August 202519BUILDING AN HR DEPARTMENT FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT By Charlie Hoock, Senior Vice President, Power Services & Renewables, NAESAfter a recent HR team-building outing, one of the new hires commented to me that his experience meeting everyone at the gathering reinforced his decision to join NAES. Specifically, he pointed out the level of camaraderie that was pervasive throughout the group, and that just about everyone he met offered to help him getting acclimated. It got me thinking about my journey at NAES since I joined five years ago. More specifically, it caused me to reassess my HR management philosophies, how they've evolved, and what lessons one might take away my experiences. What I've concluded is that our successes at NAES have been the result of relatively straightforward process.For those not familiar, NAES Corporation is a family of companies with a combined workforce of more than 4,000 that provides a portfolio of services to the power and energy industry. NAES is the power generation industry's largest independent services provider, operating nearly 200 powerplants in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. Through its eight subsidiaries, the company also provides a portfolio of services including regulatory compliance consulting, grid management, business management consulting, asset management, metal fabrication and construction, as well as industrial electrical contracting. Having a strong background in the HR field, I had already seen my fair share of organizational struggles and had successfully re-built multiple teams for several large companies. However, when I came on board at NAES, I immediately was challenged by what I considered to be a dire HR situation. I made it my mission to transform the HR organization into one that would be recognized as best-in-class. Now, other companies may be very different than NAES, but I believe the process I used is transferable to just about any organization.Putting Metrics in PerspectiveSuccess needs to be measurable, and understanding as those metrics is a necessity for anyone in HR. They include: turnover and retention rates, cost to hire, time to hire, time to fill, lost productivity, diversity ratios, absenteeism, etc. While these are all valuable, they are also lagging indicators. They can give us baselines, point out shortcomings and help us establish goals. But they don't offer solutions. In today's challenging environment, there is a measurable payoff to be solutions driven.Understand the CompanyMore than just looking at it from the 10,000-foot level, I think taking a closer look is necessary. Learn your business's intricacies, as well as its needs for operating effectively. Learn what makes your company tick and sets it apart. When I started learning about NAES, I recognized its business and structure were different than other companies I had worked for. That didn't affect my process, but it helped me structure solutions more effectively.Create a Vision and Path to Get ThereYou probably already have a vision for what your department should look like, but don't forget to create a roadmap for getting there. Evaluate any impediments that are getting in the way, determine the best ways to remove them, and then replace them with a plan to realize your greater vision for how HR should impact the company. CXO INSIGHTS
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