How would you like to pay - lip service or attention

As much as I dislike the term human resources as a way to describe human beings, I am going to be a bit hypocritical for the sake of a good metaphor.

I have a bit of a bugbear about how we use our resources - people, time, money and stuff - when it comes to initiatives at work. Strategies, frameworks, projects, transformations - all sorts of stuff.

So often, things are developed (some are even good ideas) but not implemented.

> Our organisational values are workshopped, shaped and displayed on the wall - but are rarely embedded into how we work and the behaviours we reward or reprimand.

> Our strategy is a lovely document with some KPIs that need ticking off, but they don't align with the work we end up doing.

> Our engagement surveys are rolled out, data collected, and action plans created, but they are lost to the everyday busyness of work.

> Our tech is purchased or processes designed but are incompatible with the way our different departments work or the systems we already have in place.

So much time, money and effort go into these endeavours, but they languish in drawers and on drives, ignored or, at best, under-utilised. We try to do too much at once. We are impatient with getting to the point we can announce it is done and hand it over to the unsuspecting business to sort out.

Are we paying attention to those who will use and create value from the right initiatives? Or are we paying lip service to engaging our people and using the wisdom and experience of those "resources" for the benefit of a great outcome?

It may mean doing fewer, more impactful things better and supporting an engaged and productive workforce.

So how would you like to pay for those resources - lip service or attention?

#dolessbetter #sustainable #attention #implement #leadership #culture