HR Project: how to respond effectively to the new challenges of the world of work?
These days, many Human Resources Departments have to deal with HR project management.
The reason? An increasingly fluid and digitized working environment, in which new challenges are emerging, such as the widespread use of telecommuting and the deployment of HRIS solutions.
So what are the current issues driving the development of HR projects? How can they be managed in concrete terms, and with what tools? We tell you all about it.
HR project: definition
Project management has become an integral part of HR processes. Indeed, HR departments are called upon to manage numerous projects, both :
- strategic and operational,
- short or long-term.
The aim? To meet the various challenges inherent in today's world of work. This is why the missions of Human Resources Departments are diversifying. They are no longer confined to simple personnel administration and payroll, and must now deal with new elements:
- more flexible workplaces: telecommuting, coworking, flex office, free working hours, etc.
- increasingly volatile and demanding employees,
- growing notions of well-being at work,
- ecological and societal issues, etc.
Examples of HR projects for 2021
Developing telecommuting and new forms of flexibility
- The health crisis,
- but also changes in employee aspirations,
- and the influence of American models,
have placed flexibility and teleworking at the heart of HR priorities.
Human Resources Departments are therefore faced with new challenges:
- logistical and administrative: organization of workspaces, management of equipment, drafting of a teleworking charter, etc.
- on the human side: preventing employee isolation, difficulties in communicating and collaborating, etc.
Start or continue the digital transformation of HR departments
Digitization is no longer the sole preserve of technical and IT departments. HR departments are increasingly turning to online tools, such as HRIS, whose functionalities can be used to automate a number of operations (management of training, absences, recruitment, etc.).
☝️ If digital transformation impacts the Human Resources Department itself, any project in this direction must also include employees: they will have to embrace the new processes that will result.
Enhancing well-being at work
Well-being at work is becoming a major issue for companies, particularly in view of the recruitment difficulties encountered in certain sectors (IT, for example) and the increasing volatility of employees.
As a result, HR departments need to take action to ensure quality of working life (QWL) and foster employee commitment:
- psychological monitoring of employees,
- training programs,
- hazard prevention and compliance, etc.
☝️ Well-being at work can be linked to an organization's CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policy. Such a policy, which encompasses social, environmental and ethical aspects, requires the involvement of every member of the team, managers and employees alike.
Developing the employer brand
Developing an employer brand is a priority for many HR departments. And for good reason: it promotes :
- talent retention,
- the attractiveness of the company to qualified profiles,
- spreading a positive image among customers.
Against this backdrop, Human Resources Departments find themselves diversifying their activities. For example, they now participate in the organization's communication on social networks, such as LinkedIn.
Enhancing soft skills
57% of recruiters say they give more weight to behavioral skills than purely technical ones.
Étude Linkedin Learning
Adaptability, communication, leadership, cooperation... we're hearing more and more about soft skills. And rightly so: in an ever-changing market, employers value autonomous, innovative and team-oriented profiles.
But these skills remain difficult to assess! As a result, HR needs to rely on precise data and procedures, not on their own feelings.
HR project management: sample method
Defining HR project objectives and scope
Project management involves a number of stages, and the HR field is no exception.
To begin with, precise objectives need to be defined, so that the players involved can focus on the essentials and correctly guide their thinking as well as their decision-making.
💡 Example of an objective: developing your employer brand.
Setting clear objectives then leads to the identification of the results expected at the end of the project.
💡 Example of a result: increase the number of unsolicited applications received by 50%.
Ultimately, objectives and results help define the scope of the project, and thus the development of a clear, structured action plan.
Supporting change
An HR project is no trivial matter. It sometimes completely overturns the company's culture and organization, as with the introduction of full remote working, for example.
Human Resources Departments must therefore take this into account when developing their project: by assessing the company's degree of maturity with regard to future developments, they are able to manage the project through the prism of change management.
💡 To overcome resistance to change and get teams on board, you need to share and propagate your vision. Any HR project therefore requires pedagogy and optimal communication within the company.
Identify the stakeholders involved
Project management involves setting up a dedicated team and appointing a project manager capable of taking charge of steering the project and pooling ideas. In our case, this is usually the HR manager.
As for the other stakeholders, there's no need for them to come from the fields of project management or human resources. On the contrary, it's often a good idea to benefit from a wider range of skills to tackle different subjects in an informed way.
Here are a few examples
- recruitment and skills management: managers play a key role in identifying current and future business needs.
- Employer brand development: it's in HR's best interest to call on the company's marketing and communications departments, which have the most legitimate skills in this area.
Identify available resources
What human, material and financial resources will be available to carry out the project?
Before taking concrete action, it's a good idea to make as accurate an estimate as possible, based on past experience, for example.
💡 We recommend creating a resource schedule. Thanks to a precise visualization of the various data, you'll have the elements you need to assess financial expenditure and the availability of the people mobilized as closely as possible, so you can adapt accordingly.
Draw up an HR project schedule
Before the various players get down to work on the project, draw up a precise schedule for its completion. This should include :
- the start and end dates (the deadline) of the project,
- the main stages of the project and the results expected at each stage.
💡 To do this, identify in advance the various tasks required to achieve the predefined objectives, and prioritize them to manage priorities and ensure the smooth running of the project.
Coordinate and monitor the project
Once the project has been launched, it's important that the project manager coordinates the actions of all the parties involved, and monitors progress on an ongoing basis, in order to :
- ensure that the HR project runs smoothly, in particular that objectives are met and deadlines respected;
- remove any bottlenecks that may arise, and act swiftly on any problems encountered;
- facilitate decision-making.
💡 S mooth communication between the various players involved is essential for good project follow-up. That's why we advise you to hold follow-up and scoping meetings as often as necessary.
Evaluating the success of your HR project
Is your HR project complete? It's time to take stock. The first question to ask yourself is: have the initial objectives been achieved? If not, why not?
It's also important to look at whether you've met your deadlines and costs, and what difficulties you've encountered. In this way, you can draw on your experience for future projects, so as to reuse tried-and-tested best practices and avoid pitfalls.
Which tool for your HR project management?
HRIS software remains the tool of choice for Human Resources Departments. In particular, these solutions enable you to centralize all HR-related data, such as leave requests or absenteeism requirements. What's more, by integrating a project management extension into the software, you can capitalize on common information that can be circulated according to your parameters.
🛠️ monday.com HR is a platform dedicated to HR managers. It enables them to track candidate recruitment processes, integrate new employees, create all kinds of templates to save your teams time, and manage data and resources thanks to the included management modules.
🛠️ Project-based HRIS software such as Syrhalogic includes functionalities that facilitate resource management, and therefore HR project management. One example is capacity planning, which highlights the availability of resources over time, according to their respective workloads.
Are you an HR Director? What major projects do you plan to undertake in 2021, and what tips do you have for managing them effectively? Don't hesitate to share your experience with us in the comments ;-)
Article translated from French