Are you excited about the benefits Human & Organisational Performance could bring your organisation? But on the other hand, wondering how to convince senior leaders and decision-makers to embrace a new operating philosophy? We’ve developed a helpful guide to get you started.

On any given day, Southpac is contacted by safety professionals looking to start HOP in their organisation.

But the common challenge they face is finding how and when to approach their senior leadership or executive team to green-light the process. Human & Organisational Performance is an entirely new operating philosophy, unlike a new program, app, or campaign. The shift to HOP is often a staged or stepped-out process across an entire organisation. Generally, it starts with interest and understanding from senior leaders and decision-makers.

Introducing HOP into an organisation requires commitment, process, and strategy. However, it’s understandable why pitching HOP can seem like an uphill battle when there are elements of trial and error. That being said, there are several resources that safety professionals can use to build the case internally.

How does HOPLAB do

The HOPLAB provides extensive learning on HOP, including articles and videos around the key concepts. Any of these can be helpful for briefly demonstrating the benefits of HOP and garnering interest in new view approaches. As one safety professional said – “it’s extremely hard to unlearn what you learn about HOP!”

Another helpful resource we have developed is the Pitching HOP Guide. This free, downloadable guide provides practical guidance for the presenter. It takes you through each stage of forming a pitch to present to your leadership or peers to consider the HOP approach.

How to build a pitch for HOP

Each organisation is different regarding how open leaders are to new ideas, how quickly change is adopted, and even budget and resource constraints. So there is no right or wrong way to pitch HOP – it depends on each individual circumstance. The best approach could be a casual conversation, an agenda item at a management meeting or a standalone strategy session with key leaders and decision-makers. The Pitching HOP Guide details a helpful process for building a presentation you can give to senior leaders or peers in your organisation. It is by no means the only approach. That is, it is designed as a guide with examples to help you think about ideas relevant to your circumstances.

The approach centres on conveying the Why, How and What. In other words, the Purpose, Process and Plan for introducing HOP. Starting with defining your Compelling Point, the guide takes you through story development and delivery tips. Even including how to make your HOP presentation memorable.

How do stories help pitch HOP

Just as asking questions and sharing stories are central to how HOP happens, the same can be said for pitching HOP and generating interest in a new way of doing things. Stories help people relate to the concepts being discussed. This is particularly so when they are shared with leaders or peers who have a relative understanding of everyday operations or the organisational context to which the work relates to.

What story could you share to show why a new approach is needed within your organisation? Whether you start with this story or present the ideas before tying it back to the story, the most important thing is keeping it relatable to the decision-makers in the room. When they can see how HOP could help improve work, these stories will serve as a powerful reminder throughout the decision-making process.

Download the free guide for steps on how to build a case for introducing HOP in your organisation.