by Janine Nicole Dennis | Sep 8, 2014 | Business, Featured, Guest Post, HR Innovation, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips, Life
In 2002, Patrick G. Riley published “The One-Page Proposal” that became a bestselling self-help book in North America, China, Japan, and Korea, which described how the author succeeded in helping businesses all around the world using one-page proposals. In 2011, Patrick G. Riley and Joanna Weidenmiller co-founded 1-Page. The co-founders wanted to take the successful approach and founding principles of the book, and leverage technology to tackle the largest demographic with the biggest communication problem: companies and job seekers.
For every job post it is reported that companies receive an average of 250 resumes, with leading brands receiving up to several thousands of resumes every week. The problem goes beyond quantity, as the content received within a resumes doesn’t provide any indication on the future performances, fit and motivation of a candidate. HR departments and hiring managers need a new system of engagement to identify top candidates before the interview, enabling job seekers to pitch their value instead of simply providing a list of their past accomplishments.
1-Page provides the Challenge-based Assessment Platform that gamifies hiring, giving recruiters the access to predictive data for enhanced decision-making on talent. With 1-Page, companies engage candidates to compete for jobs based on their ability to solve real-time business challenges, to achieve company’s strategic objectives. Candidates’ ability to pitch their value to the company for that specific role, and propose their solution on a 1-Page Job Proposal, is at the core of the process.
Some of the largest US and global companies like First Republic Bank, BevMO!, UST Global, Orange, rely on the platform for:
- Hiring talent
- Engage passive candidates
- Internal promotion
- Open- source innovation
The platform helps the talent acquisition team to turn job descriptions into real-time business challenges that are unique and specific to the role, and share them through their ATS, customized email invitations, referral lists, and social media. Companies can track in real time the status of candidate’s progression, and leverage collaborative and automated proposal scoring (powered by Natural Language Processing technologies) to identify the best. Thanks to the innovative approach to hiring, the technology behind the scoring model, the great candidate experience delivered, and the results achieved by their enterprise clients, 1-Page has been awarded as one of the top three HR technologies in the US (HRO Today, iTalent 2014). 1-Page has also been endorsed by some of the leading experts in the field of HR technologies:
– “While I always ask candidates to describe how they’d solve a job-related project as part of the assessment, the folks at 1-Page.com have taken this idea a few steps further … candidates submit a one-page proposal summarizing how they’d handle some challenge likely to be faced on the job.”- Lou Adler, Best-selling author and CEO of The Adler Group.
– “The idea of a company engaging with a candidate through evidence of what he or she could do, rather than for what they have done in the past, is a very bright light in recruiting.” –Bill Kutik, Founder of the HR-Tech Conference, on HRE Online.
1-Page’s clients have been able to lower cost per hire by 70%, increase retention by 75% and reduce time to hire from an average of 13 to 4 weeks. With 1-Page, companies have significantly increased the quality of interviews and hires, while delivering the greatest candidate experience.
Author Biography
Joanna Weidenmiller is CEO and Co-founder of 1-Page, the next generation hiring solution that revolutionizes talent acquisition.
Successful and active woman in tech, prior to launching 1-Page Joanna was CEO and Founder of Performance Advertising, responsible for building one of the US leading outsourced direct sales and marketing firms for two Fortune 500 companies, with a successful exit in 2007. Joanna moved back to the US after spending 5 years in China where she developed and led technologies in the mobile and e-commerce fields. On top of building 1-Page, Joanna most recently served as Managing Partner for Hubert Burda Media (one of the largest magazine and digital publishers in the world) in China, where she headed the expansion and led all strategic operations. Joanna earned her BA degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia where she was a Full Scholarship athlete and National rower. Joanna was recruited to the FBI out of college, where she trained police in the Middle East.
