Working Girl

Project Social: Popularity

2012-01-15T00:31:00.000-08:00

One of the early goals of project social was to see how different themes drove more visits and comments. My project social partner Dave Ryan and I are occasionally (OK, frequently) baffled by which posts get lots of traffic, which receive the most comments and which are comparatively ignored.

Which makes it interesting to take stock at the beginning of a new year to see which posts were the most popular overall and compare these to the ones we thought were the best. It turns out that personal preference is rarely a reliable indicator of popularity.

To demonstrate this point, Dave, Lyn and I are taking this opportunity to review our blog stats and find out which posts were the most viewed, the most commented and also list our personal favorite posts.

Lessons learned:

People like trends, lists and carnivals.
Sometimes you strike a chord.
Sometimes you don't.
That's all I've got.

Without further adieu, here are the top Working Girl posts of all time and be sure to check out what Dave and Lyn have to say over at HR Official and HR Bacon Hut. It's like a little carnival!

Top 5 Most Viewed:
#1: Project Social: The Dark Side of HR - A hard-hitting look at the dark underbelly of HR, mahahahaha!!!
#2: The Top Talent Management Trends of 2011 - Find out if any of my predictions actually came true...
#3: Business Is About Community - A heart warming story of community in action at the workplace
#4: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective 5-Year-Olds - Now a best selling business book (just kidding)
#5: Top 10 Tips for Managers - This post is pretty much what it sounds like

Top 5 Highest Commented:
#1 January 5 Carnival of HR: Reflections, Resolutions, Predictions and Rants - A great new year line up of HR goodness from your favorite HR bloggers!
#2 Project Social: Let's Clique - Inaugural project social post
#3 The Top Talent Management Trends of 2011
#4 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective 5-Year-Olds
#5 On Leadership and Stinky Fish - Sorry, you just have to read it if you want to know what leaders and stinky fish have in common

My Personal Favorites:
#1 Let's Not Overdo This Qualifications Things - Companies should focus more on problem solving skills than formal qualifications because after 6 months it's a wash what you did before. (This advice obviously doesn't apply to brain surgeons.)
#2 Teamwork or Talent? - Why it's a crock to say that teams are more important than high performing individuals
#3 Well, You Can Always Pull a Tinkerbell - Before becoming a catty Peter Pan groupie Tinkerbell nearly destroyed Fairyland and then saved it with her amazing leadership skills and resourcefulness
#4 The 7 Habits of Highly Effective 5-Year-Olds
#5 I Want to Work for Diddy - An early post that explains everything you need to know about effective talent management

Men Are From Mars, Women Are from Venus

2012-01-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

I think this video just about covers it...

The Holiday Post...

2011-12-28T22:45:00.000-08:00

...in which, instead of writing a new post, I link to several other posts and sites.

(What, you've never done that?)

But first, I'd like to wish all my friends a wonderful holiday...

Of course, many of you I know only as a small thumbnail but that shouldn't stand in the way of friendship or admiration. I trust many of you are actually life-size and hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.

We had a full house this year with Christmas coffee, a Bavarian breakfast for my husband's soccer team and a family Christmas Eve featuring a fondue with seven sauces and more presents for the kids that I remember getting throughout my entire childhood. On Christmas morning the kids shook out their stockings, played with their new marble run and we started a new family tradition: building a robot.

My husband bought Lego Mindstorm for our 8-year-old daughter, who inexplicably understands electric wiring, motors and things of that kind. Not from me, I assure you. She assembled and programmed her first robot in about a half hour. My husband helped at first but at some point he was just slowing her down.

The robot has a sensor. As it approaches a wall it backs up and tries a different direction. Then it asks for a color. If you show it the right color it says, 'Fantastic!' If you show it the wrong color it shoots you with a marble, thanks you and tells you to have a nice day.

That's my girl. Her robotics skill is her own but she has my eyes.

Now then, here's some don't miss holiday reading for those golden hours while you're sitting around the fireplace with your family and an iPad in your lap, thinking that checking email feels too much like work:

Women of HR is running a 2-week 'Best of Women of HR' series. Check it out!

Paul Smith has posted a wonderful holiday HR Carnival over at Welcome to the Occupation, full of thoughtful and expensive presents.

Compensation Cafe is always worth a read but since this is my blog I'm going to point you to my own most recent post on creating value with a limited rewards budget. While you're over there be sure to check out a few other posts, too - the Cafe is a great multi-writer resource for rewards, fair pay, appreciation, employee motivation or talent management.

And while we're on the topic, Happy New Year!

German Companies Doing Good Things

2011-12-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

Just a quick hat tip to three German companies that are blazing environmental and modern workforce trails for the rest of us:

Siemens for opting out of the nuclear business, a brave decision that shows big companies can do the right thing.
Deutsche Telekom for providing flexible working hours and supporting a family-friendly work environment.
Volkswagon for turning off Blackberry email after hours to promote a better work life balance for employees.

Well done, you! And Merry Christmas (or happy holidays) to everyone.

Project Social: The Happy Post

2011-12-18T02:13:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article called 12 Things Happy People Do Differently, and was struck by how closely it mirrored my recent thoughts. In fact, here are my tips for having a magical holiday season and a happier year to come. You’ll be amazed at the similarities.

No, I didn’t copy, it’s just that great minds think alike! (And speaking of great minds, be sure to check out what Dave and Lyn have to say this holiday season over at HR Official and The HR Bacon Hut).

Here are my tips for leading a happier life - In all honesty, I don't always follow them but I am happier when I do:

Assume the best - Assuming the best - even if you’re wrong - can give you the confidence and positive energy you need to find the best.
Be grateful - There are countless people who have helped you get to where you are today. Be grateful to them and let the rest go.
Be generous - A friend once said to me, ‘We are here to help each other.’ Is there anyone you can help or share with today, in the spirit of those who have helped and shared with you?
Ask for help - No one can do everything alone, which is why the most successful people get lots of help. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need and say thank you, in case you didn’t learn that one in kindergarten.
Treat yourself - Obsessing about your own comfort or convenience is not the road to happiness but a facial or a little cake at the right moment goes a long way toward making everything right with the world.
Make time for people - People are social animals and die sooner without meaningful social contact. Don’t make a habit of neglecting family and friends for things that don't matter - and if you tell yourself you're 'doing it for them' on a too regular basis, give yourself the hairy eyeball.
Be in the moment - You're sitting here reading this post, breathing air on a planet that circles a sun in a solar system in an enormous galaxy that is actually a tiny blip in an enormous universe made up primarily of nothing - or maybe bozons, I wasn’t totally clear on that. Let the shopping list go for a minute and really look at what’s around you.
Be still - Shh! The health benefits of stillness are well documented. Find some time every day to be still and watch your thoughts. Get to know yourself.
Believe in yourself - You will fail sometimes. That’s OK. Plan what you can plan and prepare what you can prepare. If it doesn’t work out, take it on the chin and move on.
Have faith - Things have a funny way of working out. Be ready for that open door.

One more thing: I was once driving on an icy road when my windshield fluid ran out. My window promptly started to fog, making it difficult to see the oncoming traffic. And wouldn’t you know it, my cell phone was dead, so pulling over wasn’t an attractive option. I was just on the verge of getting really worried about the fact that I was driving 80km/hr on a 2-way road I could no longer see when a truck rattled by, narrowly missing me and splashing my windshield with some extra windshield fluid. The ice promptly melted and I could see again. Was that a miracle? I’m inclined to think it was, just like my kids are a miracle, autumn leaves are a miracle and social networks are a miracle.

Miracles are all around us.

Merry Christmas!

Good Management: How Do You Measure Up?

2011-12-15T03:19:00.000-08:00

The importance of good management for engagement, retention and overall company performance has been a central theme of the blog from the very beginning.

In fact, one of my early posts on talent management boldly asserted that 'the quality of managers is the single most important thing you can get right.'

Periodically I get sidetracked by other HR-related topics but I always have a hard spot in my heart for inept managers.

Which isn't entirely fair because most managers don't set out to be bad managers. It's not the master plan, so to speak. It usually just sort of happens through a combination of stress, neglect and poor communication skills.

This is either a wake up call or a golden opportunity for HR. If talent matters, and surveys tell us that talent is both scarce and pretty disgruntled at the moment, corporate focus will inevitably start shifting to the people who manage that talent.

Mediocre managers will need to evolve into leaders who can inspire people to give their best... and it'll take more than a memo or a KBO to make that happen.

Someone will have to offer managers the same support and leadership that is expected of them. Someone will have to mentor managers and actively measure how effective they are, not just in terms of output and deadlines but also in terms of team performance, engagement and retention.

Remember this: Poor managers tend to be poorly managed themselves.

As more is expected of them, managers will also demand better tools to support their improved management style. Think about it: If you ask a manager to lead a modern global team (multi-generational, multi-cultural, remote, contingent, etc.) then saddle him or her with a cumbersome annual performance management tool or make it really hard to access workforce information from anywhere except an office computer you are failing that manager.

So here are some fun HR projects to consider that will help managers manage better and have the potential to create real business value in 2012:

Define metrics to measure manager quality today and measure it.
Put a manager mentoring and development program in place and execute on it.
Provide managers with better management tools and access to relevant business data.

Did I forget anything? Please, poke holes!

The OD Post: Squandering Talent and Hoarding Information

2011-12-07T11:37:00.001-08:00

...in which I point you to my two most recent Compensation Cafe posts:

Turkey Talk: Squandering Talent - It was the day before Thanksgiving, OK? I was fresh out of turkey puns. Even to me, it happens. This post includes a book review from Malcolm Gladwell's latest book Outliers. Since Malcolm Gladwell was recently named one of the ten top business thinkers of 2011, if you don't plan to read his book at least read this post so you don't sound ignorant about the whole '10,000 hours' thing.

Why Should I Help You? I'm just nice that way. Really, I'm very helpful. Several people have said so. Unfortunately, not everyone is as helpful as I am, which is why the topic of this post is how organizations can inspire people to share what they know.

Enjoy!

Modern Manager: What's Your '-ity' Strategy?

2011-12-01T03:58:00.001-08:00

Diversity. Mobility. Productivity. What are they good for, besides ending with '-ity'?

Not so very long ago, most people came to the office at the same time every day, dressed the same, acted the same, left at the same time and kind of meandered through the day at a steady pace.

You knew where you stood. You knew where everyone else stood, too.

Not that there wasn’t any diversity, no sir. You had women in a low-paid clerical roles, the proverbial ‘new kid’, a couple of older folks who'd been around forever and maybe even one or two people of a different race or ethnicity.

There was mobility back then, too. I mean, you could totally work from home, just not during office hours. And productivity basically meant meeting your deadlines with a couple of minutes to spare.

Back then, becoming a manager was either a matter of past achievement or favoritism and being a good manager mostly meant looking the part and telling people what to do.

Oh, wait, that part about managers is still mostly true, even though pretty much everything else has completely changed. And it worked OK back then because things were slower and the workforce was more homogenous so you didn’t need as much… finesse to lead people. But today?

Today it’s a different world. And when the world changes, the things you need to do to be successful also change. Let’s take a closer look at these same ‘ity’s’ that - if we really think about them - make it clear that the old ways of selecting and evaluating managers won't cut it any more:

DIVERSITY

People eating spicy food and going to church on different days is the least of it. You’ve got up to 4 generations on your team, 20% contingent workers (on average), different races, ethnicities and attitudes, team members all around the world and all of a sudden everyone’s an ‘individual’ and wants special attention, fabulous development opportunities and flexible working hours. Not to mention half of them aren’t even THERE on any given day.

But there it is. We can either see all this diversity as a management headache or as an opportunity to foster new ideas and ways of working. Here are some ideas about good diversity management as well as a short post about what makes diversity pay. And don't miss Tim Sackett's foundational guide to white people.

The good news is that good diversity management looks a lot like good management so we can think of good diversity management as a twofer.*

*Please note this is the ONLY time we will ever use the word ‘twofer’ in conjunction with diversity. Seriously.

MOBILITY

WFH. OOO. AOAC. If you don’t know what at least one of these acronyms stand for you might want check your pager in case 1990’s trying to reach you. Given new innovations in mobile technology as well as recent studies correlating autonomy and engagement, isn’t it time to let people work when they want, how they want and where they want? Just a thought.

If you're just getting started with the whole 'mobile' thing, here are some tips for managing remote workers. I also recommend Patty Azzarello’s various blog posts about how to be effective working remotely.

PRODUCTIVITY

In an uncertain economy where doing more with less has become the new corporate black, productivity is clearly a business imperative. So why is American productivity at an all-time low? There are several culprits, although this list is not exhaustive:

Meetings - A poorly run or unnecessary meeting costs more than you may realize in terms of productivity and opportunity. Check out this post about the hidden costs of meetings and next time you call a meeting think 'brevity,' another 'ity' word.

Tools - As soon as you reach a critical mass of people and/or locations, the cost of not having proper collaboration tools - such as a corporate wiki where information can be shared, web and video conferencing, Internet and device access - will start to add up.

Committees - Nothing is quite as big a time sink as not having a clear topic owner. Assign one and let them do their job. Enough said.

Admin - A certain amount of paperwork is everyone’s lot in corporate life. However, once dealing with admin exceeds 10% of the standard work week, there’s a problem, Houston.

And guess what? If you're the manager, it's your job to help very different people - including 'locationally challenged' people - work well together and do their jobs quickly and effectively.

Diversity. Mobility. Productivity. Like I said, you need an '-ity' strategy.

It isn't always easy. But hey, that’s why managers get the big bucks and absolute power, right?

For more on the perils of modern management, click over to Dave Ryan's post at HR Official, which is always worth checking out.

Project Social: Trendy HR Trends

2011-11-19T01:20:00.001-08:00

Dave Ryan and I were talking last week about what to post about next and I suggested HR challenges. I made this suggestion partly out of selfish reasons – I was working on an HR trends presentation at the time and was hoping to get a ‘twofer’ out of it – and partly out of curiosity about how he would approach the topic from 'the HR trenches.'

He was all over this idea ('Hmmmn. That could work...') so here are some cool HR trends to challenge and inspire you in 2012. Be sure to also read what Dave has to say over at HR Official and Lyn Hoyt also weighed in at The HR Bacon Hut.

Trend #1: Globalisation (aka 'If You Spell it With a Z You're Not Global') – Even if your company isn’t technically global, the global economy impacts you. Not only can people all over the world consume your products, companies all over the world may be competing for your market share. If you are a global company with multiple HR systems around the world, your main challenges are probably inconsistent processes and insufficient workforce information. Inconsistent processes are expensive, inefficient and may lead to compliance violations. And unless you have a global solution that allows you to track people, work and costs in one place getting timely, reliable workforce information out of multiple systems is a lot like whack-a-mole. Only in reverse.

Trend #2: Contingent Workers (aka ‘Diversity’ and ‘Who invited all these people?’) – The modern workforce is global, multi-generational, virtual and… 20% contingent! According to current estimates it’ll be 40% by 2019. This is a bit awkward for HR since most HR solutions weren’t designed to track contingent workers in a meaningful way. Which is fine when you only have a few contingent workers but as the percentage of contingent labor approaches 40% that’s a fairly sizeable knowledge gap. Where are they? What do they cost? What do they do? Wouldn’t you like to know?

Trend #3: Business Alignment (aka 'Show Me the Money') – Before your eyes glaze over, I read recently that HR people don’t act, talk or think like business people. What they know is compliance and administration and they hire other people who know compliance and administration. Ouch. I've met and worked with plenty of forward thinking and businesslike HR professionals so I’m not sure this criticism is fair but I am sure that business alignment matters. That means you don’t just roll out training and development, you do so with a higher goal of building critical skills in a particular workforce segment. You also define success criteria before you do it and you measure how you did after. It's all about bottom line impact.

Trend #4: Workforce Development (aka 'War for Talent') – Companies struggle with critical skills gaps around the world. According to a recent Manpower survey only 27% of senior HR executives surveyed felt their business had the talent it needed. Future business leaders will need a new set of skills, among which being able to lead global, diverse and virtual teams will figure highly. Companies are considering a variety of strategies, such as tapping into previously underutilized talent pools (working moms, older workers, etc.) with new job deals and incentives as well as overseas assignments and mentoring programs. Gone are the days of cookie cutter talent management, today it’s all about managing a fast and changeable ‘portfolio’ of targeted talent management strategies.

Trend #5: Sustainability (aka 'Let's Not Kill Our Only Planet') - Corporate sustainability has risen up the ranks on the executive agenda not only as stockholders, consumers and employees drive awareness but also as companies begin to realize the enormous cost of data in terms of physical, human and energy resources. Sustainability is one of the trends driving Cloud computing adoption since sharing computing resources is significantly cheaper and more efficient. This is really important but the key takeaway for HR? The top things that consumers want companies to do when they consider responsible behaviors is treat their employees right by caring for their economic and professional well-being.

Trend #6: Social Media (aka 'Last Friday Night') –With so many people involved with social media platforms, the big challenge for HR and companies in general is that you no longer control your brand. But for companies that embrace this idea as an opportunity the returns in terms of productivity, community and engagement can be huge. There’s a great write up from Balakrishna Narasimhan (@bnara75) about HR and social media here. And speaking of Last Friday Night, check out Workday's flash mob video and prepare for some serious flash mob envy.

Trend #7: Engagement (aka 'Prosperity') – We’ve been talking about engagement for so long it hardly feels like a trend anymore but I’m going to go out on a limb and say 2012 is the year companies actually do something about it. At least, I hope so because disengagement’s expensive. Whereas not only can an engaged workforce supercharge an individual company it actually has the power to create prosperity, which should be everyone’s goal in 2012. Enough destruction of wealth already, it’s time to create more jobs, get talented people into them and show a little appreciation. Easy peasy.

Here’s to exciting times ahead! Are you ready?

Carnivals, Expats, HR and Hamsters

2011-11-18T00:14:00.001-08:00

I could probably write a persuasive post comparing an expat assignment to a carnival and somehow work in the hamster angle but in this case the carnival and the expat never meet. And the hamster is a completely different topic.

The Carnival is, of course, the HR Carnival hosted by Anne Freedman over at HREOnline. It's a good one so if you haven't already seen it do click over.

The expat, alas, is not me, although I wrote a post about Expat compensation over at Compensation Cafe following a Cafe podcast. You can listen to the podcast here and read the post here.

And finally, check out Tim Sackett's funny post about becoming a D List blogger. He cautions that Laurie Ruettimann has already cornered the market on HR and cats so I was thinking of moving into the HR and hamsters space. What do you think, could that be big?

Postscript: Google let me down. I couldn't find a single picture of a hamster sitting at a desk analyzing health and safety reports.

** Rubbing the soft furry underbelly of the hamster counts as a benefit.

Project Social: Rise (Nothing to do with Zombies)

2011-10-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

I admit it, blogging has taken a backseat to paid work since I returned from maternity leave but I still meet regularly with my Project Social buddy Dave to talk about posts we would write if we (I) had more time.

Having said that, this week we not only decided to write something but to do something completely new and cutting edge: A book review! Don't miss Dave's review over at HR Official or Lyn's at the HR Bacon Hut.

And if anyone else would like to join the book review party train drop us a line and we'll link to you. We're very social.

My book is Rise by Patty Azzarello, which is the best book of its kind I have read so far. What kind of book is it, you ask? It's book about setting and meeting professional goals and what you need to know to get ahead.

I don't actually read many books like this. I mean, I would but then I'd have less time to read science fiction. Plus it feels so just out of grad school. But Patty's newsletter, which I subscribe to, is so well-written and useful that I decided to read her book as well.

Why is the book so good? It has a lot to do with Patty herself, such as her conversational tone, crisp prose and vast corporate experience. But it also has to do with the numerous practical tips and examples she provides throughout the book for doing better work, getting noticed and getting ahead.

They say that those who can't, teach but occasionally, those who can, teach and then you want to pay attention. This is one of those times. Patty has actually done all the stuff she recommends and it worked and in Rise she shares her secrets with wisdom and humor.

Seriously. This is the book I'd like to have written if I'd been promoted to GM of a big multinational company at the age of 33 and gone on to become a CEO. And I don't just say that about every book.

Mind you, I don't aspire to the C-level. I admit that there are a few mothers of three out there who have made it to the corner office but they're so rare they get invited to speak at TED about their amazing ~~nannies~~ success secrets. So you might say I'm not exactly the target audience for a book of this kind.

But you'd be wrong because Rise isn't just for would be executives. It's a practical guide for anyone who wants to raise their game and get their work noticed instead of toiling in obscurity. We can all use that, right?

Imagine you could have lunch with a wise, seasoned executive of your choice in an expansive mood. Rise is like a pocket mentor.

Read this book. You will like Patty and wish you knew her personally. You will instantly start thinking more strategically about how you work and feel more in charge of your life.

As an added bonus, you will finally understand why new executives need to re-organize everything.

Not Just Good to Know

2011-10-10T00:29:00.000-07:00

Dave Ryan and I were talking about possible next Project Social topics and I ambitiously suggested, ‘HR’s role in defining a high-performing organization.’

Dave’s response: ‘Hmmmmmn… yeah, that’s one topic.’

(We’ll just call that one Plan B.)

So we pared it down to one aspect of high performing organizations, something that all HPOs have: good workforce intelligence, not to be confused with an intelligent workforce.

It sometimes amazes me how little workforce information you can get out of most HR systems. No one expects an HR system to provide the answer to life, the universe and everything, but an accurate global headcount report seems like something you could reasonably expect to get.

Imagine your CEO calls your right now and asks for input to decide between two potential locations for a new service center. You’d probably want to compare workforce information in each location, including labor costs, hiring sources, time to fill job requisitions, quality of new hires, etc. Can you?

What about other information that might be useful to running a business, such as:

•    What are the most critical jobs in our organization?
•    What are the most critical skills by job in our organization?
•    Where do we have skills gaps or pending skills gaps?
•    Before we bring in a consultant, is there an internal person who can do this?
•    Before we lay someone off, do they have skills we need elsewhere?
•    Is it more cost effective to hire, contract or train someone for this role?
•    How does the work quality of contingent v. employees compare?
•    Do part-time employees really produce less than full-time employees?
•    In which locations are we finding it hard to find people with the skills we need?
•    Who’s working on what and what does it cost?
•    Which managers have unusually high turnover?
•    Where do we have flight risks?

I could go on - there’s all kinds of useful information hidden away coyly in your HR systems today, as well as all kinds of useful information should be there but isn’t. And Dave and Lyn have their own take on this over at HR Official and The HR Bacon Hut, respectively. But you get the idea.

Here's the worrying thing: HR leaders are starting to be replaced by marketing executives because marketers know how to show the impact of strategy execution on business results.

In marketing, business results drive whether you succeed or fail. Period. Which is why the first thing a marketing person in an HR role would do is get that information, right after hanging the ‘~~Marketing:~~ HR: Two Drink Minimum’ sign outside their door.

HR hasn't been held accountable for business performance compared to areas of the organization but that's starting to change as companies realize it's all about people. Everything else is just... stuff. Which means that current, accurate workforce information is pretty important for HR leaders to have.

As an added bonus, good workforce data will help you look attractive, confident and well-dressed like that woman in the picture... no, it's not me, although the resemblance is uncanny.

It's more than just good to know.

The Man Who Changed the World

2011-10-07T00:13:00.000-07:00

October Leadership Development Carnival

2011-10-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

Did everyone see this month's Leadership Development Carnival over at Elephants at Work? Check it out, lots of great posts!

On Wives and Brains

2011-09-29T02:56:00.000-07:00

This post is not what you think it is, i.e., nothing whatsoever about the brains of wives.

I just wanted to point you at a couple of posts I wrote recently for Women of HR and Compensation Cafe.

The first post For the Working Mom Who has Everything takes a hard hitting look at how having a wife is a HUGE competitive advantage in the workplace.

The second post Brains in a Jar looks at a very unusual form of workplace recognition...

Just Say Yes

2011-09-28T03:13:00.000-07:00

Laurie Reuttimann wrote a great post recently about how she always says Yes to her boss. That came out a bit wrong but you know what I mean.

The point is that the boss is... the boss. And chances are 'yes' is one of his or her favorite words.

Saying yes to your boss may be one of the best pieces of career advice ever, although a recent post by Judith Lindenberger about the importance of networking is also one of my top 5.

But what about how empowerment and autonomy are key to engagement and motivation? And don't we know by now that micromanagement kills creativity?

Yeah, yeah, go work for yourself. Just kidding. The point is that saying yes to your boss does not mean you aren't empowered at work. In fact, assuming your boss is basically a decent person, the opposite is usually true.

I once had a manager who liked to have final approval of everything. And I mean everything. He was nice enough but he wanted to know what was going on and be in charge. At first this rubbed me the wrong way because I tend to run off with a task and not show up again until it's done or I need help. But he was my boss so I sucked it up.

I started meeting with him for about 15 minutes every morning to let him know what I was working on, where things stood and what I planned to do next. Occasionally he would ask me to do something differently but not very often. For the most part, sharing the information with him and giving him a chance to provide guidance seemed to meet his needs. And over time his trust increased and I was able to work more independently.

(Ironically, I found myself missing those 15 minute meetings.)

I'm not a perfect soldier. I'm outspoken. I don't always agree and will say so. On ~~rare~~ occasions I can be sarcastic. But like Laurie, when my boss asks I say yes.

*Unless there's a really, really, really good reason to say no. And I mean, good.

Project Social: I Storyvite You Again!

2011-09-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

I wrote a post back in July I Storyvite You about my initial experience using Storyvite, an online personal branding tool. The basic selling point of Storyvite is that it lets you present your 'profersonal' story in a more inviting way than a traditional CV or LinkedIn profile. It also helps you manage your online identity by pulling information about you from multiple sources (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)

The thing that sets Storyvite apart from other online personal branding tools is the social way in which the founder, Satish Sallakonda, has reached out to the business community to design a tool that meets their needs. For example, when he saw the link to my post he contacted me with an offer to help me create a stronger story for myself. (He was too polite to say my original story kinda sucked.)

He reached out to other people as well, including my Project Social buddies Dave Ryan and Lyn Hoyt and you can read about their Storyvite experiences over at HR Official and The HR Bacon Hut. You can also check out my updated Storyvite profile below - the black background was my idea so if you hate it don't blame Satish.

Play Story

To give fair warning, the Storyvite product is still under construction. Although the plan is to automatically pull in more information from LinkedIn and other sites, as well as provide easy to use templates for different layouts, the user experience remains largely manual.

On the plus side, looking at some of the prototypes for what's coming, I can easily imagine using this tool or one like it to generate a very slick resume or bio:

How cool is that? Unfortunately, this capability isn't there yet but you can use what's there today to give your own 'profersonal' story a face lift using the invitation code 'social' to get started. And if you run into any snags, just reach out to Satish directly, he'd love to hear from you!

This Is How We Roll In Bavaria

2011-09-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

In honor of Oktoberfest season here in Munich - and because I've been too busy to write anything new - I've decided to re-publish an excerpt from an article I wrote back in 2008 about what to expect at Oktoberfest. The Oktoberfest Planning Commission has made this required reading for all first-time Oktoberfest attendees so please read the following very carefully.

(OK, I made that up.)

The Four Phases of Oktoberfest*

Phase I: Why are people staring at me?
You’ve had your first refreshing sip of ice-cold beer and are prepared to enjoy yourself but several complete strangers are looking at you as if they’ve known you forever and really like you and it’s just a little embarrassing. So you watch the band and look at the ceiling and gulp beer whenever anyone catches your eye, including your boss who's at the next table three sheets to the wind.

Phase II: I love you guys
You’ve finished your first beer and started on a second when it hits you that we are all connected. You start waving excitedly and blowing kisses to people at other tables and most of them wave and blow kisses back, except that guy two tables over who just threw up into his beer. This is the best phase to be in when you have to go to the bathroom because the deep, genuine love you feel for everyone around you allows you to glide past people and obstacles without getting yelled at or arrested. All you have to do is go to the front of the line, put your arms around the person you displaced - as long as they don't work with you - and tell them you love them... right before you dart into the bathroom and lock the door. When you come out they probably won’t be there anymore and even if they are, chances are that they will back away from you nervously so you're home free.

Phase III: I understand everything now

Finally, the unified field theory has been solved by you and the fundamental nature of the universe is no longer a mystery. The nature of the universe is hilariously funny so you laugh out loud. You share your new knowledge with the person sitting next to you and they totally get it. Now that you’ve solved the mysteries of the universe together you know that you’ll be friends forever. Unfortunately, neither of you will remember any of this tomorrow.

Phase IV: It's all good
In this phase, you have moved beyond understanding everything to a quiet, content acceptance of everything exactly as it is. Suddenly you realize that this is a perfect time for a Fischsemmel, which is pickled mackerel on a Kaiser roll with a slice of onion.** As you take that first tangy and slightly chewy bite your happiness is complete.

*There are actually 5 phases but Phase 5 happens the next day and isn’t nearly so nice as the other phases. I won’t say much about Phase V, except that it is a lot less full of universal love, omniscience and Fischsemmel than the previous phases.

**It's better than it sounds.

Compensation Planning for 2012

2011-08-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

Several members of the compensation café – Ann Bares, Jim Brennan and myself – teamed up yesterday for a TLNT webinar to examine where compensation practice is headed in 2012 and beyond.

You can replay the webinar here or read my summary of compensation trends over at the Compensation Cafe.

While I Was Gone

2011-08-07T00:35:00.000-07:00

I just spent a glorious week disconnected on a dairy farm in the Italian Alps. As you can imagine, the milk was quite good. And the disconnection... priceless.

So, I haven't been blogging or tweeting for a whole week but strangely, I don't feel behind on things. There's no need to 'catch up' as you do with work emails, you just plug back in.

And as it happens, there was some activity during my absence:

One of my Compensation Cafe posts went live: 'How To Take Credit for Paying Less.' This post started out with the title, 'Does This Compensation Make Me Look Fat?' but I couldn't make the analogy work without some fairly obvious contriving and reluctantly let it go. Blog posts do tend to write themselves and this particular post wanted to be a post about how to communicate low salary in a positive light rather than how poorly tailored compensation makes your company look fat. Go figure.

At Women of HR you can check out my most recent post 'Are Part-Time Employees the Deal of the Century?' about the general fabulousness of part-time employees, in particular working moms. Spoiler: Companies who want to increase their overall workforce productivity might consider giving leadership roles to people who have to get home by 4 rather than to people who have all the time in the world because their spouse is holding down the fort. I'm just saying.

Next, my close personal friend Jason Seiden hosted a all around good Leadership Carnival this month featuring one of my posts 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective 5-Year-Olds.' Gotta love that guy. He's funny.

My other virtual friend and project social collaborator William Gould hosted a timely and relevant Online Social Currency Carnival of HR that includes one of my social media related posts 'Project Social: What is Influence?" (Hint: It's getting someone to press a button.)

Finally, if you haven't checked out my recent YouTube video 'The Cost of Disengagement' I encourage you to do so since it may well be the only one I will ever do. No promises, though, I may inflict more of them on the world if the mood strikes me or I have another good hair day.

No Comment

2011-07-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

Dave Ryan and I were chatting the other day about how our recent project social topics have generated lots of new traffic but little in the way of comments so we decided our next PS topic would be, ‘Why do I comment?’

Of course, we don’t know if our reasons for commenting are the same as yours but we're both so typical they probably are.

So here’s why I comment:

1.    Your post made me laugh or struck a chord
2.    I’m letting you to know I stopped by
3.    I have an alternative point of view
4.    I recently blogged about the exact same thing
5.    I thought of the perfect one-liner

And here’s why I don’t:

1.    I can’t think of a darn thing to say
2.    I’m not sure what your point is
3.    Leaving a comment requires a password
4.    Your post is too long

Anything ring a bell?

You can check out what Dave Ryan has to say about commenting over at HR Official.

Project Social: What Is Influence?

2011-07-22T03:39:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a couple of posts on social media that made me go, hmmn.

The first was about how to use LinkedIn to grow your social influence. I made a mental note to read the post again in more detail and perhaps try out a few of the recommendations.

That's when I thought, hmmmn. On the one hand, it makes total sense that the LinkedIn users who are the most active are also the ones who are most visible to peers, recruiters, hiring managers, etc.

On the other hand, unless your job involves using social media, your online presence is what is known as a hobby. Remaining active and visible on multiple social media platforms requires a significant time investment, which either comes out of your personal life or your work life.

Or both.

Which made me wonder if spending more than an hour a day blogging, tweeting and 'liking' things really makes you more attractive to potential employers... if so, it's kind of ironic.

The other post that caught my eye was a harsh dismissal of so-called 'experts,' accusing them of forming circles of adoration and promoting each others' work in order to perpetuate the illusion that they have actual expertise.

Naturally, having a network of connections that sycophantically share everything you say - as long as you return the favor - precludes any real expertise.

Which brings me to Klout: brilliant, seductive, a bit scary. You can log on and see your score immediately, along with a cool visual representation of your 'influence.' You can compare your influence to others. You can drive up the influence of your friends, hoping they will reciprocate.

You may tell yourself you don't care but you can't help feeling compelled to take action when your score drops. So you spend more time on social media. Or you give Klout access to all your other social media platforms and now they OWN YOU.

What is influence, anyway? These days it seems to mean getting people to click a button on your behalf, which sounds lame but actually makes a kind of sense. I mean, if you can't even get people to CLICK A BUTTON FOR YOU, you don't have much chance of getting them to hire you or buy your product.

That's why Dave Ryan, Lyn Hoyt and I decided to form our own 'circle of adoration' (really more of a triangle) to inflate our online influence. Amazingly, as soon as Dave gave me a '+ K' my Klout score jumped 5 points without me getting any new knowledge or experience.

(Of course, I've always been very influential. People just didn't know it.)

What does all this mean? First of all, it seems fairly clear that influence has more to do with popularity than expertise. Of course, this doesn't mean that influential people lack expertise but it also doesn't mean that the people who influence you necessarily know what they're talking about.

I'll leave you with that thought but be sure to check out Dave's and Lyn's posts on this topic over at HR Official and The HR Bacon Hut, respectively.

HR: Ready to Relocate?

2011-07-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Kim Urban, MSHR

In 2005, a company that had been located 38 years in the small town of El Cajon, California, made a decision to move out of state.

The company was the famous Buck Knives, known worldwide as one of the finest manufacturers of knives. Besides employing over 250 employees, Buck Knives was the type of company a small town like El Cajon could use to lure other business into town.

No one guessed at the time that the Buck Knives departure would be just the start of an exodus, a trickle that turned into a flood of businesses leaving California. In fact, the year Buck Knives packed its bags, the Public Policy Institute of California issued a calming and reassuring report stating that business relocations cost California less than a tenth of 1 percent of all the state’s jobs.

But each year since 2005, the number of businesses leaving California has grown exponentionally. Today, a recent report by Joseph Vranich, an Irvine-based business relocation expert, indicates the exodus is 5 times greater than it was just two years ago.*

So what does this mean for a California HR professional? Well, it means, at the very least, you need to be aware there is a very real possibility your company might be considering a major move. And at the most, assuming you’re in the loop (and let’s hope you are), you need to start the huge process of transferring a company’s biggest asset—its people—to another state.

Each company will present its own unique challenges, of course, but it helps to look at what another company did, in this case Buck Knives, and perhaps get an idea of what could be involved.

Buck Knives had at the time of the move over 250 employees but only 58 employees - about 20% - actually ended up relocating. The remaining employees were laid off. When Buck Knives set up again in Idaho, it filled over 200 jobs from local applicants.

Naturally, one has to wonder about this. Only 58 employees relocated and the rest were laid off? What exactly happened here?

From what I gathered, Buck Knives was offering buy-outs and early retirement to the senior, long-term employees who didn’t fancy the idea of moving at this stage of their careers. Other employees, who worked part-time and sometimes had a second job that anchored them locally, simply could not afford to move. Some employees, married to a spouse who perhaps had a higher-paying job locally, refused to go; others didn’t want to leave the San Diego area or agree to a pay adjustment.

Local incentives may have also played a role in the decision process. Idaho, as part of its program to convince Buck Knives to locate there, offered to give Buck Knives $690,000 to train new workers. I have to assume that Buck Knives considered this when it accepted the money and that this played at least some part in the layoffs in El Cajon.

All in all, a challenging time for HR. There was the relocation selection process, the layoffs before the actual move, the recruiting and hiring process that took place once the company arrived at its new home, not to mention all the training that needed to be done.

If I were to face a relocation task, I suppose I’d break things down this way:

Find out if there is a limit of employees who will be allowed to relocate.
Determine which employees simply cannot or will not relocate
Of the employees willing to relocate, determine which of those will be allowed to go.
Conduct the layoffs at the old location.
Pack my bags and grab one last fish taco.
Recruit and hire at the new location.
Put in place any training plans needed for the new hires.

Having never undertaken such a project, I’m sure my list is woeful and incomplete but I’d love to hear from any HR professionals who’ve actually handled a company relocation project. What were your biggest challenges? What went right? What went wrong? What advice would you give?

*Besides my conversations with Buck Knives employees, I relied on Anne Krueger’s article, “Buck Knives enjoying a better business life in Idaho than El Cajon,” dated March 26, 2006, for the San Diego Union-Tribune; and also Tami Luhby’s article, “California companies fleeing the Golden State,” dated July 12, 2011, for CNNMoney at http://money.cnn.com.

Diversity: It's All About Critical Mass

2011-07-15T03:12:00.000-07:00

*Picture courtesy of Bad Stock Photo of the Week at Know HR.

Some of you may have seen this spirited debate on diversity at Focus.com. There seem to be several schools of thought:

‘I just want to hire the best candidate’ – People in this camp accuse diversity proponents of foisting less skilled employees on them in order to meet some meaningless quota.
‘Diversity isn’t just about race, religion or gender’ – People in this camp like to broaden the definition of diversity to include people who work and think differently, claiming that these differences inspire greater creativity and performance.
‘People who assume diversity means hiring less qualified people are the reason we need diversity legislation in the first place’ – People in this camp are stridently pro-diversity and insist that minorities aren’t asking for a handout, just a fair shot.

All of these have merit but are incomplete. There’s actually a 4th camp that I didn’t see represented in the debate, although I may have overlooked it: Companies that embrace diversity have higher performance.

It's pretty easy to make a 'common sense' business case for diversity:

Your customers are diverse and the leadership strategy of the 50s may not help you relate to them or inspire them to buy your products.
Competition is more fierce and new ideas are needed, wherever they come from.
Teams have become more important in a business context, which means that managing diversity has become a critical business skill.

If you prefer hard numbers to common sense, a Cornell University study found that once diversity reaches a critical mass (20-25%) at the leadership level the company realizes higher performance.

Interestingly, below this critical mass diversity has a negative impact, possibly because until critical mass is reached everyone treats it like a quota and the company fails to value and leverage the unique contributions of the minority leaders.

So, to people who want to hire the “best” candidate I say, ‘Perhaps you haven't reached critical mass yet.’ To people with a broader definition of diversity I say, ‘Yes, even wearing plaid or a nose ring can be considered diverse.’ And to people who think everyone should be given a fair chance based on their skills, I say, ‘Aw. I think so, too.’

And to companies who have truly embraced diversity and inclusion and are realizing the benefits that a diverse workforce and leadership team can bring I say, ‘Yeah, baby!’

For more on diversity, HR luminaries Dave Ryan and Lyn Hoyt also have some choice observations, which you can read over at HR Official and The Bacon Hut.

And if you want to look at a compelling example of diversity in action, check out PepsiCo’s Diversity and Inclusion site.

The Cost of Disengagement

2011-07-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

A video version of this post is available on YouTube and at Compensation Cafe.

By now it's well accepted that companies with engaged employees outperform companies with disengaged employees. That means they earn more profit, which is what most companies are trying to do.

Here's a formula that expresses the relationship between engagement and profit:

If engaged employees = higher performance and higher performance = more profit, then engaged employees = more profit.

I call this the transitive property of engagement.

What we talk about less frequently is workforce disengagement, which is arguably the more important topic because it helps underline why companies have a vested interest in treating people well.

Clearly, not every organization will have highly engaged employees but many will somehow carry on regardless. But every company should take steps to avoid active disengagement because disengagement’s really expensive.

How expensive? Well, there are the obvious costs such as lower productivity and absenteeism, which can be calculated. For example, Recent Gallup research found that only 13% of Germany’s employees are engaged in their jobs.

“Gallup estimates that actively disengaged employees cost the German economy between 121.8 billion and 133.6 billion euros per year in lost productivity. Absenteeism is also pretty expensive, considering that each day an employee is away from work in Germany costs companies an average of € 247.20 per worker."

These are the obvious costs but there are also less obvious costs, such as the negative impact on company morale and customer care. The risk isn’t that disengaged people leave, it’s that they stay. They may even show up and do their work adequately but behind the scenes, subtly bad things are happening. For example:

Fear – Employees withhold important information, such as customer issues or problems with your products or services.
Passive resistance - We've all encountered someone who, while being perfectly pleasant, is also completely obstructive.
Information hoarding - People don't share information and may even actively withhold it.
Lack of initiative- Beyond doing what it takes to stay employed, no one cares enough to go the extra mile for a customer.
Suppression of creativity - Creativity obviously doesn't flourish in this environment.
Unhappiness - The negative atmosphere is palpable to employees and customers alike.

All of this is very bad for the business and it has a cost.

So firing people with a termination notice on their windshield, making people work extra hours with no extra pay or cheating people out of their expected compensation aren’t just inhumane practices, they're also bad for business.

Even the more common and less extreme example such as micromanaging, hiring externals for more money into the best leadership roles, failing to develop internal talent and generally treating people like replaceable cogs are also bad for business.

What’s good for business are the things that give people a personal stake in your company's success. Developing people. Showing people you value them. Letting them grow and make decisions. In other words, good management is good for business.

I’ve come up with a formula that expresses the relationship between good managers and good business:

If developing people is good for the business and good managers develop people, then good managers are good for the business.

I call this the transitive property of good management.

That means that you need good managers if you want to avoid disengaged employees. And you may want to think about compensating your managers for developing people, because that’s probably not what they’re compensated for today.

Bottom line: Not every company may aspire to workforce engagement but every company has a vested interest in treating people well.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective 5-Year-Olds

2011-07-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

It recently occurred to me that there’s a lot leaders can learn from 5-year-olds. For example:

Use what you have – Don’t have a dollhouse? Use a shoe box!
Don’t be afraid to use stuff in a new way – Ignore that nice stable mommy bought you for your toy horses, make your own using a bead necklace.
Be insatiably curious – Enough said.
Make time to play – As Mary Poppins taught us, the potential for fun lurks where you least expect it.
Always be closing – Children are born negotiators. It never hurts to ask. And ask again. And again.
Shake it off – So you got egg all over the kitchen counter, that shouldn’t stop you from knowing you can break the eggs perfectly next time.
Don’t stereotype or judge – Everyone is a potential friend, playmate or someone to help you paint your wall with fingernail polish.

And one bonus habit:

Be in the moment - The place is here. The time is now.

I Storyvite You

2011-07-08T01:13:00.000-07:00

When I saw this article on TLNT about creating a visual resume from your LinkedIn profile I was intrigued and decided to give it a whirl.

I signed in using the free registration code offered in the TLNT article (spoiler: it's 'tlnt'). Not surprisingly, the first step is to pull over your LinkedIn information.

After this things got a little bumpy. I was advised to update my profile, which I ignored because my LinkedIn profile – while not my best work – is fairly complete. Instead, I opted to cut to the chase and go right into the visual profile.

At this point the user experience was reminiscent of working in Powerpoint only without all the options you expect. The tag cloud depicting my strengths and experiences is self-generating and I could never get it to look quite the way I wanted. The slide templates leave you on your own with sizing and alignment and the examples offered for each type of slide weren’t always relevant. The preview looked like a slide show that swirls around in a cluster instead of advancing sequentially.

My first impression was that I could have done a better job in Powerpoint.

So I took a break and came back to it, determined to give it a fair shot. Again I was asked to update my profile and this time I did it, not wanting to be one of those users who ignore polite procedural reuqests and then complain when things don’t work. Suddenly the user experience improved. For example, this time when I elected to ‘play’ the visual profile I got a groovy carousel:

‘OK, this is pretty cool,’ I thought. Powerpoint can’t do that. (Er… can it?)

I think this product needs some work on the user experience side and I’m not sure who wants to watch the Laura Schroeder story but the basic idea of simplifying information is a good one. The result is less complete than my LinkedIn profile but it’s also more inviting.

One more thing: When you update your information you get to this page, which I think would be a good alternative public profile option to offer for people who aren’t into swirling clusters of slides or carousels. Sad, lonely people.

Why not give it a try? It’s free, it's kinda fun and for another few weeks it’ll help you stand out from the crowd. As an added bonus, having your work experience fly around like that will help distract the reader from any missing skills you might have.

Carnival of HR is Up and Running

2011-07-06T00:48:00.000-07:00

Abhishek Mittal hosts this month's Carnival of HR with a very timely theme: The Talent Race. Check it out and leave some comments.

Missing Talent or Goldilocks Syndrome?

2011-07-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

A recent talent survey published by the Economic Intelligence Unit reports a global shortage of critical talent. You can read more about what companies are doing to bridge the talent gap in my recent post Where Has All the Talent Gone?

At the same time, public opinion seems divided about whether it makes good business sense to hire superstars, with superstars taking a beating in favor of solid team performers.

To summarize an extremely complex and multi-faceted problem: We don't want underqualified people and we don't want overqualified people.

Now, what does that remind me of?

A Star Spangled Leadership Development Carnival

2011-07-04T06:17:00.000-07:00

Forget buying leadership books because everything you need to know about leadership is covered in the July 3rd Leadership Development Carnival over at Great Leadership! As an added bonus, match your favorite leadership guru to the correct firework.

I think I got the best one, although 'Boom Boom' also isn't bad.

Laura 'Emerald City' Schroeder

I Just Don't Know What to Do With My iPad...

2011-06-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

My husband was recently awarded two iPads at work in recognition for separate projects, making us a two iPad household. That means I now have an iPad, which is fair because I'm his creative muse (which I'm sure he would agree with, at least if he wants dinner).

My oldest daughter wanted the iPad but I was like, 'You're 7 years old. Go play with a ball or a stick like I did when I was 7.'

The problem is, I'm not sure what to do with the iPad. Yes, I'm a seasoned software professional. Yes, I spend most of my day on a computer. And yes, my company has amazingly cool iPad applications.

But I write. All the time. I'm writing right now. Even when I'm just browsing I need a proper keyboard in case I want to write something. Plus, I switch mediums constantly, so if I use the iPad for tweeting or Googling I have to switch back to my computer to pull up a document or type a longer email...

And I don't really want to play the bird game.

The problem here is clearly me because 11 million consumers can't be wrong, right? My husband thinks I'm weird. Well, more accurately, he still thinks I'm weird after all these years.

Maybe he's right. I mean, even the Pope uses an iPad, which means we can now receive the Papal epiphany of the day from any location. The Pope is more current than I am.

(I may be a late adopter but when they finally offer space travel with holodecks and replicators I'll be first in line.)

If I don't start using the iPad my husband will take it back and give it to someone more deserving. Like the Pope. So here are a couple of ideas I've come up with to incorporate the iPad into my daily family life:

GATHERING AROUND THE FIREPLACE SCREEN SAVER

BABY LINKEDIN

Rock Stars Need Not Apply

2011-06-27T02:37:00.000-07:00

Some people love rock stars - Mark Zuckerberg, for example, thinks they’re 100 times better than everyone else. I myself think they're about 3 times better and there are probably some people who think they're 5 or 20 times better.

Others think they’re more trouble than they’re worth and that a team of solid performers is the way to go.

And then there are people like my project social partner Dave who're happy if people just show up and do the work: ‘I’m not in a creative industry. I don’t need to recruit the top students from MIT and couldn’t get them anyway.’ More wisdom from Dave here.

So, all kinds of opinions. What is seems to come down to is what you’re trying to accomplish and whether it's being measured. For example, in revenue generating jobs like consulting or sales, everyone loves rock stars. If they’re a little full of themselves or hard to work with it's OK as long as they’re making money.

Rock stars are also tolerated in really hard jobs that no one else knows how to do (as are scraggly beards, madras shirts and Birkenstocks).

In other areas of the business - even in creative industries - it’s less clear. No direct revenue is lost, for example, if a report or a presentation is not rock star quality. Over time valuable hours may be wasted and the company may be less successful but the consequences of mediocrity are hard to spot where nothing measurable is at stake.

Rock stars have a reputation for being difficult to work with, doing things their own way, having better ideas (or thinking they do), putting uncomfortable truths into words and a host of other grievances. They may be as important to company success as they think they are but that doesn't mean people want to work with them.

The average manager, for example, neither wants to deal with someone who challenges them nor with someone who potentially threatens their own job. Ditto with colleagues, who don’t want anyone raising the bar on work quality or competing for opportunities.

They aren’t bad people, they’re just… people.

Of course, no one says to themselves, ‘I’m intimidated by this person so I’m not going to hire them.’ What they actually say is more like, ‘I don’t think this person will be a good cultural fit.’ Or, ‘They’re overqualified for the job and will probably leave in 6 months.’ Or, ‘They don’t have the industry experience we’re looking for.’

Sound familiar? Of course, sometimes these statements are perfectly true. It's a subtle problem.

Bottom line: If your managers and employees feel threatened rather than exhilarated by talented people you can talk about the importance of talent all you want...to the hand.

Global Leadership Roundtable

2011-06-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Are you in a global leadership role or working in a global team? Join us for the global leadership round table at Focus next week:

Managing an organization made up of people from the same cultural and linguistic backgrounds is a difficult task, but imagine if you were asked to lead a company that's spread out across the world. Would you be able to lead with a global perspective? What skill sets would you need to develop and refine? A panel of Focus HR and leadership experts plan to discuss:

How to define, "global leader"
How leaders can prepare to be global leaders, and necessary skill sets
The pitfalls that impede global leadership success

Whether you are in a global leadership role or part of a global team, join the discussion and expand your global horizons.

Worth a Second Cup?

2011-06-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I highlighted 3 blog posts that I thought were particularly good… and then realized I forgot one! How could I have forgotten Dan McCarthy’s hilarious post on Boomer Bosses and Millennials?

Why do I like this post so much? Well, aside from it being such a gracious and funny post the note from the millennial to the Boomer is so insightfully snarky:

“Whether you like it or not, Boomers, you are being replaced. This is called change, evolution. Don't worry though. Keep being crotchety. It will prepare you well for your upcoming retirement. Drink your cheap coffee. Plan ways to spend your social security. I'll do my best to stay off your lawn.”

No offense to the Boomers but I had to laugh out loud about the coffee. I still remember visiting my mom’s office as a kid where the coffee even smelled stale. And to this day, while she doesn’t object to a good cup of coffee, she also doesn’t insist on it.

The coffee snobbery of my generation may be a subtle form of rebellion.

The Boomers as a generation have had an enormous impact on our world. They were the first generation to embrace the modern culture of self-gratification, consumerism and waste that endangers our planet today. They were also the first generation to 'do it my way,' laying the foundation for future generations to express themselves freely and pursue non-traditional career paths.

More so than any other generation, if it weren’t for the Boomers this world of ours would look a whole lot different, in both good ways and bad. Boomers, I salute you.

Now, how 'bout some real coffee?

Hot Benefits

2011-06-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

You can find out what makes benefits so hot over at the Compensation Cafe.

My 3 Posts: Letourneau, Doody and Big Daddy Paul

2011-06-20T06:18:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of project social, Dave, Lyn and I wanted to share some of our favorite posts with you. Since we all hate lists with more than 10 items (OK, I hate lists with more than 10 items) we’re each picking 3.

For a total of 9.

It wasn't easy. There are many great posts out there and I’m probably forgetting several that really moved me at the time. But I tried to come up with three that I think are particularly good and a little off the beaten path.

Play Your Hand: Your 4 of Clubs Might Really be a Joker by Josh Letourneau – I’m afraid it’s not very original to admire this post but I love it because it's such a creative illustration of how your most important people probably aren’t the ones you think they are.

Why We Need Storytellers at the Heart of Product Development by Sarah Doody– This is a recent post so I don’t know if it will stand the test of time on my favorites list but the message that great product development starts with a story really resonated with me.

And finally, my favorite post of all time: Ugly Malcolm Photos by Big Daddy Paul. Since I tend to post pictures that make my life appear perfect and effortless, I admire Paul’s honesty and hilarity as a parent. I recommend you check out this post and his very funny blog.

So, that's my three. To complete the list and get your full money's worth, click over to Dave's picks at HR Official and Lyn's at The Bacon Hut!

Employees, Aging Parents and You

2011-06-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Susan Avello

If you are responsible for taking care of an elderly relative or friend, it will likely impact your health and your employer’s bottom line. Employees in the U.S. who are caring for an older relative are more likely to report health problems like depression, diabetes, hypertension or heart disease, costing employers an estimated average additional health care cost of 8% per year, or $13.4 billion annually, according to the MetLife Study of Working Caregivers and Employer Health Care Cost.

These family caregivers are juggling their responsibilities to their own families and to their parents and have now been labeled “The Sandwich Generation.” They are trying to juggle children, parents and work and are experiencing considerable health issues as a result of their focus on caring for others. The need for flexibility in the workplace and in policies that would benefit working caregivers is likely to increase in importance as more working caregivers continue to remain in the workplace and put off retirement.

As the percentage of employees who are caregivers continues to grow, there will be greater demand on employers for help and support. Caring for family while trying to fit it into an already stressful work situation can be challenging and negatively impact physical health and workplace productivity. Although most employers offer family medical leave of absence they are also starting to see the need to incorporate strategies for flex-time and are looking for a creative approach in helping their employees with the myriad of life changes they are currently facing.

Who Can Help?

Aging Info USA has been working closely with corporations and employees in the workplace since inception and closely monitoring these issues to provide the best in education and training both for employee caregivers and for executive management. Our goal is to partner with employers, evaluate the cost of employee care giving to their specific situations and create solutions to increase productivity, employee engagement, reduction of health care costs and increased revenue.

More Help On the Way

In Fall 2011 we will launch CaregiverLife.com, an interactive online 'one-stop shop' to help employee caregivers navigate the continuum of aging care through educational videos, blogs, webinars, interactive discussion boards, Skype conferencing and podcasts centering on care giving and work/life challenges. CaregiverLife.com will also be an interactive training portal for HR and management to stay ahead of the game in the area of work/life issues associated with eldercare and all aspects of care giving. In addition to providing training and education in the form of webinars, videos, podcasts and virtual events, CaregiverLife.com will offer continuing education certification through our partnership with Human Resource Certification Institute.

We are excited about the launch of CaregiverLife coming in the Fall of 2011 and helping employees and employers alike navigate these critical life changes.

Susan Avello is Vice President and Partner of Aging Info USA and is based in Chicago, IL. Aging Info USA directly supports employee caregivers, HR and Executive Management by implementing creative approaches in education, resources and training in regard to eldercare and family caregiving and work/life challenges. She is the author of two books as well as The Working Caregiver and HR Virtual Cafe blogs. You can connect with her on Twitter @susanavello.

Attrition: What Is It Good For?

2011-06-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

Our new project social team member Lyn suggested today’s post topic: Attrition. (Our little team is growing. Now we just need someone who looks like Sabrina.)

Dave and Lyn plan to talk about the downside of attrition, i.e., how it can negatively impact the rest of the team - you can read all about it over at HR Official and The Bacon Hut, respectively.

To mix it up a bit, I want to focus on the upside of attrition. Voluntary attrition, that is.

Here’s why: Attrition creates opportunity. Opportunity creates hope and fuels healthy competition and creativity. If no one ever leaves you have stagnation.

Look, it’s always sad when someone really terrific that everyone loves leaves. If it’s a colleague and friend the ‘survivors’ feel lonely and left behind. If it’s a great boss they worry about how the change will impact their job. And the person leaving may leave a big fat skills gap in their wake.

But we all know people who do an adequate job in a role someone else could probably do as well if not better. If they leave voluntarily everyone wins: no one gets fired and a new opportunity opens up for someone else.

Another point to consider is that at some point an individual has gone as far as they can go at one company. If they still have higher career ambitions, it may be better for all concerned if they move on.

"If you're the second runner up for a position that isn't changing hands any time soon, you may have reached the end of your career at a particular company... Career development is a bit of a ponzi scheme, after all - barring wild growth, it only works if people at the top periodically move out of the way. In fact, attrition may be key to retention because it helps companies retain the people who haven't yet reached the end of their career tether."
Source: Is Attrition a Key Component of Retention?

So, although a lot depends on why the person left and how the new team dynamic shapes up, I think voluntary attrition helps keep it fresh.

Fair Pay and Keeping It Together

2011-06-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

My latest posts at Compensation Cafe and Women of HR:

If Compensation Could Talk Would it Say, 'Go Away'?

10 Tips for Keeping It Together

Carnival of HR at Women of HR

2011-06-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the new Carnival of HR and post a comment to win the new Women of HR swimsuit calendar.

(just kidding about the calendar)

Work / Life Balance, Graphic Design, Blogging and HR... Oh, My!

2011-06-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Lyn Hoyt

Laura Schroeder, my new Project Social partner, is fascinated by work-life balance and was curious about how I manage it all. I wonder sometimes myself. Is work balance all about “bringing home the bacon and frying it up in a pan?”

I have 3 kids, a husband/business partner, I participate in social media, volunteer for my kids school, volunteer for my local SHRM chapter and design awards for corporate recognition as well as manage, market and assist in operations for my small ecommerce / manufacturing business. It's a lot on my plate.

In fact writing this out in black and white kinda freaks me. I’m no super woman. We were late for art camp this AM.

My work-life balance is heavily reliant on time management and support from my husband. We are well matched with complimentary competencies, the numbers/MBA guy and the creative/marketing gal. Goal oriented, VERY flexible, love what we do, terribly independent. I'm trained as a graphic designer but Human Resources responsibilities fall on me as well as understanding the industry we sell in. My husband and I share everything, from home to warehouse.

It is all about running a business and raising a family.

If I had to sum it all up in one word it'd be FLEXIBILITY. You have to be ready to change course suddenly and laser focus on the task at hand. When I return a call or set a meeting, I work to make that time valuable to the people I engage. When hanging with my kids I want that time valuable as well. Compartmentalizing tasks, whether it is employee reviews, changing stock on a website, designing donor recognition awards, writing a blog post or doing laundry, I try to carve the time and give my best.

I have a home office, a staff of awesome craft-minded employees and some contracted web help. And I organize my time to chauffeur kids or be at our warehouse if necessary. Summer changes this dynamic remarkably with kids’ camps, and wifi at the pool, which sounds ideal but does not always work out as well as it sounds.

Take last Friday. I had some recognition event deadline that had to be attended to. It was the first week of the summer and we had yet to make it to the pool because “mommy is working.” Proof approvals had to be in by 1PM so the warehouse would have time to build and ship but I knew I could manage everything else pool-side if I needed to. Everyone was excited. I mixed some margarita, packed some snacks and we were off. Only to arrive and find the pool closed for 24 hours because some kid took a dump in the pool. Talk about a party pooper!

Maybe being real is the other component of work/life balance? It is sometimes beautifully ideal, other times terribly awkward when wanting to be available for my family. Technology makes it possible to keep long professional office hours for my nationally based customers and it's sometimes hard to unplug. But, when I do it is a conscious effort. When I make mistakes I own them and learn from them. When we miss attending a friend’s birthday party because of a deadline I try to make that up.

I am NO housekeeper. And I hate to file. In fact, to many on the outside, things might seem chaotic. But, I am charged by the variety, my kid’s constant curiosity, my husband’s sense of adventure and our ever-dynamic work situation, my HR community and the customers I serve. And when I loose balance I pick up and try again, cooking bacon while standing on one leg.

Thanks Laura for allowing me to share my story. I look forward to more of your Project Social inspiration and your terrific writing.

Lyn Hoyt is a graphic designer, entrepreneur, mom of three, techie and HR professional from Nashille, TN. You can read more from Lyn at the Bacon Hut or follow her on twitter @designtwit.

A Little Fair Pay Humor

2011-06-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

Picture courtesy of http://womensglib.wordpress.com/

Project Social: Water Off a Duck's Back

2011-06-04T02:32:00.000-07:00

When I proposed we write about gender differences for our next blog post my project social partner Dave was less than thrilled: ‘I’m a white guy in HR. I can’t write about gender!’

He didn't actually say that but I bet he thought it.

So I’m flying solo this week but be sure to check out Dave’s latest post on talent management and stay tuned for Lyn's guest post here at working girl.

So, gender. What is it good for?

The other day an assertiveness coach was on the radio talking about how hard it is for women to say no clearly and firmly. One reason is that women are more empathic than men and therefore more likely to feel guilty for offending or inconveniencing another person.

Hmmn. Maybe.

About a year ago, I had the following day planned: Yoga in the morning, work through lunch, product demo in the afternoon, pick up the kids from their play date, drive my husband to the airport, make dinner, put the kids to bed, work some more...

The product demo ran late. I drove and my husband called the other mom who’d collected our kids from Kindergarten, taken them to gymnastics, picked them up, brought them to her house and fed them a snack - and who expected us an hour ago.

From my end their conversation sounded like this (only in German):

'Katja, hi, it's Ralf. . . yeah, I know, I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry. What? I know, I'm so sorry. I can't say sorry enough times. We just couldn't get out of our meeting, they nailed us to the. . . what? I know, I'm just so sorry. Yes, totally our bad. We're on our way now, we'll be there in. . . what? Yes, I know, you're right, we'll be there in 20 minutes. Right. Yes. Thanks a million, we owe you big time. I know. Sorry. Bye!'

Now, there’s nothing very gender specific going on here - if I'd been the one to call we'd probably have had about the same conversation. Possibly a tad more abject but only a tad.

But here's the thing:

I felt guilty after this conversation and started thinking of ways to atone, such as inviting her kids over on the weekend or bringing her a box of chocolates.

Whereas my husband hung up the phone, smiled easily and said, 'See? No problem. It's totally fine.' Then he started playing with his iPhone and apparently forgot all about it.

Gender difference or just an iPhone thing? You decide.

Free Financial Advice?

2011-06-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

Offering financial advice to employees to help them prepare for retirement is the topic of my most recent post at Compensation Cafe. You can read more about the pros, cons and gotchas of offering financial advice here.

Additionally, please join the discussion on this topic at Focus.com:

Does-your-company-offer-financial-advice-to-employees?

Project Social: Do You Facebook?

2011-05-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

Dave, Lyn and I decided to carry on with the ‘social’ themes we’ve been tackling lately and discuss the different social mediums we are active in and how we use them. Dave already has his post up at HR Official and Lyn’s aiming for Monday over at the Bacon Hut.

When it comes to social media, I pretty much stick to the basics: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blog. I don’t use Foursquare, although I totally would if I were a stalker. I don’t even have a logon for HootSuite or Empire Avenue.

I know, I sound soooo 2007…

As I explained in an earlier post, I’m a late adopter. I wait to try things until I have a reason to use them, rather than inventing a reason in order to try them. So, I didn’t join LinkedIn until my company was about to be acquired, I didn’t join Facebook until I decided to write a blog post about it and I didn’t join Twitter until my job went 'social.'

If you’re an even later adopter than I am, the hardest part is getting started, especially when it seems like everyone else already knows the ropes and has a million contacts. I still remember signing up for Twitter long after everyone I knew was already using it and having a whopping 0 followers. Fortunately, several of my Compensation Café colleagues took pity on me and soon I had 5 followers! I felt so proud when I got up to 32 followers...

If you’re looking for advice about getting followers it’s actually pretty easy. Just put yourself out there by reading, commenting and re-tweeting and the followers will come. Getting people to RT you is more of a challenge and I’m afraid I haven’t yet figured out how to get all my followers to sycophantically re-tweet everything I write. But I keep reading, writing, tweeting and commenting because I enjoy being part of the discussion.

Dave made a great point in his post about not mixing mediums and I think that bears repeating. Different channels have different purposes and audiences. But regardless of channel, if you use any social medium you have a public persona. You want to watch what you share because friends, family, colleagues, customers and perfect strangers are watching wherever you put yourself out there.

There’s a fine line between refreshing honesty and too much information.

The other thing to keep in mind is that social media can sometimes be confused with real life. The people you connect with are (usually) real people and you may have genuine personal interactions with them. Information is presented in easy sound-bytes. Best of all, you can finally be the 'you' you always wanted to be.

It's addictive.

So here are a few ways to tell if it's time to unplug:

Do you spend more than an hour a day Tweeting one-liners to people you've never met?
Do you neglect friends and family so you can count your followers?
Do you sleep with your Smartphone?

Things Not Going Your Way? Hang In There...

2011-05-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

My post 'Persistence' has been included in the 20/20 Hindsight series at Women of HR. The focus of the series is how what seems like a setback - or a LOT of setbacks - can turn out for the best.

You can read my post here and while you're over there don't miss the other posts in the series. This is a great series because we've all been there.

The What Do We Do All Day HR Carnival

2011-05-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the What Do We Do All Day HR Carnival over at Jon Ingham's Strategic HCM blog.

I'm just saying.

Got Your Little Black?

2011-05-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

I feel lucky to have so many professional friends with mad skills who are helping to re-define the way we work. Some of them are working moms but by no means all of them. They work from home, they work part-time, they take their kids to work, they start their own companies... they do it their way and I'm proud to know them and their stories.

Companies are beginning to recognize untapped talent potential with increasingly flexible work arrangements. Being good at flexibility is a competitive advantage in the war for talent.

In many ways, flexibility is the new little black of benefits, which is the topic of my most recent Compensation Cafe post. If you'd like to learn more, check it out here!

Lead 'Em or Lose 'Em: How social recruiting raises the game for leaders

2011-05-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Pam Fox Rollin

You plan to keep your best employees, right? You know it's going to be tough as more companies return to hiring. But, hey, you do a decent job of creating a good place to work, and your people aren't looking for jobs.

Check that.

Even if by some chance your employees aren't looking, other companies are looking for them. And, they are very likely to find your high-demand talent more easily than ever.

This week at the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit at LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View I saw many shiny new tools for poaching your people, and recruiters eager to use them. For example, recruiters may sign up to be pinged whenever an engineer at your company connects with more people than usual on LinkedIn.

As ace-recruiter Craig Fisher @Fishdogs quipped, "recruiters really aren't looking for the perfect candidate." Recruiters are just looking for that one person they can easily find who has "close enough" experience to get hired. And, with social media tools, it's easier than ever to find your people and build relationships. Craig sets up his FourSquare account to connect with people who frequent the coffee shop across the street from targeted groups.

How can you "protect" your team members from being contacted by recruiters?

You can't.

In the past, companies have blocked known recruiter numbers from their voicemail system. Of course, recruiters can just call from their cell phone. Or connect on Facebook. Or message them on LinkedIn. Or find them at Starbucks at just the time they know they'll be there. Their friends can text them from their mobile phones with job recommendations from apps that scour their friends' Facebook pages to suggest jobs for friends who aren't even looking, yet. Company-as-walled-city is over.

What you can do is make your side of the equation more compelling. And that takes leadership. We used to think that retention is primarily a function of the quality of the employee's immediate supervisor, as well as pay.

With globalization and ever shorter product life cycles, many employees know that their supervisor today may be heading up a new initiative next quarter. Supervisors are ephemeral. Corporate leadership isn't. Corporate culture isn't.

