Strategic HR: Overcome HR Hurdles and Drive Business Growth – Siana Crescenzi

[00:00:00] Welcome to PeoplePulse. Today we have Siana Crescenzi, a distinguished HR professional with over a decade of experience specializing in strategic partnering and advisory roles. Since March, Siana serves as the Director of HR Strategic Partnering and Advisory at Pembina Pipeline Corporation. She leads the transformation of the strategic HR role, fostering a diverse, inclusive, and high performance culture.

[00:00:29] Siana provides strategic support to leadership teams. She’s a dynamic leader and an advocate for positive change within organizations. Siana, welcome. Happy to have you here.

[00:00:40] Oh, thank you very much. Thank you very much. And I likewise, very happy to be here.

[00:00:44] Siana, going back to your consulting days, can you tell us what metrics have you found to be most valuable in measuring the return on investment from HR initiatives?

[00:00:57] Yeah, I mean, there’s many metrics and before I get into the details of those, I think it’s really important to highlight that you can’t look at metrics and data in isolation. You always need to look at it in the context of what’s the data and the metrics that you need to evaluate, measure as it relates to your talent strategy, the corporate strategy, the service you’re providing, business objectives.

[00:01:21] And, you know, part two of that is, I think, the need to tie the data and metrics together to look at a holistic and collective picture versus just an isolated view. So, I mean, metrics, common ones, there’s, you know, leading and lagging ones, but the key ones that, you know, I’ve focused at on looking are related to employee engagement and satisfaction, looking at diversity and inclusion metrics.

[00:01:45] You know, we will live in a world that has, you know, a lot of diversity, a lot of migrating populations, aging workforce, new generations coming into the workforce. So that diversity piece is very important, but more important than that is looking at the culture of inclusion and how that’s measured, because you can hit diversity targets and numbers, but that’s not what the work should be grounded on. It’s about obtaining talent and inclusion is very important on that front. Other common ones are performance and retention and, you know, again, looking at it from, from an isolated view, you can look at it that way as a whole population of your staff.

[00:02:23] But how you start looking at what is the performance and retention of high potential employees, critical skillset employees, that gives you a strategic view and targeted approach to how you manage workforce and mitigate risk. And I think, you know, overall workforce demographics, right? So age, gender, ethnicity, tenure, really helps in understanding, your baseline workforce demographic, and you’re able to then kind of couple that with what’s happening in the macro environment and identify opportunities to sustain your business and achieve the business outcomes.

[00:02:58] So, I mean, those are some of the high level ones that, you know, I think I’ve traditionally focused at looking. Of course, there’s one specific, you know, to functions within HR. So, recruitment, you can have, you can look at the overall life cycle of a role, how long has it been active, posting period, number of candidates you’ve attracted, what is the diverse pool.

[00:03:19] So, I think it’s just important to, really ground on what is the purpose of the metrics and the data that one is collecting in service of the greater organizational goals and strategy. Thank you very much. I would also say that evaluating the return on investment for HR Tech is quite critical.

[00:03:40] Can you tell us how do you approach measuring the impact of HR Tech in achieving some of these specific performance goals that you’d mentioned? What metrics have you found to be most precise, let’s say, or most valuable?

[00:03:55] Yeah, absolutely. I think, you know, again, just before we get into the metrics piece, it’s really important to ground on the purpose of the HR tech and the early engagement of various audiences. Be it executive leaders, leaders, the employee base and align on what is the why of the tech that we’re implementing, incorporating the voice of the customer into that, which the customer is everyone in the organization with that. Right?

[00:04:22] So when I think about, you know, metrics in general, it’s, you know, user adoption of the technology. So how are people actually interacting with the system? Now, the companies I’ve worked with have, have had self service technology, kind of that underpins the base HR operations pillar of the service.

[00:04:41] So what’s the interactivity of the audience with that from a leadership level, from an employee level? How are we managing tickets? The service level agreements that we have in place, you know, how are we honoring those in terms of timing, of delivery on questions, or concerns, or matters? So that adoption piece is, I think, a big one, right, to actually evaluate how are people interacting with the tech and did we achieve what we planned to as part of, you know, scoping the tech and the business need we were seeking to solve.

[00:05:10] Other pieces that come to mind are the user experience. You know, and that again comes with early upfront engagement of stakeholders in designing the technology. If you want your user adoption and experience to be high, you have to look at how you partner with your customers to enable that. So user experience and interacting with the system.

[00:05:31] Productivity is another one that comes to mind. You know, how is the system enabling people to be more productive? So, you know, people, leaders, as well as HR. Right? Like, what is the productivity impact? Because the system should also be driving productivity and efficiency for HR. And then I think it’s also very important to, anytime you go through a tech implementation, how are you actually going back and conducting some qualitative feedback?

[00:06:01] And of course, you can scope out the right audience for that. You probably should have the same set of audiences that was engaged, you know, in the startup of the tech, but you know, that can be through surveys, conversations focus groups, one on ones, but definitely important on that front. And then, you know, the other piece is just the reporting capability that becomes available through HR tech.

[00:06:24] What is the data back to your original question with the metrics? What is available with a click of a button? How is it? How quickly is a report generated that can provide an aggregate view of data and some insights on talent health, but then can inform leaders to make business decisions? Thank you. This is very insightful.

[00:06:44] And you know, we often see, I don’t know if you will agree, but I think that there’s often initial surge of interest, right? When you adopt a new technology, because it’s, you know, it’s new. This is right after implementation, but then sometimes user engagement might decline. Have you ever encountered this pattern?

[00:07:04] And if yes, what strategies have you used to address it? Yeah, absolutely. I’ve been through two HR tech implementations from ideation through to implementation and sustainment, and you can always plan for that. You know, adoption is not just going to soar and keep growing. You will hit a bit of a plateau.

[00:07:26] So absolutely. I’ve encountered it. I think it’s something that, you know, any HR department leadership team, you know, executive should plan for, and that’s okay. Anticipate it and build it into the plan. And I think, you know, when it happens, what are the strategies that you will pull to actually understand what’s driving that?

[00:07:47] So, you know, a lot of it, I think, comes down to you ask, how do you manage that? So a) the proactive anticipation plan, when do we, where do you anticipate we might have some adoption decreases and why? Is there a specific audience? How do you proactively mitigate that through effective engagement with customers?

[00:08:08] And then, you know, in the event that it does happen is, you know, I think building the time to understand why. So if it’s, you know, senior leaders understanding, why aren’t you, you can do this in the system, you’re bringing this request through to HR can actually go directly to self service. Let me show you.

[00:08:25] How to do it. So I think modeling and understanding the technology, every HR individual that is client facing needs to have that understanding and to be able to play and navigate and show. So conversations, also reports, and the user adoption piece that I talked about can help. Give you a picture of where you’re at compared to where you anticipated to be at.

[00:08:45] And just having tactics in place to manage that change and continue that adoption. And, you know, I think another important piece is we tend to focus on: oh, who are going to be the resistors? Where will we see adoption curves drop? What if we flip that on its head and actually focus on who are the champions?

[00:09:03] Where can we recognize people that are doing this well and, you know, have them speak to what capacity that did that open up in my day? How did that make me more effective? So that you actually have people steering the change and talking about the benefits versus it being just an HR led piece of work.

[00:09:21] Amazing. I think this is very useful advice for anybody who’s implementing HR tech, you know, especially the piece of, you know, understanding the why. Focusing on the why and flipping the conversation into the ambassadors. Maybe you can share a successful story and you mentioned before that HR techs come with the change management, right?

[00:09:42] So we can ensure this high user adoption and smooth transition. Can you tell us a bit more, how have you approached it or how have you ensured that there has been a successful approach that has actually promoted this buy in and maximize the impact, let’s say through program ambassadors.

