Half of All HR Initiatives Fail: Here’s How You Can Ensure Success

Even the best HR technology can’t guarantee a complete success. Just because an HR initiative fails, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great fit for your company. Even the best HR initiatives will struggle without the right strategy and execution. 

Up to two years after implementation, 42% of HR staff reported that their HR initiatives had either failed or “not been fully successful (source: SHRM)

If you ever hang out with the sales team at your company, then you already know how personality and persistence help make sales. In some ways, HR initiatives need to be “sold” and supported internally just like your company’s products in the outside world.

Here’s a look at some big reasons why HR initiatives fail and how you can address these common problems to improve your odds of success.

Lack of buy-in from senior leadership

Just because executives “approve” an HR initiative, that doesn’t mean they’ll personally work to help it succeed. If the C-suite hasn’t even been consulted, then they might even work against the proposed change. Your HR department needs a strong relationship with the CEO to keep everyone rowing in the same direction.

Managers in busy departments may see HR initiatives as a relatively low priority. But HR initiatives are harder to ignore when they’re fully backed by senior leaders. Every company needs an org chart, but divisional and hierarchical charts can make it look like HR lacks direct authority over the rest of the workforce.

Overcomplicating the process

An endless number of variables and metrics go into big picture HR issues like retention and company culture. Don’t let your initiative get bogged down in details or abstractions. 

Realistically, a small HR department can’t tackle absenteeism, recruiting, internal talent mobility, productivity, and employee mental health all at the same time. Pick a couple of high priority issues and choose a couple of simple metrics to target. If you launch five different initiatives to address one problem, then you won’t be able to see which initiative deserves credit for any improvement.

Keep it simple, and leave yourself the option to try a different strategy in the future. Aside from the “big picture” goals to improve culture or employee wellbeing–when do you hope to see measurable results?

Not being detailed and specific enough

Pick your metrics and timeline up front. It’s not specific enough to say you’re improving the “culture” or “productivity” in general. Managers might be skeptical about HR initiatives because they’ve rarely seen clear reporting on HR results.

Tell your workforce which KPIs you’re targeting when you try to boost productivity. Make it a competition between teams or departments. A few of your workers may quickly improve when HR shines a spotlight on their late clock-ins or slow email responses. If you’re relying heavily on employee feedback surveys, then explaining too much about your process might change how some workers answer.

Of course, when you set a specific goal and timeline, there’s a danger of failure. If your initiative fails to improve target metrics, then you successfully tested that one approach!

Little or no implementation plan

If you’ve talked with senior leaders and defined specific metrics, then you’re already ahead of the game. Do you have an end date for changes to be completed? Commit to a specific timeline, even if it needs to be adjusted later. An extended deadline is better than no deadline at all.

How do you plan to roll out changes? Can you start with a test group or individual teams? Plan when to solicit feedback from stakeholders along the way. 

Poor communication strategy

Find the right balance between transparency and information overload. Give the workforce an appropriate level of detail about new HR initiatives and upcoming changes. Keep employees engaged by explaining their role in the upcoming changes.

• Why is the new HR initiative necessary?
• How will the new initiative affect (and benefit) individual employees?
• What action or change is required from workers?
• Who can employees contact with concerns or questions?

Ideally, new HR initiatives should ultimately benefit employees. Employees may be afraid that new changes will make their life harder. Many initiatives aspire to cut costs and reduce business expenses, but everyone at the company should want the business to remain profitable.

Lack of management and oversight

There’s no “set it and forget it” option with HR initiatives. Unfortunately, small HR departments may not have the staffing to manage the execution of your next project. Most HR departments will need to coordinate with leaders across the company to make changes. Aside from building a relationship with the CEO, HR needs to collaborate with the CFO and other leaders. 

Delegate tasks and responsibility without relying too much on HR staff. To expand recruiting in nearby colleges, you should send employees and leaders from relevant departments. Get people outside of HR invested in retention and company culture initiatives by sharing ownership.

Not aligning with strategic goals

How will your next HR initiative help the business meet its current goals? Target metrics that make a difference for your company. If you want to move to a more expensive program, then you should try to identify an area where you would expect to see ROI for the employer.

Ideas to boost culture and support employee well-being need to also benefit the company. Employee surveys are great for tracking changes in sentiment and culture, but the C-suite may be more supportive of initiatives that boost productivity and lower recruiting costs. 

Not properly utilizing HR technology

The latest HR software does a lot more than automate payroll and timekeeping. More detailed reporting should provide actionable insights for HR. Take advantage of HR technology by identifying sources of friction in your current system. When you choose which metrics to target with your next HR initiative, software should make it easy to watch for short term and long term results.

More efficient and user-friendly HR solutions can be beneficial for employees and the whole company. Reduce costs and help workers take advantage of their benefits with mobile-friendly benefits administration software. Streamline onboarding and training with a Learning Management System that also boosts retention.

Ignoring data and lessons learned

When you set goals and track results, some HR initiatives won’t be as successful as you hoped – But that’s a good thing! HR departments need to measure the effectiveness of different solutions and strategies. Like the previous examples show, some great HR initiatives can fail because of poor execution. Compare the results of different strategies for different initiatives, finding out what works best for your company.

Don’t be stubborn about ignoring or hiding failed projects. Share your findings when the results are clear, and come prepared with proposals for your next steps. If you can’t be transparent about failed initiatives, then leadership (and the rest of the workforce) will be even more skeptical about your next proposal.

Discover how Netchex can help you company get the most out of your various HR initiatives: