A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed as part of the entry process for the Thames Valley best company to work for award. Last year we were highly commended. This year I want to win it!
The judge sat down and said you obviously have a wide range of initiatives but why are you better than last year? Our simple answer was HR. In January for the first time ever, Berkeley PR hired a full time HR manager and what a revelation it has proved to be.
As with any creative company our people are our product. We don’t manufacturer anything we sell our consultancy and expertise. As a result it is imperative that we look after our people. Happy people mean happy clients.
For a fast growing company such as ourselves hiring a full time HR manager was a big step but the benefits have been obvious. There are too many to mention but below are my top five:
1. Appraisals
Although we had this in place there was always a danger when backs were against the wall that this was pushed back a couple of weeks. We realised this simply wasn’t good enough and was potentially damaging for the individual as you are basically saying that you don’t have time for their career. Everyone now has a clear appraisal and review programme. These are all completed promptly and conducted in the same way with fair and clear feedback and objectives. Sounds obvious but just because someone is good at PR doesn’t mean they are good at managing people – it is vital that everyone is clear on what is expected of them and feel motivated by realistic targets. Being too nice is just as bad as being too harsh. Telling someone they are on the verge of a promotion if they keep up their good work when they actually aren’t, might feel like you inspiring them, but in fact it can be very damaging should it not happen.
2. Just listen
Offering the team someone who can sit down and listen about things that are impacting your work life without judging is a real bonus. Life can be difficult and busy at times so being able to provide the team with a platform where they can unload or explain why they might be struggling is always important. Our HR manager has her own office with an open door policy. Although everyone has a line manager and a mentor, having the opportunity to talk to someone else away from the delivery team has proved particularly popular. Situations have been resolved before they become a problem. Having an impartial member of the team to discuss situations with has proved to be a great initiative.
3. Employee satisfaction
We ran our first employee satisfaction survey which was instigated and managed by our HR manager. Again, this gave the team an anonymous voice to shout about the things they love and would like more of but also where we could improve their work lifes. This threw up a number of interesting scenarios. There was a variety of things that the team held important to them that had simply been over looked. Likewise there were things that the team didn’t understand why we didn’t do and just thought it was management cutting costs. A simple example was a question as to why we didn’t have a toaster in the kitchen area? This was raised by a really high number of people. The answer was simple. We work in a serviced office and are simply not allowed (they set the fire alarms off). As soon as we told the team this niggle just evaporated.
I presented the findings of every question to every single member of the team so I could explain, educate, apologise and set the agenda for the next 12 months. Many changes have happened since and from a management perspective it was a great success. Giving our team a voice and being able to act on it has been very empowering.
4. Training programmes
To support the appraisal process we have created a training programme for every single member of the team. This covers every aspect of the job and records when they received the training. This could be as simple as when people were given an induction or lesson on how to transfer a call through to presentation or client management training.
This initiative is very much in its infancy but fell out of the employee satisfaction survey. The result was that I pledged a commitment to every single member of my team to ensure we map out and cover every single piece of training they need to be as effective at their job as possible. We have always invested heavily in training at Berkeley PR but improving the structure around it and ensuring no one slips through the net as we continue to grow is absolutely essential.
5. Internal jobs
In the past when someone we thought someone was ready for a promotion we simply went ahead and did it. If we needed a new person for a role we would advertise. Our new HR manager said that we needed to start advertising the roles internally regardless of whether we felt we know who the candidate was as it sent a really positive message to the team. It told them that all could be considered for promotion. I must admit I was slightly nervous of this as I was concerned about what the disappointment would do to those not successful. What I quickly realised was that the disappointment of not even getting a chance to interview for the role was far worse.
We have done the process on many occasions this year and each time I have found it deeply rewarding. You get to learn more about the candidates and their hunger to progress their careers. They also get to feel that they have really earned the role and get the chance to 100 per cent explain why they should get it. It is also brilliant for those who were unsuccessful as you can give them actual feedback with tangible examples. After each occasion we have revisited appraisal documents and reshaped their goals and targets to ensure the next time they apply they get the role.
Might sound simple but ensuring that everyone feels they have the chance to put themselves forward for a promotion is very empowering. I love this initiative.
These are just the tip of the iceberg of what has been achieved. Hiring a HR manager was a big step forward for us as an agency but the benefits to both us as a business and to our team have been obvious. It has been one of the best decisions we have made over the past few years.
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