Everyone’s talking about the human element.

An ADP study reports “seeing a resounding call for employers to focus on the well-being of their workers.”

“The Human Element of Digital Transformation” was the theme of Paperworld 2020.

And Ben Eubanks, CRO at Lighthouse Research & Advisory, predicts that in 2021, employers will reprioritize the human element in how they support and encourage their people.

For a deeper look at this important HR trend, Pet Benefit Solutions turned to Sara Sicherman. Sara is a business coach, consultant, and founder of Strata Consulting. Over the past fifteen years, she’s worked with thousands of businesses.

We spoke to Sara about the human element: what it means, why it’s suddenly so important, and how you can address it. She shared her secrets to empowering your people and skyrocketing your success.

What is the Human Element?

“The human element is the X factor in any framework for success,” begins Sara.

Every business needs to focus on strategies, best practices, tools, and processes. Successful companies are always looking to improve. They’ll create detailed, sometimes technical, plans to implement their vision.

But every plan is only as good as the skills and motivation of the people implementing it. Every vision needs clear communication within the company. Every system depends on having the right people in the right seats to execute it. Untrained or unengaged employees can sabotage even your best-planned processes.

That’s the human element. And in 2021, leaders realize that investing in their people is an integral part of business strategy.

“In the past, a progressive business had a customer-first approach. Now, a company’s success hinges on focusing on their “internal customers” first,” Sara adds.

What’s Different in 2021

The importance of the human element has been here all along. But fundamental cultural shifts are bringing it to the forefront of HR consciousness.

Employees are coming to work with different beliefs than a generation ago. “The Gallup organization tracked a global change in job expectations. People don’t just go to work to earn money anymore. They want purpose and development opportunities. They want to feel challenged, fulfilled and become more.”

And if their current job doesn’t give them those meaningful opportunities? They’ll look for one that will. To attract and retain talent, you need to make employee development a priority.

But that’s not the whole story. This past year’s events fast-tracked significant workplace transformation. Employees feel far more vulnerable than they did before COVID. They’re looking for a trustworthy, secure environment:

• COVID19 brought a new world of safety protocols to protect workers.
• At the same time, employees need more emotional support to adapt to the changing reality.
• Calls for social justice forced businesses to take an in-depth, honest look at their internal practices.

Focusing on the Human Element

While that all sounds good in theory, how does it play out in the real world?

For greatest success, employers must focus on both supporting and developing their employees. Experts identify key areas to work on:

1. Employee well-being is more important than ever. Of course, every businesses’ top concern is physical safety. That includes adequate social distancing, masking, and cleaning procedures. Company culture should encourage sleeping well, eating well, exercising, and taking regular breaks.

But emotional wellness also needs attention. You can help employees through employee assistance programs and by building resilience. Benefits, including voluntary benefits, are also key to employee well-being.

2. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are top priorities for employees. But talking about “diversity initiatives” isn’t enough. Instead, prioritize real policy changes. It’s not easy, but leaders have to study their network and hiring practices to identify bias and correct it.
   
   
3. Employee development is an investment in your company. “There’s a reluctance in the business world to invest much in talent development beyond basic skills training,” explains Sara. Employers sometimes worry about sinking money into employees who will leave the company. But that’s missing an opportunity! Talent development creates a motivated, productive team culture that naturally increases retention.

As Richard Branson famously said, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

Strength-based approach

We’ve seen that addressing the human element includes work on many fronts, but Sara identifies a unifying approach.

“The best way to develop and empower people inside and outside of work is to focus on their strengths,” she says. “Be like coaches of star athletes! They optimize strengths to get superpower performance.”

Most businesses operate from a deficit-focused place. They concentrate on fixing what’s weak or missing. “But Gallup’s over 50 years of research proves that the best ROI comes from doing the opposite. Focus on what’s already strong in your company and simply managing the weaknesses that get in the way.”

The first step is assessing and understanding your team’s strengths. Then, managers can go way beyond simple skills training. They can develop and empower their people to maximize and leverage those strengths.

Instead of reacting to problems, you’re proactively taking your company to next-level success.

“It’s the difference between fixing and not failing vs. maximizing strengths and winning,” concludes Sara. That’s the X factor of the human element.