With the ‘do more with less’ mentality returning for HR this year, fine-tuning organisational productivity will become imperative. By building high-performance teams, HR can help design a well-oiled machine.

While 2024 is predicted to be less economically challenging than the previous year, some economists are suggesting that inflation rates won’t settle to below three per cent until mid-to-late 2025.

This means many HR leaders will be called upon to streamline and enhance productivity levels in their organisations, drawing on the ‘do more with less’ expertise they’ve been honing over the past few years.

Key to this will be supporting managers and executives to retain and attract talent for the key roles that will move their businesses forward, as well as removing friction points that prevent employees from delivering the full suite of their discretionary efforts.

It’s critical for HR to lay the groundwork to make this happen, says Anya Johnson, Associate Professor and Head of Discipline in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.

“Changing the workplace to support people more effectively is critical,” she says.

Designing efficient processes that can be fine-tuned as your business evolves is more than possible. Much of it is focused on improving current resources – from  optimising the employee experience and streamlining tech.

Strategically investing time, energy and (where possible) money into creating high-performing, cohesive teams is your key to unlocking productivity in your workforce – even during leaner times.

Enhancing the employee experiences

In order for a people strategy to flourish, it needs to strike the right balance of tending to both organisational and employees’ needs.

However, this isn’t always the case. September 2022 research by Columbia University, analysing earnings call transcripts from S&P 500 firms, showed that executives talked about customers 10 times more often than employees. And when they did mention staff, it was often through the lens of risk, rather than opportunity. 

While such a strategy may encourage short-term revenue growth, it could, unsurprisingly, also have significant impacts on a company’s long-term retention metrics.

“A critical aspect of high-performing teams is navigating the social context, such as managing conflict, power and the various personalities that might exist.”  – Stefan Jooss, Senior Lecturer in Management, university of Queensland Business School

In order to get the most from teams, and encourage discretionary effort at a time when it’s needed most, employee buy-in and a streamlined employee experience are paramount, says Alex Pusenjak, Global VP, People & Culture at Fluent Commerce. 

The Sydney-headquartered e-commerce software firm won Best Employee Experience Strategy at the 2023 AHRI Awards and the judges were impressed by the “energy and thought” that the company had put into its employee experience. And it’s clear to see why.

“If you don’t focus on employee engagement, the key risk is your biggest asset looks for that engagement elsewhere,” says Pusenjak. “Not having them on the hook means when another opportunity is dangled, you face losing talent. 

“It’s still a hot labour market [in that] the best people will want to work for a company where they feel they have a voice, and are recognised and appreciated.”

Among Fluent Commerce’s 180 employees spread across nine countries, 96 per cent say they directly know how their job contributes to the overall success of the business – everyone is on the same page.

The company attributes that high rate to removing friction points for employees, acting on feedback, and creating opportunities for growth, belonging and flexibility through a data-driven approach.

Pusenjak says it’s this collection of data, particularly through biannual employee surveys (participation rates typically top 95 per cent), that’s helped create an award-winning employee experience. 

“Sometimes, [we] can get stuck in a rut of being unsure of the next step. [HR] may have had budgets constrained, previous knockbacks or an unwilling leader. But data can be your friend: you can use insights to support your strategies with key decision-makers, create action plans or inform you when something isn’t working.”

In Fluent Commerce’s case, data has been leveraged in honing a tailored employee experience, easing pain points to better enable workflow. People teams and department heads create ‘people heat maps,’ identifying red, amber and green zones to address flight risk or performance concerns. 

Onboarding assessments, periodic interviews and performance tracking provide a holistic understanding of the individual employee. Continuous learning is endorsed through short courses provided by AHRI, such as CPD opportunities, networking events and topical webinars.

Beyond metrics, Fluent Commerce employees also receive a bespoke experience through a career-model framework, hands-on career workshops and the opportunity to work from anywhere in the world for up to four weeks.

“People are increasingly looking for a more tailored career development plan, yet many organisations still don’t provide a learning path for employees,” says Pusenjak. “Even a wellness program can help foster a sense of value and recognition. How companies tailor the employee experience to individual preferences is gaining momentum.”

Without enriching the employee experience, HR leaders may miss a big opportunity to enable their people to go above and beyond at work. Pusenjak attributes much of Fluent Commerce’s success to its attitude to flexible working. A hybrid workforce in a literal sense, although its team can work in person, there are no mandated in-office days, so many of its employees work remotely.

“Buy-in comes from engagement and continual dialog with employees,” says Pusenjak. “Flexibility means more than two days a week working from home. It’s supporting folks with their parental leave, rotating meeting times across time zones, providing job-sharing arrangements – it comes down to being open minded and listening to your people.”

Using technology strategically

A key aspect of a strong employee experience is ensuring people are equipped with the right tools for the job. Yet four years on from the pandemic, some companies are still struggling to ensure their people have optimal software and collaborative tools, especially when they work from home.

