Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER January 25, 2016 INSIGHT 23 Ben Eubanks GUest CoMMentary HR analytics: Start with the story To grab people's attention, it's about more than having enough data or the right data Back in college, I wrote a ton of papers for various classes. Without fail, my writ- ing process would look like this: • Read some of the research avail- able and form an opinion. • Write an essay based on that opinion. • Go back and fi nd data to back up my essay's key points. • Get about 95 per cent fi nished and realize the paper didn't turn out like I originally wanted it to. • Rewrite the entire thing from scratch (usually with just a day or two left until the deadline). is was a painful process but it usually yielded fairly good results. I think many of us try to do the same with this big data/analytics concept. We immediately go out and start gathering HR data, hop- ing to make some incredible dis- covery that will revolutionize the way we do business. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. However, I'll teach you a trick I've learned in the analyst life that can help you as you at- tempt to wrap your head around this concept: Start with the story. Recently, I talked about how you should collect data with a purpose. Now, I want to explain how to tell a story. When I am working on a new paper, I usually start with multiple sources of data. To be honest, my writing process looks very similar to the original method I used for term papers, minus the last-min- ute complete rewrite. One of the ways I am able to avoid that is by outlining a compelling story. Some of my favourite pieces to publish are case studies about how companies have solved ac- tual business problems through applications of strategy, change management, learning or leader- ship. ese are excellent because they off er a story-like setup, and stories are powerful. From the introduction of the business challenge to the develop- ment of the solution, including an in-depth look at the actual, mea- surable results at the end, there is no substitute for this kind of research. at's my theory of why cli- ents and prospects love the case studies: • ey give them a story that is in- triguing and easy to follow. • ey talk about another com- pany that already faced the chal- lenge and overcame it. Analytics and storytelling There are consulting/teaching companies now that focus entirely on this niche of "business story- telling." In this fast-paced world of organizational growth and devel- opment, having the data to sup- port your story is critical. It's not just about having enough data or the right data — it's about being able to weave a story to explain it that makes sense and is believable. In one of my jobs, I had to re- port on turnover metrics on a monthly basis. I quickly realized that simply reporting the num- bers meant people would tune out and easily forget what I had to say. So every month before I had to share, I would go through and make notes on who had left and why so I could explain in broad strokes what had occurred. I needed to share in story form whenever possible to maximize attention and recall for the others. Whatever HR technology you're using, you need to be clear on how to use the data you are gathering in your organizational story. Ben Eubanks is an HR analyst for the Brandon Hall Group in Huntsville, Ala., and author of the upstartHR blog. He can be reached at (256) 778- 1236 or ben@upstarthr.com. Simply reporting the numbers meant people would tune out and forget. How to manage 'activist' employees Creating a culture of trust makes it safe for workers to report wrongdoing Question: As HR professionals, how can we eff ectively manage and engage activ- ist employees who have concerns about organizational wrongdoing? Answer: Activist employees take up causes or issues within their own workplaces that they feel personally aff ect them or their colleagues. ey often become whistleblowers. Whistleblower cases involving companies such as Enron, WorldCom and, most recently, the National Security Agency are reminders that em- ployers must fi nd better ways of managing and engaging with ac- tivist-type employees who know of wrongdoing. What's alarming is about 42 per cent of working Canadians said they witnessed breaches of ethical conduct in their workplaces and 48 per cent neglected to report it to their employer, according to a 2013 survey by Ipsos Reid. e vast majority of respon- dents indicated they did not re- port wrongdoing because they did not have faith the investigations would be conducted properly. ere was also fear of employer retaliation for speaking up. Similarly, more than one-quar- ter of employee claims of employ- er retaliation were substantiated in 2014, compared to only 12 per cent in 2013, according to NAVEX Global's 2015 Ethics & Compli- ance Hotline Benchmark Report. Unfortunately, most whistle- blowers face dire consequences for exposing illegal, unethical and underhanded activities. Typical repercussions involve harass- ment, punitive job transfers, dismissal and even blacklisting within