[00:10:01] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:10:04] I’ll come back to the program ambassadors piece and maybe just talk about the change management because that is actually the foundation. To any, any tech implementation, HR specifically, because it has an impact on changing the work that humans do and, you know, unlocking more capacity, time for creativity and innovation.

[00:10:24] So change management is the foundation. I think we need to look at, yes, there’s the tech piece, but. Underneath that, it’s really about actually engaging people and understanding the why and the benefit for them. So, it’s very important, I mean, I’ve been a part of two. One was very successful, one was not as successful.

[00:10:45] And when I look at the difference, you know, the key, success ingredient is really building the time and space to conduct an appropriate needs assessment. So why are we actually looking at implementing an HR tech solution? What is the business problem that we’re trying to solve? And not containing it from an HR view. Let’s extrapolate that and look at what is the overall business challenge we’re seeking to solve and how does it connect to our corporate strategy, right?

[00:11:15] I think it’s so important. That’s one of the areas that I see opportunity for HR and how do we break out of, you know, our silo of human resources and connect all of our work to actually advancing business outcomes and strategy. So the needs assessment is key. I mean, with that, it’s really understanding where are we at today?

[00:11:36] Where do we want to go? What is the art of the possible that comes into play with that in the future of HR? And then, you know, soliciting feedback and input into that upfront from the- I talked about the voice of the customer. So looking at what is that audience that you want to engage as part of the needs assessment to really get clear on, is this HR tech actually going to solve the problem?

[00:11:57] And are we aligned on what the problem is that we’re trying to solve? And of course, through that process. You want to, you know, encourage flexibility, engage leadership and not just leadership, you know, people that might be very strong change agents that we know are ambassadors of change at the company.

[00:12:13] How do you engage them early on? So I think that that’s, you know, a key piece and it’s, you know, for the purpose of this, we could have a whole session just talking about this, right? Like I’m oversimplifying it.

[00:12:25] I couldn’t agree more. No, no, I couldn’t agree more. I think it’s such an important piece of the success of the entire project management.

[00:12:32] So thank you for taking the time to explain. And I can, you know, it’s difficult to simplify it because it’s such a huge part of having a successful implementation, right?

[00:12:43] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think. You know, it’s also being creative around who actually speaks to this. Of course, HR has a role, but how do we actually enable leaders across the organization, people to be the front?

[00:12:58] Of the technical parts of the technology, anything HR related, of course, HR will own, but sponsor it through people, through stories, through conversations. And again, align it to the business strategy and the outcomes we’re seeking to achieve as a company and how this will enable that.

[00:13:16] Great. Thank you very much.

[00:13:19] Now, as companies increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making, we too in HR try to leverage data analytics so we can enhance our HR strategy. Can you describe a situation where you had to use data analytics to optimize, let’s say an HR process? What data have you found useful to use and how did you realize the outcomes of it?

[00:13:50] I mean, there’s a number of examples that come to mind. One that was particularly impactful is, during my time, when I had my consulting business, you know, working with a company that was in the manufacturing industry. Through the data that we gathered, it became evident that we had a challenge with the future workforce being that a large part of the population of the critical rules were filled with people that were close to retirement transfer that was active. The industry, it’s external evaluate, you know, there’s the internal lens, but also with the external piece, there wasn’t a lot of interest in the industry from younger generations. So, you know, the future workforce and the diversity of our employee population was limited.

[00:14:42] So in Canada specifically, we have four designated groups that we focus on from the lens of EDI, and that’s women in leadership, indigenous population, people with disabilities and what we term as visible minorities. And I actually hate that term, but that’s, you know, the immigrant workforce that is coming into Canada, which is very, very high. So what we did is we took a look at, you know, made a case essentially for, we have a problem here and connected it to, this is actually a business continuity problem and forecasted based on engagement with the people. We anticipate we’re going to have a critical skillset gap within the next couple of, I think it was three to five years where the population, critical skill sets was set to retire and from the external lens, in partnership with the recruitment, we did actually like some, a targeted campaign, coupled with data.

[00:15:39] We understand what’s preventing diverse population from applying, as well as, you know, the younger generation, particularly that future workforce. So all of that informed a targeted talent acquisition strategy as well as an internal knowledge transfer program was developed. So from the standpoint, we partnered with various associations based on those four categories that I talked about, that we focus on, particularly focused on the visible minority groups, because I mean, Calgary specifically has such a high population of immigrant talent coming in, very experienced, willing to work and do anything to get Canadian experience.

[00:16:20] So looked at some strategic partnerships, with associations that support newcomers coming into Canada. Sponsored some job placements for that talent as part of the knowledge transfer. We actually had individuals also, we partnered specifically with one association in talking about our business and the type of skill sets we’re looking for.

[00:16:40] And they, they did their own internal matching process of people that actually have some manufacturing experience. That, you know, could come in and really narrow the training, that was required. So, that’s on the TA front on, you know, the knowledge transfer side. It was really understanding like what are the critical skills that the anticipated retiring workforce has and developing a training program around that.

[00:17:07] And we looked at, you know, high potential, high performer talent is kind of being the first wave to go through that, to get them engaged. There were also ambassadors of the change and then job shadowing placement programs were a part of that cross functional rotations to really enable people to step out of their specific siloed work to be able to plug and play based on where the needs were.

[00:17:37] So I think all in all, we changed the talent management strategy for the company through that and it, it paid off. Absolutely. We would have been in a very different position if we didn’t do the work to starting with the data. What is the internal challenge that we’re facing with, with our talent? And why aren’t we actually attracting external talent that we need to mitigate the gap?

[00:18:00] Wow. I mean, that’s such a great example of also how HR’s impact solves real business challenges, right? And it’s quite innovative approach, what you did on the TA front and knowledge transfer, utilizing the ambassadors. And we briefly, you briefly touched based about building an inclusive workplace. So what would you say have been the top three challenges that you have encountered when it comes to building an inclusive workplace and maybe some other interesting initiatives that you’ve done to address them?

[00:18:37] Yeah. Yeah. I, there’s a lot of challenges as I’m sure you know, and you’ve heard from speakers in this. I mean, you know, the top one that is just inherent is unconscious bias. That is something that exists for us in humans. And we just need to A, accept that. But then how do we build the awareness around that?

[00:18:57] And, you know, part of it is training, you know, programs to read or raise awareness around that. But I think to really have something that’s sustainable, it’s establishing systems that… a systemic view of really eliminating that. So it can’t just be, you know, training that you go to for the sake of training.

[00:19:18] How do we actually build in training around unconscious bias as part of performance reviews, as part of calibrations, as part of compensation cycles, as part of top talent evaluation? How do we build it into the day to day work that we do and how we coach leaders and partner with them? Because unconscious bias, in order to actually address that there is a need to unlearn what’s been our lived experience to learn something new, right? So it’s creating the conditions for that. Another common challenge I have found is that there’s this focus on targets versus the foundational work, which is actually embedding EDI into your company’s culture and strategy.

[00:20:00] So we need to get grounded on what’s the clear purpose of the work and why EDI is important and actually a key ethos and enabler of our strategy. Without inclusive policies, practices, I mean, EDI does not progress and targets will never be achieved, but it’s about really looking at, you know, the work strategically and embedding it in the day to day and it being central to the values and the culture of an organization.

[00:20:26] And the other, the other common challenge I’ve come across is… it’s just a lack of, lack of leadership buy in. I’m fortunate to work for a company that buys into this, you know, all the way to the very top of our executive leadership team. And it’s when you have that, it’s magic. Anything’s possible.

[00:20:45] But when you don’t have that, and I’ve been in those situations. It’s very hard to push that work, you know, a pill into you’re constantly selling it. So how do you actually build that leadership by an upfront? And again, that’s where I think it needs to be fostered in, grounded in the values in your culture, in leadership accountability.

[00:21:05] And how leaders are assessed and how HR coaches and partners with leaders to shift that perspective. So those would be the top three that come to mind, but again, any company is, is unique in the changes that they face based on where they’re at and their, and their strategy.

[00:21:22] Yeah, especially and underlining here, as you yourself said, you also have to have the support from the executive leadership team, not to continue selling it, but actually just, you know, working on how to promote it within the company.

[00:21:39] Another point here would be that the employee resource groups are now increasingly recognized as pivotal in fostering an inclusive culture. There’s been this research by McKinsey that show that companies with diverse and inclusive cultures are 33% more likely to outperform peers. Now, can you share some specific initiatives that have led to some tangible improvements of how these employee resource groups contributed to having a more inclusive culture?

[00:22:14] Yeah, I think employer resource groups are central to advancing EDI and building an inclusive workforce and putting, you know, people that represent those different groups at the forefront of leading the work is key. So, you know, a couple of examples I can share. I’m part of, I’m actually the co chair of a multicultural resource group.

[00:22:37] My background is I was born and raised in Bulgaria. You know, my parents were immigrants to Canada and fortunate enough to, you know, built the career I have, while also honoring, you know, my background and my ethos through that. But with the multicultural resource group, it was led by the, the group that stood up to essentially stand the cause up and built an understanding of, you know, what it is to be a multicultural employee in the workforce and, you know, bringing and weaving in the stories, the culture, the learnings across the organization.

[00:23:11] So, you know, a couple of things that we did. We stood up a couple of years ago, right around the September, October timeframe. We thought, okay, so the holiday season is upon us. What do we do something fun and engaging that can, you know, enroll the whole organization in our cause and what we’re seeking to do.

[00:23:28] So as a part of that, we did a happy holiday greeting video in different languages. So we brought people of different cultures to be a part of this opportunity and it was very well received and embraced. There was a lot of, you know, we posted it on our intranet, a lot of comments from employees and something that, you know, that was requested, you know, it’s kind of a tradition now that we do annually.

[00:23:52] So that was a cool experience. We also had our first ever, we have a specific day in Canada where we honor people of different cultural backgrounds. So we planned a potluck celebration for that. This was post COVID so we could do that and really engaged in partnering with local food trucks and, you know, companies that have food truck businesses that were able to come in and serve different types of cultural foods.

[00:24:20] I think we also had some performers with traditional dance and storytelling. So I think it’s those things – providing an experience. Right. For people to immerse into something different. Yeah. So that was one. And another one was our Women Inclusion Network. Was part of… in partnership with HR, Communications.

[00:24:42] I mean, this was a cross functional team that came together with a vision of putting together Women in Field Summit. And so the event was designated to foster connections and create a safe space for sharing. For women to share their experiences with specifically women in the field. So 166 field employees attended this event.

[00:25:03] A lot of planning went into it, you know, with this cross functional team across our company. And really it was centered on sharing the experiences of what it is to be a female in the field. And providing tools for navigating diverse work environments, establishing a forum for empowerment that drives high performance and engagement.

[00:25:23] And it was incredibly well received. I mean, we had women that, you know, have been in the field in other companies and have said, never participated in something like this. And it was life changing. But again, we had that cross collaborative approach and it was, we had female VPs, as well as our COO. You know, they’re to sponsor it and be in the forefront of it.

[00:25:43] So when you have that, it just demonstrates the commitment to this work, it’s not just a checkbox exercise. We have all the way again to the top of our most senior leaders in this organization. They believe in this work and they see the value in it and they empower us to be creative and going about how we make a change that’s meaningful.

[00:26:04] Wow. This was, this was amazing. Thank you so much for your honesty, for your optimism throughout this conversation. It’s been so refreshing to hear your insights. It’s safe to say that we’ve gained so much actionable advice from this conversation. I really hope that we’ll have you again here on People Pulse.

[00:26:27] And to all our listeners, If you found this episode as useful as I did, subscribe for more insightful discussions with leading experts in HR and leadership. Stay tuned for our next episode as we continue to explore the heartbeat of a healthy workplace. Thank you!