Annual Do 2015

Blimey… Doesn’t time fly? The third Annual Do was upon us, yet it only seemed like a few months ago since the last one!

After a themeless couple of years, at risk of getting a bit more formal than usual I floated the idea of having “Growth” as the theme for this year’s Annual Do. No, not the growth of my 18 year old son, because if anything he has been regressing and with his current trajectory he will revert to being a foetus, but how the growth strategies of businesses often miss out the people dynamic, and what we as a profession can do to ensure that growth at an individual, team and organizational level can be nurtured.

Hearing from a CEO on their perspectives for what execs look for from their HR team has become a customary part of these events now and it was a pleasure to have the ex-CEO of B&Q, Martyn Phillips, along. There was a moment of panic the day before as he said that he had sustained a bad strain during a rugby match, but in he hobbled… Never in doubt. What made Martyn’s insights all the more, well, insightful, were the fact that he actually started life in HR, and also because of his humility in discussing the challenges he encountered as the boss of a large, high-profile business. So what were the key nuggets?

• All senior executives are insecure and need a strong co-pilot for support. This is where HR have a key role to play by enabling the executives to focus on the right things, and by being the eyes, ears and conscience of the organization.
• Hire right… First rate people hire first rate people. Second rate people hire third rate people.
• Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Use your strengths, and use others in your weak areas.
• Be transparent with talent management. Ongoing performance reviews, and having talent review discussions with the people under review in the room.
• Know how organizations work, and how to get things done. “Get in the flow”.

Next up was e2v’s Dina Knight. She took us through a review or organization capability that she led to assess readiness to deliver the strategic plan. It is now a process that is ran by HR but the content is very much owned by the business and whilst the outlook is 3 years the plan is continually updated in response to and changes. The key components of the review are:

• Long term strategy.
• Any forseeable changes to the shape or size of the organization.
• Leadership succession.
• Talent acquisition requirements.
• A skills analysis which identifies capability gaps, emerging requirements, declining skills, etc
• Capability development.
• Retention and attrition trends.

After an unscheduled break, mainly because I forgot to schedule one in for the morning session, John Cunnell from Comptryx took to the stage (well, OK, floor) to highlight the importance of workforce analytics as a means of providing data and delivering information that drives business strategy and enables us to determine the optimal size, shape, mix and cost for our businesses. Key metrics to benchmark against comparable businesses may include:

• Revenue per head.
• Average salary.
• Payroll as a % of revenue.
• Workforce ratio (support, professional, management, executive).
• Spans of control.
• Churn rates.  
• Percent of staff promoted.
• Gender by function and level.
• HR staffing. In tech, HR typically accounts for 1.4% of total headcount and 1.6% of payroll costs.

Adam Hartley from DLA took the post-lunch slot to provide an update on developments in UK employment law.

OD specialist Win Dhat, who heads up the European practice for consultancy Kates Kessler, then provoked much discussion through proposing that more complex business strategies have resulted in more complex organization structures and that this means a need to review whether the model for HR needs to evolve further. Win argued that:

• There is a need to balance global decision making and the leverage that provides, with local decision making and the agility which that provides.
• HR resources lack flexibility, work is generated at too low a level, and despite the proliferation of shared services work is still not coming off the HRBP’s plate.
• In addition to the model that supports Centres of Excellence, Shared Services and HR Business Partners, a new component that enables delivery is also required. Many in the room felt that this was already catered for in the current model, and that this separation of delivery would only work in large enterprises with scale.

Andy Gillham brought an enjoyable end to Day One through facilitating a power-point free workshop on organization culture. After setting the scene with a definition of culture and some important underlying assertions, not least of which was the central role that a healthy and positive culture has on the long term success of any business, we all split into teams to discuss:

• The key conditions that determine the outcome of any culture change.
• The role HR can play in ensuring that the outcomes of any change are positive.
• What characterizes those organizations that are able to sustain a positive culture.

The fantastic setting for the Annual Do meant that we were all very much looking forward to beers and nibbles on the terrace overlooking St Pauls. Unfortunately rain stopped play…

Day Two started with the need for a Plan B due to a late pull-out of one of our presenters, as she was by her daughter’s side to be a grandmother for the first time it would have been churlish to question her prioritization J

In to the Plan B breach stepped CooperVision’s Martin Percival and Jane Ainsworth, along with Adam Hartley from DLA. What should have been an hour’s whirlwind tour of their recent acquisition of Sauflon turned in to a fascinating two-hour case study which looked at the two organizations, the integration strategy, communications, the assessment process used to build out the integrated sales team, and the legal considerations that cropped up along the way. The key learning points included:

• The need for a thorough due diligence process with early HR involvement.
• Partnering constructively with the HR team from the acquired organization.
• It’s a marathon rather than a sprint, and maintaining business as usual as it all proceeds can be challenging.
• The need for consistent, constant and careful management of expectations.
• Don’t be afraid to professionally exit managers of the acquired organization if they do not want to play a part or look to block progress.

An often overlooked area that is taken for granted yet can be a significant obstacle to growth is the whole issue of cyber security. Jacqui Summons from Clearswift took us through the various forms this could take and the impact (reputational, financial, and/or competitive) any security breach or data loss could have on the business and the role HR has to play in either preventing this in the first place or picking up the pieces after any incident. The key takeaways were:

• Develop and communicate appropriate policies. Particularly ones that deal with today’s challenges e.g. social networking.
• Have clear disciplinary processes to deal with silly mistakes or malicious actions.
• Provide adequate training.
• Be aware of the information that your business has – how critical is it, and how secure is it.
• Implement adequate precautions to protect data.
• Put in place contingency plans to deal with worst case scenarios.

After lunch there was a further DLA update, this time on data privacy (check out www.dladataprotection.com for a free country-by-country resource) and developments in employment law in the key European territories. There were audible gasps in the room when Adam said that it looked like there would be some positive changes to some of the laws in France… Whatever next?

Enter Nigel Baldwin, someone who makes most of us feel totally inadequate by the complexity of the projects that he deals with and the stuff he manages to get through in such a relatively concentrated period of time. Last time it was with Thales, this time it was a project he has been leading at Marshall Aerospace as part of their “Fit for Growth” initiative. The key outcomes of his project has been the transformation of an “unfit for purpose” HR function, the closure of 2 sites, a 15% reduction in force, two acquisitions, revised union recognition arrangements, a new approach to engagement, and the roll-out of new and improved terms and conditions. Rumour has it that Nigel may take a 5 minute break soon J

Clive Bunyan is leading a project to upskill HR capabilities within Ciena. I hope “Being Present” doesn’t figure too highly as yours truly had to take an emergency call and so missed most of what his colleague had to say! The key points to emerge however were:

• The changing skills required of our leaders in increasingly complex times means that the role of HR is evolving, as is the HR model, along with the skills and capabilities needed by HR business partners.
• Companies with high-performance HR teams are far more successful than others (Deloitte, 2014).
• The key emerging capability is one of “Anticipator”. Someone who can use data to predict talent gaps in advance and provides insights about how talent can contribute to business goals. This is dependent on the availability of strategic data and someone with the ability to interpret the data in a meaningful way.
• Related capabilities include personal impact, ability to challenge and provoke, catalyst, coach, and an integrator of resources.

Drawing Day Two and indeed the event to a close was Jason West, who shared a case study on a project he ran in Thales to build an integrated resourcing model to ensure that the business had the capability it needs where and when it needs it. In delivering this project, Jason delivered a £20m reduction in operating costs, drove hiring to 98% direct, and realized a £9m saving over the prior RPO arrangements. The three core components to ensure optimal resource allocation and maximum return on investment are:

• Resource planning. This is a monthly calibration of changing demand for resources from strategic initiatives, the sales pipeline and customer demand.
• Internal mobility. This is the ability to quickly and efficiently deploy permanent and contingent resources to product lines, projects and functions.
• External recruitment. Acquire, select and retain the best talent from the market.

And so that was it, the curtain came down on another successful Annual Do. It had been a rich two days with a good blend of external expertise, and knowledge sharing from within the IHRF itself.

 

A massive shout-out (yoof speak, I believe, for “thank you very much”) to all of those who volunteered to take to the stage. And many thanks too for those who turned up. Taking two days out of a busy work schedule is a daunting thing to do, but I would contend that (assuming you are capable of putting the BlackBerry to one side and taking time away from the hurly-burly) it is time well spent. Not just from the information sharing, but the opportunity for networking amongst friends and colleagues too.

 

Thanks too to Rob Cook who was my partner-in-crime. When you set the dates for these things months in advance you never consider that they fall in the middle of your son’s AS levels, or that work will get even more super-busy, so to have someone to help chase and harass things in to shape was a relief.

A final word of thanks to Adam Hartley at DLA for once again providing the venue, the refreshments and the legal updates.

The continuing absence of any formality and pretence of professional events administration continues to be well received, so with that in mind I am looking forward to seeing faces familiar and new at the Annual Do next year! As it is also the IHRF’s 10^th anniversary we may have to recognize that in some special way too. Pub crawl and a curry, perhaps J

P.S. I am looking at some form of file sharing platform to put all the materials from the Annual Do on. More to follow on that.