Making better decisions, management style and meaningful conversations

Invigorated and inspired by the recent CIPD annual conference, we're still beaming from the insightful discussions held across the two-day event.

It was fantastic to see so many HR professionals all in one place, and we had a great time chatting to as many attendees as we possibly could.

Since the event, we've been revealing our top five takeaways from the conference. Read on for more...

Takeaway two: Tech, analytics and evidence-based decisions

No surprise that another highlight for us was the focus on how technology can help HR professionals, and organisations as a whole, make better decisions.

A topic that has been treated with nervousness by the HR world in the past, people data is quickly becoming a valuable and essential tool for organisations big and small.

While HR is by no means solely a numbers game, having reliable data that can be easily collected can give useful insight into issues such as sickness levels, overall performance, diversity, turnover, and much more.

The ability to delve into the data, finding trends in particular business areas – or even geographical regions for larger companies – can help HR Professionals better understand how their HR processes are working, and where their people need support.

The data also can help to get the attention of the wider organisation, particularly if there’s an issue that requires urgent attention. This leads to valuable conversations, and ultimately evidence based decisions that make a true difference to how an organisation works.

When used effectively, the analytics available through sophisticated modern technology can simplify decision making in organisations. However, as discussed at the conference, the plethora of data and analytics available, and what it all means, can become overwhelming.

But, luckily, this is an area in which our expert team at Cascade HR excel.

We can help

Take a look at our recent insight guide on using big data to conduct better workforce planning, speak to our team about your people data needs, and keep an eye on our Resources for more.

Takeaway three: Engagement, experience and people management

Worryingly, management style was rated as the second top cause of stress related absence in the 2019 CIPD survey on health and wellbeing at work. And that statistic really got us thinking….

Here at Cascade HR, we talk about engagement a lot. After all, by streamlining processes to free up time and empower employees, our products and solutions are a great way to improve employee engagement. But how can we do more to encourage management styles that add to engagement?

Listening to the free learning session on ‘Life after appraisals – a new performance management model’ hosted by Clear Review was a poignant reminder of the importance of conversations between managers and their team members. The traditional appraisal process is a good example of the binds that often get in the way of meaningful conversations.

Changing the emphasis from filling in forms to having regular conversations is key to boosting employee engagement and experience. We were also interested in Clear Review’s encouragement to replace objectives with agile goals, and building cultures of accountability and behavioural change.

With the future of work already here, we’re keen advocates of reviewing the way things have always been done to make sure they’re still fit for purpose. Technology like ours has been created to simplify processes that have historically revolved around formal documentation, giving way to meaningful and regular conversations taking centre stage.