HRCleanUp

The World is Flat & Summer Session I

After 24 days of clouds, rain, fog, and humidity, the sun is finally out.  It is about time.  I just wrapped up Summer Session 1 at Suffolk University where I teach Virtual Human Resources.  We teach it in a classroom but that is a different post altogether.  This year, instead of a final exam, they wrote a final paper...on Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat.

The insights that many of them conveyed in their papers were excellent and I was most pleased with how they compared what went on their lives and how it has impacted them personally and how it continues to impact the Human Resources profession.

Think about it, in the same classroom, there are people who have never worked professionally without the internet while another group, like me, remembers sending that first email and thinking..."this is great...I won't have to Fax anymore".  The technology convergence that has happened over the past ten years has been nothing less than amazing.  It thrills me to see HR professionals thinking globally and acting locally. 

One interesting tid-bid...within my class I had two student's that are from India and neither of them talked about personal experience or how India has transformed in the Flat World.  They took the book and really came at it from an American perspective.  Not good or bad but interesting nonetheless.

I realize it has been a while since I've posted.  Gray skies, blah economy, etc, etc, etc.  However, the sun is out.  Things seem to be picking up.  Let's get back at this.

Client Success

I've recently had a string of client success stories and they have been in a variety of things and they are all different.  As I think about my career, one of the things that I like best is the variety of activities that take on each day.  This week, for instance, I had a client call me for advice on a possible new hire.  She wasn't a good fit and the client was struggling with exiting her from the process.  Another client had a great success using a 360 assessment to change a managers behavior.  My heart sang!  Finally, a Boston Business Journal asked me my opinion on the temporary labor pool (good news, temp requests are up--a bellwether for future employment!)

I realize it has been a while since you've heard from me.  Let me know what I've missed while I've been gone.  I'd love to hear from you.

Time to Dumb it Down?

Sunday's Boston Globe ran an article by Michelle Singletary titled "In time of record unemployment, being highly qualified may be a drawback".  Ms. Singletary, who has clearly never been un or under employed, gives desperate job seekers "advice".  Her advice, dumb it down.  You know, take that master's degree off and be "open" to a lower salary with a reduced set of responsibilities.

You know, take a position that won't keep you fully engaged.  Hide your hard-earned master's degree, and become the person you used to manage.

A recipe for disaster.  I've never met someone who took a job making less that was happy.  Even Kathy Lee Gifford complains on the Today Show that she doesn't make what she used to make on Regis and Kathy Lee.  She actually complains about it on the air.

I work in a business that strives to help organizations put people into jobs that they fit--intellectually, behavior wise, and in terms of their personal interests.  Ms. Singletary's ideas go a long way in setting unrealistic expectations.  She goes with the "tough times require you to dumb it down" and I couldn't disagree more.  Tough times require creative thinking, amazing amounts of energy, and patience.  And that doesn't mean that you need to wait forever.  Interim "dumbed down" employment can be a lifesaver--but not a life plan.

What do I recommend?  I recommend that you create a resume you are proud of.  One that makes you proud of what you've done and one that highlights what you are good at.  Never dumb it down.  You are a valuable person filled with amazing ideas, ideals, and a goal to make a difference.  And, if you are forced to take a job that you are overqualified for, think of it as "for now", do your best every single day, and continue to network and pursue the job of your dreams.

Now, that's not dumb at all, is it?

It's Tuesday

What are you going to do today, right now, that will make a difference for your company?  How can you put your personal brand to use to drive revenue and profit?  If you think your boss, or your bosses boss, aren't thinking about this...you are wrong.

As HR professionals, it is so important for all of us to have a solid handle on the business--what is going on the economy, with our competition, with our suppliers, and with our buyers.  So often we get bogged down in the day-t0-day that we forget to lift our heads and scan the horizon for the bigger picture.

If you don't know your current state of affairs, take a half hour and find out.  Have you ever read the Hoovers.com report on your own company?  If you haven't, that is a great place to start!

Friday Fun Facts

COBRA COVERAGE

Percentage of employees reporting level of difficulty paying for COBRA coverage if they lost their job 2008:

• 64%, Very difficult
• 24%, Somewhat difficult
• 6%, Not too difficult
• 4%, Not difficult
• 2%, Don't know/refused

Source:  Kaiser Family Foundation

Why I Teach

I am often asked "why do you teach HR when you are already so busy?"

I got this note today from a former student as it says it all...

"Hello there!

How are you?  I hope that you have managed to stay dry in this weather!