Nilofer Merchant @Nilofer, in her inspiring and challenging conference keynote, described corporate culture as "dark matter" - we can't see it, but it shapes our universe more profoundly than anything we can see.

Recruiters know this. Employer branding experts circulated through the ERE Recruiting Innovation Summit, promising to "tell the story" of companies through frequently-refreshed videos on Facebook Careers pages.

Will recruiters tell a better story about your competitors than your employees can tell about you?

Leaders, telling the story of your company is your job. Contributing to a culture that engages your team members over the long haul is your job. Making meaning as well as numbers is your job. Hiring supervisors who can lead their teams, and the next, and the next - that's your job, too.

Your leadership becomes ever more crucial as recruiters use social media to engage and entice your people.

Now is the time to raise your game. Help your managers become better leaders. Create better experiences and opportunities for your team. That's the best protection you'll ever have.

Pam Fox Rollin helps Silicon Valley executives make their strongest start. Her company, IdeaShape, helps leadership teams function well together and make the most of new talent. Clients hire Pam for individual coaching, leadership offsites, teambuilding with Myers-Briggs, and keynotes. Visit, "like", and learn at Pam's facebook page for 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: http://www.facebook.com/LeadStartBook . Or connect on Twitter @PamFR.

Sustainably Yours

2011-05-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Anyone who reads this blog knows I care about corporate sustainability. If this is a topic that also interests you, or you've been asked to look into sustainability reporting at your own company, here are a few resources:

Elaine Cohen's CSR for HR blog.
The corporate sustainability posts here at Working Girl.
Workday's 2011 Corporate Sustainability Report
Join the discussion at Focus.com about how companies are adopting green initiatives.

Leave a comment if you 're interested in other examples of corporate sustainability reports or have general questions about sustainability reporting. I'm happy to help!

Siemens Opts Out of the Nuclear Energy Business

2011-05-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

As recently as yesterday, Siemens' energy business strategy played no favorites. They have a stake in everything from coal to nuclear power plants as well as a thriving renewable energy business.

Over the last few years, however, they've been stepping up their investment in renewable energy on a global basis and today they announced they plan to get out of the nuclear energy business.

We'll see how that plays out but think about it: Siemens is one of the world's largest and most successful companies. They have departments the size of a small company dedicated to rigorous data analysis.

They aren't getting out of nuclear energy and stepping up investment in renewable energy out of the goodness of their hearts, although I'm sure they're all perfectly lovely people. They're doing it because they believe it's a good business decision.

What do you believe?

Project Social: Pleased to Tweet You

2011-05-21T01:24:00.000-07:00

To tweet or not to tweet? That is the question. My project social partner Dave and I were discussing social media the other day and got on the topic of why we re-tweet (or don’t).

You can read about how to get re-tweeted by Dave over at HR Official and chew the fat with Lyn about the synergies of Twitter and bacon over at The Bacon Hut. (Get it? Chew the fat?)

Why do I tweet thee?

You re-tweeted something of mine – If you’re nice enough to RT something of mine I’ll try to RT something of yours.
You wrote or tweeted something really good – Re-tweeting is the next best thing to having written it myself.
I think I can use the information – I re-tweet it it so I can find it again later under my profile.
You support one of my pet theories or causes – That’s pretty self-explanatory, right?
You make an argument I hadn’t considered – This one’s my favorite.
You’re funny – I love funny.
I like you – You read my blog, RT my tweets and/or write amazing stuff of your own so I check in with you regularly.
I want to encourage you – I just feel like giving you a pat on the back. In a good way.
You came up with the perfect title – Good titles should be encouraged.
You asked me to – I’ll usually RT or comment at least once when people ask me to.

Why do you re-tweet? Dave, Lyn and I want to know!

Six Ways to Improve Work Life Balance

2011-05-21T01:17:00.000-07:00

If work life balance is a topic that preoccupies you, check out this new Focus brief 6 Ways to Improve Work Life Balance. You ca also join the discussion here.

Is Your Desire to Help Others Holding You Back?

2011-05-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

I wrote a post at the Compensation Café about a year ago called What Can We Learn From Marketing about the similarities between HR and marketing. This topic was recently picked up by HR Magazine in the UK as well with some interesting insights.

In an article entitled Marketing Versus HR, the characteristics of successful HR and marketing leaders are explored in some detail. Generally speaking, the qualities that make you successful as a marketing executive aren’t all that different from those that make you shine as an HR executive:

•    Strategic
•    Self-assured
•    Eloquent
•    Good with numbers
•    Balanced
•    Collaborative
•    Optimistic
•    Decisive
•    Innovative

There are, however, a couple of interesting exceptions (besides the fact that the marketing avatar is holding a cocktail and smirking):

Marketers are better with numbers and data visualization –HR professionals tend to have a better vocabulary and command of the language but marketers are better at crunching numbers. Although surprising at first glance, it actually makes sense: an HR professional must be politically correct at all times while marketing involves LOTS of business trend analysis.
Marketers are more interested in the business than in people – Many HR professionals ended up in HR out of a desire to help others, whereas marketing professionals get their kicks from business dynamics. This doesn’t mean HR folks have no interest in business or that marketers hate people. It just means they view the business through different lenses.

As a result of these two seemingly minor differences, marketing tends to be better than HR at demonstrating value to the business and top HR jobs are starting to go to marketing executives.

There’s some good in this trend, for example marketing professionals know how to formulate strategy to drive business results and generate beautiful graphics that show how they saved the company and cured cancer to boot.

But there are also risks, such as the risk that compliance will take a backseat to creativity as soon as the expansive marketing personality gets bored with day to day HR.

What can we learn from all this? For one thing, I should be an HR executive. I mean, I’ve got it all: HR, marketing, cocktails... I can’t believe how much I rule.

The other key message is that HR needs to stop thinking of the business in terms of people and start thinking of people in terms of the business.

Because if they don’t, there’s someone in marketing who will. . .

Are HR Stars Like Famous Professors?

2011-05-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

My project social partner Dave Ryan and I were chatting last week about HRevolution, which sounds like it was a great event. I was jealous but my newborn has very self-centered ideas about my travel availability.

Anyway, there seem to be a LOT of HR conferences to choose from these days and some folks seem to attend quite a few of them. So Dave was wondering why and how they do it, which he’s written about over at HR Official, and I was wondering who benefits and where you draw the line.

Lyn H, our new project social team member, also has some sizzling thoughts on this that you can read about over at the HR Bacon Hut. (Get it? Sizzling bacon?)

Obviously if you’re an analyst or someone who’s paid to be seen it makes sense to attend as many conferences as you can but does the same logic apply to HR practitioners? Do their companies benefit from all the conferences they attend?

Maybe it’s like the famous professor who does the lecture circuit while his graduate students teach his courses. The university benefits because the professor’s fame attracts students even in absentia and contributes to name recognition of the school. Similarly, perhaps attending and/or speaking at lots of conferences helps promote your brand and attract top talent.

Or maybe the company benefits from all the knowledge that is brought back. It stands to reason that the more conferences you attend the more knowledge you acquire. And with that fountain of knowledge you can overhaul your current processes, improve leadership quality and finally get that seat at the table.

Or maybe you already have a seat at the table and that’s why you’re able to persuade your boss that you + conference = major ROI. Way to go, you! In fact, you’re wasted in HR, you should be in marketing.

But seriously, I’m curious: How many conferences are enough? And which ones? And most importantly, how do you apply what you learn at your own company?

Dave, Lyn and I want to know!

Beyond Pay for Performance

2011-05-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Are you in a pay for performance rut? Maybe it's time for a new approach.

Read more in my latest post Stuck on Pay for Performance? at the Compensation Cafe.

May Great Leadership Carnival

2011-05-02T04:05:00.000-07:00

Don't miss this month's fine selection of leadership articles in the May Leadership Development Carnival at Great Leadership.

Top Ten Tips for Managers

2011-04-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Looking back, all the HR-sponsored management training I’ve had focused on liability. Oh, sure, there was some lip service to topics like "diversity" and "reflexive listening" but the point of the training was to ensure the company didn’t get sued because of me.

It isn’t really surprising, since as recently as two years ago talent management thought leaders tended to focus on things like performance management automation. There were very few voices that recognized the importance of good management.

Now, of course, everyone gets it and HR is looking for ways to offer practical, practicable management tips to the average manager who isn't high enough in the food chain to be eligible for external leadership training.

To meet this rising demand, the indefatigable Ben Eubanks has requested posts for his upcoming new eBook HR Tips for Managers.

I just realized I missed the deadline but here are my ten tips and you can check out what Dave Ryan has to say over at HR Official:

Talk to people about what they want – To lead others you need to understand what motivates them. If you guess you'll probably guess wrong so ask them.
Help people achieve their career goals - As I wrote about in my Thanksgiving post Managers: Time to Talk Turkey, the key to getting the best performance out of people is to show them how your goals align with theirs.
Be flexible – Does it really matter when, where or how people work as long as the job gets done?
Be human not a robot – Take an interest in people. Ask about their families. Share information. Don't embarrass people by sharing too much information but be approachable.
Give regular feedback – Nothing you communicate during the annual performance review should be a surprise. Let people know how they’re doing early and often.
Be appreciative – Nothing motivates like saying thank you and good job sincerely. And when your team makes you look good to your manager don't forget to give credit where credit is due.
Forget fair – Everyone’s different. Recognize great performance, address poor performance and try to tailor 'rewards' to what individuals value.
Help the team bond – People who like each other work better together and yes, that’s part of your job. Create bonding occasions like team lunches or invite your team over for a barbeque.
Help people play to their strengths – One of the strongest motivators is pride, which people are more likely to feel if they're good at what they do.
Don't rely on an open door policy - Get your nose out of that computer and make time for people. And don't wait for them to come to you, go talk to people.

Note that most of these tips assume your team sits in one location, which may not be the case. For tips on managing remote workers check out my post Modern Workforce: Managing Remote Workers.
Cartoon courtesy of Scott Adams and Mark's Dilbert Jalbum.

Why SaaS is Greener

2011-04-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

According McKinsey research paper 'Data Centers: How to Cut Carbon Emissions and Costs,' the world's 44 million servers consumed .5% of all electricity in 2008, with data center emissions approaching those of small countries and projected to quadruple by 2020.

The same report estimated that 25% of the average IT budget is spent on computing resources, including facilities, storage devices, servers and staffing and that the average corporate data center is only about 5% efficient. Yikes.

Much of the energy waste in data or shared computing centers results from inefficient cooling or outdated servers. However, a significant amount of energy waste results from a failure to understand the cost of data in terms of computing resources.

There are several forces at work here:

Rising demand for data - Companies want real-time access to complex analytics and historical data to support business decisions. To support this requirement, multiple copies of the same information are often duplicated in multiple systems.

Decentralized decision making - Individuals make data usage decisions without considering the impact on total capacity or cost, such as a sales manager who wants real-time access to sales pipeline analysis or an employee who doesn't delete old emails.

Excess capacity - Companies typically purchase excess capacity to accommodate extreme usage scenarios or future expansion, rather than implementing more efficient computing techniques such as virtualization or fine tuning software to minimize server use.

Lack of financial accountability - Total computing costs are tracked as an expense but not energy utilization or waste.

Until I started researching corporate sustainability I never considered the carbon footprint of data - and then I felt like a schmuck for all my undeleted emails. But although companies and individuals can try to make more responsible choices about how they save and use data, the demand for data isn't going to decrease.

That makes it imperative to dramatically increase computing efficiency, which is how Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are already making a difference. SaaS is a software delivery model that allows companies to share computing resources rather than building and maintaining their own. So, instead of installing business software on your own premises the software is hosted in a shared data center.

What's so green about that? Because shared computing is part of their core business, SaaS vendors have a strong incentive to build state-of-the-art data centers. And each company that moves to a centralized computing model is able to decommission their own servers and - probably inefficient - data centers.

As a result, total global CO2 emissions also decrease significantly as more companies elect to share computing resources in modern, efficient data centers.

There's a lot to be said for SaaS business solutions, like the fact that they don't require upgrades. Anyone who's experienced a software upgrade will appreciate this.

But they also help reduce the carbon footprint of data.

Directing Our Own Futures

2011-04-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Jaana Eubanks

In May, a whole new chapter in my life starts as I graduate as an MBA from the University of Nevada, Reno, and move back to Finland after living in the United States for almost seven years. Exciting as well as absolutely terrifying times!

For the past seven years, I’ve been living the academic life style and also played collegiate sports during my undergrad studies. Before coming to the United States, sports played a major role in my life, and most of my youth was devoted to training and competing.

Even though my sports career didn’t workout the way I had hoped, it gave me so much: the opportunities to travel the world, make life long friendships, a scholarship to study abroad and it also instilled in me the values that make me who I am today. The journey has been an amazing adventure and something that I’m truly grateful for.

I’m excited to go back home and start my career, with a great confidence and vigor to find something that I’ll actually enjoy doing (don’t we all?). Since I’m very into the “human side” of business I’ve focused my search on marketing and consulting jobs. The job hunt has by no means been easy. For the past months, I’ve applied to several positions online, most of which seem to end up in this mysterious “black hole”… Some of the applications, I’ve received calls for.

But I’m not letting myself feel discouraged. Things don’t happen over night.

What has been important to me in finding the right kind of career path is to look for opportunities where I can grow and develop as an employee and a person as well as being part of an environment that is challenging. I believe that there is no reason for me (or anyone for that matter) to “just get a position, somewhere”, but to look for a career that would be rewarding and a good match. That is the reason why we work so hard in life and school, right?

My future career to me looks like something that I can be enthusiastic and energized about, waking up every morning being happy to go to work and provide value. I strongly believe that one can have both in life, a wonderful life and a career one is happy with. At the end, I’ll make my life the way I wanted it to be. So can you.

My advice to you, fellow young professionals, is to remember that you are in charge of your own career (not your parents, your degree or your boss) and no one else is going to reach your goals for you. So get proactive, confident and brave. Network. Read. Remember your worth.

Be kind to others, good things happen to good people.

Go after it!

…And wish me luck!

Jaana Eubanks is a Finnish MBA student seeking opportunities to develop herself and her career while connecting with others. You can read more from Jaana on her blog Jaana Eubank's Journey or follow her on Twitter @JaanaEubanks.

Cooking on the Edge

2011-04-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Guest post by Emily Rosenbaum

You know what people tell me a lot? “If you were working, you couldn’t cook like that.” I’m serious. People say this to me almost weekly. What they are really saying is, “Sure, it’s easy to spend hours a day in the kitchen if you’re home all day, but if you had a real job…”

For the record, I do have a real job. I’m a freelance writer, a career I pursue during the fleeting preschool hours or after my kids are in bed. I publish consistently and take on bread-and-butter work on a regular basis.

But, you know what? That’s beside the point. The fact is, every person I know is balancing about twenty-three different balls, and it’s hard to keep them all in the air.

I am committed to Real Food for any number of reasons: reduced packaging, tastier meals, less monosodium somethingoxide in my food. But one of the biggest reasons I try to cook from scratch is that it reduces life to what matters. Instead of stressing about how many people are following my blog or reading my book, instead of worrying about the fact that people I went to college with are famous while I’m toiling away in obscurity, I am creating meals.

And I mean “creating.” Not opening cans or dissolving bullion cubes, but creating from raw ingredients. My relationship with food is deep and powerful, and it smells something like yeast dissolving.

I love food. I love everything about it. The creation, the freshness, the smell, the feel. Food is not about surviving or calories or points. Food is worth taking the time, and I’d feel that way even if I had a “real job.”

I know a lot of people feel the same way but are having a tough time figuring out how to work cooking into an already packed day. So, here are a few things I’ve figured out about preparing real food on a limited schedule:

Plan ahead. I soak chickpeas the night before, then start them cooking the minute I get out of bed. They’re cooked by 8:00 AM, ready to be used for dinner that night. Or, I cook black beans on Monday night, which means they’re ready for Tuesday evening’s dinner.
Lay things out. If I’m baking the next morning, I measure out the dry ingredients in advance and lay out everything I’ll need. That way, I can get it in the oven within fifteen minutes, and it can bake while I’m in the shower.
Reuse an ingredient throughout the week. Not to harp on chickpeas or anything, but if I cook them on Sunday, I use them in about three different dishes the rest of the week. I love chickpeas.
Don’t be afraid of simple dinners. If you’ve baked muffins in the morning, puree some fruit, yogurt, and honey (plus a couple of ice cubes) and have smoothies with muffins for dinner.
Finish everything you cook. I have been known eat the same soup for eight meals in one week. I love variety, but it sure cuts down on preparation time and food waste.

What’s the secret to balancing kids and work and exercise and cooking? I’m not sure there is a secret, other than a certain level of commitment and a drop of lunacy. But I’d love to hear how other people work cooking into their days.

Emily Rosenbaum is a writer, mother, adult survivor of child abuse, cook, and lousy gardener striving to live sustainably in New Jersey. Her collection of essays and recipes, Cooking on the Edge of Insanity, is a window into her special brand of craziness.

What Motivates You?

2011-04-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Maybe one of the ten motivators in my latest post at the Compensation Cafe? Unless I forgot one...

Here's a link to the post: One Little, Two Little, Ten Little Motivators

A Couple of Focused Discussions

2011-04-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, all you HR pros! I posted a couple of questions on Focus.com that I'd love your feedback on:

How do you evaluate your managers? The importance of good management to employee engagement is now recognized but how do companies monitor how their managers are doing? For example, 360 degree reviews might be a tool you use, or employee surveys. Or perhaps workforce metrics, such as turnover or team performance. How do you ensure good management at your company?
How do you manage contingent workers? In many companies HR has little to do with contingent workers, partly because they are tracked outside of the HR system. This means HR has poor visibility into an increasingly large worker population, which may have a negative impact on performance and may even lead to liability issues. How involved is HR with contingent workers at your company?

Even if you don't want to weigh in, the answers others have provided may interest you. Check it out!

Project Social: An Unorthodox Interview

2011-04-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

My project social partner Dave Ryan and I were chatting last Monday and he mentioned he'd been to a college recruiting event and felt re-charged by all that young energy.

So we decided to write a little post about hiring recent graduates. Don't miss Dave's post over at HR Official. Here's mine:

These days there's a lot of advice out there about how to interview applicants to make sure you find the right person - or, as the Kris Dunn unforgettably put it, 'separate the stars from the turds.'

It’s all good advice but one of the best interviews I ever had flaunted current wisdom.

My last semester in graduate school was devoted to job search but there was only one company I really wanted to work for. I researched everything I could and cobbled together an interview suit of sorts:

A black jacket bought on sale at Nordstrom rack;
A nice if prim silk blouse from Ann Taylor with a small stain on the arm that the jacket hid (which I still have); and
An old black wool skirt that belonged to my mother and hit me at the worst possible spot in the middle of my knees (which I do NOT still have).

The day of the interview came. I got dressed, did what I could with my hair and scrutinized myself in the mirror. I looked inexperienced and awkward, even to myself. (See the picture at the top of this post? I didn't look like that.)

The partner who interviewed me wore a well-cut suit with casual ease and exuded friendly confidence. The contrast to myself intimidated me for the first few minutes of the interview until I noticed something odd:

He was feeding me my lines! That is to say, I was answering his questions literally and he was re-phrasing what I'd just said to make it sound better.

For example, he noticed on my resume that I was student body president at UCSD - I didn't have much business experience so there wasn't much to choose from - and asked conversationally what that involved.

Me: I run the student association meetings and sometimes meet with the dean to discuss student affairs or speak at a student event.

Him: Ah, so you're an experienced facilitator, negotiator and public speaker. That's great!

The entire interview was like this and as we shook hands at the end of the interview he told me I’d made it to the next round and wished me luck. Dazed, I thanked him.

Interesting, no? He could have easily tripped me up with tough questions but he built me up instead. He looked for reasons to hire me instead of reasons not to.

Bottom line: High performing companies don't just hire and retain top talent, they also identify and develop potential talent. A tough interview makes sense if you're looking for a particular skill set but a more supportive approach may work better with young professionals who lack polish.

Polish in your twenties is suspect anyway...

Modern Workforce: April Picks

2011-04-15T03:39:00.000-07:00

I kicked off a Modern Workforce series in January, which focuses on workforce diversity topics such as remote workers, global teams, multiple generations in the workforce, working moms, adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, etc.

Guest bloggers are always welcome.

Last month I highlighted five great posts that contribute to this topic and here are my picks for this month.

First up is a post about working moms at Hello Ladies that had me grinning ear to ear: If You're a Full-Time Mom, Then What Am I?

Next up is a SmartBrief pick at Gigaom.com about several outdated concerns people have about remote employees: 5 Common Remote Work Misconceptions

Don't miss this great article about hiring and motivating talented working moms from MonsterThinking.com: How Employers Can Recruit and Retain Working Mothers

Check out this excellent article from Workforce Management about the proper use of workforce metrics: Numbers Game: Companies Utilize Data to Predict Workforce Needs

And last but not least, a lovely post by Rachel Salley about having it all and what really matters at Women of HR: The Trials and Tribulations of Motherhood

Enjoy the goodness!

Congratulations, You Have the Job!

2011-04-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

Guest Post by Jay R. Kuhns

Wow! My first management gig! I'm actually going to supervise people. I'm going to be the one they look up to...ask for guidance....seek out my sage advice...draw upon my years...err....months of experience. This is going to be great!

"What do you mean my employees are as old as my parents? Wait a minute....what?"

I Was Young

At 27, I was fortunate to move into a formal management role as the Training and Development Manager for a Hospital. I was so excited I could barely wait to hear about the team I was going to lead. (Lesson #1 here - I didn't even know anything about the people I was going to supervise before I accepted the job! Nice research, eh?) Why didn't I know? Truth be told, I'd never had a leadership mentor in a work setting who could advise me along my journey. Yes, I'd had good supervisors prior to getting the job, but they were not focused on my development as a future leader.

There is a big difference between supervisors and mentors! One person can absolutely serve in both capacities, but simply assuming that because you have a "nice boss" does not mean they are preparing you for the quantum leap forward known as your first management position.

I Was Motivated

Early on in my tenure my entire team was in conflict. Well, since I was only supervising two employees and they were mad at each other, it's safe to say the entire team was in an uproar. So I came up with a brilliant idea...all on my own...to put the issue behind us once and for all. I decided to block off several hours on my calendar, bring in the two employees, and sit them across from each other while we worked things out. I told them, in a supportive way, that I had cleared my calendar so we could take all the time we needed to make things right again. (Boy, I was good!)

OMG, I can't believe I actually did that! How embarrassing.

Did I really understand the individual styles of my employees well enough to take such a confrontational stance with the situation? (Lesson #2 - know your employees, and know how such a confrontational tactic could easily backfire.) Did I actually believe that everything would be "OK" after my little torture session?

And to think I took pride in that approach.....OMG.

How About You

Getting your first big promotion to a leadership position is very exciting. Being effective in that role is something very difficult however. Here are three things to keep in mind as you stumble, fall, and most importantly get back up and keep improving:

Accept the fact that you don't know it all yet. Push yourself hard to learn.
Seek out a mentor. Now.
Remember that you're in the job. Act like you deserve to be there. The organization hired you, not to be a wuss, but to step up, lead, grow, and lead some more.

So tell me, how are things going for you?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

Jay R. Kuhns is the Vice President of Human Resources for All Children's Hospital and Health System at Johns Hopkins Medicine. You can read more from Jay at his blog No Excuses HR or follow him on Twitter @jrkuhns.

Project Social: The Inside Scoop

2011-04-08T23:25:00.000-07:00

Dave Ryan and I were chatting earlier this week about various topics and decided it's time for a project social check point.

You can read Dave's observations over at HR Official. Here are mine:

We started project social last October, so it's been about 6 months. In that time, we've written quite a few posts and chatted almost weekly.

I look forward to my weekly chats with Dave. He's a real 'in the trenches' HR person, which is a great reality check for me. For example, when I get too heavy on the TM speak he might observe mildly that he doesn't call it that, he just does it. Or that it doesn't solve his compliance problem.

He's also a really nice guy.

I'm not sure how we ended up doing tandem posts but it's working well for us. Basically, we post on the same topic about once a week from our two unique perspectives: his as a respected HR leader and mine as a professional smart alec. We link to each others posts, tweet them and usually add a comment.

We also #FF each other.

In the beginning we struggled a bit to find a unique topic and wrote a few posts about corporate sustainability. Unfortunately, these turned out to be less popular than later posts about how everyone's still missing the boat when it comes to talent management.

In addition to the social aspect of project social, over the last six months we've both picked up new followers and additional traffic - apparently we're onto something with this tandem posting and cross-linking strategy.

So now we're looking to tandem post with a few more people to see what happens...

Any takers?

Money and Engagement

2011-04-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

Finally, the definitive link between money and engagement!

Just kidding, lots of people have tried to explain this.

But if you're interested in this topic, check out my new post Think of Money as the Bottom Line at Compensation Cafe.

April Leadership Development Carnival

2011-04-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the April Leadership Development Carnival hosted by Sharlyn Lauby at HR Bartender... another great line up of leadership posts! I was going to highlight a few with teasers but they're all good.

Project Social: Young Manager

2011-04-02T01:26:00.000-07:00

According to a recent survey, 25% of supervisors are younger than the people they supervise. That’s not really surprising given that not everyone over, say, 40 is a supervisor and someone has to be managing all these people.

It’s also not surprising that we see a large volume of blog traffic on the topic of young managers, managing older workers and dealing with generation gaps in the workforce.

My take is that the problem – if we want to call it that – between younger and older workers has less to do with age per se and more to do with a clash of style and experience level.

I was a young manager once. I called lots of meetings and did most of the talking. I worked crazy hours and had limited respect for people who didn't. I had all sorts of great theories that didn't work very well in practice. There may have been spreadsheets…

Basically, I was pretty annoying to folks who’d been around a while.

If you're a young manager there's a good chance you're annoying. But it's not because you’re 'young.'

It’s because you haven’t been around the block yet. You haven’t lived through the ebbs and flows of business. You don’t know yet which problems are really problems and which will go away by themselves. You can’t evaluate which 80% really needs to get done and which 20% doesn’t matter.

Basically – and please don’t take this the wrong way - you’re clueless.

That’s OK. All great leaders have to start somewhere and plenty of more experienced managers are annoying with far less justification. If you’re a decent person who tries to be a good boss, most of your team will forgive and support you. If you’re a micromanaging know it all, they will hate you.

And yes, the older, more experienced people will hate you more because they know what they’re doing and just want to get on with it.

I’m not saying you should let older workers have it all their own way. If someone on your team undermines your authority or does poor work it's your job to address it, for example like Dave Ryan’s son did (read all about it over at HR Official.)

But here’s some free advice for managing people with more experience than you:

Don’t micromanage – They know what they're doing and micromanagement kills creativity, enthusiasm and pride in one’s work.
Be humble – Some of the people on your team have been working since before you were born and might know a thing or two you don’t.
Lighten up – You'll laugh at yourself in 10 years when you look back on your first manager gig.

Remember: You may be barely old enough to drink now but some day you’ll probably end up working for someone younger than you, too. There is such a thing as karma...

Modern Workforce: Reflections of a Single Working Dad

2011-03-31T00:33:00.000-07:00

Guest Post by Jim Webber

While I was at the local coffee shop this week, I noticed a young father typing away on his computer as his baby napped in his lap. The thing that caught my attention was that no one else paid any attention. He was just another guy doing some work while enjoying his latte.

It made me happy.

It was very different twenty years ago when my two daughters were toddlers and I was a newly single dad. Back then, most of our treks out into the real world made me think that I could be a viable candidate for “Father of the Year”. Total strangers praised me for being a great parent because I was handling them “without help”.

Before any moms start sending hate mail my way, I get it. I was only doing what moms have been doing since time began -- taking care of the kids. I don’t consider myself to be a trail-blazer, but back then I was an oddity. We simply did not see too many fathers going about their business with the kids in tow and a mom nowhere in sight. (For the record, there is and was a great mom in the picture. After she and I separated, we shared custody and remain on very good terms).

Today, it seems that dads (married or single) are much more involved in raising their kids. That’s a great thing. I have done extensive research – about five minutes on-line – and realized that there is not much useful advice for the new working dads. I emphasize the word “useful”. There are lots of tips telling you to “spend more quality time with your children” and “do not take them into biker bars”. Dads could have figured those types of things on their own. What today’s dads need is the voice of experience about what matters most.

That voice has arrived:

Develop a sense of humor. You’ll need it and it may keep you from having a major stroke before your time. An elderly woman who I had never met before passed these words of wisdom on to me when my daughters were 3 and 2 years old. She was standing near my girls and me as I was about to take a photo of them in their new dresses. The photo was going to be a great one – I had them posed in front of a beautiful fountain. As I was focusing the camera, my youngest flashed an evil grin. (Wherever does she get it?). Before I could intervene, she turned and shoved my older daughter into the water. Based on her expression of utter joy, it was the best moment of her life up until that day. She was clapping and laughing, her sister was splashing and sputtering and I could feel the veins in my head about to explode. That’s when the silver-haired, well-dressed woman walked up to me. She patted me on the shoulder and, in a tone of voice usually reserved for talking crazy people down from tall building ledges, told me that this would be really funny some day. “I can tell you’re a great dad,” she said, “and your girls have a lot of spirit. That’s so much better than boring, don’t you think?” She laughed, I laughed and I have remembered her wise words many times. They have not always made me laugh, but they have kept me off the ledge.
Always carry a towel and change of clothes. See above.
Be prepared for odd fashion moments. As a father of babies or kids, you need to be ready to look ridiculous from time to time. They will beg you to wear the Mickey Mouse ears at Disneyland or the crazy tie they picked out because they love Spongebob Squarepants. They might want to paint your toe-nails hot pink. Just go for it. My oddest fashion moment came when I was appearing in court for a client and the judge asked about my baby. My pride deflated as I thanked the judge for asking and noticed he was tapping his shoulder. I heard some muffled laughs from the people waiting for the next case to start and then looked down at my own shoulder – and saw the burp cloth draped over it. The drape cloth I had used earlier that morning to protect my suit as I gave the baby a good bye hug. (She tended to urp up on me on a regular basis, especially if I was in my nice clothes). I’d managed to wear the diaper on my shoulder as I rode the bus downtown, walked to the courthouse, rode the elevator and then sat with a crowd of other attorneys and parties waiting for the court calendar to start. No one said a word until the judge. (To this day, I am thankful that the cloth was clean that time.)
Beware of cameras. Your kids will probably be able to talk you into doing crazy things. Go ahead and do them, just try not to end up on YouTube or Facebook doing them. This was easier for me – there was no social media in the 1990s. When my youngest talked me into wearing a giant cookie costume to help her sell Thin Mints and Samoas in front of the grocery store, the experience did not go viral. Neither did the time I dressed up as Big Bird or had my toe nails painted.
Be prepared to be embarrassed. This next cautionary tale is based on an experience that happened when my “baby” had just learned to walk and my oldest was a talkative two-year old with an advanced vocabulary. It was a Saturday morning and my daughters invaded the bathroom to ask about breakfast as I was drying off after a shower. I covered myself with the towel, but not soon enough. “What’s that?” the oldest asked, pointing you-know-where. “My towel,” I replied, hoping for the best. My daughter rejected that response and asked again, this time with her tiny hands on her hips and a rather stern expression on her face. I had not expected such questions to start so soon, or when I was naked and dripping wet. I was stuck. The girls’ mom and I had agreed that we would be candid and honest when the girls started to ask anatomical questions. I held on to my towel, took a deep breath and told her that it was my p--. I quickly explained that only boys have one and let out a sigh of relief when this seemed to be no big deal to her. Getting caught in the shower was not the embarrassing part. Several days later, when I took the girls into the office for a quick visit after a doctor appointment, my oldest walked up to my secretary and said, “Did you know that my daddy has a p--?” I survived and so can you.
Work can usually wait. Your job is important. Making a living is not an option for those of us without trust funds. I know there will be times when you can’t get away from work, but you need to be organized so you can block out a morning for the school play or the afternoon when the students display their best art. These are big events to your kids and it means the world to them when you show up. It’s good for you, too.
Time is your enemy. My daughters are basically grown up. My oldest is a college junior and my “baby” is about to graduate from culinary school. (As a bonus, neither of them has been to prison and the tattoos are tasteful). Here’s the thing – I have no idea how we got to this point so quickly. They were babies and now they’re not. Find a way to spend as much time with them as you can when they are little and – as much as they say they hate it – continue to find ways to be together when they are teenagers. You do not have as much time as you think. Road trips worked for me. We covered most of the United States on one of them -- here’s proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgphEd5cT7E.

You are going to do a lot of things in your life, but if you are a dad – nothing is more important. You can survive and thrive through all of it. Really.

Jim Webber is the author of Evil Skippy at Work (www.evilskippyatwork.com) and a human resources trainer/consultant/investigator based in Seattle. In a past life, he was an employment lawyer. You can follow Evil Skippy on Twitter (@EvilSkippySays) and also be a fan on Facebook.

March Carnival of HR - Safe at Home

2011-03-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the 2nd March Carnival of HR over at Lean HR - the theme is Safe at Home and you'll be amazed by the variety of approaches people took with this versatile title.

Retention: Rhymes with eBook

2011-03-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

As the economy turns around, up to 84% of employees across the US have said they are looking at the possibility of changing jobs.

That's a lot of people.

We all know the numbers on employee turnover and the impact it has on the bottom line. So what's our alternative?

Retention. Keep the good people around (not by force, hopefully) and keep them on our team.

That's where the free eBook titled "Where do you think you're going? A guide to employee retention" comes in. It's full of strategies and ideas for how to retain your best employees in turbulent economic times.

Contributors include: Tim Sackett, Heather Vogel, Benjamin McCall, Chris Ferdinandi, Paul Hebert, Laura Schroeder, Dave Ryan, Keith McIlvaine, Robin Schooling, and Stuart at 1.00 FTE. You can find links to each of these contributors' websites within the guide.

Safe at Home

2011-03-28T03:41:00.000-07:00

Ah, Spring. Warm sunlight, light breezes, budding flowers, laughing children, young German couples washing their cars…

There's magic in the air. We want to be outside.

In colder, harsher seasons we seek the haven of home, where we can lock out the rest of the world and feel safe.

But are we ever really safe, even at home?

The Japanese thought so…

It’s human to want to bury your head and ignore big problems until it’s too late. That's why we try to avoid thinking about gloomy topics like pollution, global warming and nuclear disaster.

That's why, despite problems we can see like massive oil spills, nuclear plant containment failures, melting ice bergs and dying species we believe people who tell us what we want to hear.

Meanwhile:

We keep voting for politicians who ignore the problem or pretend it doesn't exist
Leading countries continue to rely on outmoded, centralized, unsustainable energy production
Other countries follow their lead, probably with even lower safety standards
Industrial leaders lobby for lax environmental laws and win
Nursing moms can’t eat tuna because of high mercury content
Tokyo - one of my favorite cities - has radioactive water

We’re not safe at home. The Germans have recently woken up to this fact, electing the green party in the heart of car manufacturing country. They get it.

What about the rest of us?

I read an excellent post today about envisioning the future you want but belief must be combined with action. How we vote, how we buy, how we behave is just as important as how we believe.

By combining belief with action we can create the future we want to live in.

A future in which are safe at home.

Project Social: The Dark Side of HR

2011-03-27T02:31:00.000-07:00

This tongue-in-cheek video (below) depicts HR as a covert informer who invites confidences from employees then rats them out behind their backs.

My project social partner Dave Ryan and I were chuckling about this recently but he admitted that there is a grain of truth. Perhaps more than a grain, as you can read about in his latest post.

Of course, it's unfair to expect HR folks to rise above sordid matters like needing a paycheck and represent the interests of employees because HR professionals are employees of the company just like everyone else.

So yes, if an employee shares information that might damage the company or result in litigation HR has a professional responsibility to inform management.

Mwa ha ha. (But not really.)

Here's the video... And next time you have a wild impulse to confide in HR about how you added an emetic to your manager's coffee remember who you both work for.

What Non-Monetary Incentives Does Your Company Offer?

2011-03-26T01:16:00.000-07:00

Join the discussion at Focus.com.

Top 25 HR Digital Influencers

2011-03-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the latest top 25 HR Digital Influencers for 2011 at HR Examiner and a warm welcome to the new folks on the list!

Ever Wonder What OTE Is?

2011-03-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

Check out my post I Want My... I Want My... I Want My OTE at Compensation Cafe and wonder no longer.

Modern Workforce: March Five Faves

2011-03-22T01:59:00.000-07:00

I recently kicked off a Modern Workforce series, which focuses on workforce diversity topics such as remote workers, global teams, generations, working moms, adoption of Web 2.0 technologies, etc.

Last month I highlighted a few great posts that contribute to this topic and here are my picks for this month.

The overriding themes are flexibility and good management. Enjoy!

First up at Tuttopersona is a thoughtful post about how work and personal life get confused as more people work from home: Work Life / Personal Life Blurred

Next, check out Fast Company’s article on what modern employees wish managers would finally figure out: Ten Things Your Employees Wish You Knew About Them

After that, share Google’s epiphany that people don’t want to be managed by techies, they want to be managed by good managers: Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss

Don’t miss Boston.com’s article on how flexible work arrangements improve retention and increase engagement while saving money: When Time is Money

Finally, check out Stephanie Thomas’ excellent post about the perceived value of time: Time, Money and Value

Retention: Rhymes with Detention

2011-03-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

We’ve all heard the buzz about retention. There’s a war for talent on. Your best talent is at risk. Replacing employees is expensive. Yada, yada, yada.

Don’t get me wrong, retention’s important. But while my project social partner Dave Ryan and I were chatting about retention last week, the words ‘rhymes with detention’ just popped into my head.

If you think about it, there’s a fine line of distinction between the two words: To retain someone means you secure them for possible future use. To detain someone means you hold them back. In both cases you’re hanging onto someone or something for your own purposes, but detention implies confinement.

Typical retention policies focus on rewards but rewards alone can leave employees feeling trapped, for example if they receive seniority pay that they can’t match somewhere else. If you don’t also offer good management and some sort of career development you may be detaining employees rather than retaining them.

Depending on the circumstances an unmotivated but adequately performing employee may be better than no one. But if you’re detaining people instead of retaining them, chances are you’ve got a performance gap that’s impacting your bottom line.

Or, a better way of putting it might be that you have an opportunity to increase shareholder value by closing that gap. So, what you really need is an engagement policy because engaged employees are more likely stick around and make you glad they did.

Where to begin? Dave Ryan wrote a great post about retention that I highly recommend. And don't miss the free eBook on Engagement in this same series.

Bottom line:
Hire the best people you can.
Treat them with respect.
Give them opportunities to learn.
Don't micromanage.
Pay fairly.
Reward excellence.
Say thank you.
Lighten up.

March Carnival of HR - The WORST of HR

2011-03-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Don't miss this fine selection of crappy HR practices over at HR whY.

This month's Carnival of HR will help you say no to best practices and embrace WORST practices MWA HA HA HA HAAAAAAA!!!!!

The Future's So Bright... I Gotta Wear Shades

2011-03-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

I study nuclear science
I love my classes
I gotta crazy teacher
Who wears dark glasses
...
I'm doin' alright
Gettin' good grades
The future's so bright
I gotta wear shades!
-Timbuk 3

My German husband remembers vividly when Chernobl blew up. As far away as Munich, he had to stay indoors for about a month until the nice men with the Geiger counters said it was 'safe' to go outdoors again.

Nuclear energy may be perfectly safe as long as all safety protocols are strictly followed and no natural disaster occurs... See the problem? As soon as something goes wrong - some greedy fool lets a safety measure slide to save a few pennies, for example, or an earthquake hits - you've got a global disaster on your hands.

If only there was a renewable source of energy that didn't cause global warming or birth defects... oh, wait, there is!

So, why are we still building nuclear power plants and dumping oil in our oceans? Because renewable energy is still too underdeveloped to meet our needs.

Here are some ways you can help support renewable energy:

Follow Greenpeace and Environmental Defense Fund on Twitter and help them reach out to Congress.
Buy inexpensive carbon offsets for your home, car and air travel, for example with TerraPass.
Call your energy provider and ask about renewable energy options.
Buy energy saving appliances.
Vote sustainably.

Project Social: Humane Resources

2011-03-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

Once when I changed jobs my new manager asked me to set up 1:1 meetings with the rest of the team, to get to know them and let them get to know me.

One of these conversations stands out in my mind, partly because it was with a French colleague who spoke so beautifully that everything she said sounded elegant and wise. But it was her description of our manager that really stuck with me:

‘He’s a very humane manager.’

I’d never thought about managers being ‘humane’ before. I suppose if you’d asked me I’d have said a manager was good or bad but the term ‘humane’ seemed to denote something more worthwhile.

Last week I was telling my project social partner Dave Ryan that I feel saddened by job postings that say only employed people need apply. Last year was hard on a lot of good people who did nothing wrong. Those of us who were lucky enough to weather the storm should help those who weren’t so lucky, in part because it’s the humane thing to do.

Dave’s comment and current blog topic said it all: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

This doesn’t mean companies should hire less qualified people out of a misguided sense of compassion. It just means we should treat unemployed applicants as we would want to be treated in the same situation.

Of course, there’s more at stake here than how we behave in our daily dealings with others. There’s also the big picture, i.e., if companies keep shuffling around the same employed people, the economy won’t rebound. Fewer people will buy stuff. More companies will suffer losses and more jobs will be lost.

Maybe yours...

Are you part of the solution or part of the problem?

Pimp My Comp

2011-03-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

My latest post over at Compensation Cafe looks at how companies can pimp up their compensation with low-cost perks and benefits.

Project Social: Managing HR Talent

2011-03-09T05:07:00.000-08:00

During a recent chat my project social partner Dave Ryan and I agreed that HR certification doesn’t automatically confer expertise in all the myriad facets of HR and a new post topic was born! Be sure to check out Dave’s latest post about the many hats HR must wear.

HR is like housework: There are things you have to do every day, like dishes and picking up toys. There are some things you’d like to do to make your house look better but you never have time, like re-painting the kitchen or sewing curtains. Finally, there are things that would increase the value of your house - like upgrading the bathroom - but cost too much.

When it comes to HR, compliance is like doing the dishes, i.e., dull but necessary and you’re never done. You also have to pay people - so that's also like dishes - but being strategic about it is more like hanging curtains, i.e., a nice idea but who has time? Finally, talent management is like re-doing your bathroom, i.e., it creates value but costs time and money to do it right.

HR is often criticized for not being strategic but they face several real challenges:

The first challenge is lack of information. Due to disparate HR systems and insufficient analytics tools it’s not always easy to get reliable information about the workforce, i.e., who works here, what they're doing, how much they cost, whether they have right skills and how they're performing. Without this information it’s hard to build a business case for strategic HR.

The second challenge is specialization, which Dave recently wrote about over at Xpert HR. A benefits expert is not typically a recruiting expert, for example, and a labor relations specialist is not a talent manager. Of course, even specialists may have broad knowledge in other areas but their area of specialization tends to be where they live.

The third challenge is time. Many HR professionals don’t have time to be strategic because their time is taken up with tactical stuff like paying people and avoiding lawsuits. Even if we disparage that excuse, managing talent isn’t something you do in your free hour between NHO and performance reviews - it’s a full-time job. Ditto for benefits, recruiting, labor relations and pretty much everything HR is responsible for.

HR talent needs to be "managed" just like any other kind of talent. That means providing the right tools and information, offering training where needed and staffing appropriately.

Just like anywhere else in the organization.

March Great Leadership Carnival

2011-03-07T03:15:00.000-08:00

Everything you ever wanted to know about leadership is right here, hosted by Dan McCarthy over at - what else? - Great Leadership.

Is There Really a Glass Ceiling?

2011-03-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to join the amazing Women of HR blogger team. My first post takes a ~~tongue-in-cheek~~ hard hitting look at whether there's really a glass ceiling...

Engagement eBook

2011-03-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

Studies show that employees that are "engaged" in their work perform significantly better than those who are not. The problem is finding real, tangible ways to make that happen.

Thanks to Ben Eubanks there's a new eBook that includes personal stories about engagement and what it means, tips for companies on communication and culture, and some really great, specific how-to content.

Contributors include: Nathaniel Rottenberg, Chris Ferdinandi, Paul Smith, Laura Schroeder, Dwane Lay, Dave Ryan, Krista Francis, Jennifer V. Miller, Lisa Rosendahl, Keith McIlvaine, Karen Seketa, Tamkara Adun, Cori Curtis, Lance Haun, Robin Schooling, and Tanmay Vora.

Check it out!

One Angry Employee

2011-03-01T05:40:00.000-08:00

My new post at Compensation Cafe tells the story of a happy employee who became a very angry employee...

Project Social: You Can Still Be a Good Boss

2011-02-25T05:23:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine recently recently told me she feels frustrated by the fact that although she works for a ‘performance management’ company the people on her team barely receive a living wage.

I was discussing this with my Project Social partner Dave Ryan the other day and we decided to tackle the topic of good management for less. Be sure to check out Dave's post over at HR Official.

I worked my way through college and graduate school doing low-paid student jobs so I’m no stranger to not earning a living wage. Happily for me, most of the managers I had in these minimum wage jobs were pretty decent people.

One person in particular stands out in my memory: Joan, who managed me during a two-summer stint at a bakery in high school.

She wasn’t particularly friendly but she was fair. She was a stickler for showing up on time and the work getting done but also scrupulous about making sure we got our breaks. She would look the other way when we sampled the freshly-baked rugelach and mandelbrot and let us take home day old bread. She didn’t mind us joking around or sitting down in the back when business was slow. And she stood up for us in front of angry or difficult customers.

After I’d been working there for a couple of weeks Joan offered to teach me to write on cakes. Cake writing was a choice assignment because it got you off the floor for a few minutes and elevated you to ‘skilled labor.’

She patiently showed me the tools and the techniques and sent me home with some practice equipment, where I wrote ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Mazel Tov’ over and over until I ran out of buttercream frosting. The next day felt ready to write on a real cake.

A couple of successful ‘Happy Birthdays’ later I was feeling like a cake writing hi-po but I messed up my first Bar Mitzvah cake and the customer was furious. Joan stepped in before the verbal abuse got out of hand and politely offered to fix the cake. Then she gestured for me to bring the offending cake into the back room.

‘Go on,’ she said, lighting a cigarette and sucking it greedily. ‘Fix it.’

‘Er… shouldn’t you do it?’ I didn't want to get yelled at again.

‘I’m busy,’ she replied, blowing several neat smoke rings. ‘It’s your customer. Fix the cake.’

Taking a deep breath, I scraped off and re-applied the icing strip and re-wrote the congratulatory message.

‘Should I add a flower?’ I asked, sensing that Joan wanted to finish her cigarette.

Another smoke ring headed my way. ‘Go ahead.’

I did and it looked pretty good. But was it good enough?

‘Will you take it to her?’ I asked.

‘Nope. Still your customer.’ She stubbed out her cigarette regretfully. ‘But I’ll be right behind you if you need me.’

***************************
“I’ll be right behind you if you need me.” If we were going to boil good management down to one sentence, wouldn’t that be it?

Relationship Business

2011-02-24T00:31:00.000-08:00

Guest post by Kevin Eikenberry, author, speaker, trainer, consultant, and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group . His new book, co-authored with Guy Harris, From Bud to Boss – Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership.

Early in my consulting career I started telling people the consulting business is a relationship business. I was right, just a little short sighted.

Actually all business is a relationship business.

All work is a relationship business.

All leadership is a relationship business.

And while our focus in this article is on business or professional relationships, I believe you could say, at some level, life is a relationship business.

Regardless of how you would say it, it is hard to overlook the importance of relationships in all of our professional endeavors.

Having stronger relationships creates less stress, promotes higher productivity, improves speed and efficiency and helps our work in almost every measurable way.

Like most anything of great value, strong relationships don’t just show up on their own. If you want relationships at all, let alone better ones, you must do something. You must do your part, take responsibility and do the things that will build relationships for mutual benefit.

While there are many things you can do to nurture relationships, the seven that follow are things you can do – right now. And, when done consistently, authentically and with sincerity, each will help you nurture and grow the professional relationships you desire.

Make it a priority. If relationships are important to you, you must make them a priority. I know you are busy. I know you have plenty to do. I know that unless there is a major problem or conflict, relationships won’t logically show up as an urgent item on your to-do list. (If you have conflicts or an issue, you need a different article!) If relationships really are important to you, put your focus and your calendar where your mouth is. Spend time doing the things that will build relationships, rather than neglecting them. Neglecting relationships lead to weed-filled garden results. What’s that, you ask? A big mess!

Care. If you want to nurture relationships, you have to sincerely care about people, their thoughts and feelings, and their well being. It is often said (and I’ve seen the quote attributed to different people) “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Your professional expertise and knowledge matters, of course, but keep it in perspective. When you do, let people know you care. And if you really don’t care, you need to think long and hard about why that is true.

Make connections. Connections come in many forms. On one hand we need to connect with people on things that matter to them. This, of course, starts with caring. We also can make connections for people with other people. Once you know their interests and needs, you can introduce them to others, connect them to resources and/or connect them to anything else that would help them.

Be trusting. Want more trusting relationships? Trust others. Look for opportunities to show your trust, knowing that people tend to live up to the trust placed in them. Will you occasionally be disappointed? Sure. But will you build relationships further and faster in every other situation (and perhaps even in the relationship where you are disappointed)? Absolutely.

Expect the best. Much like trust, you can expect the best of other people. People can tell when you are being cynical or have low expectations. People can also feel it when they know you believe in them and have confidence that they can succeed. Ask yourself – how often do I truly expect the best for others? And, when I do, do I let them know?

Listen. It seems so simple, yet it is most often overlooked. Think about any person you know, and realize that they likely yearn to be really listened to. Do you ever feel that way? And how do you feel about another person when they really listen to you? If you are like every person I’ve ever met, when you are listened to it strengthens the relationship with that person. You can do that for others – anytime (including right now). LISTEN!

Take the lead. Inherent in all of these suggestions is one important element. If you want to nurture relationships in whatever way you choose, you can go first. Relationships won’t grow unless someone takes action. Be the one to go first. Make the first move. Offer the olive branch. Make the apology. Ask the first question. You get the idea. Take the lead.

These are just 7 of probably 107 (or more) strategies you can use to nurture your relationships and help them grow. I encourage you to take personal responsibility for the quality and health of your relationships, today. All of these tools can help you take that responsibility and take your relationships to a higher level now – and forever.

Potential Pointer: One of the most important skills you can develop to be successful in your professional life is to be successful in nurturing and growing relationships. Time spent on this activity will create lasting benefits for everyone.

