Every January 1st starts a new year with new opportunity. Millions of people embrace these new beginnings with a ‘carpe diem’ mentality by setting New Year’s resolutions. Setting goals for the new year is a great way to strive for better health, career advancement, and overall self-improvement. Unfortunately, research by the University of Scranton suggests that only 8% of people achieve their New Year’s resolutions. These findings beg the question: why do so many of us fall short and lose the ambition that was so strong in January? Where did our strict diets go astray or why can’t we stick to saving more money each month?
It’s not a lack of will or determination that keep many of us from sticking to our resolutions, but rather, the lack of real, measurable, process change. The same is true for executives striving to reach organizational goals and missions. Organizations in the Health and Human Services Industry constantly strive to improve their business internally, particularly through their workforce management, in order to provide their clients with the best possible quality of care.
Top Executive Resolutions for 2017
In DATIS’ recent Workforce Management Trends Survey, industry leaders ranked 10 Workforce Trends in order of priority for their organizations in 2017. Ranked in the top three were Recruiting & Retention, Employee Engagement & Satisfaction, and Talent Management.
It is no surprise that these three trends are common goals for industry leaders, as they reflect on these three important workforce goals:
- Finding and keeping top talent
- Strengthening company culture
- Improving performance measurements
These goals together yield an output of exceptional care and service to clients—The ultimate mission for many organizations in the industry.
The Necessary Change for Success
With the necessary changes to your processes, these goals may be achievable. For many organizations, investment in effective workforce management technology is the catalyst for this change.
So, what real changes will an investment in technology offer to help achieve these top three workforce goals?
Where Technology Comes into Play
- Invest in high quality recruiting resources. Career landing pages must have videos and content showcasing the company culture and work atmosphere. Having links to social media sites is also important, especially when recruiting millennials.
- Shorten recruiting and onboarding processes. The right technology can filter unqualified or underqualified applicants and eliminate the re-entry of data, thus streamlining the onboarding process. This would better allow organizations to focus recruiting efforts on what’s important—Finding top talent.
- Invest in SEO – Don’t get stuck on ‘Search Results Page 3’. Search Engine Optimization is more important than ever. Many of us can admit that we rarely venture past the first page of search results. Typically, applicants will not reach your job posting if the link is not on the first page of Google search results.
- Reduce administrative tasks & increase employee satisfaction. Organizations often find their HR Departments spending an entire week processing payroll, or long hours completing open enrollment. Inefficiencies bog down departments and strain employees. Automate those tasks, and allow your payroll manager to work on strategic efforts focused on top priorities like recruiting top talent.
- Keep your employees current and engaged—‘Happy Birthdays’ go a long way. Employee engagement is important for boosting company culture and morale. Invest in technology that tracks employee birthdays and work anniversaries, as well as displays ‘Company News,’ or allows you to showcase your employee of the month.
- Monitor the performance of your workforce. Stop putting off or ditching performance appraisals—Invest in an efficient and effective way of conducting them and holding employees accountable. Always know where your team stands in terms of performance, learning and training, and compliance. These insights will allow you to maintain a top-quality workforce.
Investing in technology to reach these three goals will pay dividends for your workforce and the overall organization. A stronger, happier, and more skilled workforce yields better quality care for your clients—Make the right changes in process to conquer your mission in 2017.
This blog was written by DATIS and may not be re-posted without permission.
