there is one more tip that can turn the recruitment process into a positive experience for all the stakeholders, and it has to do with good, old sales! Keeping in mind the constant promotion of the particular role and company that stands behind it - a good recruiter is the first person in the row who needs to believe in the fact that they are offering a better opportunity for someone, and if so, the knowledge of how to present the role itself to a possible future employee can drastically improve the total percentage of successful hires. Selling the company’s vision, culture, project, team, and benefits has to become the key point of every sourcing and first steps in the recruitment process. There are numerous sales tricks that can help out recruiters strategize their sales achievements for optimum outcomes. Sourcing, in fact, is all about quality, and it should never be measured by vast numbers of people. By solely making their daily plans for contacting adequate candidates according to the client`s tech stack, recruiters should target only high-quality profiles, and always emphasize their search based on these criteria. Combined with the knowledge and a set of clear-sighted communication soft-skills, sourcing becomes an adventure with inevitable success.

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 127

Blue Colibri App During last year many of us were in crisis mode, as we had to implement remote work in a blink of an eye. Even those companies might struggle with the forced home office, where people had the opportunity to stay home once or twice a week before the crisis. However, having a home office as a perk and as a must is different. And while it has many advantages (e.g. more flexibility, less commuting time), it definitely has an impact on our people’s motivation and engagement.

128 | HR World 07 | April 2022

Considering we are not able to predict when the pandemic ends, and whether we will 'get back to normal' ever, it will take a fresh approach to employee engagement to keep your company culture alive and your people motivated. Staying connected in disconnected times Isolation can seriously harm our sense of belonging, which is a fundamental human need. Based on a Harvard Business Review study, belonging is good for business: high belonging was linked to a whopping 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days. For a 10,000-person company, this would result in annual savings of more than $52M. But how could we keep our workplace communities healthy and make sure that our colleagues will not be left alone while they are working remotely? 1. Focus on transparent and regular communication Immediate and straightforward communication has never been as important as now. Your people have to feel that they are still part of a bigger community, and the latest information should be accessible anytime. Providing a comprehensive overview to your staff on the company’s plans and goals can minimize uncertainty and worry. Sharing your content in a video format can also take your people’s

engagement with your content to the next level. 2. Recognition and praise Ensure that recognition is public and optimally company-wide. Public channels, such as your company intranet, or an online platform that includes a social feed where everyone can view and give recognition to each other can be good ways to celebrate successes together. When sent publicly, recognition is a huge motivator for employees, and it can help even your newly remote employees feel more connected to each other. 3. Giving voice to your employees – surveys and feedback Many companies are still conducting employee satisfaction surveys only one time a year. However, when we are working with remote teams, asking for feedback and checking the general mood regularly is a must. Some great examples are weekly pulse surveys, with a few brief and simple questions that can help you to intervene quickly if there is a need. 4. Team forums and social groups Informal interactions in the office (such as drinking a coffee together or bumping

into each other in the corridors) help to create connections and build rapport between colleagues. To create these moments while virtual, you can establish different online channels and groups to boost casual, non-work related conversations. These can be organized around interest, geographical location, job area, or up-to-date topics, such as ’mothers working from home – best practice sharing’. 5. Encouraging employees to share their contents We all know that employee stories can bring people together and provide a sense of connection, which makes them particularly important right now. So how about a photo-of-the-day competition,

Your people have to feel that they are still part of a bigger community, and the latest information should be accessible anytime. Providing a comprehensive overview to your staff on the company’s plans and goals can minimize uncertainty and worry.

a drawing contest for employee’s children, or a weekly cook-off? If you are not sure how such an initiative would be welcomed, you can even ask for your employee’s ideas through a quick survey. If you implement their suggestion, you will even hit two birds with one stone. At Blue Colibri, we support our clients and partners to stay at the top of their game when it comes to engagement and community building. If you face challenges on how to keep your remote employees motivated or looking for new channels to reach and actively engage your workforce, our experts can help. Contact us for more information, and let’s shape your company’s future together! Website: www.bluecolibriapp.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ blue-colibri-app

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 129

HOW TO CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE HR INFORMATION SYSTEM? FledgeWorks

An adequate HR information system is extremely important for the efficiency of each organization. It enables organizations to digitize and automate administration and governance processes, but also to delegate company’s goals and some of the activities throughout the organization. This saves time and money - speeding up and improving our business. Various software products exist on the market, covering one or more HR functionalities. High touch HR systems are more efficient, since they enable you to perform several HR functions on a single platform. They are usually modular, covering most of the functionalities and processes of interest to HR professionals and managers. When we opt for a new system, it must meet our current needs but also can grow with our HR function and organization. Let’s work out the selection process in a few steps:

REVIEW AND UPDATE YOUR HR STRATEGY When choosing HR information system, it is necessary to look at more than just HR needs. Planning the procurement of HRIS is an excellent opportunity to review and adjust HR function development strategy and align it with company’s strategy over the next few years. Why? Not only that HRIS provide automation of processes that previously took a long time to perform, but they also enable us to introduce those that bring additional value to the company’s operations (MBO based on clear goals, motivating employees by rewarding success, managing personal and career development, etc.). So, start by defining the goals of HR function and HR processes to apply, then consider possible software solutions.

Accessibility and ease of using HRIS must also be considered. Employee mobility today conditions us to make HRIS available from multiple devices and locations. Think about cloud solutions, since they make it simple. The user interface should be intuitive and user-friendly, thus require as little user training as possible. Modern HR information systems are also a place for collaboration, communication, notifications and feedback. When defining the necessary functions of the HRIS, organizations must bear in mind that it should serve all employees at every stage of the HR cycle. Also, important thing we must not forget is localization. Not only linguistic, but legal, regulatory. By choosing solution that is not consistent with your markets, you open for later sets of customizations and costs. When your requests are specified, create spreadsheet as a tool for later comparison of vendors.

DEFINE YOUR BUDGET AND TIME Before you compare suppliers, it’s important to determine how much money you’re willing to put in. The investment is mainly divided into software license procurement, implementation,

RECRUITMENT

ON-BOARDING

IDENTIFY NEEDS After the first step, you have an HR strategy. Now is the time to identify the main requirements for tools to help you achieve your goals. Basically, each organization needs a system that collects, organizes, and safely stores employee data and provides standardized reports. It can also be important to connect to other systems that you use, such as accounting systems, time tracking or e-learning systems, business intelligence systems, etc. Up-to-date data in one place saves time and ensures consistency in all of these systems.

130 | HR World 07 | April 2022

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

OFF-BOARDING

CORE HR

LEARNING

PERFORMANCE

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Since we live in a time of rapid change, it is important to avoid rigid systems. Select suppliers who have experts that are familiar with HR methodology and can advise. Look at the references, ask those who already use HRIS. Organize presentations with potential suppliers, explain yourcarechallenges, goals consulting and support costs. Take and always ask if there are strategy ask themand toimplementation, show how their anyand special requests for- infrastructure in other solution will meet your requests and solve words, hidden costs. the problems you face.

LEADERSHIP

It is also important to realistically define HRIS implementation time, stages and their dependencies. On average, medium-sized companies take 4-7 months from decision to invest in HRIS until implementation butSOLUTIONS also as much time is needed for TESTING THEbegins, BEST implementation itself.

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main criteria for choosing HRIS are set, it’s time to find to the evaluate functionalities, flexibility and the vendors and analyze how they meet your requirements. It’s not user interface. Ask for and record their going to be easy. The differences between solutions offered, often comments. Collect all comments and lie in functionality that you may not notice at first sight. Quality questions, forward them the provider, of support is also important. Therefore, it’sto important to take time analyze the responses. with this process. Key advantages or flaws of each system will be noticed only when you get a more detailed perspective.

PURCHASE DECISION Since we live in a time of rapid change, it is important to avoid rigid systems. Select suppliers who have experts that are familiar with HR If you have checked the points above, this methodology and can advise.

step will be easier. Opt for a system that

Look references, already use HRIS. willat thesave youask those time,whooptimize your HR Organize presentations with potential suppliers, explain processes, provide analytics for your better challenges, goals and strategy - ask them to communication show how their solution productivity, promote will meet your requests and solve the problems you face. between managers and employees, will

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TESTING BEST goals –THE and fitsSOLUTIONS your budget.

Now it’s time to try out the software and demo. Invite people who will use the system to evaluate functionalities, flexibility and user interface. Ask for and record their comments. Collect all comments and questions, forward them to the provider, analyze the responses.

mportant PURCHASE DECISION ey you're If you have checked the points above, this step will be easier. Opt is mainly for a system that will save you time, optimize your HR processes, curement, provide analytics for better productivity, promote communication support between managers and employees, will grow in accordance with the there are company’s goals – and fits your budget. cture and s, hidden

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Works

The only HR solution you’ll ever need

www.fledgeworks.com info@fledgeworks.com April 2022 | HR World 07 | 131

COLUMN

hey junior

Let’s talk about integrity. Are you THAT kind of employee? Danica Ristić, Senior People Manager, Deel

132 | HR World 07 | April 2022

COLUMN

There are just a few things as exciting as starting your first job. The sheer personal satisfaction of having a positive outcome at the end of the selection process is indescribably high. On top of that, you can add compensation and perks, fancy equipment, your own desk and office, ID badge, buying your first work wardrobe or being connected on LinkedIn as a direct manager of people you once admired from afar. It’s all so new, fancy, sparkling, and even calling your parents and casually saying something like - “I am going to grab drinks with my work colleagues after our meeting” - can make you feel over the moon. It is such a huge milestone and it should be met with the proper levels of excitement. However, more often than not, once they start their first job, juniors believe they are somehow indebted to their employer as if hiring them was a service, a favour, something they should be grateful for. This kind of disbalance leads to them entering the workforce with unfounded prejudice. It prevents them from speaking their mind and contradicting their peers. They are constantly worried about retaliation, all in fear of losing their jobs if they dare to not walk the path often travelled by. And that couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s break it down. Being employed by someone means that you are creating a partnership and exchange of goods, so to speak. You provide the employer with your time, knowledge, and experience with the interests you share, the personality you have, mastery of soft skills you possess, connections you will leverage for them etc. You, as a person, bring value, contribution, and, ultimately, profit. In exchange, the employer provides you with compensation, and various benefits and perks. It should, as well, provide you with a healthy work environment, improvement opportunities, respect, and trust.

you - it absolutely is. It is also possible that you are not aware of it. Maybe the experiences of the people around you, your family members and colleagues haven’t been like that. I can assure you that this kind of partnership is very much a reality, not just a pipe dream, in our country, as well as in many others. But the question isn’t whether companies like this exist. They undoubtedly do. The question is - can you meet your end of the bargain and are you THAT kind of employee? If you still haven’t even had your first working experience, chances are you aren’t. Integrity won’t be in the first twenty personality traits you would put in your “strengths” column. Maybe you’ve never even thought about it. Let’s change that, for both your and your future employer’s sake.

Choosing to speak to your direct managers about improvement and issues you’ve encountered, professionally and constructively, shows you are a person of integrity. One that can and will make positive changes, that cares about the environment they are now a part of and is thinking long-term.

That is the summary of a relationship between employer and employee - two-way communication, respect, and trust. Now, this is where integrity enters the chat. And it never really leaves, nor it should. I know what you are thinking - that’s not very common for our current job market. Well, to be blatantly honest and not to offend

It’s time to reiterate something I already mentioned - it’s a partnership. You bring an immense value to it, not just the one that is deposited at the end of each month. And this is the same regardless of whether you are a Junior Intern, a fresh graduate, or if you are a seasoned VP, with a corner office. How can you contribute so much if you know nothing, you ask? Well, let’s bust another myth today! You know a lot. Without having any work experience, you can still offer plenty. You are educated, you have volunteered, and participated in conferences and Red Cross humanitarian efforts, you are punctual, you speak several languages, and you make a mean PowerPoint presentation. Don’t sell yourself short. Do you know how to make a TikTok? ‘Cause your manager probably doesn’t. Trust me, you know a lot!

So, that gives you leverage, even if it’s your first working day. That gives you a solid foundation to start building your workplace integrity and persona. You have the experience, skills, knowledge, and you’re a problem-solver. So, how can you translate all that into someone recognized for their values? Start by treating people with respect. Every single person you will meet in your workplace will have something to offer. Even the ones you will probably call dinosaurs because they started working before the internet was invented. Give them your time, undivided attention, and patience. Consider their points of view and leverage their experience where yours is lacking. There will be plenty of

April 2022 | HR World 07 | 133

COLUMN

Will you try to hide it? Fairly obvious, all of these are wrong options. It matters so much how you handle yourself in unpleasant situations, much more than all the other things that you believe people are keeping score of. Are you punctual, do you frequently take breaks, are you meticulous, do you clean up after yourself in the break room? All of those things are small contributions to your overall reputation. But handling mistakes… Now, that’s a huge one. Absolutely everyone makes mistakes. Lapse in judgement, missed deadline, wrong information shared… Whatever it is, the only option is to own it. Speak to the stakeholders, correct your mistakes, apologise. Learn from it, and move on. A rather simple formula, which, if executed properly, will earn you more, not less respect, amongst your peers.

more often than not, once they start their first job, juniors believe they are somehow indebted to their employer as if hiring them was a service, a favour, something they should be grateful for. This kind of disbalance leads to them entering the workforce with unfounded prejudice. It prevents them from speaking their mind and contradicting their peers. what you don’t know, but instead of diving into books and courses, consider reaching out to the people you work with. They won’t judge what you are missing but rather feel honoured that you’ve chosen to learn from them. Establishing professional and personal relationships is crucial for any job, position, and seniority. Once you do some groundwork on your reputation, start taking accountability and ownership. The solid foundation of what you learned will enable you to execute tasks with punctuality and success. But, what if you don’t? Oh, don’t you worry, all roads lead to integrity. Once you realise you’ve made a mistake, your true colours will appear. Will you blame others? Will you try to make up an excuse?

134 | HR World 07 | April 2022

Now that you’ve built some tenure in the company, and you have enough knowledge and experience about the most essential steps and processes, it’s time to speak up. This is the part most juniors choose to skip. Or, in some cases, they do this before they do anything else, which leads to their immediate downfall. But, speaking up shouldn’t be associated with retaliation. Constructive criticism is the foundation of every good business. And you should approach any issues you see in a similar fashion. Choosing to speak to your direct managers about improvement and issues you’ve encountered, professionally and constructively, shows you are a person of integrity. One that can and will make positive changes, that cares about the environment they are now a part of and is thinking long-term. While you can work on your delivery and timing, whether or not you should give feedback to your managers isn't really a question. Why do so many juniors struggle with integrity in the workplace? Well, let’s do a recap. First, they believe they can’t contribute and they are starting from scratch. Secondly, they don’t reach out for learning opportunities from their colleagues out of fear of being mocked. Thirdly, they don’t take ownership out of a fear that a mistake will be made and they will be punished. Fourth, they hide or poorly handle the mistake, when it inevitably happens. And lastly, they never share improvement opportunities. Do you know what going through the steps I mentioned will lead to? Not to the end of your career, but to the creation of it. To your progress, expansion in all areas, and peer recognition. You will build yourself. And that is, precisely, what integrity is all about!

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April 2022 | HR World 07 | 135

HR PERSPECTIVE

the most

beneficial HR metrics

Which HR metric has shown to be most beneficial for your organisation, and why? Maja Tomić, HR Business partner, 3Bank For us, having a stable and competent team is very important, therefore, the retention rate and turnover are very indicative. Whenever we identified any negative trend, we did deeper analysis to figure out not just what is the reason for leaving, but also what is the critical point when employees tend to say goodbye. Thanks to that, over the time, we developed numerous HR activities that we use for tracking employee satisfaction and tools to respond to their need at the right time. In addition, we tend to design HR processes, work conditions and even some of the business decisions are based on those insights.

Sandra Stevanović Ali Farahat, HR MANAGER, ALUMIL YU INDUSTRY Alumil has built its business path on developing from a family to a global business. It was wise to select the right tools and methodologies in that way, so the path would be successful. The HR metric we found the most beneficial 136 | HR World 07 | April 2022

it our organization is Employee Engagement Survey. It brings us, as HR, valuable feedback on employee experience, and clear direction to focus on culture and environment improvement. Additionally, it helps us raise awareness at all levels on how everyone takes part in creating a corporate culture, starting from management as role models.

DEJAN BOTIĆ, DIRECTOR OF HR DEPARTMENT, DDOR NOVI SAD Being data-driven, it is not easy to choose just one HR metric. For this occasion we have decided on voluntary turnover rate. Why? Our primary focus are people, and when VTR goes above target it is a signal for us to deep down and try to find the cause – employees’ satisfaction, are we comptetitive to the market, do we have organizational issues, did we hire the right fit for our organization, etc. Based on the findings we prepare an action plan and measure effectiveness. It is amazing how just one figure can trigger the chain reaction.

HR PERSPECTIVE

Danica Osmajić, Human Resources Associate, EXLRT.RS

Sanja Mrkić, HR Business Partner, Domaća Trgovina

At Exlrt, we recognize the importance of measuring and tracking relevant HR metrics because they can show us how effective HR initiatives are and how we can improve our efforts. Some of the most beneficial metrics for our hiring process are time to fill, cost per hire, source per hire, and offer acceptance. These numbers tell us how effective our hiring process is, as well as how attractive and competitive we are as an employer. Furthermore, measuring employee satisfaction and turnover are very important in understanding whether employees are happy and satisfied within the organization.

Retail is a customer-facing and everchanging industry, but with the highest employee turnover rate among all industries. In the center of everything we do are our customers and our employees! Great employees make great customer experiences. The development of great employees needs a certain period and thus turnover reduction was one of our HR strategic goals. Focusing on this metric, we identified areas for improvement and in four years we succeeded in reducing people turnover by 20% - through redefining recruitment policy, redefining newcomers development program and establishing a career development program.

Olivera Zdravković, HR Director, Galenika Besides tracking numerous HR metricsquantitative data, it is important to emphasize and describe the effects of qualitative data, in order to improve operational efficiency and to support company strategy. At this stage, the most relevant and beneficial data for us are related to organizational culture development. It is important to assess which actions had influence on behaviors in line with values and what could we use to improve the future satisfaction and performance of our employees. We would like to retain and attract employees willing to support our vision and company development.

