There’s an old saying, “people don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses.”
But all too often the bosses aren’t even aware that there’s an issue, and therefore don’t make adjustments to avoid costly turnover, or even have a conversation due to a lack of knowledge and communication. At some point they receive a letter of resignation, frequently “out of the blue” from their perspective. And, at the exit interview, the departing employee, when asked why he or she is leaving, speaks in platitudes like the ole “new horizons” excuse, rather than speaking the truth.
So what can be done to try to circumvent this scenario, so that communication, employee engagement, and retention may be improved? Implementing an HR shared service solution to improve employee engagement through an easily accessible and highly personalized interface, gives people the self-service portal they need to communicate freely and keep informed about their company.
A shared services system helps HR professionals manage employee benefit programs, ensure regulatory compliance and adhere to corporate policy guidelines. But there are many advantages to the other employees of the company who use the system as well. Accessing the personalized HR portal enables a wide variety of corporate functionality designed to make work lives easier by having pertinent company information available – at their fingertips.
Shared services solutions gives employees a self-service portal that is customized to each individual – providing them information directly relevant to their profile, transactions and needs. For example, if an individual is single and works part-time, the content presented shouldn’t be about full-time employment and benefits for families. The data-driven interface presents information based upon the individual’s profile.
The HR portal also provides a simplified method to handle a variety of company forms and programs such as tuition reimbursement, leave requests, expense and other approvals, as well as a host of others. But maybe the most important provision for employees is the automated routing and tracking functionality of any filed HR issues between employees, managers and others. This functionality encourages and empowers employees to speak to any challenges they are experiencing via a secure communication system – channeling and addressing issues before they become untenable.
Companies frequently have a customer service focus – trying to optimally serve those who keep the company’s revenue coming in the door; but all too often fail to focus on their employees who keep the business running. Shared services HR solutions help address this need – and in turn help keep employees engaged – and therefore in-house.