Project Social: Finding the Right Person

2011-02-20T00:06:00.000-08:00

My project social partner Dave Ryan and I were chatting Monday about recruiting and how hard it is to find the right person. As a busy HR person, he must frequently rely on external recruiters even though recruiting is traditionally an HR activity and he’ll be posting on the outsourcing aspect of recruiting over at HR Official.

Whereas I’m more interested in how recruiting has evolved over the years. For example, a friend of mine is an IT recruiter and years ago over lunch she described how she found people.

As an example, if she was looking for a Java developer, she would:

Call up a company with lots of Java developers and ask to be connected with the manager of application development or 'someone in the organization who could answer her question about...' some made up technical problem.
Pretend to be a potential customer and chat up the lead gen folks until she got a developer name.
Get hold of a company directory - best not to ask how - and cold call everyone in the department.

Basically, she'd call around and talk to people until she got a lead and then she would pursue to the ends of the earth if necessary. Not interested? A mere technicality.

Stalking is such a dirty word. Let’s just say she was really good at her job.

And she didn’t consider the job done until the ink was dry. Even once the fish was on the hook, so to speak, she made herself available day and night. Many times her phone would ring while she was making dinner for her kids and family life would halt while she talked some skittish candidate down off the ledge.

Although this wasn’t THAT long ago, the tools of recruiting have evolved quite a bit with social media. Not only is it easier to find and connect with people, it’s also easier to dig up information about them. And people are generally better connected as well so if one lead doesn’t pan out odds are they can tip you onto another.

So the entire process takes much less time, which unfortunately leads many recruiters to believe they can skimp on the small touches.

For example, I've gotten a surprising number of emails that go something like this: 'I have a great job that you're perfect for. If you're interested call me.'

Oh, yeah, I jump right on those.

Of course, some things haven’t changed: The best recruiters will always be the ones who can find people and form connections.

I was recently contacted about an opportunity via LinkedIn, which I declined. The recruiter - who had taken the time to provide job details, spell check his email and act interested in me - thanked me for responding. Then he politely asked if I knew anyone so I emailed a friend and asked if I could pass along his details. He agreed and a few weeks later messaged me on Facebook to thank me for hooking him up.

(If I were going to embellish this story I'd throw in a Skype chat or two but we actually managed without Skype or Twitter.)

Now THAT’s social recruiting in action.

Coffee Break at the Compensation Cafe

2011-02-18T03:45:00.000-08:00

I've been blogging at the Compensation Cafe for about a year and a half and loving it. The Cafe bloggers are a diverse team with different voices and areas of specialization so it's always the first blog I check when I log on each day.

Today I've been revisiting and cataloging my Cafe posts by topic. Why? Well, I was thinking my mom might like a leather bound copy for Christmas this year...

Here they are, the complete anthology of a Fairy Compensation Specialist:

The Hidden Cost of Work - You know what your workforce costs. Do you know what the actual work costs?

Do You Know What Meetings Cost? - Meetings are expensive. And often unnecessary.

The Value Gap - The gap between what people do and what they could do.

Collaboration: $1.99/Lb - Don't let collaboration slow you down.

A Plug for Cash - Overpaying employees won't motivate them more but underpaying them may demotivate them.

What if We Kill Incentives? - A peek at a world with no incentives.

Hey, Watch Where You Point That Thing! - Careful with those incentives...

Embracing the Sea Change - Are you prepared to deal with contingent workers?

When There's No Script - Do you want to hire specialists or generalists?

Moving Away From Job-Based Pay - How compensation must evolve to meet the needs of a changing workforce.

Powered by Recognition - Recognition programs work best if you also recognize managers who recognize their employees.

What's in it for Bob? - Why should your experienced employees mentor your new employees?

Are Your Managers Ready? - The best laid plans of mice and compensation specialists may be undermined by poor managers.

Engagement: The Good Stuff - Best practices in workforce engagement.

It Actually IS Personal - Smart companies align what's good for the business with what's good for individuals.

Strings Attached - How to create a feeling of connection to the organization.

Back to the Basics - Engagement is about more than money.

Who's Your Talent Manager? - Talent management is a full-time job.

Show Me the Monkey - Lessons about engagement from our primate cousins.

What Can We Learn About Rewards from a Company With no Rewards? - How DOES Wikipedia do it?

All I Want for Christmas - On the power of appreciation.

Trends in Global Talent and Rewards - How to define globally consistent talent and rewards programs.

Are You Comparing Apples and Oranges - How to use a global rewards index to compare global compensation programs.

Because they Can - An ironic essay about what's wrong with executive compensation.

The Curse of the Golden Handcuffs - Practical advice on keeping leaders engaged while preparing future leaders.

Executive Compensation - The Real Risk - Despite what they tell you, executive incentives result in very predictable behaviors.

That's All Very Well but I'm Just the Comp Planner - The most effective strategies for compensation professionals.

We Must, We Must, We Must increase Our Trust - How to re-establish trust in a cynical organization.

Total Rewards Gurus Where Are You? - Today's compensation specialists need to walk both sides of the fence.

It's Not About Spending Less - Business is about making money, not saving money.

Trend Watch 2010 - Amazingly accurate predictions about the future of rewards.

Who Do You Love? - Are you rewarding the right people?

Do Your Rewards Strategies Encourage Poor Performance? - A reality check for performance management.

Balancing Act - There's no 'right answer' when designing rewards programs.

I'm a Hi-Po, He's a Hi-Po, She's a Hi-Po - Wouldn't you like to be a hi-po, too?

Goals - Good goals and bad goals - how to spot the difference.

Coffee's For Closers - A pay for performance primer featuring Alec Baldwin.

One Size Doesn't Fit All - How to maximize the effectiveness and perceived value of rewards.

Shopping at the Compensation Cafe - Why not let people choose their own rewards?

Re-Engaging Your Employees - Using workforce analytics to optimize rewards strategies.

What Can We Learn from Marketing? - HR and marketing have more in common than you'd think...

What's In It For Them? - Compensation communication should help employees connect the dots between performance and rewards.

Modern Workforce: Visibility, Alignment and Optimization

2011-02-16T01:24:00.000-08:00

Guest Post by Leighanne Levensaler

Strong global economic growth is expected this year, and the U.S. economy will see "substantial acceleration" over the next two years, according to Goldman Sachs economists. Yet as we savor this positive outlook, let's remember there's also the risk of failure to have the right talent to respond to new opportunities.

Companies have systems that track costs of raw materials, the cost to turn materials into products, and the specifications of machines to manufacture them. Yet when it comes to their workforces, many companies find it difficult to get a proper global headcount, let alone an understanding of the worker characteristics that drive greater business performance. Business leaders should expect, and even demand, the ability to understand the cost and capabilities of Jane the engineer on the 4th floor in the same way one of their plant managers can tap on a keyboard and learn the cost and specs of a manufacturing machine.

Turning these insights into demonstrable business growth requires rigor in three areas:

Visibility - Companies first need to learn about their people, i.e., how many work there, where they're located, what are their job roles, what they're working on, how much they cost, and how they're performing. When companies have the right tools to learn these things, they can achieve alignment.

Alignment - With good data in hand, companies can assess if employees are doing the right things and in the right way, and if what they're doing aligns with company initiatives, goals, and operational imperatives so they can be rewarded accordingly. Once alignment is achieved, organizations can achieve optimization.

Optimization - Aligned companies are in the best position to assess their people practices and adapt them, as needed, for optimal business results. They now have the discipline and structure to continually evaluate such things as workforce composition, span of control, staffing strategies, pay-for-performance programs, leadership development, and succession management.

High-performance organizations—committed to workforce visibility, alignment, and optimization—are responsive and adaptable to market realities, whether that's new government regulations, healthcare reform, industry upswings and downturns, and more. They create a culture that is skilled at optimizing talent to readily absorb and adapt to external shocks, and as a result, they outperform their competition.

So what does this all mean for HR departments? I'll close my blog with this passage:

"This, friends, is the trouble with HR. In a knowledge economy, companies that have the best talent win. We all know that. Human resources execs should be making the most of our, well, human resources—finding the best hires, nurturing the stars, fostering a productive work environment—just as IT runs the computers and finance minds the capital. HR should be joined to business strategy at the hip.

Instead, most HR organizations have ghettoized themselves literally to the brink of obsolescence. They are competent at the administrivia of pay, benefits, and retirement, but companies increasingly are farming those functions out to contractors who can handle such routine tasks at lower expense. What's left is the more important strategic role of raising the reputational and intellectual capital of the company—but HR is, it turns out, uniquely unsuited for that."

It comes from a Fast Company article penned in August, 2005, by Keith H. Hammonds, in what became one of the most-read articles about the HR business, "Why We Hate HR." More than five years later, how many HR departments consider themselves any closer to being "joined to business strategy at the hip"?

While I don't agree with all of the author's conclusions, I certainly agree that HR needs to be better aligned with the business. I'd also argue that we now have tools available for business users to gain unprecedented visibility into the workforce, ensure alignment to the most important initiatives, and achieve the last frontier of business management optimization.

This guest post was contributed by Leighanne Levensaler, Vice President of HCM Product Strategy at Workday. You can read more from Leighanne at Workday Blogs or follow her on Twitter @LeighLevensaler.

Modern Workforce: Managing Remote Workers

2011-02-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

As an HR executive, my project social partner Dave Ryan ponders how to manage remote employees, which he wrote about over at HR Official. And as a remote employee, my challenge is to stay engaged. So as our next tandem blog topic we decided to tackle remote workers from these different perspectives.

How do you keep a remote employee engaged? The simple answer is, you don’t. Employees are ultimately responsible for their own feeling of engagement. But there are things you can do to encourage that feeling:

Perspective #1: Team Lead

The largest team I ever managed was made up of 109 functional experts in 9 sub-teams in multiple locations. Each of the 9 teams had a senior consultant that reported to me and worked directly with each team. Several of the consultants on my team worked in the same building with me so it was relatively easy to connect with them. But with the remote folks I had to be more proactive about reaching out and staying in touch.

Over time we adopted a number of processes to facilitate communication and identify potential problems before they became actual problems:

Weekly 30 minute 1:1 – Although I’m a firm believer that technology can replace most meetings, some personal interaction is necessary so we kept these 1:1 meetings fairly religiously.

Weekly status report – Instead of status meetings we used a weekly status report to make it easy for anyone who actually cared (mostly me) to scan and identify overall status, current tasks, milestones, potential issues, to dos, etc.

Monthly team meeting – We met as a team about once a month to brainstorm and share information. After the meeting we also went for dinner, for which I footed the bill and charged in as ‘team bonding.’

Team communications – I used email to communicate process changes and team updates. I know that seems hopelessly outdated now but it was what we had. I tried to keep it short.

Prompt follow up – I responded to any email from my team members immediately and insisted on the same courtesy from everyone on the team. There is nothing more frustrating as a remote person than feeling ignored.

To each according to his need – Some of the consultants in my team needed more guidance and support than others. I triaged my time according to how much help each person needed.

Perspective #1: Remote Employee

I currently live and work in Munich while most of my colleagues sit together in California. In addition to the geographical difference, I’m 9 hours ahead of the corporate action. Sometimes it gets lonely here in the future and staying motivated can be a challenge. A few things make it easier:

Good management – A big challenge for remote teams is that not all managers feel comfortable managing someone they can’t see and talk to face to face.

Corporate support – Working with remote colleagues can be a challenge for people who aren't used to working in virtual teams and they may forget to include - or balk at including - their remote colleagues. But at companies where virtual teams are the norm the difficulties miraculously evaporate.

Effective communication – If you aren't an effective communicator you cannot work remotely or manage remote people. That means being able to communicate clearly and concisely without relying on interpersonal crutches like appearance, personality or body language.

Web 2.0 – I rely heavily on collaboration tools like Webex, Lifesize, Salesforce.com and an all-purpose corporate wiki to communicate what I’m working on and stay current with what others are working on.

Experience – I’ve worked in the IT industry for 15 years in various roles so I can run with projects with very little guidance. If I were to start a new job in a new industry remote work probably wouldn’t work that well for me.

Accountability – At the end of the day it’s up to me to make sure my manager doesn’t regret having a remote employee. This means being responsive, reliable and available. It also means reaching out when I need something and communicating early and often.

These are my experiences of what works best for managing remote people and working remotely. Be sure to check out Dave's post as well and if you have any other suggestions we’d love to hear them!

Modern Workforce: Favorite Posts Jan 2011

2011-02-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

I recently kicked off a Modern Workforce series, which focuses on workforce diversity topics such as remote workers, global teams, generations, working moms and adoption of Web 2.0 technologies.

This week I want to highlight a few other authors that are contributing to this topic in their own blogs with some really great posts.

First up, Dan McCarthy wrote a hilarious post about the multiple generational workforce: 10 Things Boomer Managers Shouldn't Have to Give Up.

Next Jason Seiden has nailed why working moms make the best employees in his post Why You Should Hire Moms.

Dorothy Dalton contributes to the discussion with her thoughts on mid-career sabbaticals in her post Grown Up Gap Years.

Margaret O'Hanlon writes about embracing Web 2.0 technologies to improve collaboration in her post Turns Out Web 2.0 is No Fad - But Why Should Comp Care?

And last but not least, the HR Bartender writes about the strategic role of common courtesy in recruiting - more important than ever in this digital communication age - in her post How to Handle Rejection.

I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did!

Check Out the Leadership Carnival of Love!!!

2011-02-07T23:43:00.000-08:00

Mark Stelzner has put together an amazing Valentine's Day leadership carnival this month - don't miss it!

Modern Workforce: Maternity Leave

2011-02-07T04:26:00.000-08:00

As a working mother of three, I consider myself something of a maternity leave connoisseur. So, in honor of the latest addition to my working mom emporium, I’ve decided to kick off my Modern Workforce series with a post on maternity leave.

Although I’ve been fortunate in my own maternity leave experiences I find that the majority of companies still treat maternity leave as a necessary evil rather than a differentiated way to attract, retain and engage talented people.

Talk about a missed opportunity! The working moms I know are some of the most efficient workers you can get for money. They have to be so they can get home, cook dinner, fold laundry, wipe noses, change diapers, bandage boo boos, check homework, read stories, bake brownies, bring kids to bed then finish up their day jobs after the kids go to bed.

Think these women can’t handle a little work? Think again: These flexible, multitasking moms are a workforce to reckon with.

That’s nice, you say, but at company XYZ we can’t afford to work around people’s schedules.

Maybe that’s true, but are you sure you aren’t stuck in a time warp? Not every job lends itself to flexibility but quite a few jobs lend themselves to more flexibility than you’d think. Plus, given the global, virtual, multi-generation, multi-location nature of the modern workforce, flexible thinking is no longer a luxury.

Here's a list of maternity leave best practices that I’ve compiled over the years by speaking with dozens of working moms about what works and what doesn't:

Think branding –Talented people with kids want to work for companies that demonstrate strong family values.

Be generous – You can force a new mom back to work after a few weeks but frankly, she still has baby on the brain. As the baby gets a bit older she’ll start longing for the office again so why not give her enough time to get excited about coming back?

Plan it out – Don’t diminish the joy of parenthood with stressful ambiguity. Discuss work coverage and re-entry before maternity leave begins and plan what may be planned.

Be flexible – If your company allows new moms to work from home, you can reduce down time as well as earn loyalty and gratitude. If Siemens can do it, so can you.

Paternity leave – In Germany moms and dads are allowed to split their legally allowed leave time. Talk about gender diversity!

Part-time – A former manager of mine once said that part-time workers are the deal of the century because they don’t waste time on lunch, gossip, staring at their keyboard, smoking, etc. Is this an option you can offer?

Pony up! – Have a policy to send the new mother some flowers, a onesie with the company logo or a gift certificate to show support and appreciation. Don’t assume the manager will think of it, they hardly ever do.

Support network – First time moms may not know how to find the right work life balance. Why not ask experienced working mothers in the organization to write down and/or present some tips for new working moms?

Career development – Working moms may adjust their career goals to raise their kids but that doesn’t mean they don’t have any. There’s no reason a working mom can’t effectively manage a team, a project or a territory.

Accountability - Clearly not all working moms are top performers, any more than all top performers are good managers. Hold working moms - and everyone else - accountable for timely, high quality work.

I Think This Qualifies as a Life Event...

2011-02-04T01:43:00.000-08:00

The day he was born he looked right at me and got a very doubtful expression on his face, as if he wanted to say: "You are not my mother. You are a snort!"

That's when I fell in love.

Onboarding-NHO eBook Release

2011-02-04T01:38:00.000-08:00

It's about time there was a tool out there to help HR pros, managers, and business leaders with the onboarding and new hire orientation process. It's often neglected or at the very least, ~~really boring~~ uninspiring.

You're in luck, because Ben Eubank's new free eBook So, what's next? is going to fill that need. Inside this guide you'll find some great tips and tricks, personal stories, and other tools to help you do this stuff the right way.

Contributors include: Paul Smith, Jennifer McClure, Trish McFarlane, Laura Schroeder, Dwane Lay, Dave Ryan, Lance Haun, Charlie Judy, Robin Schooling, Sabrina Baker, Michael VanDervort, and Tanmay Vora.