HR's worst nightmare: imagine new hires feeling lost from day one, crucial safety rules being overlooked, or vital training being missed. Working in HR, you know how challenging it can be to manage employee-related concerns such as compliance, training, and onboarding effectively.
This blog dives into the multifaceted challenges HR faces in ensuring employees are familiar with internal and external standards. We also discuss what causes the most frustration among employees regarding adoption and reveal the key ingredient that can transform these challenges into opportunities for success and employee satisfaction.
From knowing standards to applying standards: How HR can help
HR faces two major challenges:
1. Ensuring employees are familiar with the internal and external standards the organization must meet.
2. Getting employees to follow these standards and understand their importance.
Think of safety guidelines, new ways of working or a code of conduct. You want new employees to get up to speed quickly, and you want to support existing employees by raising awareness, increase knowledge, and improve/sustain application. This is no easy task.
On the one hand, you have to figure out how to organize and keep everything up-to-date effectively. On the other hand, you face the issue that, especially with existing employees, new standards are not always quickly adopted. Effective implementation goes far beyond simply providing information. Employee adoption is a formula consisting of the variables: “necessity”, “willingness” and “ability”. In the following section, we delve into why these three are important when preparing for the implementation of a new guideline.
Overcoming Resistance
No matter how passionate HR is about a new guideline or change, employees often don't immediately embrace it. Employees frequently experience frustration when expected to adopt new standards.- Necessity: Employees need to understand why specific processes and norms are crucial. Explaining the reasons behind the change clearly is vital. This understanding fosters a sense of importance and urgency around compliance.
- Willingness: If employees don't see the benefits or necessity of following a specific guideline, it will only feel like a distraction from their work. Willingness is often influenced by how these standards are communicated.
- Ability: Inappropriate learning methods can make it difficult for employees to apply new standards in their daily work. Application becomes easier when suitable tools and training are provided.