Currently she lives in San Francisco, CA.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Sep 4, 2014 | Featured, HR Technology, HR Technology Trends and Tips, Human Resources
It’s a very exciting time in HR Technology. In fact, a June 2014 article by Aliah Wright on SHRM.org, indicates an increase in both company interest and spending for HR Technology. The article goes on to state that 30% of respondents in a Towers Watson study say they will spend a substantial amount of HR spending on technology. Finally, after years of resisting the technological movement, companies are starting to realize the efficiencies and value that come with investing in the right technology.
The three areas of greatest concern according to :
- Data and Analytics
- Mobile Optimization and Capabilities
- Saas
In my opinion, we are seeing a highly saturated market where you will find tried and maybe not-so-true players in the ATS arena that are holding steady; followed by lots of marginally improved replicas or in some cases “knockoffs”. Full scope talent management systems are intriguing to businesses who no longer have the gumption to try to make separate systems speak to one another in an effort to have fully integrated systems and accurate outputs. Yet still, we have our pick of aggregators, video interviewing platforms, assessment platforms and the list goes on and on.
How does the HR practitioner make sense of all of this?
The first step is understanding what problem you want the technology to solve. The second step is understanding that technology is unlikely to solve all of your inefficiency issues. Inefficiency is first resolved by having sound processes and practices, no system can replace that. Third, once you have considered your HR Technology needs, you need to adequately research and identify appropriate vendors.
Don’t just think about your needs right now, but anticipate how you see the company growing five or even ten years down the line. This will also mean that you will have to pay attention to the bandwidth and scalability of potential systems; a common pitfall of buyers.
There are tools to suit almost every company need. The hard part is taking the time to do the research to find the diamonds in the ruff.
That said…
Those that have been following me for sometime know that every September I celebrate my blog anniversary with a month-long HR Technology series. I do this every year to commemorate my first post which was on called ” To Automate or Not To Automate…That Is The Question”. This year I have coined my series ” I am Revolutionizing HR”. I am highlighting 1-2 HR Technology start-ups per week to open your eyes to vendors that are uniquely solving HR problems.
In doing the research to find what is out there, I was extremely impressed to find vendors solving HR issues in a practical and unique way. None of them are replicas or knockoffs, but they all have a sincere desire to help the everyday HR practitioner work more efficiently.
The first HR Technology start-up will be showcased on Monday, September 8th. Please stay tuned the entire month to get the scoop on some innovative and cool players on the HR Technology scene.
I hope you find each of them helpful.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Aug 20, 2014 | Diversity & Inclusion, Featured, Life, Talent Management
As we continue to discuss diversity and inclusion concerns, it is important that companies that are serious about attracting, retaining and promoting diverse candidates understand how we think about our value in the workplace.
From a child, it was drilled into me that my skin color was not a roadblock, but an opportunity often seen as a threat. I was warned that I would have to work a gazillion times harder than any of my Caucasian counterparts to achieve success. To round out my coaching on getting ahead, I was advised to keep my head on, study hard, keep things formal on the job, work hard and it would all pay off.
More than a decade into my career, I see that my cultural and familial coaching has served me fairly well. In speaking to other minority colleagues over the years, I know that they were also told many of the same things growing up and have also found success in those tidbits. It might be sobering to read, but a person’s only barometer for how life works is experience. Having emigrated to the U.S. from the West Indies and South America in and around the 70’s, I don’t have to tell you what it was like for my parents and grandparents to assimilate into the “American way”; let alone garner gainful employment.
The disconnect between what I was taught and my real life experience is and has been startling. For one, I have found that most employers have no clue that their minority employees are carrying all of this. It is like the worst, best-kept secret. Subconsciously, minorities often believe that employers see them as less of a value. That perception has caused me to over-compensate with efforts that have had no real correlation to my success.
When your message as a company is simply “we are an equal opportunity employer” this appears to be more employer semantics that really says nothing more than “we will hire you, because we must”. Furthermore, if minority representation at all levels is scarce; I have more proof that you aren’t truly dedicated to promoting a diverse workforce. All things validating what I have been told.
