HR Insights

HR Insights, HR Management

Hitting a Home Run in Talent Management: The Key is HR Analytics

by on Apr 17, 2012, 8:45 AM  |  No comments yet
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Billy Beane, the Oakland A’s General Manager, described in Moneyball the need to rethink his team’s business (baseball) and make a scientific investigation of the sport by determining what qualities in an athlete converted into wins or baseball advantage.

HR leaders have a very similar opportunity in front of them today. HR analytics, if properly employed, can dramatically impact the bottom-line performance of an organization in multiple direct and indirect ways.

There are several things to keep in mind for those contemplating making HR analytics a focus for their organization: Read more…

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HR Insights, Talent Management

Are We Over-Thinking the Generational Divide?

by on Apr 9, 2012, 11:45 AM  |  No comments yet
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I continue to be amazed at the pervasiveness and sheer staying power of the generational framework.

We are urged to look at everything, EVERYTHING – from management techniques to employee engagement efforts to reward programs - through the lens of generational differences and needs. And to buy in to the notion that the entire work experience must be re-invented to accommodate each consecutive generation.

And so, I had to smile at Bob Sutton’s assertion that, au contraire, things like the hallmarks of great leaders – and the needs of younger workers – are timeless. Read more…

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HR Insights

Recruiting 3.0: Today, It’s All About “Making Meaningful Connections”

by on Apr 9, 2012, 7:37 AM  |  2 Comments
Connections

This is my tweet (see below) from Thursday afternoon after I got a glimpse of this campaign to find a new CTO.

Not only that, but the person that is eventually chosen can have $10,000 donated to his favorite charity.

“A CTO with heart” does not quite fit into my mind when I think of a CTO. I know numerous Chief Technical Officers, but I would be hard pressed to figure out which one had “heart” in this context.

Last week I paid a visit to my good friend Steve Schloss, who is the Chief Human Resources Officer of LivePerson. Steve is one of the new breed of HR executives who is always pushing the envelope the direction where HR is headed. He is a true strategic partner to this organization. His work speaks for itself. Read more…

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HR Insights, HR Management

The World Has Changed — So Why Isn’t HR Able to Change With It?

by on Apr 6, 2012, 10:37 AM  |  9 Comments
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Howard Risher’s recent TLNT article (HR Should Focus on Confirming Its Value, Not on Cost-Per-Hire) touched one of my hot buttons. Not what he said, but the issue of “strategic” HR in general.

I don’t know how active you are on LinkedIn, but I have been a member for the past four years. In that time there have been literally dozens of discussions on HR groups that have to do with:

  • Do you think we should change our name from HR or Human Capital to something else to give more credibility to our function?
  • What does HR need to do to get a “seat at the table?”
  • What can we do to get top management to realize our value?
  • Why won’t top management back us on the people programs we are trying to implement? Read more…
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HR Insights, Leadership

Leadership Lessons: Building Success Out of the Scariness of Trial & Failure

by on Apr 4, 2012, 8:50 AM  |  2 Comments
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Recently, I keep finding reasons to think about being scared. Or more specifically, getting reminded that being scared is OK.

Successful people spend as much (or more) time being scared as they do feeling confident and comfortable. The difference is that they do it anyway.

Here is the story of what might be the worst moment in my career.

I was in my early 20′s and I was a sales engineer. My job was to demonstrate technical products during the sales process. It was my first week on the job after being trained on one of the two products in our product line. Read more…

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HR Insights, Leadership

Why Do We Pick Such Bad Leaders? We Focus on the Wrong Things

by on Apr 3, 2012, 8:50 AM  |  4 Comments
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Have you ever worked for a boss that was horrible? That’s an easy question to answer, isn’t it!

The person came immediately to your mind (for my staff reading this, if I came to your mind first, you’re fired! I tease – you’re not fired – just come see me after your done reading this…).  Almost all of us, probably 99.99 percent of us, have worked for a boss/leader we thought was just gawd-awful. It’s the perplexing part of leadership.

I like to blame it on the entire leadership book industry. Someone gets a promotion to a leadership position and they instantly go online for the latest leadership babble that’s being sold by some idiot that was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time at a successful company, and now she or he is going to tell us how to be a great leader using seven simple steps. BS! Read more…

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HR Insights, Talent Management

What We Can Learn From Peyton Manning’s Work Ethic

by on Mar 30, 2012, 9:30 AM  |  No comments yet
peyton-manning

Full Disclosure: I am a Denver native and I bleed Bronco orange. I love Tim Tebow as person and a player. That being said, I am ecstatic that Peyton Manning will be Denver’s starting quarterback next season.

Although it’s sad to see a guy with the class, the character, and the work ethic of a Tim Tebow move out of town, he’s being supplanted by someone who, many experts believe, is the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. And that guy is also a man of great class, character, and uncompromising work ethic.

A few months ago, I posted a blog about Tebow’s work ethic. And since work ethic is what we do here, it’s only fitting that we address Manning’s. Read more…

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HR Insights, HR Management

How to Make HR Suck Less, in 3 Easy-to-Follow Steps

by on Mar 29, 2012, 9:35 AM  |  2 Comments
Don't suck

Are you working in a HR department that sucks? You know if you are, it’s alright, you can admit it – it’s the first step of changing it.

I bet I talk to over a hundred HR Pros a year that begin the conversation with, “our HR department sucks!” or “my company doesn’t get it when it comes to HR,” or “Our HR department is terrible.” These aren’t the outliers, they’re the norm.

So, many HR Pros are working in HR functions where the organization has the feeling that “HR” sucks in our company. If you’re not in one now, great, but chances are you have either been in one before, or eventually you’ll make a “grass is greener” decision and put yourself into this situation.

You know what? We have the power to make HR Suck Less. Yes, you do. Stop it, you do. No really, you do. Alright that’s enough, just play along with me at least! Read more…

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HR Insights, Leadership

Trying to Change Your Corporate Culture? Here Are 3 Lessons to Remember

by on Mar 28, 2012, 7:37 AM  |  2 Comments
Talent management (Photo by istockphoto.com)

Company culture is much in the news these days, a development I am very excited to see as it shows more and more buy-in to the importance of culture as something that can be created and, yes, proactively managed.

A round-up of articles that have appeared during the last few days teach three important lessons on organizational culture:

Lesson 1 – In the Battle of Strategy vs. Culture, Everyone Wins

What’s more important? Strategy or culture? I’ve written my own opinions based on research from Booz & Co. The argument continues on, with this perspective I particularly like from Bob Frisch, managing partner of The Strategic Offsites Group: Read more…

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HR Insights, Talent Management

What an Egg Hunt Can Teach Us About Employee Entitlement

by on Mar 27, 2012, 12:16 PM  |  No comments yet
egghunt

What does an Easter egg hunt have to do with employee entitlement? Plenty.

You see, an entitlement mentality is not innate, rather it’s learned and often ingrained into an individual. It stems from multiple experiences of an individual getting something for nothing, leading them to believe they are deserving and should have what they want without putting forth the effort that is normally required to produce that result.

This cognitive conditioning usually begins at an early age. Read more…

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