What are the challenges of global process improvement - Henrietta Oláh, HR Global Process Expert at Givaudan

The biggest challenge for me is prioritisation, how we choose the focus areas we want to concentrate on and the criteria we use to decide what we will work on. This decision is influenced by a number of factors and I would like to highlight those that I consider to be the most important and along which I am trying to choose the development objectives for the coming years.

1. Corporate and HR strategy: It is important to meet the expectations and objectives of the corporate strategy. This is the basis for the areas we want to develop and the direction we want to take
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2. Legal and regulatory expectations: Compliance with EU Directive 2023/970, for example, and other similar legislation, is of paramount importance. These regulations will affect almost all companies operating in their home country and in the EU and will require serious attention.


3. Impact on employees and managers: It is important to consider how the proposed changes will affect employees and managers. This could be country-specific or company-wide changes.


4. Efficiency and return on investment: It is important to consider the rate of return on planned projects. What benefits are expected after implementation and how effective will the change introduced be.


5. Other external factors: We need to consider the positive effects of AI, as mentioned in a previous article so I will not go into this, but we should not ignore the negative aspects, such as the recent increase in abuse. It is important to take appropriate measures to protect the company and its employees from these types of threats.


6. Resources: The availability of resources is indeed a major determinant of what we can deal with. The available budget and human resources determine what projects we can focus on.

Once the targets are selected, we will face additional challenges during implementation, of which I would highlight change management and communication as the most important.

Change management is often an underestimated area, even though it is extremely important and meaningful. I don't want to overestimate HR, but it is the one area within the company that affects every single employee. When you are working on a project or process that needs to be communicated to a wider audience, it makes your job significantly more difficult. This can be compounded by additional complicating factors such as the need to implement a project in several countries, in different languages, taking into account cultural differences and in different time zones. There is a wide range of literature on managing change, but for me the difficulties are best summed up by the words of a former colleague.

"The easiest way to make enemies is to try to change something in your life."

My job in development is to change the way things are done.I am constantly training myself in this area and trying to incorporate all the experience I have gained, but it continues to challenge me every day. I believe that lasting results can only be achieved if staff see the positive impact of change and are committed to it. There is more that could be written on this topic, which would merit a separate article, which I don't have the space to do at the moment, but without raising this issue, the answer to this question would not be complete.

There is no single secret recipe for success in communications, as every company has its own culture and values, and these need to be aligned with them However, the points I have gathered will hopefully help others to think about how to prioritise and choose their areas for improvement.

My question is addressed to Judit Marázi, HR Specialist and Organisational Development Consultant:

What kind of joint work is needed between managers and HR on recruitment and retention?