For those of you that may have missed the headlines for the tri-state area in the last week- we have been pummeled by Hurricane Sandy and as of last night a Nor’easter. Though I was inconvenienced and pushed to my max in this past week- I was fortunate. I didn’t lose my house, wordly possessions and more importantly my life.
New Yorkers and people in general on the east coast are not accustomed to these sorts of natural disasters. A heavy downpour is the likes of what we know when it comes to natural disasters -but apparently this trend is changing. It is abundantly clear that we all need to wise up and prepare better, because we have been ill-equipped and not taking this stuff as seriously as we should and I am including myself in this.
Of course nothing that happens to me is devoid an HR lesson so here’s the story.
Things happened in this storm that we weren’t prepared for. Although we were forewarned, the attitude was either it won’t be that bad or it won’t happen at all. I lost internet, phone, power and more importantly- I lost heat. I had no generator so revving that up was not an option. This in turn caused me to charge my phone in my car. I went to stay with family also without power until the cold became unbearable and then off to a motel I went.
During this ordeal, there was no way to properly let anyone of importance know what my situation was. It was touch and go. In the interim, I became sick. How do I get that message out with all phones out of service?
The point I’m making is there was a plan, but the plan wasn’t good enough. There needs to be a team disaster plan for employees to follow in the case that they are in a situation such as mine. Conversely, empathy and common sense should prevail on the end of employers before these events to make plans among their teams so everyone is in the know. Here’s where I’m going with the common sense piece.
If your company closes down for an extended period of time due to a natural disaster and employees are unable to return to work because of this-how do you mandate them to work on non-traditional days of work (e.g. Saturday)? Answer: you don’t.Make them give up holidays instead. You can’t penalize an employee for an act of nature and your inability albeit out of your hands to make the business operational.
What does one of your employees do if they cannot make it into work due to a disaster and doesn’t have access to a working phone or computer? It isn’t business as usual. On a normal day, they would pick up the phone and call in if sick or otherwise. The day that a disaster hits-depending on the severity-is not normal. In fact, it is unlikely for it to be business as usual for a long time. Your expectations and directions have to become flexible; they have to change and that’s why you need a plan.
Have a plan. Make it simple. It doesn’t need to be verbose or terribly long. All you need to do is to come up with a reasonable way for your employees to report their status in the event that normal platforms of communication cease to exist.
Here are some examples of things you could implement:
1) Have an e-mail chain. In this instance my one saving grace was my cellphone. Consider having an e-mail chain where each team member has to contact another member of the team to let them know their status. The person at the end of the chain will report all statuses to the boss.
2) Assign emergency buddies. Have each team member team up with the closest employee to their residence in case of an emergency.
3) Make sure all of your employees have a current list of the entire teams contact information at all times.
4) In the case that everything is out including cell phones, speak with your emergency management or security groups to find out alternative ways to account for your team should you be faced with a natural disaster.
Natural disasters are not nice events. Everyone is concerned for their safety and the safety of their families. Make the ordeal a no-brainer. In this way, your employees will have guidance of how to react in these unfortunate circumstances.
Side note: My heart and prayers go out to my fellow tri-state people that lost lives, homes and all other worldly possessions. Be Strong!
Recognition is defined as “an action of recognizing” or “special notice or attention”. The piece of the definition that speaks to “special notice” is where I’m going with this. When something is special it isn’t the same ol’same. It is uniquely different and out of the ordinary. When you tell a child that you have a “special” surprise for them for behaving well –there is an underlying perception by that child that they are about to receive something better than anything they have ever received. That underlying perception is what makes the recognition of their good behavior gratifying. Conversely, if that same child comes to know that the “special” surprise is synonymous with the same reward every time they behave well-the reward then becomes trite and meaningless. There is no sense of anticipation or excitement -it is simply ordinary.
The point here is recognition as we know it in HR is something small, something grand and sometimes a little of both. It is a means of letting our employees know that we value their contributions. Recognition with the best of intentions is sometimes overdone. There are things that we expect of our employees on a routine basis and that should never go unnoticed. However, constant awards, long drawn out speeches of praise and all other incentives overdone make routine seem extraordinary. That is to say, routine duties become extraordinary by way of the recognition. The routine and mundane every day responsibilities haven’t changed, but because a reward is attached to it somehow screams “I am awesome”. Let’s be real there are some things that we just expect from employees and that is the common denominator. The extraordinary work is where our employees take that common denominator and exponentially produce great outcomes. The areas where our employees do the routine stuff coupled with the “above and beyond” work are where real recognition has a place. Too often I have seen leaders praise for every project, every task, every breath, and even for an employee getting up in the morning and coming to work on time as they should. Don’t get me wrong-notice it. Recognize it from time to time, but for God’s sake focus your recognition efforts on the extraordinary not the ordinary.
Recognition becomes banal, meaningless, and a hoax when you constantly laud and praise employees for basics. It leaves a lot to be desired. There is no excitement in the “special” aspect of recognition; employees just come to expect something. This in turn will keep ordinary workers ordinary and extraordinary workers bored and thinking you run around spreading recognition haphazardly.
I implore leaders to think about what you reward and punish and the frequency with which you do them both. As with anything in life, balance is an exercise of discretion. Discretion will let your employees know that you are serious about recognition and their efforts.
It’s no secret to human resource professionals, managers and supervisors that one of the most critical decisions facing the workplace is talent acquisition, better known as recruiting. Recently I’ve read a few articles that proclaim recruiting is the MOST important function of human resources; trumping compensation and benefits, training and development, and process improvement. After wrestling this for awhile I realized that I could not argue against it. The results of recruiting are in all facets of the company. Recruiting really is the most important function of human resources.
At The Ohio State University I recall something my professor Robert Henemantaught, “All of your employee relations issues and all your human resource initiatives depend upon your people. If you hire the right people you can be successful; poor hiring decisions will cause you to fail.” Speaking to the professor’s point, if you have lazy management, it goes back to who you’ve hired to lead. If you have poor performing employees, you have to examine how you hire. Jim Collins wrote a groundbreaking human resource management book titled “Good to Great.” Some people mock it now-a-days however if you read the book it makes several excellent business claims; one being if you get the right people on the bus you will increase your chances of organizational success. There’s a ton of competition for skilled and talented employees, and competition comes from other countries as well. Good news is there is a ton of talent, skilled, educated and smart people available; you just have to find them. It’s election time in the United States. The Democrats are trying to recruit you; the Republicans are tying to recruit you; and job creation is the hot button issue. This focus on recruitment is old news for big companies, who are constantly in the war for talent. If you’ve been paying attention to mergers and acquisitions you’ll notice that the hardware and software giant Oracle purchased Taleo, a talent management and recruiting software company (aka ATS), for about $1.9 billion. But that’s not all, Oracle also bought SelectMinds, a cloud based social talent sourcing company. Hmm, seems like they are getting for the future of talent acquisition. Another giant, SAP acquired SuccessFactors for $3.4 billion. Coupled with Recruit’s billion dollar acquisition of Indeed, it all means that serious investment is being made to provide efficient and innovative methods to source for talent. “Yes! As I reflect on the other competencies of human resources you cannot do any of them without people,” saidTiffany Kuehl, Talent Acquisition and Staffing Leader of a Fortune 100 company and President of TCHRA an affiliate chapter of SHRM. Tiffany went on to discuss what makes a successful talent selection.
“You have to talk to the managers and the interviewers to ensure that they have a realistic idea of what they want and need from a candidate. Sometimes you have to re-sculpt the shape, scope and expectations in order to fit the business needs. It’s not only about finding external candidates but also moving the internal talent around. Everything goes back to the right people, the right jobs, and at the right time.” Class dismissed.Chris Fields is an HR professional and leadership guy who blogs and dispenses great (not just good) advice at Cost of Work. Connect with Chris on Twitter.
I have sat through my share of classes on emotional intelligence, the power of gaining buy-in etc. In every class, the speaker has ninja-like skills in the art of negotiation and getting stakeholders to buy-in, advocate and support your initiatives. It all sounds reasonable and even exciting. That is, until you leave the test kitchen that is the classroom and return to your place of work.
In theory and often times in practice you can successfully employ methods to facilitate your efforts of gaining buy-in from your stakeholders. However, what happens when your co-workers and/or colleagues are just not that into you or your ideas? The answer is nothing. Sometimes people just don’t like you. By virtue of them not liking you they are completely unwilling to hear or rally behind your ideas.
In my experience, you can bring all the major players to the table to reach a consensus and/or try to move an initiative forward with the best of intentions and practices; but alas there is always someone that takes great pride in opposing you and your initiative goes nowhere. What do you do? Do you pine away for a miracle to happen by way of a change of heart or do you accept that this person will never rally around you?
The answer here is yes. In business, you always have to be prepared for opponents or naysayers. These opponents are stakeholders that just have it in for you. They will never like you or your ideas. As a matter of fact, it isn’t just you that they loathe; it is any new idea. You can read a gazillion books on stakeholders and the art of team dynamics, but none of that will get those opponents/naysayers on your side. For that reason, you must always be ready to refocus your energy on the ones that will back you up inevitably. You will have to make an executive call and build a coalition to rally around you and move your initiatives forward.
By building a coalition, you are not shutting all of your stakeholders out and throwing up your hands. Instead, you are making sure things keep moving forward by getting a subsection of the stakeholders to rally around your efforts. The key to a successful coalition is credibility. Each player in your coalition must view you as having credibility. There may be other things that your stakeholders require before putting their support behind you; but credibility is of the utmost importance. Your stakeholders need to know that you know what you’re doing and that you are capable of doing what you say you will.
Here are three tips on building credibility with your coalition:
1) Minimize the perceived risk involved with your initiative. By doing this you anticipate any concerns your coalition may have and create answers that placate those concerns by giving a realistic description of the risks and opportunities involved with proceeding with your initiative.
2) Know your stuff. Develop your message. That is know what you’re talking about. Be ready to provide statistics and any other data to support your initiative.
3) Set goals and hold your coalition accountable for meeting deadlines.There needs to be a focus for your coalition. This is why you set strategic goals and milestones to keep the focus. Lack of focus means the coalition and you get sidetracked and nothing gets accomplished.
In business, there are very few instances where you win everyone over with your savvy ideas and initiatives. Professionals must always be prepared to explain,bargain, defend and advocate for their ideas. Don’t take it personal that they don’t like your ideas; instead be smart enough to identify your allies and neutral stakeholders. Get them on your side and see your initiatives thrive.
Hey Everyone! I’m hosting a webinar courtesy of ERE.net and Jobvite on recruiter branding. You’re probably saying what is “recruiter branding”? For those of you that read my tweets and articles you have probably noticed that I like to make up my own terms and/or create new hybrid buzz words.
Recruiter branding is simply the identity that a recruiter creates in an effort to build a presence, gain credibility, and present a value proposition to the candidates and/or clients they work with.
It is abundantly clear that the “post and pray” and/or job board days have met its maker. It is also clear that recruiters can no longer hide behind the employment brand and rely on that to help them get their jobs done. The age of social media is upon us. Candidates are getting savvy. They will see a job posting and try to find out who the recruiter is behind the job before they research the company for tidbits about how they do business.That means that the recruiter’s brand not the employment brand could affect the candidate’s decision to submit an application to your company.
As such, your online identity and brand as a recruiter becomes extremely important to both your success and the success of the business.
If you are losing your way in this recruitment space or you want to improve by adding some new methods to your toolbox- this is a webinar you won’t want to miss.
Who’s better than you? You just got a snapshot of what I will be covering in the webinar. Want more…see the learning objectives for the webinar below and join meon Wednesday, 10/17 at 2pm.
In this webinar you will learn:
What is a “recruiter brand”?
Why is having a “recruiter brand” important?
What does it mean to build a “consistent and transparent brand”?
How various social media outlets can facilitate recruiter branding
Oh and I am counting on all of you to chat this up on Twitter and the back channel the day of the webinar via TweetChat, SeeSawMe or any other social media platform you utilize. The hashtag is #SoMerecruit. I look forward to speaking with you all virtually.
I had to jump on this immediately. During the debates tonight, the master brand manager behind @KitchenAidUSA responded to President Obama’s story about his grandmother with this tweet:
I’m sorry but what kind of idiot are you that this tweet seemed reasonable? Not only is it insensitive and disrespectful, but it completely undermines your brand Kitchen Aid. I’m no marketing guru, but I do know that you never want self-inflicted nuisance variables like this undermining your brand and/or the confidence customers have in your brand.
What’s even better is a nicely packaged pr statement follows this jewel in an effort to do some damage control. Unfortunately, 140 characters does not give you nearly enough space to adequately apologize. In addition, what happened here? Did the person that sent the tweet in the first place effectively send out the pr apology or was that another representative chiming in on the same account? Confusing and ridiculous all at once would describe this debacle.
Nothing much in the way of HR coming from me on this-except, a firm warning and/or termination for this egregious error is probably likely. Oh and sensitivity,social media, and common sense training are probably in order as well. If I was the employee that had this lapse in judgment- I would be praying that tomorrow takes its time getting here.
In all fairness to the genius tweeter this is in no way different from people that don’t think before they speak. For those that have this affliction- a word of advice- think, pause for a few moments and think again before you tweet.
Stay tuned to the conclusion of this debacle.
P.S. Kitchen Aid I still love my professional mixer and make masterful pastries because of it. Love your brand, but do get the social media stuff together.
There is a new frontier and it is the applicant tracking system. For those of you that have been following the world of applicant tracking systems lately you know that there’s been some merging and acquiring. Life as the applicant system vendors knew it has changed. One by one companies like Taleo and SuccessFactors are being gobbled up and regurgitated as newly packaged entities. Freedom from the big “b” that is the bottomline is no more. They are now a part of something bigger and customers, critics, and onlookers alike are all wondering one thing- will their value propositions live on?
They all have put out nicely crafted PR statements saying that this new push to combine technology powers is a plus and the combination of the two companies will allow them to bring even more value to the customer-yadda…yadda…yadda. While it may be true that these vendors will continue on valiantly; they cannot fault those that remain a bit cynical about the whole ordeal. Of primary interest is the partnership. Who were the two companies before they merged and how will the flaws of each impact the customer experience going forward? The answer is none of us knows and customers are sitting ducks for the moment. In time there will be reports of gains or losses (however that pans out) but for now it is unchartered territory for all involved.
There’s no doubt that big dollars thrown around lead to a perception that it’s all about the bottomline, market share and making money. The challenge that ATS vendors have ahead of them is proving us all wrong and keeping up the same value propositions if not improving those offerings now that they are bigger and allegedly better.
While it is a happy time for all of these companies (Kenexa being the latest to be gobbled up), it is a time of vulnerability for everyone involved. ATS vendors need to be more vigilant than ever in reassuring their customers that these M&A’s are good for the product. In addition, they must be diligent in making sure that they are meeting and exceeding the service levels they provided prior to the acquisition. Any service or value infraction could cost them customers.
ATS and/or Talent Management platforms were given life to streamline HR processes and make the lives of those in the hiring function easier. The reality of a changing landscape of technology facilitated by mergers and acquisitions is daunting. Before M&A’s became a commonplace, these systems were imperfect and in some cases viewed as a burden rather than a valued added tool. There’s no better time than now to bring out the heavy artillery and show us techies that all of this change is laying the groundwork for an exciting future in HR Technology and not just a mad rush to gain market share in the Saas space. After all some will argue that it all comes down to the almighty “cloud”. The allure of the technology is certainly due in part to a fascination with the almighty “cloud” but it’s also the strut of the ATS that is all the buzz. The ATS space is something to watch. It is becoming increasingly profitable and those that had no interest in this business a decade ago have a renewed outlook on the entire industry.
Whether it is ATS, CRM, or virtual learning, there are a lot of things to be excited about in the HR Technology space. The future of HR tech is exciting but yet ominous. It is on the cutting edge, but still with inherent flaws. We can only be optimistic and broad minded in our thinking and assume that what’s to come is a hell of a lot better than where we have been.
In parting, I say to the ATS vendors and HR Technology companies may the force be with you as you explore life, liberty and the pursuit Saas. Here’s to the Futurism of HR Technology!