To further test the validity of what I have been told over the years, here has been my reality:
1) For over 50% of my career, I have been the only black woman either on my team, in the region or in the company I worked for.
2) I have traditionally made less in compensation than most of my Caucasian counterparts. How do I know? People like to talk about what they make, especially when they make a lot of money- so there’s that.
3) More than once, I have resigned from a job because I was overlooked, overshadowed and underutilized in my job. This was in stark contrast to the applause for other Caucasian employees that were not nearly as productive or useful as I was.
4) I went to college, possess several certifications pertinent to my field as well as Master’s credits and have been managed three or more times by Caucasian women and men who not only possess less education than me, but have benefited from my efforts.
5) Lastly, I have had to fight for simple luxuries and leniency that was afforded to my Caucasian co-workers with no contest.
For the most part, minorities have been urged out of necessity to be better than everyone else to get ahead. To some extent, it is great advice. However, it becomes disheartening when being better isn’t the standard for everyone else and doesn’t result in the desired outcomes. It would help companies to market themselves and attract diverse candidates-if they understood how we approach our work in thought and practice. Once you understand, you have to have a genuine willingness for changing these cemented impressions, realities and perceptions.
The end game of diversity and inclusion has to be understanding and execution. If you don’t get that ‘diverse’ isn’t just a buzzword but a broader meaning for different- you aren’t ready to have a discussion about diversity. Companies have to be willing to identify, understand, and embrace the differences that exist among employees before they endeavor inclusion initiatives.
The truth is I have always navigated my career in excellence, because that is my standard. I have done this despite the unfair circumstances I have been met with. I’m not a fan of pulling the race card, but if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…you know the rest. Also, when my knowledge, skills, abilities, and efforts are shelved for the purposes of rewarding other people’s mediocre efforts; it is hard not to see the truth in what I have been told.
As you consider you own diversity and inclusion efforts, how will you ensure that your diverse employees are fairly and equitably supported and recognized for their efforts?
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Aug 6, 2014 | Business, Featured, HR Innovation, Sponsored Post, Talent Management
Campaign/FTC disclosure: I will receive compensation for promoting this campaign. I only work with companies I feel have great products, services and offerings. In accordance with my blog disclosure statement, I will only work with and showcase products and/or companies I believe my readers will benefit from. Xerox has hired me as a brand ambassador for this campaign because of my influence on social media and in talent management. I am not formally employed by Xerox. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Image courtesy of Deviantart.net
According to Merriam-Webster, Optimism is defined as “a hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.” I believe every new employee starts out with an abundance of optimism for their career pursuits with a company. It’s sort of like you waking up with an abundance of money in your bank account, but due to cost of living and other expenditures the money becomes less and less and more often than not- it is depleted. Optimism works the same way. The pot of optimism is essentially there to be nurtured, invested and increased. The issue is companies that are unaware of its value and impact will blindly deplete it.
Where does the love go?
We are still hearing reports about 70% of the workforce being disengaged. Why don’t more companies get it? The problem is business leaders understand the business but they seldom have their finger on the pulse of the true motivations, intentions or wishes of their employees. Furthermore, they seem to be missing the mark on keeping that account of optimism funded as the employee continues to work for them.
Being able to harness and sustain the enthusiasm for the company’s objectives as well as providing meaningful work experiences will be key factor in deploying a successful talent strategy in the future. Today’s top talent comes with high expectations, fleeting loyalty and a drive to make an impact. Companies that are able to inspire and sustain enthusiasm will likely be most successful in being able to retain and mobilize their employees to achieve business objectives.
All along, we thought that retention was about nurturing employees such that they would remain with a company. Given this notion that Xerox puts forth of the Return on Optimism (ROO), we come to understand that when individuals are recognized and understood by the business-the company realizes increased productivity, teams are more innovative, clarity around business objectives is commonplace and in return the company retains happier employees.
It’s not a generational thing
It doesn’t matter what generation you belong to, most people prefer to do work that is meaningful for them. If we had to define what ‘meaningful’ would look like – it would be a cross between something you are great at and something you are passionate about. Businesses have a choice of having a miserable workforce that will likely be unproductive and even destructive to the business or they can intentionally ensure that they do all that is possible to help people succeed in their careers.
How many times during the course of your career, have you been asked about what you are good at and the work that you enjoy?
In my case, I have seldom been asked this question. Admittedly, it is a loaded question since the answer will vary from person to person. What do we gain if companies looked at aligning people to their goals; while also satisfying individual career goals and aspirations? All things being equal, you would have your people doing what they love and excel at-which would in turn empower them to give you 100% of their effort in achieving business outcomes. There would be less heavy lifting where it comes to performance management, because we all would be speaking the same language of constant improvement and building on successes. Sounds like a simple solution to a nagging business issue.
How do you see “return on optimism” being used to develop talent strategy?
Want to see how your company stacks up? Take Xerox’s “Return on Optimism” quiz for further insights from top executives at Xerox and other Fortune 500 companies. Click here. Also, see my survey results here.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 29, 2014 | Business, Employment Branding, Featured, Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management
Image courtesy of deviantart.net
Once upon a time, I started a position somewhere (they shall remain nameless) where the grass seemed to be greener than my last pasture. I had a great boss, supportive and competent co-workers and challenging work- what more could one want?
It appeared throughout the interview process that this company was very concerned with attracting a competent HR professional that could help them ignite a more progressive HR delegation. I assured them that I was their woman wooing them with my credentials, education, past projects, notable employers and enthusiasm for the discipline of HR.
So said, so done…
I came on the scene and started effecting change quite immediately- to my then bosses’ delight. The problem was my co-workers weren’t delighted. You see at the same time that I was wowing my boss, the love and courtesy from my co-workers started to wane. Suddenly, the “good mornings” stopped, invites to lunch ceased and I was conspiring to take their jobs or so they thought.
What did they do next?
Daily, they would whisper and gossip about the many ways they could undermine my prowess and I knew it. What I did was return the favor, by not saying “good morning” or even looking their way. I just kept my head down and did the work. Before you get all mighty on me, it was fair treatment. I had just come out of a toxic environment that took everything from me and almost my health. I had no more tolerance for petty office shenanigans (insert the expletive of your choice for good measure).
In any event, their conspiring led them to my boss one day to complain about my lack of “good mornings” and reluctance to be “more social”. In turn, my boss called a meeting with me to ask me the following:
He said: “Janine, could you just be the bigger person and try a little harder- like be their friend.” To which I responded with a synopsis of my daily dealings with them. They wanted to dig into my personal life, meet for breakfast with spouses after church on Sunday; oh and I was to report to them the where, what, when and why- anytime I met with the Director of HR on a new project.
His answer…
“I didn’t know all of this was going on, but could you just try a little harder- you’re stronger than them.” Keep in mind that, I was working for this company for maybe six months at this time.
What did they know about me?
That is the problem and the question. They knew nothing about me, my likes or dislikes, my work habits or my boundaries. All too often, we make judgments about the new guy or gal on the job based upon our own insecurities and biases. In this instance, these two were essentially uncomfortable because I was quickly productive and my ideas were welcomed. They had spent years doing mediocre work and I was shaking things up. Nevermind, that one of them hired me and gushed about the company and their need for a progressive person. That went out the window the day they realized I was a serious professional that got sh%t done.
Here’s why these situations are problematic for Talent Acquisition:
1) I was the new person. Instead of being supported, I was being bullied into being more social than I was ready to be at that time. I was told during the hiring process they wanted “productive and progressive” and that’s what I was doing.
2) The onus was placed on me to rectify a situation that my boss should have been able to handle quite decisively.
3) I could have quit and they would have been left wondering why. Toxic environments create turnover.
I didn’t quit, because I wasn’t about to let two bad apples ruin what was a dream opportunity.
As talent acquisition professionals, we need to remain cognizant of the fact that first impressions not only extend to how candidates impress us, but how we impress them. We can’t advocate for competencies and skills in the hiring process but then try to deter the person when they come barreling out of the gate providing the very same acumen you recruited for. Furthermore, you better be sure that you keep a close watch on those in a position to hire, on-board and mentor new employees. There is nothing more costly and embarrassing than to someday find out that your turnover is high and moreover, that it is high because someone in your organization is undermining your otherwise benevolent efforts to retain employees.
Some level of foolery exists in most organizations, but be sure your leaders are prepared to act swiftly, decisively, and consistently to prevent occurrences like these.
In the end, one of the co-conspirators left the company. The remaining one and I established an amicable work relationship.
Need to get your talent acquisition team refocused. Contact me for a free consultation.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 23, 2014 | Featured, Human Resources, Leadership development, Talent Management, Turnover
A friend of mine posted this blurb on Facebook from an audio book he was listening to (note: I don’t know the name of said audio book):
“Numerous studies have shown us that those given authority are more likely to lie, cheat and steal, while also being harsher in their judgments of others for doing these same things. Science tells us people with power feel less compassion for the suffering of others.
Previous experiments also show us that those who are obedient to authority are capable of the worst forms of murder, and tolerant of the worst forms of abuse. They will even chastise those of us who resist corrupt authority. They become facilitators of evil, believing that obedience to authority absolves them of personal responsibility. “
This blurb above is an explanation of today’s cesspool management and hierarchy that permanently resides in many companies. Although we speak very seriously and regularly about the importance of leadership development as HR practitioners, the truth is very rarely are managers chosen with care. In fact, I have personally observed companies who promote people to management or leadership roles based on their ability to be obedient and play the game.
What happens is the road to leadership then becomes a chess match played by cheaters. The rules are not static, but changed on an as-needed basis to suit the players. People like myself and my colleagues never stand a chance in being promoted or even surviving as an employee, because we live and work by a code of conduct. The code of conduct isn’t some arbitrary manifesto we write down to make people believe we are responsible, discerning, fair individuals; but a construct that guides our work and how we treat others in and out of business.
When we say that employees don’t leave jobs they leave bosses- we really mean they leave regimes. Within the companies of some of your most beloved brands and products lies a regime that takes pride in beating its talent to a pulp daily with unkind words, unreasonable expectations and in some cases bullying- just because they can.
Recently, I read an article of the CEO of a company I used to work for. The article interviewed him about how he runs this large conglomerate and of course highlighted all of the philanthropic work he does for the community. Great article, nice man, toxic company. It’s his job to speak highly of his business, but what I know after working there in HR is that the leadership from HR to the actual facilities (in many cases) are toxic and a good 3/4 of the employees are disgusted; but remain there out of necessity.
Turnover is directly linked to these toxic environments. The age of obedience and subservience is dead. People want meaningful work and positive work environments. If they remain in your employ, it is purely out of necessity. Necessity breeds a paycheck- which also means that they couldn’t care less about the success of the company.
I’m not sure when it became cool to lead from a place of pure malice and fear, but it needs to stop. If the ultimate goal of talent management is to retain the right talent in organizations, it’s time we (HR and everyone else) took personal responsibility to be ethical, fair, equitable, and provide a workplace free of toxic leadership. That may mean getting rid of a manager that has high turnover even in light of his or her considerable contributions to the company. It could mean reprimanding a manager for being a jerk, even if he or she is your happy hour cohort.
A lack of personal responsibility, the inability to tell and own the truth; as well as unethical behavior are among the many reasons why your turnover may be high. Pay attention to your workforce. Don’t look the other way and cover your ears when it matters the most. Your talent is your brand. Treat them with the same respect and humility you would want for yourself.
How are you being more intentional about being better leader?
Contact us to help you build a strategy for developing positive leadership.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 15, 2014 | Business, Featured, HR Innovation, Human Resources
Photo by: ASIFTHEBES
Perhaps I could end this post with the title alone because it’s a poignant question. If you work in HR or make money off of HR- have you asked yourself lately why you are here?
