Creating a “three‐dimensional” HR strategy at Hallmark Cards
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390580000797 |
| Date | 01 May 2005 |
| Pages | 8-9 |
| Published date | 01 May 2005 |
| Author | Heather Atkinson |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
8Volume 4 Issue 4 May/June 2005
HR at WORK
,
Short case studies that demonstrate best practice in HR
Creating a “three-dimensional”
HR strategy at Hallmark Cards
A
fter merging five companies at
the end of 2001 and spending
2002-3 bedding the new company
in, we decided it was time to reassess our
people strategy. Our aim was to move
from motivating employees to engaging
our people. A subtle difference maybe,
but for us HR had to be about
connecting with each individual.
To do this we saw three strategic
imperatives: high-performance teams,
culture and values and learning and
development. We also recognized that
we needed to address these from three
different angles: at the company level;
HR as an enabling function; and at an
individual level.
From this, our 3-D pyramid strategy
was born and a 3-foot replica now sits
proudly in the HR department for all to
see. The pyramid acts as a public display
of the HR strategy and illustrates that
success lies in building on solid
foundations while working together to
build layer upon layer of great
initiatives, ultimately reaching a pinnacle
of “employer of choice.” It’s also visible
recognition that each program must be
linked from the company level through
to the individual level.
Company level
1. High-performance teams
Strategy implementation had to start at
the top of the organization. The first
work we did was with the executive
team and was built around both
Hermann Brain profiling and Daniel
Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence
model. Senior leaders had the technical
skills to perform their roles, but we
wanted to build greater understanding
in terms of self-awareness, relationship
management and social awareness. This
is currently being rolled out to the top
22 managers across the group.
The top managers were also brought
together in a bi-monthly forum. The aim
of the forum was to create greater cross-
functional working and help senior
leaders develop companywide initiatives
such as bonus design, communication
and appraisal improvement.
2. Culture and values
Hallmark’s vision is “Enriching Lives and
Relationships.” This provides the
framework for all our culture and
values work. A cross-functional group
reviewed the vision, mission, values and
styles developed by the executive team.
This was then launched by the Group
MD at numerous roadshows to ensure
employees understood how they had
been developed but also the
expectations of how they would be
“lived” within the company.
All our policies were reviewed to
ensure they reflected the company
values and helped towards enriching
people’s lives. For example, family-
friendly policies were launched and
enhanced above statutory requirements.
Flexible working was also introduced to
fit with people’s lifestyle requirements.
To ensure our work was making a
difference within the company, an
annual survey was initiated in 2002
called “Have Your Say.”
Our website was successfully launched
early this year and reflects both the
Hallmark story and our commitment to
people. Online job applications are now
available, part of our desire as an HR
function to be easy to deal with for
employees.
3. Learning and development
Our business, like many others, continues
to be under cost pressure. In fact, we had
UK£34 per person to help develop their
skills! In order to gain additional
funding, we recorded ways we had
helped people. For example, we took
pictures of a mother returning to work
and got a quote from her about how the
flexible working we had offered had
enriched her life. We also took videos of
people at training events to show the
Hallmark is the world’s leader with its
greeting cards, gift wrappings and other
personal expression products, translated
into more than 30 languages and sold in
more than 100 countries. It employs over
3,100 people in the UK.
HALLMARK
To make the shift from motivation to engagement, Hallmark implemented a “3-D” HR strategy that addressed three
strategic imperatives from three angles: companywide, across the HR function and at an individual level.
© Melcrum Publishing Ltd. 2005 For more information visit www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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