Description

To truly develop the frontline workforce, you need more than programs or initiatives designed for them. Good HR policies are a competitive advantage, as they can expand talent pipelines and improve employee engagement and retention. Policies should facilitate access to existing jobs and opportunity for advancement, not create unintentional roadblocks. Supportive HR policies take into account the lived experiences of their entry level workers and are designed with them in mind. Policies that facilitate career advancement should align with the recruitment process and demonstrate transparency around career pathways.

Process

As you advance investments in the frontline workforce, regularly evaluate current human resources policies and practices to ensure they truly support professional development and career advancement for these workers.

• Do your research. When it comes to HR policies, what is common practice may not always be best practice. Look to organizations with high rates of employee satisfaction to identify and assess opportunities for improvement. Gather data to demonstrate how policy changes can positively impact business priorities and create a competitive advantage.
• Avoid unintended consequences. Even as you operate with the best intentions, think about how human resources policies and practices will impact the people they’re designed to help. Could a raise of $1 an hour make an employee ineligible for public benefits? Does the upfront cost required for tuition reimbursement prevent lower wage employees from accessing this benefit? Gather input directly from workers to reveal potential blind spots.
• Adopt a P-T-R strategy. PTR[1], which stands for preference, tradition, and requirement, is a decision-making strategy to incorporate more diverse and inclusive practices. It encourages leaders to consider whether a policy is in place simply because “it’s always been like that.” It helps to differentiate between preferences and requirements. For example, a longstanding and recycled job description may list minimum requirements that aren’t actually indicators of job success or competency—but do unnecessarily limit the applicant pool.

What do supportive policies look like? Supportive policies acknowledge the lived experience of frontline workers and address barriers they may face in getting and keeping a job.

[1] Here’s EY’s Simple but Effective Strategy for Increasing Diversity, Fortune.com, February 10, 2017.