Let’s be clear, the most useless HR activity is Performance Management. Hands down.
But since I have been an enthusiastic beater of that horse already, a close second has to be the Exit Interview.
Let’s review all of the reasons for their sacred cow status:
Open office layouts, like them or not, are here to stay.
While there are many benefits to having a shared collaborative environment (frequent communication, more effective use of space, etc.), it’s not all sunshine and roses.
For all their faults, walls, doors and cubicles are excellent sound barriers. They cut out distractions and work to keep your private conversations private. But not all noise is the same. Some sounds — like music — are meant to be shared.
Unfortunately for country music and hip-hop aficionados, not everyone has the same taste in music. When you’re in a closed environment, this doesn’t matter: you can blast Britney Spears all day, and no one will stop you. Read more…
I’ve yet to talk with someone about employee wellness without hearing about how an employer allows — if not actually provides — donuts or cupcakes or something similar at meetings.
The underlying message is this: the employer can’t be very serious about wellness if they’re still offering such junk food regularly.
I don’t disagree, but how far is too far? The comments on a post about junk food-free workplaces suggests barring people from bringing in their own food is simply a bridge too far. Read more…
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve heard plenty about bullies in the workplace.
You’ve heard how bad it is. You’ve heard about the missed work days and the increased medical costs and the disability claims and the lawsuits. You’ve heard about the disruption and the drama and the colossal waste of hours employees spend managing others’ aggression instead of producing. Instead of creating. Instead of innovating.
You may have even read the statistic that workplace bullying costs U.S. employers nearly $250 million annually.
And you’ve decided that you don’t give a crap. Read more…
I have been thinking a lot about my profession – human resources – lately. I have come to the conclusion that there is no other field or discipline in organizations that is as complex and varied as the field of HR
Those in Finance, Marketing or Operations may disagree, and certainly that would be an interesting dialogue. But I would like to explore this idea of the complexities of HR just a bit.
What strikes me is that those aspiring to become HR leaders must have a reasonable grounding in: Read more…
Last week I got a call from a telemarketer.
I field dozens of calls from salespeople and potential business partners every week, so this in itself wasn’t an exciting occurrence.
What was interesting, however, was the complete misalignment between the centralized IT purchasing services the gentleman on the phone wanted me to invest in, and the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies I promote to my team.
This got me thinking. Not about BYOD in and of itself — I’m a fan, and its benefits have been covered extensively, including most recently here on TLNT by Michelle Smith — but rather about who is responsible for advocating for it. Read more…
Second of two parts
Editor’s Note: For Part 1, see 3 Key Predictions for the Human Resources Department of 2020.
In-house HR professionals will need to embrace analytics and “big data” to become strategic leaders in their companies. Gyutae Park, head of Human Resources at Money Crashers Personal Finance, predicts that:
In the coming decade, the career trajectory of HR professionals will be determined more so than ever by the analysis of data and metrics. Although HR already uses some metrics such as turnover ratios and employee engagement levels, you can expect to see new metrics tracked and used in HR, such as the average timeframe for staff to be ready for promotion, or percentage of top candidates to be hired within the organization.” Read more…
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) which helps individuals protect their right to privacy and prohibits an employer from impersonating an employee online when other employees are interacting across social media platforms.
Removed from this bill at the last minute was a provision that would have banned employers from asking job candidates and employees for their social media passwords.
Given the public sentiment on this issue, not to mention the media outcry, this omission is a big surprise to me. Kudos to Congress for not caving to public pressure on this one. Read more…
First of two parts
The human resources department is doomed.
There is no viable future for the HR function, and HR professionals will inevitably be replaced by software. At least that’s what some are saying.
They’re wrong.
Without a doubt, software is changing how HR functions. But rather than spell the end of human resources, the nine experts I interviewed predict these changes will provide growth opportunities for HR professionals. Read more…
There are few pleasures in life I enjoy more than a meaty conversation with individuals of differing viewpoints.
That said, there is one topic of conversation that drives me nuts, and it centers on this question – Is HR an advocate for the employee or the employer?
I hate this question. It seriously sets my teeth on edge when I hear it. Here’s why: Read more…
“And that's just reality. An employers HR department can have a written policy, but reality is a whole other . . . ”
— Cory in Texas on Proposed Bill Would Ban Credit Checks on Employees and Applicants, 1 hour ago
“You're not the only one who's had that thought. I liken checking a credit rating to asking how many . . . ”
— Cory In Texas on Proposed Bill Would Ban Credit Checks on Employees and Applicants, 1 hour ago
“WOW. Okay, I'll just say what many are thinking: What a presumptuous and simplistic thinking snob you are! . . . ”
— Cory In Texas on Proposed Bill Would Ban Credit Checks on Employees and Applicants, 1 hour ago
“There is a SLEW of Adverse Impact lawsuits waiting to happen because of this ridiculous practice. And given the . . . ”
— Cory In Texas on Proposed Bill Would Ban Credit Checks on Employees and Applicants, 2 hours ago
“Very few companies r working and worried abt out flow of employees.Now a day even the canadiates going for interview . . . ”
— khalid mian on Exit Interviews: The 2nd Most Worthless Activity HR Has to Handle, 4 hours ago