Human Resources 2020: Personalizing HR to Provide a Better Employee Experience

Today’s workforce is more diverse than ever.

Five generations are participating. Contingent, remote and alternative work arrangements are mainstream. And a paycheck is no longer enough to keep great people in the fold.

One-size-fits-all HR just doesn’t work anymore.

As an HR professional, you must adjust your strategies to provide personalized services – or risk losing your best employees. Today, we continue our 5-part series on top HR trends for 2020 by providing practical ideas you can use to provide a better employee experience by personalizing HR.

Applying HR Personalization

Companies such as Starbucks and Amazon led the charge with hyper-personalization years ago, delivering shopping experiences as unique as their individual customers’ needs and preferences. To apply HR personalization in the workplace, you can take the same approach: giving each employee options, based on their needs, wants and desires.

Here are a few ways to start:

Personalize engagement from day one. The employee experience begins well before an individual’s first day of work; it starts the instant someone learns about a job opportunity with your organization. By personalizing recruitment strategies, you can attract better talent to your organization:

• Use Facebook’s, LinkedIn’s and other job advertising sites’ targeting features to display the right jobs to potential candidates.
• Tailor job ad images to appeal specifically to your target audience.
• Customize job specs to better reflect potential candidates’ interests and values.
• Add a chatbot to your website/job board to properly route candidates and provide customized information.

Personalize compensation and benefits. While you may not have flexibility in terms of each employee’s pay, there are several other ways you can customize compensation and benefits to better meet individuals’ unique needs:

• Survey employees to find out what matters most to them (the simple act of asking for input increases engagement!). Then, use their input to update your offerings.
• Offer a wider range of perks and benefits that are suitable for a more diverse workforce. Allow employees to select the options that are right for them.
• Provide digital self-service options so employees can choose and change their benefits right from a smartphone.
• Offer a variety of options for getting paid, in terms of timing, frequency and method of delivery.

Personalize career advancement. As we mentioned in this earlier post, retaining an engaged workforce works best with an individualized approach to career development. While certain job titles may have defined career tracks within your organization, growth plans can – and should – be individualized:

• Before meeting with employees, spend time thinking about their strengths and ostensible career goals – and how those align with your hiring needs and promotion opportunities.
• Set aside time for individual conversations to discuss career goals and potential paths to advancement.
• Map out a three-to-five-year plan that meets both your employee’s and your organization’s needs. From there, create a customized learning/training program to close skill and experience gaps.

As technology, the nature of work, and our workforce itself evolves, so must your approach to engaging employees. Personalizing HR services across the employee lifecycle will help you hire and retain better talent.

Want more tips for capitalizing on 2020 HR trends?

In future posts, we will dive into other top HR trends, providing practical HR tips you can use to make it an amazing year. Keep an eye on our blog!

Need help with a targeted recruiting strategy?

As a leading national staffing firm, PrideStaff’s recruiting experts can customize a recruiting plan to identify, attract and deliver the high performers your organization needs. To learn more, contact your local PrideStaff office today.