Don't miss Transform — a new HR conference from TLNT that will change the way you think about HR — February 26-28, 2012 in Austin, TX. Learn more »
By Stephen M. Paskoff
Tell business leaders there’s a new operational process that has the potential to transform their organization. Then notice their reactions when you list what it can do for them:
Lack of loyalty is a serious problem in organizations everywhere today.
No longer do people join a company and devote the rest of their working lives to it. Companies are, of course, not exactly known for offering up 30 or 40 years of employment, a gold watch and pension plan.
Times have changed. Businesses appear and disappear at a dizzying pace. So do the jobs they offer. People no longer expect to spend their entire career with the same company. Read more…
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…
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…
The virtual workplace is different.
The setting is different; cubicles don’t divide the virtual space. Neither do city lines, time zones, or continents, for that matter.
The employees are different; without that immediate group feel, employees have no other option than to be more independent and self-starting than their on-site counterparts.
And, above all else, management is different. When dealing with such an unconventional and independent staff, it becomes abundantly clear that “traditional” workplace motivation and efficiency strategies simply aren’t going to be effective. Read more…
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…
What’s surprising about a new analyst report from Aberdeen is that in 2012, HR professionals still need to be reminded that talent management is as much a strategy as a tactic they should be captaining.
“HR still struggles to become a ‘strategic partner’ with the business, engaging employees and aligning integrated talent management initiatives with overall organizational goals,” write the authors of an Aberdeen Analyst Insight about developing a “Talent First” culture.
Drawing from an upcoming Aberdeen report, analysts Madeline Laurano and Mollie Lombardi say HR’s day-to-day work and the lack of support and buy-in from other business leaders and senior management stand in the way of developing the strategic approach that HR leaders say must be a part of their skill set. Read more…
Before the economy turned on its head in 2008, I received what seemed to be a pitch a week from a new company looking to revolutionize the standard resume.
If you worked in HR, you might have heard about these sorts of things, too. Turning your resume into a PowerPoint presentation, website, or video seemed to be the most popular ideas at the time.
Not much about those ideas stuck around. All of them took longer to review than regular resumes and often provided less helpful information. Still, you have to wonder why resumes continue to stick around. I haven’t met many recruiters that think they truly offer the value they could.
So why don’t we do more about it?
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…
Why not start the year tackling a subject that’s near and dear to HR hearts? We decided to kick off 2012 for the HR Roundtable in Cincinnati by talking about … “difficult” people!
Ironically, whenever this topics is discussed the fingers seem to always point out to others, when we may be the “difficult” ones ourselves. The three questions the small groups tackled at our January session were:
Feb 26-28, 2012. Austin, TX
The HR conference — transformed. From the publishers of TLNT. Learn more »
“But what if the incivility is coming directly from the head of the organization/”
— Ihmurria on Why You Need to Install Civility as a Workplace Business Process, 18 hours ago
“Great message, David. Albert Einstein apparently agreed with you as he said, "If people are good only because they fear . . . ”
— Snow White on Motivating Workers: You Can Learn a Lot From 18th Century Sailors, 1 day ago
“The Superbowl is just a few days away, and I just picked out the boxes in my annual office pool. . . . ”
— Cord Himelstein on Super Bowl Hangover? Yes, Employees May Be Less Productive on Monday, 1 day ago
“It's not just after the SuperBowl. I've been saying this for years: People are less communicative on Mondays. They can . . . ”
— Maureen Sharib on Super Bowl Hangover? Yes, Employees May Be Less Productive on Monday, 1 day ago
“Why do we keep thinking generational differences. Tell me what person would not like to be managed the way Eric . . . ”
— Mel Kleiman on Managing Millennials: 3 Keys to Engagement – and 3 Common Mistakes, 1 day ago