HR Insights

Motivating Workers: You Can Learn a Lot From 18th Century Sailors

by David Sneed on Feb 2, 2012, 9:00 AM | 3 Comments

Have you ever seen a nautical movie and dreamed of living a sailor’s life? We dream that silly dream because we don’t really understand how hard their job really was.

No matter how cold and wet you were (very and always), you still had to do the back-breaking work – and on a terrible diet, too!

Imagine working 100 feet up a telephone pole during a hurricane, except the pole is attached to a skateboard and your job is to tie ropes together. No gloves, no shoes, and a wet, cold rope. And all you had to eat that day was bread that required soaking in water just to make it digestible.

You did this every day for two years. Your home when you weren’t working (a mere eight hours per day) was a dark, moldy corner at the bottom of the ship. Oh, and when you wore through your clothes? You made your new ones from ruined sails, or a roll of fabric you brought on board when you left Boston the year before. Read more…

HR Insights, Talent Management

Two Ways to Fix Mistakes at Work

by Derek Irvine on Feb 1, 2012, 11:55 AM | No comments yet

What do you do when you mess up at work? The gamut of responses runs from “lie and hide” to “sweep it under the rug and hope no one notices” to “confess and fix.”

That’s always been my motto – in work and life. If you mess up, ‘fess up. Then offer first a clean-up plan, and then ideas to make sure it never happens again.

We’re all human. We will all make mistakes at work. Sometimes, those “mistakes” turn into a highly profitable innovation, but often mistakes are just that – errors in judgment or execution requiring rectification. It’s how we deal with the mistakes – as both the perpetrator and the person in charge – that contributes to the tone of your organizational culture. Read more…

HR Insights, HR Management

7 Secrets That Only HR Pros Know

by Tim Sackett on Jan 31, 2012, 9:35 AM | No comments yet

I was reading an article the other evening over at Huffington Post titled Welcome to the Club: Lessons From One Mom to Another.

(Why was I reading this, I hear some of my dude HR guy pros asking themselves? Let’s face it; I’m 40ish and woman are still mostly a mystery to me, so I try and find out their secrets! Plus I hate being left in the dark on this parenting thing, so “I need the info,” as Dr. Evil would say.)

I don’t want to spoil the article, but suffice it to say, either I’m very in touch with the feminine side of parenting, or, what they were sharing really wasn’t the “real” secrets Moms know! Read more…

HR Insights, Training & Development

The Quest for Excellence: It’s Why Learning Never, Ever Ends

by Ron Thomas on Jan 30, 2012, 7:45 AM | No comments yet

“I will be glad when this is all over. I will never have to study anything anymore.”

That was a statement from my daughter during finals week in her senior year of college at Penn State. She sounded worn out. As I listened on the other end of the phone, I looked at my watch and realized it was too late to respond to that. I knew she was not in the mood to be receptive.

Last week, I was in Pittsburgh leading two seminars for the Human Capital Institute (I am a faculty member). As I spoke, I kept emphasizing the need for constant learning.

As I thought of that statement I realized the model for professional learning and development has changed tremendously. There once was a time when I would choose to attend a couple of learning events per year. When I returned from them, the vast majority of the time the courseware would eventually end up in the credenza in my office. Read more…

HR Insights, HR Management

Do Professional HR Certifications Really Help Job Seekers?

by Gerry Ledford on Jan 27, 2012, 9:42 AM | 4 Comments

Professional HR certifications have become commonplace in the past 20 years.

The HR Certification Institute (HRCI), affiliated with SHRM, has awarded the PHR (Professional in Human Resources) and two other certifications to 115,000 professionals. WorldatWork has awarded a CCP (Certified Compensation Professional) and five other specialized certifications to 22,000 rewards professionals.

Anne Ruddy, President and CEO of WorldatWork, reports that over half of all WorldatWork certifications have been awarded in the past 10 years. Other organizations also offer HR certifications, including the Human Capital Institute and many universities.

Both HRCI and WorldatWork report that relevant certifications are often required for HR positions, that payment for most certifications is provided by the employee’s organization, and that testimonials and survey data indicate that HR professionals value certifications. Read more…

HR Insights, Recruiting and Staffing

Want to Drive Change? Be Like Steve Jobs and Hire Pirates

by Tim Sackett on Jan 27, 2012, 7:37 AM | 1 comment

Dollars to donuts, Fast Company is the best publication out their for anyone in the business world!