On Friday I went on an interview with a large company that holds a defense contract with the US military.  I learned that in the past ten years they had acquired many smaller companies and then they were acquired by another company.  As a result, they have all sorts of HRIS in place and are moving to get the whole company on one system.  During the interview they were throwing around all sorts of jargon and I, thanks to you and your HRIS class, was able to keep up and prove that I knew what they were talking about!  Yay!  In the end, it is not an opportunity that I am interested in pursuing, but it felt great to be able to hold my own!  THANK YOU!"

New Jobs?

An article in today's Wall Street Journal caught my eye.  The headline read "Sallie Mae to return overseas operations US" and thus create 2000 new jobs.  I've always been one for Globalization and US companies having a world-wide reach.  However, I can't help but think this is a good thing.  Sallie Mae has been a client of mine and I know that they take talent management seriously. 

As they bring back overseas operations they are going to create 2000 new, good jobs*,  that serve the educational financing market.

The article doesn't go on to give much more information about the changes--it drifts off to discussing federal government student loan changes.  However, I can't help but think this is a shift towards thinking local and keeping people employed here at home.

*I define "good jobs" as positions that have regular hours, health care benefits, and educational and advancement opportunities.

Are Your Executives Prepared?

MOST EXECUTIVES ARE NOT PREPARED TO REORGANIZE AND RECOVER FROM THE ECONOMY

Profiles International Reveals Startling Results of Nationwide Survey

Executives face tough personnel decisions in the wake of shrinking revenue but many are unsure of how to make the best decisions should they be forced to lay off employees or restructure their workforce.  Those are the findings released today by Profiles International (www.profilesinternational.com), a global leader in employment evaluation and human resource management assessment tools.

 

The Profiles International Reorganization & Recovery Survey (http://tinyurl.com/dgrwb3) has found that a majority of respondents lack the crucial tools to affect workforce change or to analyze the human assets they have available within their organization. “People are the most valuable asset any organization has, and they’re usually the most expensive line item on any company’s income statement,” said Profiles International co-founder and CEO Jim Sirbasku. “Companies need to make sure they have the right people in the right positions. It starts with hiring, but the importance of job fit continues through promotions, reassignments and even downsizing.”

Among the highlights of the survey:

• 90 percent of respondents say they are uncertain that there is objective evaluation criteria for the top performers within the organization;
• 76 percent say they are uncertain about how each job within the organization supports their company’s key objectives;
• 73 percent say they are unsure if all the key stakeholders are involved in employment decisions

“These decisions are too important to leave to chance,” said Dario Priolo, managing director of the Profiles International Research Institute. “Assessing a worker’s job fit is a continual process that shouldn’t end once they start working. Jobs evolve. People evolve. Organizations evolve. Assessments should be continual to ensure that each aspect of this equation is evolving at a similar pace

 

Nearly 800 business leaders took part in the online survey in February and March of 2009.  Of the respondents, 30% worked in companies with more than 500 employees.  50% held Director, VP or C-level roles within their organizations.  Full survey results can be found at (http://tinyurl.com/dgrwb3).

Friday Fun Facts

Employee Concerns
Percentage of employers reporting level of employees' concerns regarding economic downturn, November, 2008
	Little Concern	Moderate Concern	Significant Concern
Impact on retirment plan investments	16%	29%	54%
Impact on overall organization	8%	56%	37%
Job Security	15%	52%	34%
Merit increases in coming year	16%	53%	32%
Promotions in coming year	31%	54%	15%
Impact on cost of healthcare	42%	45%	14%
Note:  Survey of more than 1,000 organizations Source:  Mercer

OP + NT = EOP

Old Process + New Technology = Expensive Old Process

How often have we tried to apply technology to a problem only to speed up the problem?  I was recently talking with an HR Consultant who shared the above equation with me and I thought it summed up one of our biggest challenges in the industry.  So, how do we beat the odds and apply technology to the problem and improve results?

I have  five key suggestions:

1. Have a clearly defined business purpose for your technology solution.  You must be able to answer the question "As a result of this investment, we will be able to..."

2. Get your IT colleagues involved early and often.  The last thing you want is to find out that the CTO has put the kabash on your project

3. Think about your most resistant people...consider getting them involved in the project early on--if you can get them over to your side, your implementation will be much smoother

4. Invest your time in the groups that need it most.  If you are rolling out an Applicant Tracking System and you're going to have the hiring manager enter the requisition...spend your time with the high volume folks.  If Accounts Payable hasn't had an opening in 2 years, don't bother to train that manager.  She'll forget everything and come to you anyway.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate