Guest Article: Mind Sewn Shut by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I get stuck in my own view of things. Maybe it's how I think a project should be executed; or, it might be a set of behaviors that I think all leaders should replicate; or it might be that I'm so focused on 'my stuff' that I miss what is happening around me.

I hate it when I do that.

Preaching and Practicing
I spend a lot of time talking. My job requires that I provide leadership internally at my company, and externally to the clients I support. We are a nimble, fast moving firm that lives for the daily adrenalin rush that is our world.

...and for as much as I like to go fast, that doesn't mean I shouldn't pay attention at the same time...

Speed usually wins. Speed and focusing on the details at the same time guarantees a win. So when I find myself getting really worked up about something, (or as one of my colleagues tells me..."you have a lot of energy on this topic Jay"...) - I need to make sure I'm paying attention to the little things happening all around me.

Daily Focus
What I've learned, albeit at a painfully slow pace, is that I need to make a conscious decision each day to 'see the details.' That's hard for me. I've lived through so many mistakes (either my own, or in the organizations I've worked) that often times I see a clear path to success. 

However, simply because I know what the end point needs to be; that does not take into account the new people, the new corporate cultures, or the new learning that is required by those around me as we work toward that bright shiny goal.

Sometimes I simply get moving too fast for my own good, I assume others understand what my vision is, or worst of all, I don't take into consideration their needs as I push them harder and harder to get moving.

I hate it when I do that.

How About You
Are you locked in to your world view? How's that working out for you? Do those around you feel comfortable enough to tell you to slow down and let everyone catch up? Or, maybe taking a breath and looking around could yield a fresh perspective, new converts to your ideas, and...just maybe, an even better outcome than what you (and I) thought about in the first place?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Mind Sewn Shut»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: The Career Development Gap – Why Employees Think There’s No Growth Opportunity by Jennifer Miller

When it comes to advancing their careers, employees aren’t feeling the love. That’s a key finding from a recent white paper produced by TINYPulse, a firm that specializes in gathering data on employee engagement and satisfaction. Only 26% of employees surveyed felt they had adequate opportunities for career growth. The managers of these same employees were far more optimistic: 50% of managers surveyed felt there was adequate opportunity for professional development at their organizations. Talk about a major disconnect in perceptions!

This gap in perception is costing companies in turnover and hiring costs, not to mention the loss of talented employees’ skills. Many managers fail to see how the way they communicate about career development has a big impact on how employees perceive growth opportunities.  “When it comes to career development, many managers think only in terms of the company’s official policies regarding career advancement” says Julie Winkle Giulioni,author of, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want. That’s a mistake, says Winkle Giulioni, because careers are developed more organically. Career development is far more than just checking off the boxes in a performance development plan. Moreover, managers have a lot more influence than they realize when it comes to helping employees grow. “Careers are developed one conversation at a time, over time,” adds Winkle Giulioni.

Is there a career development perception gap at your organization? Here are five possible reasons that a gap may exist:

Fear of turnover. Most leaders worry about the void created when a talented team member departs. It’s one thing to dread the hassle of replacing a valued team member and quite another to actively avoid developing employees’ talents because you don’t want to deal with their departure. When people believe they have no future at an organization, they leave–especially the top talent. Rather than withhold career development for fear of losing good people, take a proactive approach. “The most effective leaders demonstrate a mindset of abundance. They’d prefer that good people go down the hallway rather than down that highway,” says Winkle Giulioni.

One-and-done career discussions. When was the last time you talked with your team members about their career trajectory? If the only time you chat with your team about their career growth is during annual performance review time, you’re creating a huge communication vacuum. In the absence of information, people tend to make stuff up. If they aren’t hearing from their leader about how to grow their skills, they may decide there’s no future for them at your company.

Lack of clarity about “growth opportunity.” When conducting career development discussions, leaders miss a big opportunity when they frame “career growth” only in terms of “promotion” or “advancement.” The reality is, the opportunities for promotion are limited. But the opportunity for developing one’s skills is limitless. Managers must broaden career discussions to help show employees how education, training, and work on specific projects add to a person’s portfolio of skills.

Complete hand-off of development. If you’re lucky enough to work for an organization with a robust self-serve learning architecture, you have access to an excellent career development asset. But it’s not enough to simply say, “Here’s the log-in to the account. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!”  Employees need need you to provide a framework of expectations, accountability and check-ins to make individualized learning work. They also need time off to engage with the digital learning process.

Substituting praise as coaching for growth. When employees ask what they need to do to progress, it’s not enough to give them praise such as, “You’re doing a great job. Just keep doing what you’re doing.” That lacks the specificity needed to help them advance their skills. Instead say, “Here are three strengths that will serve you well in your next role. The area that I think you need to focus on developing is X. So let’s talk about how to give you the opportunities to grow that skill set.”

The good news about the career development gap is that it’s easily closed. The remedies aren’t costly in terms of time or money. But first, you need to see the gap. What would your team say about their perception of chances to grow professionally on your team? Once you have that answer, you’ll  know if you have to get to work closing the gap with additional discussions, training and setting of expectations.

 

The post originally appeared as part of Smartbrief on Leadership’s Originals series and is reprinted with permission.

 

Image credit: Pixabay

Article source:Jennifer Miller - The Career Development Gap – Why Employees Think There’s No Growth Opportunity»

Guest Article: Hays 2015/16 results: Germany surges, UK and Asia Pacific marking time by Ross Clennett

Any smart recruitment agency owner or investor in the recruitment industry keeps an eye on what’s happening at Hays. As a London-listed specialist recruitment company Hays has operations in 33 countries across three divisions (UK & Ireland, Continental Europe & Rest of the World, Asia Pacific) and has consistently been one of the most profitable recruitment companies in the
Article source:Ross Clennett - Hays 2015/16 results: Germany surges, UK and Asia Pacific marking time»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Hiring Leaders: Your Network Should Be Better by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

I'm not surprised anymore. I used to be...a lot...but those days are long gone. It is clear that the challenge of building and leveraging networks to find talent is the sole responsibility of HR.

Hiring leaders are simply incapable of building a network on their own. They are too scared, too full of excuses, and candidly, enjoy having someone to target when their hiring struggles persist.

Meet Director #1
This person has been a loyal and hard-working part of the organization's leadership team for years. She works hard, tries to support her employees as much as possible, and attends a conference or two each year. She's bright, and keeps her team informed of the latest equipment, clinical practices, and news about the hospital.

Problem: she has been so focused internally that she is useless when it comes time to recruit talent, spread good news about organizational breakthroughs, or to simply tell the story about what it means to be a part of the organization.

Meet Director #2
This person has also been a loyal and hard-working member of the leadership team for a long time. However, in addition to putting a tremendous amount of energy into her staff, she also has worked hard to develop her leader brand. 

When it comes time to fill vacancies, she has already differentiated herself pushing out thought leadership, stories about the hospital, and adding some personal touches as well. She has a network she can tap into, and she does.

How About You
Who are the leaders you work with that have such tight organizational blinders on that they're hurting themselves? 

Help them see the big picture. Help them understand that the investment they make in their internal and external brand, will make a huge difference.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Hiring Leaders: Your Network Should Be Better»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Hiring a bad leader compounds like high interest on a bad debt by Ross Clennett

This week Forbes contributor Dev Ittycheria, published a column Avoiding Costly Recruiting Mistakes: The Importance Of High Standards. It’s excellent and I recommend you read it.   ‘The reality is that no one wants to work for a bozo, and employees can instantly assess if their boss is a bozo. The team who works for a bad boss will quickly get
Article source:Ross Clennett - Hiring a bad leader compounds like high interest on a bad debt»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Winning at Project Management....um, or not by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

...an almost completely 'true-ish' team meeting story...sort of...
____________________________________________

"Wow. This is quite a project! We need to pull a task force together to get into the weeds on this one."

"Yes, a good multi-disciplinary team will be great. I'll have my assistant set up recurring monthly meetings so we can stay on top of things."

"I'm in. Of course I'll have to reprioritize the research I'm doing into that other leadership initiative that takes a hard look at where we'll need to be by 2025, but I can probably make it work."

"Me, too. But I think we'll need to push back a bit before we get too far along. I mean, c'mon, do they expect us to turn this around in 12 months?"

"I agree. 12 months is going to go by in a snap. I don't mind taking the lead on the initial project plan, but it'll be 60 days before I can realistically get something in front of the group."

"Whoa! Are you sure you can turn it around that quickly? Aren't you also on one other project?"

"I'll have my group take a serious look at the plan once you've wrapped up the first draft. Maybe we should have our next meeting at the 90 day mark, just to make sure we're not getting ahead of ourselves?"

Every. 
Head. 
Nods.

How About You
Have you been in a meeting like this one? Was your head nodding too?

Leadership is about action. Cut the BS and get moving.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Winning at Project Management....um, or not»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: How to Rock Your Next HR Job Interview by Ben

Recently a friend was applying for a job, and she came to me for help with preparing. She had worked with the firm for some time, and the opening was for a more senior position she was hoping to achieve. We took a little time to make sure the resume was presentable, and then we went to the fun part: a strategic plan.

Together, we developed an action plan for the first six months after she got the job that would allow her to be more effective than the previous leader, generating new business for the organization. We included discussions around business development, customer satisfaction, and employee relations.

And she got the job.

This is an incredibly powerful practice, but hardly anyone actually does it. Here are a few options for you to leverage this approach next time you’re looking for the right HR job.

Keys to Success

The first mistake people make is thinking that this just needs to be in their notes or in their head. Not true. This plan needs to be a physical thing you bring with you to give to the interviewers during the conversation. The simple act of giving them something they don’t already have puts you in a different light. Instead of just focusing on you, they are also focusing on your ideas and your insights, which (if they are good ones) can give you a leg up over the competition.

The second piece of advice is to make it attainable. Don’t throw twenty things on there, and don’t put one on there, either. Every company has something they can change, improve, or update. Ultimately, they might take none of your suggestions, but the goal should be to present a powerful case for why the things you mention are worth exploring.

How to Put this into Practice: Never Worked There

It’s challenging to do this from the outside, but with HR we have at least one avenue into the organization that others can’t leverage: the recruiting function. From the first moment you find a job ad, start making note of things that could be improved, changed, or modified.  Here are some ideas:

• Job ads: are they written in a way that appeals to job seekers? Are they using good search engine optimization techniques to be found more easily by candidates?
• Interview process: are communications and instructions clear? Do you know what to expect and who you’ll be interacting with?
• Assessments: does the assessment add value? What is the perception from the candidate side–are the questions relevant and helpful?
• And, of course, we could examine it through the perspective of the candidate experience. For instance, did you get any notification when you applied? Was mobile apply available, or did you have to use a desktop? Could you do one-click apply with LinkedIn, or did you have to manually enter every piece of information?

Whether you’re bringing in some research to offer context or you’re just giving an observation based on your perceptions (or both), you can make your point in a tactful manner. That’s a key to this entire approach, because if done poorly, it will make you look less qualified.

How to Put this into Practice: Worked There in Non-HR Role

If you have experience with the company already in a non-HR position, you’re in even better shape for helping to illuminate some of the areas of improvement. Remember, this isn’t a gripe session or a chance to air grievances: it’s a process improvement approach. Some ideas on what to talk about:

• Modifying the onboarding process to get employees up to speed faster.
• Changing the performance management system so that it actually encourages performance, not hinders it.
• Offering niche voluntary benefits that appeal to one population or another in your company, such as dependent care or elder care. Or you can go the rock star route, offering something like a ski house for employees to use (one of our previous guest authors, Jane Jaxon, used to offer this as a recruiting tool at her company).

The entire purpose of this exercise is to show that you’re going above and beyond the basic job duties, looking for ways to innovate and bring additional value to the business. Again, I have to remind you that the way you approach this matters just as much as what you actually propose. You have to be careful to point out opportunities for improvement in way that doesn’t indict those that put the processes in place (or those that continue to manage them, for that matter).

How to Put this into Practice: Worked There in an HR Role

If you have worked there in an HR role and this is a promotion opportunity, then you have the biggest advantage of anyone else in the running, because you know what is working and what isn’t. You also have the biggest challenge, because you are familiar with the inner workings and might not be immediately aware of any innovative ideas for how to improve your practice.

If that’s the case, I would encourage you to do more reading, listening, and consuming of HR and business-related content to help broaden your horizons and help you understand some of the ways that exist to improve your processes and approach. Think about the evidence-based HR approach that I wrote on recently–it is a great way to help you examine and propose solutions to problems that others might have already given up on solving.

Article source:Ben - How to Rock Your Next HR Job Interview»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: How To Foster An Inclusive Cultue by Melissa Fairman

Our post today comes from Cherise Tolbert who is an influencer among diverse job seekers across the country for LatPro, an award winning employment website working to connect employers throughout the Americas with diverse job seekers. You can connect with Cherise on LinkedIn.  Workplace diversity is trending; it is an important requirement for innovation and company success. …

Continue reading "How To Foster An Inclusive Cultue"

Article source:Melissa Fairman - How To Foster An Inclusive Cultue»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: The CEO Question HR Fears Most by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

The long list of pressures HR leaders are under is well documented. It's as if every organizational ailment somehow finds it's way to the human resources department to either get fixed or take the blame. 

There is a new issue lurking however, that most HR leaders, particularly those in the healthcare industry, are ill-prepared to address. That issue comes in the form of a question directly from the CEO.

The Context
Let me set the stage...

Traditional CEO, accomplished, bright, and driven is paying attention to the radically changing labor market. The stress they feel from the Board of Directors, Physician and Nursing leadership to solve the staffing shortages are now becoming an all too regular topic in meeting after meeting.

It feels a bit odd to the CEO. She's always been able to figure out some sort of new pay program or engagement play that keeps the positions filled while not completely blowing up the salary line in the budget.

But the world is just...well...different now. 

The Nightmare Question for HR
During the next routine one-on-one meeting between the CEO and the CHRO they get on the topic of labor, talent, and staffing shortages across the organization. It's at this point that the CHRO's world caves in.

CEO: "So, tell me what you're doing to ensure we are viewed as a viable employer? What are we doing with millennials? Are you current on all of these social media and content strategies I keep reading about? Where exactly are we on this?"

CHRO: "Um....well...we, uh."

CEO: "We are doing something on this, right? I mean, the whole world is getting into this stuff."

CHRO: "Well, Marketing...and Legal...they, uh..."

CEO: "You've got to be kidding me. Those departments don't have anything to do with recruitment. We're not doing anything? Do you even know how to use these things yourself?"

How About You
What's your answer? I want to help you not only give the right answer, but look like the most contemporary leader in the world while doing it. It only takes one thing...

...the courage to start.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - The CEO Question HR Fears Most»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Optimism: Our industry's greatest attribute and greatest weakness by Ross Clennett

Things are rocking right now.   It’s clear from the conversations I’ve had with many people in the recruitment industry since the beginning of the year that the market is moving at Usain Bolt-like speed.   Agencies are reporting record levels of job registrations and the subsequent placements are leading to healthy bottom line results.   The other key indicator is
Article source:Ross Clennett - Optimism: Our industry's greatest attribute and greatest weakness»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: 8 Powerful Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation [Podcast] by Ben

Innovation is often discussed as an activity available only to a select few people or companies. but it is an incredibly powerful tool for companies, especially when we seek ways to use our HR influence to drive a culture of innovation.

[Click here to listen to “8 Ways HR Can Drive Enterprise Innovation“]

In this episode of the We’re Only Human podcast, we point out 8 key ways that HR leaders can create, reinforce, and drive innovative behaviors in the business. In addition, we cover two common ways that companies kill motivation and innovation with their human resources practices.