They hit a home run in my book recently with the article, An HR Lesson from Steve Jobs – If you want Change Agents, Hire Pirates! “Why? Because pirates can operate when rules and safety nets breakdown.” Here’s more from the article:

A pirate can function without a bureaucracy. Pirates support one another and support their leader in the accomplishment of a goal. A pirate can stay creative and on task in a difficult or hostile environment. A pirate can act independently and take intelligent risks, but always within the scope of the greater vision and the needs of the greater team. Read more…

HR Insights, Leadership

3 Lessons for Realistic (and Universal) Company Values Done Right

by Derek Irvine on Jan 24, 2012, 9:40 AM | No comments yet

Do CEOs – other than Tony Hsieh of Zappos, of course – actually think about the company’s culture and core values to the extent of using the values as means to hire, fire, promote and reward employees?

Yes, they do. Christine Fruechte, president and chief executive of Colle + McVoy, was recently featured discussing just that in The New York Times “Corner Office” column. Ms. Fruechte draws three clear lessons we should all learn when considering core values for our own organizations. Read more…

HR Insights, Leadership

Don’t Just Think Outside the Box — Find a Better Box

by Stephen M. Shapiro on Jan 24, 2012, 9:00 AM | 2 Comments

By Stephen M. Shapiro

Leaders of organizations often use the expression “Think outside the box” when urging their employees to innovate. The belief is that eliminating constraints and allowing people to think freely will increase creativity.

Although this tabula rasa, or “blank slate,” method of innovation is conventional wisdom, this unbounded approach actually reduces creativity and leads to abstract or impractical solutions. A television scriptwriter in Hollywood once told me that he actually liked the idea of “creativity within constraints,” as it gave him a starting point and then he could “riff” from there.

Instead of telling your employees to think outside the box, give them a “better box” to innovate inside of. These constraints will actually increase creativity and lead to useful solutions. Read more…

HR Insights, HR Management

From Cost-Cutting to Revenue Generating: Driving Strategic HR

by John Hollon on Jan 23, 2012, 11:15 AM | 1 comment

Anyone who has spent much time here at TLNT probably knows that San Francisco State business professor Dr. John Sullivan has a lot to day about the state of talent management and HR.

In fact, Dr. John’s post on The Top 50 Problems With Performance Appraisals was TLNT’s most well-read article in 2011 — and that says as much about the great insights and thinking he brings to the table as much as it does the subject matter.

Whether you agree with him or not, Dr. John Sullivan is a provocative and forward-thinking knowledge leader who has a lot to say about HR.

And, that’s why his article today on TLNT’s sister website ERE.net is sure to be one that both engages talent managers AND gets a debate going about the state of HR practices. Here’s what he says: Read more…

HR Insights

Real World, Real Life: Why Your Kids Need a Good Work Ethic

by David Sneed on Jan 20, 2012, 12:45 PM | No comments yet

Men of a certain age have problems that they’ve never encountered before. Most of us were never even warned.

For me it started simply enough: Sports radio was no longer preset number one. Instead, when I started my car one morning, some guy with what must be marbles in his mouth was trying to rhyme cash with blast at 100 decibels.

Like I said, I have teen-age daughters.

The youngest, and most expensive of these, blesses me with her brand of entertainment on the way to school; and most of the music (if I may borrow that term), that she’s listening to describes how rich the singer is. So I tell my precious little tax break that the guy is rich because people buy his “I Have Mo’ Money than You” song, and doesn’t that seem odd to you, honey? Read more…

HR Insights

Motivating Workers: You Can Learn a Lot From 18th Century Sailors

Two Ways to Fix Mistakes at Work

7 Secrets That Only HR Pros Know

The Quest for Excellence: It’s Why Learning Never, Ever Ends

Do Professional HR Certifications Really Help Job Seekers?

Want to Drive Change? Be Like Steve Jobs and Hire Pirates

3 Lessons for Realistic (and Universal) Company Values Done Right

Don’t Just Think Outside the Box — Find a Better Box

From Cost-Cutting to Revenue Generating: Driving Strategic HR

Real World, Real Life: Why Your Kids Need a Good Work Ethic

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