and ESG officer at Marshalls plc

Louise Furness is an experienced HR professional specializing in the strategic review of resourcing strategies and practice, organizational effectiveness, and colleague engagement and communication. In addition to running large-scale service operations in rescue or turnaround scenarios, Furness served as a member of corporate boards and led significant change agendas.

In an exclusive interview with CIO Review magazine, Louise Furness shares her valuable insights regarding the importance of data and metrics in enriching the human resource space. She also discusses why setting diversity, inclusivity, and well-being of employees as key performance indicators is essential for today's businesses.

Please share the various trends you have witnessed in the industry today and how these trends have essentially allowed you to achieve definitive outcomes for your company.

A crucial element emerging in HR is the utilization of data and metrics to understand how the workforce moves. This is in terms of retention, compatibility with the company's environment, and implementing technology to communicate with colleagues. From a strategic standpoint, data and metrics can give human resource professionals a comprehensive view and help them realize what has to be accomplished as a company. But as a manufacturing company, Marshalls plc has several employees whose daily work does not involve the utilization of technology that connects them to the organization's processes. This is the intranet. And this challenge is not limited to Marshalls but the entire manufacturing industry. 

The usage of data and metrics for decision-making has always existed, but there is a rise in importance as it can speed up decisions regarding company investments and human resource deployment. Some of the trends I have experienced are driven by instant communication technology, like digital surveys that measure employees' emotions when working in a specific organizational context. This tool can reduce the attrition rate in an organization and has never been more crucial than in today's scenario, where the job market is incredibly volatile. Training these employees to use these technologies builds them the confidence to use them daily. This ensures they will not miss out on the available facilities, and the organization can collect valuable data to make faster decisions.

What are some of the key performance indicators you adopt when it comes to maximizing the productivity of your workforce?

Workforce turnover is crucial data to understand an organization's employee attrition rate. The manufacturing industry is currently facing a high attrition rate which is disruptive and unsustainable—achieving a stable workforce and reducing retention and benefits for the company. Employee attendance and absence data is also our key performance indicator. Heavily relying on manual jobs, Marshalls plc places great emphasis on the health and well-being of its employees. The third KPI we utilize to measure the productivity of our workforce is performance. One of Marshall's Phase II objectives before the year-end is to roll out the performance management module to derive a detailed understanding of pockets of performers and nonperformers. Another major piece of the KPI jigsaw puzzle is engagement. We measure how our employees feel about working with us through an opinion survey called 'Your Voice.' The bi-annual survey questionnaire includes points of concern such as the level of inclusion, diversity, equity, well-being, and respect which is a major leap for Marshalls from a people strategy perspective. And the final performance indicator we employ is rating our organizational construct in terms of diversity. This enables us to monitor and change how we operate so that the company reflects the society in which it operates, attracting the best possible talent from the marketplace and reducing attrition rates.

Considering the importance of diversity, inclusion, and well-being to Marshall plc, how does it factor into succession planning and executive search?

The process of succession planning is executed every month as we look for mobility opportunities in-house. It begins with the shuffling of promising employees into various departments and disciplines of the business when upcoming projects crop up. Providing experience, this process qualifies the potential candidate to lead the department or earn the title of manufacturing director. Data and KPI play an instrumental role in this decision-making process.

For executive search, Marshall depends on the in-house recruitment team established in 2019 rather than third-party human resource agencies that the company relied on entirely. We still employ agencies but under strict supervision from within the company. These third-party establishments are selected after cross-checking their diversity-friendly credentials and the accreditations they have received. Marshall meticulously finalizes an agency after being assured that it will be represented fairly in how it approaches the market, identifies the candidates, and shortlists the prospects.

Is there a recent incident where your expertise has played a pivotal role in achieving set outcomes?

Marshall has a strong heritage and a long history of acquiring large businesses and folding them into its organizational structure. This resulted in complex and inconsistent terms and conditions of employment and a rise in disparity that goes against the company's diversity, equity, respect, and inclusive agenda. Collaborating with the board and the executive team's support, we embarked on a 12-month project to standardize and simplify the employment terms and conditions and issued updated contracts to all employees. We also consulted our union partners to ensure equity was reflected in the employment contract. The project is still ongoing, but it has resulted in a positive external positioning that made Marshall an attractive career prospect. And this change rectified the previous 87 different overtime rates and made it into one single rate. This created a level playing field with much more inclusivity, diversity, understanding, and transparency.

Is there any piece of advice or best practices you would like to share with the aspirants in the HR space and those venturing into diversity, inclusion, and equity? 

Aspiring human resource professionals should always start from their end goal and work backwards. The one advice I give to others is to be transparent and straightforward to reduce the complexity of doing business. Being realistic is also excellent as we work with humans who require time and reflection. And it will be beneficial to automate many processes through technology. This helps us & human resource professionals add value to make a difference for employees and improve your business.