Innovation as a Business Practice

Innovation is often discussed as this amorphous thing, but it is an incredibly powerful tool for companies, especially when we seek ways to use our HR influence to drive a culture of innovation. In a research report published by the International Board of Innovation Science, Dennis Stauffer explored what separates wildly successful companies from the rest. Here’s a quote from the article that sheds light on the extent to which innovation drives value:

The research with entrepreneurs is especially noteworthy because it revealed the dramatic impact that this measure of innovativeness has on value creation. When those founders who scored highest on the Innovativeness Index were compared to those who scored lowest, the ventures of the high scorers averaged 34 times as much profit, 70 times as much revenue and employed 10 times as many people. They were also dramatically more likely to be one of the exceptionally high performers that investors call a “home run” (defined in this study as having achieved at least a million dollars in annual profits).

If we’re honest, all of us would be interested in those kinds of returns. Yet, paradoxically, we are doing things on a daily basis to kill the innovation our employees could create by wasting time, creating frustration, and limiting their best performance.

How HR Often Limits Innovation and Innovative Practices

With every activity we can improve the experience of our employees or drive up frustration for them. For those of you that think this innovation talk is nonsense, here are two ideas on how to kill employee innovation for good.

1. First, create practices that are focused on making HR’s life easier, not the employees’. Maybe you can force them to enter their information into four or five different databases whenever they need to change an address. or maybe the approval process for taking a day off requires three signatures and a blood sample. Really work hard to make their lives miserable.
2. Secondly, introduce lots of paper, workflows and complexity as often as you can. When someone needs to offer recognition to an employee for a job well done, make them fill out a form in triplicate (kids, ask your parents if you don’t know what triplicate means) and submit to three different budget holders for approvals. Or create six different layers of performance management ratings so you can categorize your people to the nth degree without ever actually helping them to get better at their jobs.

Okay, so I’m obviously kidding about these, but do you see a little bit of reality in there? Think about your own organization and how many times these two decision points play out exactly as described here. Obviously we want to have the opposite effect, but the question is: how can we hit that target?

The Real Value of Great HR Practices: Creating a Culture of Innovation

It’s my belief that out of everything we touch in the HR profession, there are some key areas that allow us to have an unbelievable amount of influence on success and growth. One of those is innovation. There are eight key ways HR can impact innovation:

• hiring-are we hiring people that bring innovation with them?
• assessing-are we assessing candidates and employees for the right innovation skills that matter to our business?
• training-are we teaching people how to put creativity into practice, which is a core requirement of innovation?
• retention-are we keeping the people that deliver the most value and innovative ideas?
• performance-is innovation a critical factor in our evaluation of someone’s performance?
• recognition-are we properly recognizing the innovation people bring?
• branding-is our company seen as an innovative firm, and is our branding doing its job?

That totals seven unique angles, but there’s one more that is often overlooked: internal HR practices and processes. HR is a competitive advantage for the firms that do it well, so we should each be seeking ways to be more effective and efficient, whether with tools or by breaking long-held processes in favor of a more streamlined approach.

Innovation isn’t a buzzword. It’s a value-creating mechanism, and HR isn’t exempt from creating and reinforcing innovation every day. Thanks for checking out the We’re Only Human show, be sure to listen to all the episodes in the archive so you can make your own HR practice a competitive advantage for your organization.

Click here to listen to the show.

Article source:Ben - 8 Powerful Ways to Create a Culture of Innovation [Podcast]»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Death by 1,000 HR Policies by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

I've worked in human resources for a long time. So long in fact, that when I make pop culture references with our team, most of the group don't understand my jokes. I also discuss policies and procedures as tools to guide the culture of the workplace. I get the same blank stares on this too.

What Changed?
In my early hospital HR roles I held my policy book so close that you would think it was my version of a security blanket. It drove almost all of my decisions, helped ensure I was "following the rules" and never wavered! 

Um, that's not leadership by the way. I wish someone had told me that back in the '90s.

Those old school approaches to HR leadership don't mesh with the more sophisticated employees of today. Yes, I said sophisticated. Think about it, the world is dramatically different than it was when I was part of the "new generation of leaders" coming up through the ranks.

