by Janine Nicole Dennis | Apr 29, 2015 | Business, Featured, Society and HR
Image Courtesy of Flickr.com
There’s no question that there are things that HR can do to change how we service both the business and our employees. The other side of the coin that rarely gets discussed is how HR is fairly low in the food chain when we look at the contributing factors of why the overall workforce has challenges and issues.
The decision to lag the market, lead the market or remain stagnant with regard to wages- like what we have seen in recent years is administered and managed by Compensation. However, wage increases or stagnation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It has to have higher levels of approval than HR. We can say HR may not be as diligent about pushing back, but how far can we really push it? Unless you have a CEO or CFO who appreciates the value of HR’s consultation; HR is fighting a war with no armaments.
If you canvas the open job vacancies online long enough, you will find a strong presence of job descriptions that appear to include responsibilities and duties enough to for 2 FTE’s ; but it is being marketed for one person. In addition, if you go a step further and apply to a few of these jobs and are lucky to have a conversation with some of these companies; you will also find that the pay isn’t nearly as competitive or fair as you would expect given the employer’s expectations. It’s easy to ask HR why wages are down or stagnant, but perhaps we should be asking the CEO’s why they choose to stagnate wage increases when it is clear that they want more from their workforce. What is further interesting is: a 2014 report from The Economic Policy Institute reports that CEO wages at the largest corporations have increased 937% since 1978 (when adjusted for inflation). According to Rebecca Hiscott of the Huffington Post, the average worker’s compensation grew only 10.2% during that same time period.
Less income has caused lower assets, decreased net worth, increased debt and liabilities. Throw in familial obligations and other personal concerns coupled with work pressures and it may not be hard to understand how we still have around 70% of the workforce being disengaged. I believe the tone gets set at the top. Toxic leadership often leads to toxic HR, particularly when we don’t have the balls to speak up or leave. HR can only be effective in addressing workforce issues if and only if the CEO values the people. They don’t have to necessarily love and buy into what we do in HR. If they have a talent first mentality, they will urge HR to do whatever is necessary to attract and retain talent. Under these circumstances, HR has advocacy at the top as well as the license to create programs and initiatives that favor both the business and employees .
As an HR practitioner, I have had the experience of working in many different environments. Despite our best efforts to make a change or address a concern in our organizations, there were many instances where no changes were made (or the changes were completely different from our initial recommendation). This happens because; ultimately we are not the final authority. A lot of what we do is in consultation to our internal partners. We can argue that the quality and substance of our consultation are the contributing factors to the success of any workforce change or initiative. Still, owners, founders and figureheads need to shoulder some of the responsibility for workforce related issues. I’m not blind or ignorant to the unnecessary complexity and toxicity HR is capable of creating in an organization separate and apart from the CEO’s vision; but it doesn’t come from nowhere.
There was a time that CEO’s could say they “didn’t know” or “they weren’t aware” of the systemic issues in their companies. With social media being the go-to platform to expose companies for everything from fraudulent practices to unfair and discriminatory workplace conditions, you better know what’s going on in your company and be vigilant about addressing any issues. HR can do a lot, but we can only do as much as executive leadership will allow. If the organization is driven by greed and lining the pockets of board members and leadership, HR will be directed to aid and abet that approach.
The question then becomes an ethical and moral one for HR. If you are working in a company that is not doing right by the employees (including HR), do you continue to fight beyond your obvious lack of power settling for marginal wins or do you keep your head down and do as you are told?
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Mar 27, 2015 | Ask Czarina, Featured, Random Fun
Series Introduction
Every year, I like to find a different way of celebrating my favorite day: my birthday. Since I am turning 32 next month (I know…awww…), I’ve decided to share 32 revelations I have had during the course of my life about everything from life in general to business. Think of it as daily inspiration for you and therapy for me. It is a challenge for me, because I don’t think I have ever published a post everyday in the entire existence of The Aristocracy of HR. Plus, I recognize that while I am fairly generous in sharing on social media and here, I have only just scraped the surface on sharing who I am when I’m not pontificating how HR and Business can do better. Let’s use the month of March to get to know one another better. I hope at the end of the month, you walk away with something you can use in your own life or business.
Day 20 of 31- 32 Fun Facts About Me
I can’t thank you all enough for reading, commenting and following this series. I was a little hesitant about switching gears, but I must say I am happy I did. The outpouring of support has been tremendous.
The day that has made this all possible has arrived. I am happy to announce that my 32nd birthday is today. Woohoo! I love celebrating my birthday. I started my day with reflection and giving thanks to the big man upstairs for another year of life.
In honor of my birthday, I am sharing 32 fun facts that you probably don’t know about me. I hope you enjoy them.
Here you go…
1) I am a Hofstra University Alumni.
2) When I started college, I was a Biochemistry Major with a minor in Spanish.
3) I initially planned to major in Biochemistry because I wanted to become a Forensic Pathologist.
4) In high school, I was in my school’s Intel Program. My project was: The Mutagenesis of Poliovirus and Picornavirus
5) My first job was working as a waitress for a catering hall in a Jewish Temple.
6) I was part of Macy’s TapMania – it was an event that got 5,600 tap enthusiasts of all ages together in an effort to break the Guiness Book of Records for largest tap dancing event.
7) I played the Alto Saxophone in junior high school and high school. I was in both the marching band and jazz band.
8) I really wanted to play the Soprano Saxophone, because my idol, Kenny G played it- but had to settle for the Alto because that’s all the school had.
9) I read in two languages other than English- Spanish and Portuguese. I can speak Spanish and am emerging in Portuguese.
10) I am of Guyanese and Trinidadian descent.
11) I have a West-Indian accent, but it only comes out when I’m around other West- Indians.
12) When I was younger, I used to steal my mom’s black eyeliner to draw on a beauty mark, so I could look like Cindy Crawford.
13) My favorite colors are: teal and hot pink.
14) I love rollercoasters and any thrill rides. I will scream like a baby, but there is no keeping me away from thrill rides,
15) I’m a Walking Dead fan.
16) My favorite cartoons growing up were: Jem, Looney Tunes, Darkwing Duck, Duck Tales and the Smurfs.
17) I am a trained belly dancer. I was part of a troupe called Fem Fire for three years.
18) I was once on a daytime show called: Living It Up With Ali and Jack. I was one of the models during their teeth whitening segment.
19) I’m a Cooking Channel fanatic. If I am left to my devices on the weekend, I can watch it all day.
20) Speaking of cooking, I love to cook and bake. It’s a labor of love and my happy place. Check out my chops on Instagram.
21) I am the eldest of two kids in my family. I have a younger brother.
22) My favorite sport is: football.
23) I am a diehard NY Giants fan.
24) I played Tennis in high school.
25) My favorite movie is: The Sweetest Thing
26) I was a tomboy growing up. From hopping in creeks to playing crash dummies on bikes, it wasn’t all about dolls and dress-up for me.
27) I love expressing myself through fashion and makeup. It makes me feel great.
28) I was born in Queens, NY.
29) My favorite genre of music is: Soca
30) I have been known to fall asleep standing up.
31) I was probed to start blogging based on my tweets.
32) I love Philosophy and believe in my previous life I sat on a rock extolling the virtues of life and other phenomenon. My favorite philosophers are: Rene Descartes, Kant and Socrates.
I hope you enjoyed these fun facts about me. Share a fun fact about yourself in the comments. Now for a musical outro with 50 Cent.
https://youtu.be/_E2w5HiNtic
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Mar 3, 2015 | Career, Featured, Life
Image Courtesy of Pinterest
Series Introduction
Every year, I like to find a different way of celebrating my favorite day: my birthday. Since I am turning 32 next month (I know…awww…), I’ve decided to share 32 revelations I have had during the course of my life about everything from life in general to business. Think of it as daily inspiration for you and therapy for me. It is a challenge for me, because I don’t think I have ever published a post everyday in the entire existence of The Aristocracy of HR. Plus, I recognize that while I am fairly generous in sharing on social media and here, I have only just scraped the surface on sharing who I am when I’m not pontificating how HR and Business can do better. Let’s use the month of March to get to know one another better. I hope at the end of the month, you walk away with something you can use in your own life or business.
Day 2 of 31- Purpose
I spoke yesterday about my mantra of not spending energy or time on people, situations, or prospects that don’t serve my purpose. I find the concept of purpose an interesting and elusive idea. When we are young, people ask us what we want to be when we grow up and we give an answer based on two possible premises: either we answer based on what we see modeled in others in our family or we answer based on the things we like at that point in our lives. As we get older, there is both this familial and societal push for us to settle in on a vocation that allows us to support ourselves financially. This societal push is perplexing because, we are essentially forced to make a decision about the trajectory of our lives at 17 or 18 years of age never being privy to the one thing that makes all the difference in being successful and enjoying your life: purpose.
In my opinion, this lack of emphasis on living with purpose has caused several generations to meander about the workforce from job to job; and in some cases career to career with no guiding principles for how they can cultivate a meaningful contribution to humanity. No wonder there are plentiful stories of unproductive and disengaged workforces. There’s no surprise that people are sailing through life in a stupor. I know people right now who are 50+ years of age -and are finally discovering the ingredients for living a purposeful life. That’s a long time to have lived, worked and expended energy on people, situations, and activities that don’t connect to the essence of who you are. We all need a focus or an objective in life and work.
Have you ever observed a family member or friend who is getting on in age? Among many things that contribute to their occasional bouts of lashing out and irritability is: losing a sense of purpose. The idea that they are no longer viable or able to be of service is often the result of their mental and physical undoing. The same holds true for people in general- we all just want to be a part of something.
I think we should expose children to the concept of having a purpose for their life. The focus doesn’t have to be linear or based on societal pressures, but it should connect to the things that are at the core of who they are. In the least abstract way, I try to explain to my kids that there is great power in doing what you really love. I understand as a parent that “what they love” maybe fleeting at this stage, but at least they are focusing on what they love in whatever moment they are in. I try to model it through my work so they don’t see me as a product of indecision, but someone who is intentional about the work I do and the life I live. My hope is that this focus evolves as they get older and they start to connect-the-dots in doing the things they are good at and have a passion for.
It isn’t enough to make a ton of money. There has to be something uniquely pleasurable and interesting about the work that we do. The intersection of having money and uniquely pleasurable work is bliss. It may sound crazy, but I have recently dedicated myself to seeking out only the initiatives, causes and work that cause my heart to race. It’s just a happier existence for me and it could be for you.
Czarina’s Lesson: Nobody should care more about how your story gets written, but you. Make sure you are in the driver seat of your life.
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Mar 2, 2015 | Featured, Life, Time Management
Image courtesy of Ink361.com
Every year, I like to find a different way of celebrating my favorite day: my birthday. Since I am turning 32 next month (I know…awww…), I’ve decided to share 32 revelations I have had during the course of my life about everything from life in general to business. Think of it as daily inspiration for you and therapy for me. It is a challenge for me, because I don’t think I have ever published a post everyday in the entire existence of The Aristocracy of HR. Plus, I recognize that while I am fairly generous in sharing on social media and here, I have only just scraped the surface on sharing who I am when I’m not pontificating how HR and Business can do better. Let’s use the month of March to get to know one another better. I hope at the end of the month, you walk away with something you can use in your own life or business.
Day 1 of 31- Time
As a younger person, I have always had a sense of urgency about getting ahead and using time efficiently. I remember being exposed to my first time management class in the 5th grade. From then on, I always operated with the notion that there is a time and place for everything. When my friends were going to chill at a boy’s house in high school, I was hustling to take a bus to go to work. In college, when people I knew were partying and flunking out of school, I was focused on doubling up on classes and establishing my career. I generally always felt like time was fleeting and as such I needed to seize the moments, opportunities and momentum available to me at the time.
Early in my career- when I started to encounter the inevitable flaws of the corporate world, I found myself not being able to stay with one company more than two years. When I encountered a bad boss or unfavorable surroundings, I started pounding the pavement to look for a new job. At the time of my job-hopping, I discussed some of my dislikes and difficulties with one of my grandfathers at the time. He seemed to feel I was somewhat haughty when it came to work. He saw my early career movements as a lack of commitment. I respected that opinion because his lens was that of someone who had worked hard to get to this country in the first place and only knew work as something you did to make a living. In his opinion, it wasn’t supposed to make you happy. He saw “work” as something you committed yourself to. My feeling back then as a 20-something was: commitment to something that didn’t benefit me was “wasting time”. I never feared commitment and don’t now. However, I fear spending my energy on activities, people, and situations that rob me of time I could use to propel my purpose.
What have I learned?
Time is a precious commodity. It is-in my opinion, more precious than money. Time is something you will never get back once it is gone. The best use of time is to act in the present. Personally, I recognize that my futurist approach to time robbed me of some moments both as an adolescent and a young adult that I probably should have spent having more spontaneous experiences and fun. Conversely, I don’t believe I would be where I am today if I didn’t have the sense of urgency to forge ahead professionally as I did in my 20’s.
As an entrepreneur, I continue to assess the value I assign to my time to ensure I am being adequately compensated both in money and in value. I am earnestly trying to shift my past 20-something mindset to one that honors the present moment. Spending time ruminating about the future robs you of the joys, lessons and experiences of the present. As I celebrate another year of life in a few weeks, I am developing a balanced- approach to time. It involves slowing down and smelling the roses- while keeping my sense of urgency keen to capitalizing on the opportunities that come my way. That is time well spent.
Czarina’s Lesson: Live in the present. Plan for the future. Waste time on things that make you happy or help you fulfill your purpose.
How do you approach “time” in your business and life?
by Janine Nicole Dennis | Dec 4, 2014 | Business, Featured, HR Innovation, Human Resources
I had the privilege of being invited to the first ever IBM and Purematter Thinkathon: Hacking The Future of Work event in New York City last month. It has taken me this long to properly synthesize all of my thoughts and experiences from the event.
Why Hack The Future of Work…
The purpose of the “Thinkathon” was to get 30 people who influence the world of work in one room over three days to discuss the future of work. Over the course of these three days we were met with mind-bending presentations from IBM’ers as well as other notable keynotes. We also spent time in groups discussing how we see things like workspaces, communication, talent, technology privacy etc. working in the future.
Of the notable keynotes, was a woman by the name of Faith Popcorn. She was charged with providing the group with a glimpse of the future of the work circa 2025. While I believe we all came into this presentation with our eyes wide open and ready to be schooled, many of us became a little disheartened with what we learned of the future. In this keynote, 2025 was a vision of robots having governance over pretty much everything, simulated living/working, and the disappearance of careers. It’s important to note that Faith Popcorn is known for making wily predictions that come to pass 95% of the time (check out some of them here). As someone who has a passion for the human touch in business, I felt like someone punched me in the gut listening to her go on about a world 100% driven by robots and technology.
Based on her view of the future of work, the human touch is extinct and we all live and work in a simulated, computer amplified world. The idea that humans relinquish more and more control as technology advances presents a pressing question for HR professionals. If careers are obsolete, and people can work via simulated workspaces with a bevy of robots running about our communities and companies- what will HR’s role be?
Jay Kuhns, fellow HR expert and I with IBM employees and VIP Futurists at the IBM Design Camp. Photo courtesy of @kwheeler
The facts are…
HR will have to transform more rapidly in the next 10 years than it has the past thirty to keep up with societal and technological advances should Ms. Popcorn’s predictions hold true. Will there be whole HR departments run by robots in 2025? I don’t think so, but do I believe that we will see more and more outsourcing of functions that are better delivered by technology or people specifically dedicated to that one function? Yes. As far as the talent goes, we are all reported to be free agents by 2025 and solely responsible for marketing ourselves to companies for work. The idea that there are no more defined roles within an organization filled with professionals with a finite set of skills creates complexities for recruitment teams and every other facet of HR as we know it today. Which begs the question will there be a need for recruitment teams in 2025? I think there will be reverse recruitment in the sense that jobseekers with broader profiles will have the ability to actively recruit or seek out companies that align with their values, passions and that have a need for their skillsets. We already are starting to see this with the concept of employer branding and candidate experience. In 2025, Onboarding may be a thing of the past or repurposed, if people are no longer in traditional roles requiring the usual assimilation into their companies.
When asked about the economical impact of this new reality of the future of work, Faith Popcorn responded “there will be the haves and have-nots.” Which leads me to address the global implications of this new reality of the future of work. With companies outsourcing work to alternative markets abroad to create efficiencies and lower labor costs- will we drive these advances in how we work or will the U.S be a late adopter? Admittedly, Faith’s research and predictions are based on the American market, so she could not speak to the global implications of what she was proposing. However, with an economic reality of haves and have-nots and no real mention of those that “have a little” a.k.a. the middle-class, who are the future workers? Are they humans, robots or a mixed bag? If any of the future scenarios involve robots as actual workers this changes the entire landscape of employment law and labor relations. We will have to start thinking of things like “do robots have rights or does being human need to be a protected class?” Wild!
My opinion is change is often far more gradual than the vision of the future I viewed in Faith Popcorn’s presentation. The change we experience in the world of work will be gradual largely because many companies haven’t even adopted the technology and progressive practices available to us now. The playing field is not level for all people socially and economically which also hasn’t been resolved on a global scale; nor will it be in the foreseeable future. I have reason to believe there is a greater need in the future to preserve humanity and it’s place in the world of work. I also believe that when you predict things in the future you have to also account for the inevitable outlier events and resistance to change that often color and shape the final outcome. Too much of anything is never good and that also holds true for any imagined advances for the future of work. With some technological leaps, hardcore streamlining with a focus on creating new efficiencies and a genuine dedication to meeting the needs of future talent and business; I think the future of work has plenty of promise.
What do you think the future of work will look like in 2025? I want to hear from you!
Over the next couple of months, I will be working with IBM on some cool initiatives. Follow my journey along with my 29 fellow futurists with the hashtag #NewWayToWork.
Here’s a glimpse of the IBM Verse launch I was privileged to attend on November 18th, 2014.
http://youtu.be/f1nsDgl5eB8?list=PLEjl4yzB6ckErwJCQyIcBOY0m2s-li4Af