This issue is being heightened as more firms adopt hybrid working, says John Van Reenen Van Reenen, Ronald Coase School Professor at the London School of Economics and Digital Fellow, Initiative for the Digital Economy at MIT.

“Combining remote work with the need to create a community in the workplace, which is good for training, creativity and esprit de corps, is a big challenge. So, having robust digital technology to enable effective remote work and strong managerial practices is needed to ensure that remote workers don’t become disconnected.”

Key to Fluent Commerce’s smooth employee experience is a “stacked” tech stack; HR analytics platform Lattice is integrated with BambooHR and Slack to enable teams to identify strengths and development opportunities; LinkedIn Learning is employees’ port-of-call for on-demand learning; and Google Workspace documentation is used for onboarding.

“Operating at full tilt all the time will lead to burnout…negatively impacting both individuals’ wellbeing and team performance.”  – Stefan Jooss, senior lecturer, Management, University of Queensland Business School

But there is no tech overkill. Pusenjak says Fluent Commerce’s people team effectively does a tech audit before a new platform is introduced to employees. That way, platforms work for them rather than against them.

“Before we add anything, we figure out what’s missing and what platform out there could augment value to the employee experience. That’s the critical step. You can have the best technology, but without the correct workflows, and ensuring it makes sense by asking for feedback from employees and managers across 30, 60 and 90-day check-ins, it might not actually be the best tool. You don’t need all the bells and whistles to have the right tech stack.”

Technology doesn’t just mean the apps and platforms employees use for tasks. It extends to data, and collecting metrics that benefit teams and decision-makers. Such is the case with Fluent Commerce.

Johnson says a data-driven approach can improve work design and support employees more broadly, while also recognising the highest achievers in an objective manner.

“Reward and performance metrics can support, rather than undermine, teams.They can disrupt the social capital within an organisation – and social capital is critical for good wellbeing and performance.”

High-performance teams

The goal of optimising productivity is, ultimately, to develop high-performance teams that execute faster, make better decisions, solve more complex problems, and do more to enhance creativity and build skills.

Stefan Jooss, Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Queensland Business School, says such employees are often the sparks of innovation and creativity, resulting in improved financial performance and increased customer satisfaction. 

However, getting there can be a challenge. The recruitment stage is a good place to start.  Research strongly suggests that diverse teams outperform their peers. This can be across genders, personalities and talent itself – such as knowledge, skills and experiences. 

But in the current skills climate, external hiring may not be as available to HR leaders. 

Thankfully, it’s possible for people leaders to build more effective teams from within, says Jooss. He recommends introducing initiatives under the ‘ability, motivation and opportunity’ model. 

“Do team members have the ability to complete their task and operate as a team? If they lack some knowledge, skills and abilities required for the team to work, managers can build their capabilities through specific training, or learning and development interventions,” he says. 

Identifying individuals’ motivations, such as through employee feedback and one-on-ones, can mean leaders are then able to launch initiatives targeting intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors, says Jooss. For one employee, this could be adding them to a challenging and interesting project. For another, this may mean a monetary bonus if they reach certain objectives.

Finally, growth opportunities can exist not only in employees’ roles and promotions, but their psychological empowerment and autonomy, weighed against organisational constraints. 

“Being on a high-performing team provides a place for development and growth, allowing employees to take on new challenges and expand their skill sets. This can have a positive impact on their sense of personal growth, job satisfaction and broader wellbeing,” says Jooss.

This doesn’t mean operating at 100 per cent all the time. Jooss cites research suggesting that 85 per cent of effort is the rule of thumb for teams to reach maximum outputs.

“Monitoring workload, assessing work demands and evaluating supporting resources is required to ensure that employees can work effectively as a team. Operating at full tilt all the time will lead to burnout, ultimately negatively impacting both individuals’ wellbeing and team performance.”

Social context

By sticking to the ‘85-per cent’ goal, teams are more likely to thrive, maximising the productivity and potential of employees and the organisation, says Jooss.  

“Teams don’t exist in a vacuum. They operate within the context of the wider organisation. Therefore, the organisational culture shapes how teams work and the qualities that they display – for example, a positive culture where collaboration is valued and fostered.”

This means a culture in which people leaders can facilitate open conversations between employees. The difference between an under-performing and high-performing team is often down to effective communication, says Jooss.

“A critical aspect of high-performing teams is navigating the social context, such as managing conflict, power and the various personalities that might exist.” 

Jooss says it falls on leaders in particular to create the psychological safety necessary for employees to thrive.

“This includes an inclusive and collaborative climate in which individuals feel they can connect and belong to the team; where they can challenge the status quo and have a voice to speak up and address problems. It also requires a learning environment in which they can safely make mistakes, learn and grow.”

A longer version of this article first appeared in the February/March 2024 edition of HRM Magazine. AHRI does not endorse any of the products named in this article.

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