Most will say they work in HR because they “love to work with people” or they “like making a difference in organizations”. The funny thing is the more you work in HR you find that the relationship you have with your employees is a bit of a sordid tale and making a difference is a periodic win that graces you with its presence maybe every solar eclipse.
So again I ask..why are you in HR?
Do you know? I can tell you why I’m still here. I used to be one of those rose-colored glasses kinds of practitioners and then my first job out of school shattered my perception of the discipline. Every job thereafter wore down this notion of HR as an altruistic discipline. Suddenly, I had to find new meaning in the value I provided, because otherwise I was working for a check and behaving like a robot programmed to do something just because.
So here it is…
I am in HR because here in the U.S. we spend more time in our workplaces than we do with our own families. This is not by choice but out of necessity to do something viable that garners some remuneration to sustain ourselves and the people we love. Some of us are in love with what we do, but many of us our in total disdain of our work lives because the work and/or environment or both are dreadful. Having been that person who dreaded showing up to work in a discipline that is supposed to love working with people and allegedly holds the all-spark of organizational inspiration- I decided I would become the change.
I make a conscious decision to not just complain and write the obituary for Human Resources but to treat the employees with the care and kindness that was not shown to me. I insist upon implementing the initiatives and programs that I know will make a difference and a more desirable place for employees to spend 60-80% of their time. Ultimately, I have this crazy idea in my head that if I help organizations refocus on their talent and place them in top priority by providing meaningful and tailored work experiences along with fair and equitable compensation rewarding a job well done; there will be happier employees-which will lead to more productive workplaces and perhaps a happier society.
Too much big picture?
I don’t think so. You see the job is a means to an end. If we all won the lottery today we could call it quits and stop all of this ruminating about HR and what it’s not doing for us. What we do in HR and in business is always about the people. They drive your business more than you are willing to recognize. In HR, it is our call-to-action to see that they have the tools, resources and toxin-free head and workspace to get the job done. My obligation is a societal and human one. You treat people well and pay them their due sans the politics, games, bureaucracy, discrimination etc.; you will have a happier ecosystem of people roaming the earth. That means there is importance in every step of the HR process. From making sure qualified candidates get a shot at the jobs they apply for instead of allowing a system to tell you whether they are qualified or not to ensuring that you are never late on processing payroll- always be sure to do right by your employees.
I created my company to fix more than HR. I am vowing to fix a system that is broken and that sorely needs a human solution.
So I leave you with the initial question? Why are you in HR? The answer doesn’t have to be as elaborate as mine, but you may want to assess whether this is right for you. Especially, if you aren’t willing to be the change you want to see in HR.
Ready for a change? Contact us here.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 8, 2014 | Featured, Human Resources, Talent Management, Workforce Planning
We have heard of and discussed the many jobs and/or industries that have been either lost or tremendously condensed since 2008. Let’s deal with the tremendously condensed jobs for a second. Due to the financial crisis of 2008, many businesses had to trim the headcount in their organizations. Essentially, the headcount was trimmed, but as expected the work didn’t go away. The result was lots of reorganization within companies and a redistribution of work in support of keeping business going as usual.
As an employee, you don’t want to be seen as not being a team player when asked if you can take on another job or function. It is usually proposed as something temporary and a great help to the organization. The problem is the redistribution continues in many companies and they keep batting their eyes and asking for more and as such employees are now doing the job of not one-but three people.
Boo-hoo-hoo you say…
Yes, it is great to get experience in different areas. It makes you more marketable. It allows you to contribute in many different ways. It may even lead to management seeing you in a new light and possibly considering you for a promotion. The reality is that many are just stuck in a rut. There are no promotions coming their way that they know of. Are they marketable? Maybe to some company, but at the moment they are barely surviving each day trying to handle the multitude of work and demands that have come along with this hybrid role they are in. Contributing is an understatement, they are serving as staff member up to an including executive depending on the project and/or role they are focused on at the moment.
Consequently, sales may look good and dollar signs may make the CEO’s heart flutter, but there is major damage being done to the staff and business. Despite a society in love with doing the most, the truth is we can do only one thing well at a time. If one of your staff members is in charge of branding, recruiting, handling diversity and employee relations -how effective are they being? If they are effective, are they being compensated and rewarded appropriately for their efforts?
If they have been sold the typical- “we can’t raise your salary “bit, they are likely miserable, burnt out and searching for a new gig.
Consider this…
I did a job profile for someone to understand what they do and how they may be marketable within their industry. They happen to have a background in Accounting. However, due to downsizing this person not only handles accounts payable but handles receivables, does journal entries, can add and delete invoices all without any checks and balances. Her job is too cross-functional and she could be robbing the company blind- if she was not a standup citizen. This kind of job overlap with no checks and balances goes against every good accounting principle there is. The person that pays money shouldn’t also receive the money etc.
However, the owner of this business is gleaming, because the work gets done and he is saving on three salaries and maybe four when we consider her total compensation hasn’t been raised or adjusted since taking on this extra work.
I’m not suggesting that there be absolutely no cross-function. A healthy dose of cross-function or job sharing can be helpful in mitigating the impact of temporary or small permanent gaps. That said, anytime the extra work to be taken on amounts to more than 40% time equivalent it is time to hire another person.
Here are some tips to use in evaluating the potential for cross-function:
1) If you must downsize or terminate staff, evaluate the work they did and the time it took them to get it done before you start redistributing. Sometimes you will find unnecessary gaps in turnaround time for tasks and other times work is turned around within reasonable time limits.
2) If the people lost are tied to a significant amount of work, consider utilizing temp staff to pick up the slack even if it for just a few hours a week.
3) If your employees must become cross-functional, be sure there are no conflicts of interest from a legal or ethical standpoint between their current and new roles.
4) Keep communication open and honest. There are times when businesses have to cut back releasing burdens onto employees. If more work is coming and it is temporary, keep your employees informed about your timeline to resume normal operations.
Does this sound like your business? Let us help you put things in perspective? Contact us.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jul 1, 2014 | Employment Branding, Featured, HR Innovation
As I take a deep dive into consulting life, I am finding that businesses both big and small are pouring major dollars into digital marketing, social media and branding. The one puzzling thing is when I have conversations with these companies about their business needs for these things all they seem to know is they want and need to be doing it. The issue is the want and need to get involved with these mediums doesn’t always begin with the necessary basics of knowing what your brand is.
You can’t interest people in patronizing your business when you don’t know what you stand for. Why should they support you? What do you offer? More importantly, what is your value proposition? These are not questions you ask yourself after you launch a social media presence.
People need to understand clearly and quickly what you are about and what the call to action is. You may be successful in business, but being able to articulate your value and purpose in this digital age is paramount.
Before you take that directive to engage your audience online-think about the following:
1) What is the brand? In considering what your brand is- think about your niche-what makes you unique in the marketplace. What is your product or service and how does it solve a problem for your customers. These are just some starters to get your branding juices flowing.
2) What resources will you have available to support your digital presence? This means considering who will need to manage this. Will it be managed in-house or do you need to outsource it? You will also need to consider what your budget is.
3) Do your research. It’s imperative that you understand how your target market searches and makes purchasing decisions on products/services like yours. Doing this allows you to meet your consumers where they are and in a way that is most meaningful for them.
4) Once you are clear on one and two, you will need to consider your strategy. Start small and measure the results of your campaigns to gauge what works for you and what doesn’t.
5) Keep it real, engage, and be consistent with how you portray your company on and offline. Any crack or inconsistency in any of these facets of digital marketing and your reputation could suffer.
Here’s another consideration: when customers take to your social accounts to resolve an issue with your product or service- how will you respond? Since transparency is a top concern for most businesses you will have to decide how transparent and actionable you are willing to be to resolve a customer complaint.