Yesterday I attended an event in New York City given by Triberr. The event was #TribeUpNYC (take a look at the hashtag or my timeline for that day to check out some of the tweets from the event). This event was flippin awesome. I mean really awesome. First off, this was the first event I have attended as a blogger so I don’t have anything to compare this to. However, I am usually happy at any event that is intimate and you can chat it up with real, like-minded, and smart individuals like yourself. Let me tell you that in this department this event did not disappoint at all. Everyone I met was warm, inviting and refreshingly blunt about what it takes to be successful as a blogger.
The event was from 1pm-6pm. They split the day in two. The first half was comprised of mini presentations all focused on four important aspects of blogging: your influence, your brand, blog marketing and how to get paid doing it. We talked SEO, HEO and even FEO. I’m sure you all know the first, but what is HEO and FEO you ask. Well HEO is “Human Engine Optimization” as described by Dino Dogan that gave the Mythbusters presentation. HEO essentially is understanding the motivations of humans cultivating relationships via social media and then bringing it home through real life interaction. As bloggers, we have to constantly reinforce the human aspect of what we do.
FEO is my own little acronym and it stands for “follower engagement optimization”. This idea came to me as I listened to Robert Moore from Internet Media Labsdiscuss the importance of engaging with your followers and creating brand advocates.
We talked the mechanics and intelligence behind Triberr and got the scoop straight from the CEO and one half of the brains behind Triberr, Dan Cristo. After that it was time for some about three hours of networking and it was a blast.
This was just free time spent over wine, beer and tapas discussing the focus of our individual blogs.Sharing best practices, coordinating business partnerships, and making the social to IRL connection were just some of the highlights of the day.
In conclusion, I learned, I connected, I promoted my brand, and I made some new friends and potential business partners in the interim. Triberr is dedicated to facilitating the progression of blogging as an industry thereby creating legitimate jobs and wealth via doing what we all love and that is writing. According to Dan Cristo, Triberr’s main goal is to “treat bloggers like celebrities.” To that I say kudos to him and his team, because I definitely felt like a celebrity at this event.
I already left a note for my tribe about the event. If you aren’t already on Triberr and you’re a blogger I suggest you check it out. The website is www.triberr.com. Many thanks to Dino Dogan, Dan Cristo, and Internet Media Labs for a great event. See you all next year! ; )
Learning as we know it in HR is rapidly changing. Gone are the days of physically traveling to a venue to sit in a chair and hear a presentation. Learning and training alike have gone virtual and there is no turning back.
There are few people you can speak to today that aren’t utilizing some form of virtual learning/e-learning. Imagine how many hours away from work, travel expense and the like you or your company would spend in getting you to real-life seminars if there were no webinars. Webinars have transformed the way that we learn and train. Suddenly, we have access whether for free or a nominal free to attend training seminars with key thought leaders from across the globe and learn something new in a lunchtime. It’s brilliant and I don’t know about you, but it is how I am keeping my finger on the pulse of the latest and greatest in HR these days.
Decreased budgets and time constraints are to blame for these novel technologies, but boy are we thankful. Another fairly new trend is the virtual conference concept. I have attended a few in the past, but I recently attended a virtual conference viaHR.com on “Social Media and Employee Communications”. It was for two days from about 10-3:30p.m. each day and chock full of great webcast sessions. There is a networking lounge where you can chat with others. There’s a virtual exhibit hall with vendors you know. You can even drop a business card and be contacted by a representative at the “virtual table”. In addition, they give you a survey at the end that asks you if you wish to be contacted by the speaker and guess what the speakers really reach out to you.
I have not been to too many national conferences, but this is a great way for professionals to get the conference feel of things without spending the $1,800-$2000 for entrance plus lodging and miscellaneous expenses that are inherent in some of the more notable conferences. Another virtual conference innovator isSHRM with the On Demand product. This product brings the national conference to businesses so they can provide access to the sessions to their employees.
Another great tool is podcasts. Whether it is via the radio or video you get anywhere from five minutes up to an hour of targeted learning a specific topic. It is a great way to learn about new tools or trends on the fly.
Last but not least, let us not forget about distance learning as it pertains to obtaining a degree. More than ever, colleges and universities are making their courses and degrees available online with the same world-class professors you get in an actual classroom. HR professionals and professionals in general can do anything from taking a prep course for their PHR to obtaining their master’s degree. There still remains some scrutiny of distance learning and whether it is comparable to being in a classroom. As someone who received all six of her certifications from Cornell’s online ILR school I can tell any naysayers that I worked my natural behind off. It was everything a classroom brings and then some-but truly rewarding.
For those that enjoy teaching there is a new service called Udemy and there are many others out there as well. However, you can create coursework and sell your classes for a price you set. Udemy will kick back a certain percentage of the profits from the class to the virtual teacher. This allows a person to teach what they alike across different disciplines and get paid while doing it.
What’s my point in all of this?
These innovations bring learning and training to HR professionals like never before. Here is where you receive the biggest bang for your buck:
1) Virtual Learning allows your employees to choose what they want to learn therefore making their training and learning personalized.
2) Less money and resources spent in sending a few “key” people to events. Instead you can send everyone to learn because it is virtual so all you have to provide is a computer and the internet and who doesn’t have those these days?
3) It is a way for the company to invest in the employees, but a way for employees to truly own their own development. Virtual Learning makes it fairly easy for anyone to keep up with the goings on in HR.
4)The scrutiny that comes with sitting in a classroom with others is diminished by personalized, targeted coaching and teaching that comes with distance learning. Now you can truly learn at your pace in and in your own way without feeling judged.
5)Bringing in the social! There aren’t too many webinars, webcasts, courses online etc. whereby you don’t make some connection with the speakers or teachers via social media. Virtual Learning plus social media brings greater accessibility to professionals and thought leaders than ever before.
I am not diminishing the positives of sitting in a chair in a classroom, because there are many positives to name. However, tight budgets, decreased resources, less time to dedicate to traveling to a venue make these innovations attractive and I don’t suspect we will see them going anywhere in the future. I look forward to more strides made in this area.
Knowledge is power, but virtual learning is brilliant! Keep learning everyone.
In case you didn’t know from the title today it is the one year blog anniversary for “The Aristocracy of HR”. I am astonished by how the time flew- I guess that’s what happens when you’re having fun. I am in a state of reflection over my journey to this point.
Let me start off by telling you all that this blogging thing was never my style. I saw blogs before last year and I said to myself “who the hell has time for this crap”. I certainly didn’t. It didn’t matter and although I have been revered for years by colleagues, friends and family for having the gift of excellent oral and written skills- I thought who really cares what I think.
Then September of 2011 came and someone from Toolbox from HR reached out to say they liked my tweets and I should consider blogging. I had to ponder on this prospect for awhile (with my conscience telling me I was crazy) but in the end I never back down from a challenge. As such, “The Aristocracy of HR” was born and my penname the “CzarinaofHR” was too. My first article was on HR Technology hence my Futurism of HR Technology series. My first article To Automate or Not Automate… That is the Question debuted and it was a hit; not celeb status but people took a liking to it. Suddenly, I realized there was something to this blogging thing.
I took a moment to think about who this CzarinaofHR was. Did she need to be an alter ego, was she going to be an animated character, or is she me in my finest form? After sometime and a few more successful articles. I realized it is much like the lyrics from Never Change off of Jay-Z’s The BluePrint album: ” I never change this Jay every day.” I’d like to think of it as “I never change I’m just J everyday”
The “CzarinaofHR” is no facade, no fictional character she is everything that I am as a person in business and in life. She and Janine Truitt are one in the same. I am an HR professional who loves HR and its contribution to the world of work and I also loathe it for not practicing what it preaches; we’re getting there, but I digress. It’s a fine line between love and hate my love affair with HR. What I share through this blog is HR and business as I know it.
Beyond the vanity of sharing my stories, I am moved by all of the people that I have connected with (virtually and IRL) via this blog and social media. I have learned so much and been made to feel sane in knowing that I am not alone in the everyday struggles we face as HR practitioners and as everyday people. There have been some hecklers along the way, but I appreciate them too, because they challenge me, my thinking and hold me accountable for what I am saying.
This year has been transformational in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I saw what worked and what didn’t and received many blessings along the way.
Here’s to one solid year of blogging… Enough talk…now let’s party!
I wanted to share the “Never Change” song from Jay-Z but couldn’t find a clean version, so I’m sharing “Change Clothes” which has nothing to do with the theme; but something to know is I love fashion and music and the video says it all. Plus, it’s my blog birthday so I can do what I want! : )