Mina Rajković, HR MANAGER, JAGGAER JAGGAER uses various metrics that help us to look at the situation more objectively, starting with employee retention, salary change, quality of hire, etc. Since 2020 we have been in a great expansion, and what has shown to us to be a most beneficial HR metric currently is the Career Path Ratio. That helps us to see how employees are growing, changing, and adapting within the organization, and to understand the cause of a retention issue. Providing a number of growths track, and encouraging promotion from within is key.”

Aleksandra Slavković, HR Consultant, JYSK In addition to the regular HR KPIs that we monitor, JYSK conducts an Employee Satisfaction Survey every two years. At JYSK we believe that it is crucial to give employees the opportunity to express their opinions, to praise excellent aspects of the work and, on the other hand, to initiate changes in segments where we have room for improvement, from the aspect of employees. This year we have a reason for celebration. As a region JYSK West Balkan, we achieved 100% completion of the survey, which is an excellent starting point for creating changes that will help to have an even better working environment.”

Ana LukaČ, HR Business partner, Mlekara Šabac “What gets measured gets improved” is a popular quote by Peter Drucker. HR metrics are important to solve problems and intervene before small problems become larger. We are using metrics that include a wide range of areas as recruitment, hiring, compensation,

onboarding, training, engagement, retention etc. Analytics helps us make better choices based on relevant data, manage all HR processes in the best possible way and improve employees experience. Our focus is on metrics that can be improved in the near future in order to use time and resources in the most effective way.

Ivana Jovanović, Senior HR Business Partner, Neregelia Assessing the skills of employees to take on leadership positions proved to be the most useful metric for my organization. Through development centers, we strive to recognize the leadership potential of our employees for more complex roles in the organization. This method is important for us because it objectively indicates strengths, but also the fields for the development of our employees. At the same time, it helps us to focus on areas that are for improving the skills of our employees and to make a development plan in accordance with them, accelerate employee development and prepare her/him to take on new leadership roles.

ILIJA PETKOVIĆ, HR Generalist, OIP Being that OIP is a people company that values each employee, their feedback, suggestions and well-being, the most beneficial HR metrics we are using are provided by Heartcount. It allows us to feel the pulse and listen to the opinion of our staff. The metrics that Heartcount provides us are - what it is that influences the overall sense of well-being at work, the challenges employees face weekly, and it helps us determine what we as a company can do to increase satisfaction and engagement. Thanks to those metrics, we know that in the last six months, our employees’ happiness has increased by 20%.

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Authors Zvezdan Horvat

Ivan Stefanović Ivan has more than 10 years of experience in the area of organisational design, organisational changes, business process design & improvement, strategy development, and performance management. His work spans over different industries, such as banking, oil & gas, gaming, and retail. He worked with some of the most renowned organisations in Serbia, such as: NIS Gazprom Neft, Vojvodjanska banka, Banca Intesa, Orsus, Soccer Bet, Victory, SOS Childrens’ Villages, NALED, etc. Ivan is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Business Architect and Certified Performance Management Professional.

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Henry Mintzberg Henry Mintzberg is a writer and educator, mostly about managing originations, developing managers, and rebalancing societies (his current focus). After receiving his doctorate from the MIT Sloan School of Management, he has made his professional home in the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal, where he sits in the Cleghorn Chair of Management Studies, with extensive stints in France and England. He has authored 20 books which have earned him 21 honorary degrees, and publishes a regular blog, a collection of which was published as Bedtime Stories for Managers. (mintzberg.org)

Dr Zvezdan Horvat, Principal Adizes Associate, has more than twenty-five years of experience deploying the Adizes Methodology within organisations around the world, from global conglomerates to family-run companies and not-for-profit organisations. He does organisational therapy in more than 30 countries. As Professional Director of the Institute, he cares for the quality of delivery worldwide. Dr Horvat teaches at Adizes Graduate School and serves as Phase Master for the two most critical Adizes Phases – Structure Design and Accountability. His Ph.D. thesis was devoted to developing a model to determine a corporation’s lifecycle phase.

Nataša Nikolić Nataša is EY Women. Fast forward Leader for Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA). Fast forward is the EY ‘gender accelerator’ established at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2015. In her work, Nataša is focused on 3 pillars: Women in Entrepreneurship, Women in Leadership and the Next Generation of Women. She is also leading the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program across EMEIA. The program identifies high-potential women entrepreneurs whose businesses show real potential to scale and provides them with ongoing support to help accelerate their growth.

Amy Kates

Naomi Stanford

Amy is co-founder of Kates Kesler Organisation Consulting and a Managing Director at Accenture. She is a specialist in operating models and organisation design. The OD approach and tools she has developed with her colleagues have become the standard design methodology around the world. LinkedIn selected her to produce their organisation design video series for their learning platform. Amy is the author of five of the leading books in the field of organisation with Greg Kesler and Jay Galbraith. Amy also teaches organisation design in the Executive MBA program at the DTU School of Business in Denmark.

Dr Naomi Stanford is an organisation design practitioner and author. During her earlier UK career Dr Stanford was an employee of large multinational companies, including Price Waterhouse, British Airways, Marks & Spencer, and Xerox. She moved to the US mid-career working as an organisation design consultant to a range of organisations in the government, non-profit and private sectors. The third edition of her Economist book ‘A Guide to Organisation Design’ will be published in March 2022. She writes books, articles, speaks at conferences, and tweets regularly on organisation design.

Ines Larsen Schmidt Performance-driven professional with extensive experience driving strategic human resource initiatives to realise bottom line results and enhance employee engagement in line with organisational objectives. Successfully managed various mergers and acquisition in hospitality, senior care and retail industry. Experienced in dealing with employee representatives (workers councils) by establishing trustful working relationships based on the shared objective to maintain a safe working environment and secure workplaces.

Predrag Mihajlović

Gordana Fabris

Predrag Mihajlović is the President of the Executive Board and CEO of OTP banka Srbija, as well as the BoD Chairman of the Association of Serbian Banks. He managed the most complex integration project in the regional financial market between the former OTP banka (ex Societe Generale Serbia) and Vojvodjanska banka. Today, OTP banka is the largest corporate and retail creditor and a market leader in factoring, leasing and e-commerce services. Predrag was recently elected Manager of the Year of the Serbian Association of Managers, thanks to the excellent results and business achievements of OTP banka realized in 2021, but also the integrity and reputation he built during his career.

Gordana’s 20+ years of professional experiences include executive level management, strategic program management, training/employee development, resource and budget forecasting, organisational development and employee relations. Effectively balancing big picture thinking and strategic planning with hands-on execution has allowed Gordana to combine decisiveness, strong business acumen and formal education to achieve objectives both professionally and personally. She is currently leading Fortenova Group’s HR with over 50.000 employees in its three core activities (retail, food and agriculture) and has a passion for employee growth and nurturing, coupled with the love for the HR profession itself.

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AUTHORS

Boris Dragović Boris has spent a major part of his career defining and implementing strategies at some of the worlds’ most renowned corporations, including taking interim roles at corporations from US to Japan and Russia to South Africa. In his role of Senior VP at McKinsey & Company’s Recovery and Transformation Services he drove Telco, High Tech and Advanced Industries clients globally on defining and executing global transformation strategies. As Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Hyperoptic, Boris continues to draw upon this insight driving our strategy to execute, scale and disrupt within a crowded market.

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Mladen Čudanov Full Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, Serbia, where he acquired an MSc and PhD degree. He was teaching abroad: ZHCPT (PR China); JCIT (PR China); Roma TRE University (Italy) and University of Zilina, (Slovakia). Has 20 years of consultant experience. Collaborated in and/or assessed more than 100 startup projects. His main research interests are organisational design, entrepreneurship, restructuring of business systems, organisational change management and ICT application. Published more than 140 research papers, has 900+ citations, ~1/4 of it from the WoS. He also serves as the editor and reviewer in several journals.

Maša Lalić

Žana Goić Petričević Žana brings to her work a blend of more than 15 years of experience as a corporate manager, entrepreneur, executive leadership coach, leadership development consultant, coaching trainer and mentor with a great passion for writing, teaching and public speaking. Regardless of the methodology or programme, the transformative power of bigger and bolder conversations always remains central to her work with clients across the globe including EU, UK, USA and Asia-Pacific region. She is the author of a book called “Bold Reinvented: Next Level Leading with Courage, Consciousness and Conviction.”

Eric Cornu Eric is the Global Head of Organisation Design and Change Management (OD&CM) for the Nestlé group. In this capacity he provides advice to the business in large transformations initiatives. He is also responsible for developing the OD&CM methodologies and tools and for building HR capabilities in this field within the Nestlé group. Eric has a uniquely rich and diverse HR international experience. Over his 30 year long career, he has been a global head of center of expertise such as C&B, Mobility, HR Systems and Organisation Effectiveness.

Mark Vodden Mark is a business orientated Organisation Design and Development expert with a passion for releasing potential in people, teams and organisations. Mark’s expertise in partnering with the business to create value for people and the organisation, led him to HR, and ever since 2012 he’s been based at Nestlé HQ in Vevey. Today his time is split between consulting and guiding business teams as they look to better prepare for the future and developing a growing Expert Network of Organisation Design and Change Management professionals within Nestlé.

Member of the Executive Board, Generali Osiguranje Srbija. After graduating from the Faculty of Organisational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Maša joined Generali and during these 14 years changed different roles within HR. As a Generali Group talent, she had the opportunity to work on creation of the Generali Group Strategy 2015-18 and then gained international experience as part of the Group’s HR team, in its Head Office in Milan. In 2016, she became Head of HR, and in 2021 she became a member of the Executive Board of Generali Osiguranje Srbija, responsible for HR and strategy.

Alan Aastorp Alan Aastorp has led change, built capabilities, and delivered performance improvements at all levels of the organization, from the shop floor to the C-Suite for over 20 years, including engagements with some of the world’s largest energy companies. In addition to having completed master’s degrees, in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration (MBA), he holds professional qualifications in Supply Chain Management (MITx), Finance (CIMA) and HR (CIPD), and is an accredited practitioner of Organisational Culture (Hofstede Insights). Thanks for the opportunity to write an article for HR World Magazine.

Irena Domjanović Anja Žibert Anja Žibert (Free Spirit Human Capital) – HR inspirator and Heart Energy Recruitment. Specialist Modern – day ambassador of employment/ recruitment transformation and pioneer of a new paradigm in the HR world. Anja believes it is time for a quantum leap in the perception of HR processes, especially in recruitment. She specializes in marketing recruitment with a strong focus on communication (based on heart energy) and supports the idea about the general rise of collective consciousness in the business environment. She also strongly believes that personal and spiritual growth are one of the essential pillars in future organizations.

Irena is an experienced business professional with over 20 years of management experience in telecom industry. She is a co-founder and managing partner of Agilcon in Croatia, the biggest Salesforce partner in southeast East Europe that developed Gecko HRM – a modern, all in one HR system for the new generation. Also, as a co-founder of Digital IQ, a consulting business specialized in digital transformation, marketing automation and customer experience, she is working with companies and helping them transform their organizations and business models for the new economy.

AUTORI AUTHORS

Uroš Mitić

Luka Babić Luka Babic is the co-founder and CEO of the people analytics platform, Orgnostic. Prior to founding Orgnostic, Luka was the Head of People Ops and the member of the Board at the tech unicorn Infobip. Luka is a Harvard University graduate, class of 2012. He also serves as the program director of the Psychology and Business academic undergraduate program at FEFA.

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Uroš believes in personal development and the huge resource that lies within each individual. He is guided by the idea that we do not even know our own potentials and resources and that is precisely what gives him endless space for work and personal and professional development. Uroš has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and he is also a psychotherapist under the supervision of Transactional Analysis (ICTA Institute). He has years of experience in counselling and therapy work. By combining psychotherapy and organisational psychology, Uroš focused his work on understanding and managing team dynamics through leadership empowerment programs and team workshops.

Violeta Mrdaković Lučić Nevena Stefanović Nevena has more than 14 years of experience in telecommunications. She joined the company in 2002, and has held numerous positions in technology, marketing, strategy, and communications divisions. Nevena has been leading Human Resources since May 2015. Nevena holds a BSc in Telecommunications (MSc according to Bologna Process), University of Belgrade (2002), and MBA in Marketing (2008), Sheffield University.

Hans-Peter Kleitsch As MTU Aero Engines AG Senior VP of Human Resources, Hans-Peter worked on establishing a culture of trust and support. With extensive experience in HR departments within some of the world’s most successful companies, he obtained significant knowledge and skills. His contribution to numerous organisations is valued and respected among professionals in the HR Community.

Violeta’s career has been rooted in discovering and developing potential among employees, managers and within herself and teams she was leading. She is the managing partner of Assessment Systems Adria, a team of enthusiastic individuals striving to develop human potential. She is dedicated to creating genuine partnerships to help clients grow by growing people. Her creative side was utilized when making or involving new HR assessments, gamified tools, being pioneer with introducing world-renowned Hogan Assessment in the region. She believes that self-awareness and development in the workplace is the key to success - a concept she lives out through her interests in everyday life.

Gábor Füzér Gábor Füzér is Country Manager at Assessment Systems Group. He is leading the Hungarian operation, but next to this leadership role he is also acting as a senior consultant as well. One of his key areas is leadership development, where he likes to use his own experience and learnings. He fights his own derailers (and demons) as well which helps him to translate the theories and models into everyday practice. As a trainer he likes to use new approaches and unusual methods, like LEGO Serious Play® and as a coach he believes in Gestalt.

AUTHORS AUTORI

Cristina Wolf Christina’s career started some years ago in the IT industry. After working more than 10 years in the area of Sales & Consulting, she followed her passion toward working on company internal topics and switched to Netconomy’s internal education department – Netcademy – as Netcademy Coach. In summer of 2020 she took the opportunity for her own further development and took over the role of Head of Recruiting & People Development. Finding the best fitting people and constantly working on improving the work-life at Netconomy is what her heart beats for.

Maja Stančetić Maja has been a part of the HR Team in Schneider Electric for more than 5 years. She currently holds the role of HR Business Partner. She is a life-long learner, and has attended numerous educations and seminars, thus achieving titules such as: ISCP coach, CEFE trainer, Insights MDI consultant, mediator, facilitator, author, mentor, NLP master, and much more. She began her career in L&D but has carved her way as a trainer in the field of communication, leadership, EQ, and career development, with active involvement in talent management.

Tatjana Jovanović

Marina Matić

Tatjana Jovanović has obtained extensive experience in contemporary HR practices through numerous management HR roles in international environments. She is currently Senior HR Director at Hemofarm. She has held several senior-level HR positions, most recently being the Head of Human Resources at Banca Intesa and before that, Human Resources Director for South East Europe at Philip Morris International. Tatjana has had an opportunity to lead the changes to organisational culture and the implementation of various business models based on start-up and entrepreneurial mindset to support companies in maximising potential of their employees, thereby contributing to continuous business development.

Marina is an HR professional with extensive experience in redesigning and setting up the HR function, and in implementing organizational transformations in various industries in the Western Balkans and CEE. Psychologist, AoEC coach and CIPD Associate, she started her career in the NGO sector. She has been in HR for over 15 years, of which 10 years in executive HR positions. Her current career step, in which she will remain faithful to her professional love, business development, people and organization, is preparation for her own business with her business partner.

Adriana Kovčin Adriana has a Bachelor Degree in Communications and Public Relations, and has obtained invaluable experience over the past decade, while working in corporate communications. She joined Bosch two and a half years ago, where she firstly worked as an Employer Branding Specialist. Her tasks included coordinating employer branding activities, organising HR Marketing events and working on corporate culture projects. Adriana currently acts as Bosch’s HR Business Partner.

Ivan Bildi Entrepreneur. Lecturer. In love with marketing and Tik Tok. Also, he makes an excellent espresso. Digital marketing expert, with more than 10 years in the digital industry. Focus areas: Facebook advertising, digital marketing strategy, education and consulting. Owner of digital marketing agency Likes&Cookies, since 2016. Founder and co-owner of Masterbox online platform for education in digital marketing and business.

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AUTHORS

Mlađan Jovanović Maja Davidov

Isidora Maksimović Isidora works at the largest job portal in Serbia and specializes in developing Employer Branding services, helping companies to overcome challenges regarding candidate attraction, employee retention and building positive perception about employer attractiveness. She loves to combine different ways to do things and always comes up with something new.

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Maja Davidov is a part of the People & Culture Development Team at Sixsentix. For the past 5+ years she has been a part of Sixsentix Team. During the years she has acquired knowledge of the most relevant practice in human resources and People Management. She works alongside the executive team of Sixsentix and her goal is to establish herself as a valued HR business partner. Maja is creative and flexible, able to adapt to changing priorities and maintain a positive attitude in every situation.

Ivan Ignjatović Ivan Ignjatovic is Delivery Manager at Sixsentix. He is an Industrial Engineer who has been a part of Sixsentix for the past 7+ years. His career began in 2011 as a developer and in 2014 he continued his career at Sixsentix. He has strong leadership skills which he is improving constantly. With the ability to stay calm and collected in stressful situations he has gained impeccable trust among his colleagues, thus becoming an important part of the Team.

Declared optimist with strong intention to stay (Covid 19) negative. As such, this is the way of how I connect with people and how I think work can get done. Not an easy way, but a more Human way. In almost 20 years, with the majority of them in corporations, only one thing is certain - there will always be more work. We decide how to approach work and what kind of Resources we need to take or give to achieve the agreed goal. Regardless of where you work, industry, the company size, if you work for yourself, if you are an officer or a leader, the experience I obtained in working with people shaped me into who I am today.

Maša Vlahović Maša acts as COO of Life&Mind Studio, a training centre dedicated to personal and professional development of individuals and organisations. After obtaining a BA degree in Finance and Strategic Investment from the University of Sheffield, she focused her attention towards creating a much needed synergy among businesses and HR, thus pursuing her Master’s degree in HR Management. Maša holds the title of the youngest certified coach in the Balkan region, and has founded a first coaching and business academy committed to developing disruptive and innovative leaders equipped with relevant soft and hard skills and knowledge.

Danica Ristić Danica Ristić is a graduate of the Faculty of Philology (Spanish language) with a passion for HR and an overwhelming desire to help people. As of September 2021, she is the founder of a consulting agency Nica Nikolajevna, aimed to improve the careers and employment of people everywhere. She works mostly with Deel to promote the global workforce as a Senior People Manager. She loves all of her jobs, and she always has. She aims to help everyone else say the same.

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