Setting out to get involved in social media and branding your company without any idea about why you are there and who you are is like driving a car with faulty brakes- you are bound to crash and burn. Take the time to seriously evaluate the above-mentioned considerations and set yourself up for success rather than failure.
Want more on how you can set your brand up to succeed? Contact us.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Jun 23, 2014 | Business, Conference sessions, Conferences, Featured, HR Innovation, Human Resources
I was interviewed by a company for a series they were putting together for employers that are looking to attract and retain entry-level candidates. The interview went great and I think I delivered what they expected. However, the interviewer made an interesting comment as I was answering her questions. What she said didn’t surprise me but it did confirm some things I’ve been thinking regarding the usage of buzzwords.
Her comment was ” wow, this is great information- this is what we have been looking for- someone who speaks in plain english rather than using buzzwords.” Of course, flattery will get you every where with me, but clearly she has been searching for someone to tell it like it is without every other word being a buzzword.
In HR, the buzzwords of the moment are “agile” “big data” “thought leader”, “strategic”, “authentic”, “transparency” “human capital” and of course there is your usual dosage of “the seat at the table” talk. There is no question that using buzzwords is addictive. It is in our nature to want to dress up a word so that it sounds-well, more interesting. I have never been an addict of using buzzwords, but I’d be lying if I said I have’nt used them to explain a concept or just for the fun of it. It requires effort to be conscious of what you say and how you say it.
Please don’t kill my vibe- you say?
Based on my conversation with this interviewer, all of you “experts” and “gurus” with your fancy HR language are buzzkill. Yes, I said it- you.are.buzzkill. All of your big data and HR analytics talk that can solve all business issues and increase its agility so in turn, they can finally achieve that coveted seat at the table-is not as welcomed as you may think.
There is nothing wrong with being a conqueror of new HR territory, but do yourself a favor and keep it simple. I don’t mean dumb down your concepts, but I do mean that you need to make sure that the everyday HR practitioner gets what you’re talking about. Oh, and please do not tell me that those aren’t the people you are trying to reach, because if not them who are you speaking to? Who are you convincing to buy-in to your out-of-this-universe concepts and buzzwords? Is it business leaders? Not a chance in hell. You need to resonate with the everyday HR practitioner working in the trenches.
One of my professors in college always said ” a paper written in plain language with the proper grammatical and contextual effects is the most effective paper.” “Papers with floral language and terms that appear over the writer’s head is hardly effective and may even appear as ignorance over intelligence.”
There’s no question that HR has to evolve as the needs of our business partners become more complex and diverse. However, that factor is no reason to further alienate them from the discipline of HR by creating terms, methodology, and concepts that are too difficult to understand.
My interview was successful because I answered her questions in plain language and with practical advice and insights as to how her clients can employ my tips. Instead of saying businesses need to become “agile”, I may have said business leaders need to be able to act and think decisively in order to remain competitive. When I speak about all of the information/data we have available to us regarding the business, I speak about the ways we can make the most out of all of this information and utilizing only the information that makes the most sense for your business. Isn’t that much better than throwing around “big data” every other sentence?
There are HR departments that still don’t know how to properly interpret “time-to-fill” or “cost of hire” reports. That is small data- so they aren’t close to being ready for big data. Are they behind the times? Perhaps, but if business is thriving without big data and the HR department is doing what make sense for that business- none of this high-level talk will ever resonate with them.
For those heading to Orlando for SHRM’s Annual Conference as a speaker or social media influencer, keep in mind that usage of “flavor-of-the-day” buzzwords is impractical. People are spending good money to learn and possibly take some useful HR nuggets home. Do your best not to disappoint them.
Are you ready for a new strategy or way of thinking about how you approach HR? I speak HR and have the tools you need in plain language. Contact me.
Joanna Weidenmiller is CEO and Co-founder of 1-Page, the next generation hiring solution that revolutionizes talent acquisition.