their own professions and industries. Retaliation can be as simple as ostracizing employees. As a result, these activist em- ployees avoid reporting wrong- doing to HR and decide to blow the whistle externally to media and legal authorities. is is a clear indication HR has failed with its employee engagement and management strategies — but there are best practices HR can follow: Create whistleblower poli- cies and procedures: Most orga- nizations have a code of conduct and ethics policies; however, it is also important for HR to create specific whistleblower policies and procedures that explain the organization's stance on whistle- blowing, the duty of managers to respond to complaints in a pro- fessional and timely manner and, most importantly, protection of employees from reprisals for re- porting wrongdoing. Establish a whistleblower ho- tline: Many organizations have hotlines for employees to report wrongdoing related to issues such as giving or receiving bribes; however, employers also need to provide hotlines that focus on business ethics, day-to-day em- ployee issues and concerns relat- ed to abuse of power by manage- ment and even health and safety concerns. Since employees may not feel comfortable speaking to HR di- rectly, a hotline is a way for them to communicate their concerns confi dentially. Simply having a hotline does not mean it is eff ective. Employ- ers should evaluate these hotlines in terms of the number of calls re- ceived on a monthly and annual basis. And a lack of calls may in- dicate the whistleblower program and hotline are not functioning eff ectively. Sadly, information about an organization's "hotline" is often hidden within corporate intranets — most employees are not even aware they exist. HR should en- sure employees are provided with training and general information explaining its purpose and scope. Provide training programs: HR professionals should play a leading role in developing whistle- blower training programs geared towards senior members of the organization who hold positions of authority, such as directors and managers. Management must un- derstand there will be zero toler- ance for any retaliatory measures against employees for voicing their concerns. Training should also be deliv- ered to lower-level employees to help establish trust in HR and un- derstand their rights and protec- tions from retaliation. Encourage frequent commu- nication: Effectively managing activist employees also requires managers to have frequent con- tact and communication with their direct reports. is is where an understanding of employee personality types makes a big dif- ference. For example, some em- ployees prefer face-to-face com- munication as opposed to email when dealing with issues and concerns. Managers often feel that be- cause employees are not com- plaining to them directly, there are no gaps in communication. The worst thing managers can do is ignore or delay responding to that employee as it may cause him to escalate concerns to an- other source. HR professionals need to help managers understand that ha- bitually ignoring or ostracizing employees will only make them become stronger activists both internally and externally (which is particularly important given the prevalence of social media). As a best practice, any member of the organization, from a CEO to a line manager, should make a concerted eff ort to communicate answers or solutions to employee concerns within one to two weeks maximum. Telling employees "We are still looking into it" over several months is an unacceptable management strategy. Human resources professionals play a major role in providing the necessary support mechanisms to eff ectively manage and engage activist employees. Employers and HR professionals should not look at the initiatives as costly, complicated barriers, but see the value in protecting the corporate image and saving the organization potentially millions of dollars in fi nes or litigation costs or even the potential consequences of a health and safety catastrophe that could have been prevented. Yaseen Hemeda is a product developer at Carswell in Toronto and co-author of HR Manager's Guide to Succession Planning. He can be reached at yas- een.hemeda@thomsonreuters.com. For more information, visit www.car- swell.com. Question: As HR professionals, how can we eff ectively manage and engage activ- ist employees who have concerns about Yaseen Hemeda ToUghest HR QUestion The worst thing managers can do is ignore or delay responding to a worker as it may escalate his concerns. "Not only do we have to be mindful of mental illness, we need to be aware that often it is disguised as performance issues. We need to ensure managers are made aware of the signs and symptoms of mental illness and can act, and react, appropriately when it starts to have an effect on an employee's performance. It could be life saving. Literally." Anonymous, commenting on Brian Kreissl's blog "Just snap out of it" Join the conversation. Comment on any blog on www.hrreporter.com. READER COMMENTS

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