Work/Life Up Close: Bright Horizons Chief Human Resources Officer's Outlook for 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Highlights
- It’s still about engagement. It’s still about helping people integrate their home and work lives.
- Sustaining core values through a time of contraction in the company is critical.
- The challenge on the table: to show who you are as an organization and deliver on promises within a dismal economic forecast.
Economic uncertainty. New energy in the White House. A new generation entering the workforce. 2009 will no doubt be remembered as a year of unprecedented change. Bright Horizons’ own Dan Henry answered a few questions about what all this means for the way we will work in 2009 and beyond.
In this economy, what changes should employers make, if any, to attract and retain key talent and increase engagement? Do the same rules apply?
The state of the economy, despite the struggle thousands of people are experiencing, creates a unique opportunity for companies to prove that they believe in their values and their mission, and sync these with their core people strategies. It’s still about engagement. It’s still about helping people integrate their home and work lives. It’s still about people trusting in their employer in good times and bad; it’s still about believing that their company is invested in them. The challenges have not changed, but the manifestation of them may have, particularly the way employees are presenting challenges and managing stresses. Employees may now present challenges more as the ability to get by. We’ll see employees struggling financially, with spouses who are not certain of their employment.
The stress of a down economy can lead a lot of people to think there’s nothing to lose, which may liberate some people to really deal with issues with their employment that have been bothering them for some time. Others may feel they have too much to lose and choose to stay with the organization because they’re afraid to leave. Others who are being exited from companies may turn litigious to salvage some part of their financial stability.
Organizations that make smart investments to keep key people will fare better when the economy bounces back. Think about expanding successful work/life solutions and refine target groups for these programs. Companies that will weather the downturn are those that are good at helping people manage the stresses of work/life integration.
What do you envision will be the top work/life challenges for U.S. employers in 2009?
Sustaining core values through a time of contraction in the company is critical. Employees are watching what gets cut. If work/life programs are still sitting outside of other programs in the company, if they’re not integrated into the fabric of everything the company does, they’re not going to be seen as valuable. Ensure that they’re integrated and maintain this integration to illustrate to your workforce that the core of the company is not changing.
Maintaining and growing trust is a big one. With so much in flux, employees need to trust that the leaders of the organization are being straight with them about the status of the company. In a down economy, a good percentage of people may passively look to move on to other companies, viewing these moves as “safer” than their current employer, especially if there were other issues or environmental factors. This is particularly true of rising stars who may start to question whether they still have the same opportunities at the organization they had during a better time in the economy. Perfectly capable of finding work in this economy, your high potentials may set their sights on a company they perceive as still thriving during the downturn. Let the workforce know that leaders are trying to grow the company.
Ensuring good two-way dialogues with your employees is a challenge. Address the real issues beyond the words that people say. Solve real issues that people are having. There are work/life issues that have nothing to do with the company, for example the fuel crisis over the greater part of 2008. As a leader in the organization, ask yourself how you can help people. Be creative in helping people integrate work/life challenges. Communicate honestly and on mission.
Another challenge will be diversity. In light of the presidential election, it’s no surprise that diversity is on the forefront of everyone’s mind. Employers will be challenged in how they recognize the impact of diversity throughout their organizations. And, not just racial diversity, all types of diversity. For example, the next wave of college graduates lived their entire lives during economic prosperity. Yet, they had to experience the traumatic events of 9/11. What effect will their experiences have on their views of work? Will they be more jaded? This generation is betting on itself. They’re self-reliant and entrepreneurial. Will they want to work at companies? Then there’s the issue of green jobs. How will this generation define that? It’s important to try to understand that dynamic.
How can employers keep morale high?
The key to keeping morale high is helping people solve their work/life issues as related to the slowing economy. These are the times when a company’s mission and values are affirmed for people or are revealed as just company rhetoric. That is the challenge on the table: to show who you are as an organization and deliver on promises within a dismal economic forecast. Show people that you mean what you say.
Financial struggles will always be an issue for some people within any workforce. What the organization can do is help people stretch their pay. For example, anniversary/recognition programs are good ways to help people. Instead of giving gifts, give gift cards of cash equivalents. At Bright Horizons, we launched the Bright Bargains program, a discounted online retail shopping portal just for our employees. We added an additional lower-cost health plan option and flexible spending accounts. And we’re looking for additional ways we can help our employees stretch their dollars.
Thinking globally, do you have a sense of what the landscape will look like outside the U.S. in 2009?
The outlook outside the U.S. is the same as inside the U.S. There has been an enormous disruption in emerging markets overseas as a result of the U.S. political uncertainty and trade policies. Globally, economies are struggling, and talent is moving around. For many emerging markets, they can’t keep talent or even get talent to move there.
In discussions with leaders from other organizations, what are employers most concerned about when it comes to people practices? What is keeping them up at night?
I can’t find a CEO or senior HR person who is dialed in who is not staying awake at night thinking about the impact of the Employee Free Choice Act. It is the single biggest change in decades. The rules for organized workers will be completely different in 2009. The Employee Free Choice Act fundamentally changes the employment contract between employers and employees. Organizations need to be dialed in to what keeps people engaged.
Dan Henry has been recognized as a values-driven business professional throughout his varied career. He is a contributing author to Inside the Minds and has been featured in Insights magazine, a publication of the Northeast Human Resources Association (NEHRA) and ExecBlueprints. Dan has also been a featured speaker at the NEHRA annual convention, The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Conference Board and NAAHR. In his current role as chief human resources officer at Bright Horizons, Dan is responsible for the overall people strategy and the delivery of leading-edge people solutions to more than 18,000 global employees. Dan and his wife Angella are the parents of three children.