Jennifer Padlan
Chief People Officer
Breakthrough Public Schools
Episode 376
Employee-Centric HR: Adapt Your Strategy To Evolve With Your Workforce
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleDecember 17, 2024 · 16:38
Thesis
“Jennifer Padlan advocates for an employee-centric HR approach, emphasizing that effective HR strategies, from total rewards to culture building and change management, must be continuously adapted to the unique, evolving needs of an organization's specific workforce, all while prioritizing continuous learning and open communication.”
Show notes
In this episode of the Built by People podcast, host [Name] welcomes Jennifer Padlan, a seasoned HR professional, to discuss her extensive career journey across various industries, including talent acquisition and nonprofit sectors. Jennifer shares insights on designing effective total reward and benefit systems, which align with employee value propositions and address the diverse needs of different employee demographics. She emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, clear communication in change management, and building a unified organizational culture. Jennifer also highlights the significance of HR professionals remembering their own employee status and taking advantage of work-life balance initiatives. This insightful discussion provides valuable strategies and considerations for HR leaders navigating the ever-changing landscape of workforce management. 00:44 Meet Jennifer Padlan: Career Journey in HR 02:48 Designing Total Rewards and Employee Value Propositions 07:18 Building a Unified Culture in Charter Schools 12:32 Strategies for Effective Change Management 15:21 Final Thoughts and Parting Advice
What you'll take away
- 1Total rewards and employee value propositions (EVPs) must be continuously updated and uniquely tailored to the specific needs and demographics of an organization's employees, as one size does not fit all.
- 2Actively solicit employee feedback on program utilization, needs, and cultural experiences to ensure HR strategies and benefits effectively support them, not just as employees but as individuals.
- 3Build a unified organizational culture by grounding it in the company's vision and core values, fostering commitment through modeled behaviors, and creating opportunities for strong employee relationships.
- 4For successful change management, prioritize clear, early, and frequent communication explaining the 'why' behind changes and provide tools and resources to proactively support employees through the transition.
- 5HR professionals must remember they are employees too; it's critical to leverage the work-life balance initiatives and benefits they help create to avoid burnout and prioritize their own well-being.
What most organizations get wrong
In Jennifer's words
“It is so critical that your EVP and the total rewards package is unique to your organization and to your employees. And as organizations change over time, it really is important to update both of those things on a regular basis.”
This highlights the dynamic and tailored nature of effective rewards strategies, emphasizing that HR packages are not static.
“What do you need? What do you want? What are the things that we as an employer can do or provide to you to possibly fill some gaps and support you not only as an employee, but as an individual, a family member, and so forth?”
This emphasizes a holistic, empathetic approach to understanding employee needs beyond just their professional role.
“I believe that if everyone, everyone buys into that culture, buys into the values and why we are here and why we do what we do, that makes for a more unified employee culture.”
This underscores the importance of shared purpose and values as foundational elements for achieving cultural unity across an organization.
“Open communication goes without saying. I believe a strong employee culture and a unified employee culture is one that believes that open communication and open two-way, three-way, four-way communication is something that is critical to build trust and build respect.”
This stresses multi-directional communication as a critical element for building trust and respect, which are essential for a healthy culture.
“I think that, that communication piece is so— you can't communicate too early. As soon as you know the communication, that the change is going to occur, talk about it, introduce it, socialize it, communicate early and often throughout the process, and really give your employees those tools and resources whether it's training or other types of tools to adapt to the change.”
This provides a clear, actionable strategy for proactive and supportive communication during periods of organizational change.
“I think that in the world of human resources and HR professionals and HR, our HR discipline, it is really important for us to remember that we are employees too.”
This serves as a poignant reminder for HR leaders to prioritize their own well-being and leverage the benefits they design for others.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Struggling to attract and retain key talent in a competitive market due to a weak or misaligned Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
- •Designing generic total rewards packages that fail to address the diverse and evolving needs of a multi-generational or varied workforce (e.g., early career vs. tenured, childcare vs. eldercare).
- •Difficulty in building and maintaining a cohesive, unified organizational culture across a network of schools or disparate teams, especially amidst rapid change.
- •Employee resistance and anxiety during constant organizational changes, leading to decreased morale and productivity when processes or tools are disrupted.
- •HR professionals neglecting their own well-being and work-life balance due to a focus on serving the organization and its employees, leading to potential burnout.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Jennifer Johnson is a career HR professional who has worked across multiple industries
What's Your Career Journey?
Last week I had a conversation with the CHRO on the topic of employee value propositions
Total Reward and Benefit System Design
Jennifer Miller is working to build a unified culture across her charter school network
The Need for a Unified Culture
Talk to your employees and your leaders about creating a unified culture
WSJD Live: What is culture in the workplace?
Communication is key when implementing change, Jennifer says
How to Manage Change at Work
Jennifer, any parting advice that you'd like to share with our audience
Jennifer On Working For Your Employees
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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