Now we have the most informed, most empowered, and most connected world ever. For those of us that have jumped on the wild ride of contemporary business strategies it is an exciting and wonderful period of time.

For my colleagues who still wish "being a yuppie" was a thing, you have sadly been left behind.

Relationships Rule, Policies Are (mostly) a Waste
The savvy leader today, regardless of age or experience, understands that their relationship with the team will define the organization's profitability and ultimate success.

How many of us have prioritized the experience our employees have working for us as our number one agenda item every day? Not the patients, not the customers, not the business partners...our employees, first.

Let that settle in. No one is more important in the universe than your employees. Now we should take that one step further:

- What would your corporate culture feel like if every employee felt maximum support from you?

- What would the turnover rate of your top talent be if they felt you would do anything for them?

- How hard would your team work if they knew they had miraculously found a job where leadership was completely focused on their success?

- What do you think your profits would look like with a super-charged team working hard for you every day?

How About You
The old world of finding safe harbor in your policy book is gone. Don't destroy your credibility and try to go down that path. 

No one...including me...will think that you're paying attention to the modern world. 

Employees come first. Employees drive our success. Policies are just (too many) words on a page. Which one will you focus on?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Death by 1,000 HR Policies»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Helping Your Hiring Manager See Past the Friendly Face by Melissa Fairman

Using resources like LinkedIn and Glassdoor, candidates can easily break through your carefully crafted behavioral interview questions; before you know it you’ve got a Controller who can’t figure out the balance sheet. Kris Dunn recently wrote a post on how candidates can beat weak hiring managers and it is a great example of the advice …

Continue reading "Helping Your Hiring Manager See Past the Friendly Face"

Article source:Melissa Fairman - Helping Your Hiring Manager See Past the Friendly Face»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: What You Bring by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

It comes naturally for some...and for others it's a struggle that requires thoughtful, intentional effort. It can build upon itself and push us even higher. Or, it can be so draining that we need to literally take a break and rest.

We've all been around people who show it consistently in their work. People are drawn to them, they want to be around them, work for them, go the extra mile for them.

You know the type. The room fills with energy the moment they arrive. Their energy level always seems to be so high, yet their loud voice and broad smile are sincere. What's up with these people?

More Than Attitude
Those positive leaders that seem to "have it all together" are not flukes. They aren't just naturally taking risks, going out of their way to support the team, or treating everyone as if they are as important as the CEO.

Every. Single. Time.

Their actions are based on a conscious decisions to be positive. It's as if they've not just talked about doing the right thing, they've internalized that mindset so it looks and feels natural to those around them.

More Than Just Energy
How does it happen? Isn't that massive focus on energy all the time absolutely draining? Oddly enough, that energy spreads. 

If you watch closely you can see the reaction among the team, and watch it grow. That, in turn, comes back to them. 

It is a cycle that is positive, impactful, and helps to create corporate culture beyond the programming and "models" that seem to dominate contemporary work.

How About You
When was the last time you made the decision to be a positive, high-energy force of nature in your workplace? You absolutely can do it. Ask those role models in your organization how they do it...and copy them. (Here's an insider tip...they're copying their role models too.)

What you bring can make a huge difference.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - What You Bring»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: 3 Examples of Evidence-Based HR in Action by Ben

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting a workshop based on metrics, evidence-based HR, and change management. The session was a lot of fun, because we were able to tie the three topics together in a variety of ways to help reiterate not only why each of them matters, but how each of them can really build value when used in conjunction with one another. HR is often using anecdotal information (if any at all), conjecture, and pure hope to make decisions, but we can do better. Today I want to go a little deeper than my post last week on “keeping up with the Joneses,” focusing more heavily on the evidence-based HR piece.

If you’re not familiar with evidence-based HR, here’s a primer:

Evidence-based human resources is the practice of identifying solutions and approaches that have a strong empirical basis.

In other words, we don’t just use gut instinct, an interesting anecdote, or anyone’s opinion to make our point. We use data and other solid evidence to support our decisions at every possible turn. But where does that evidence come from?

Sources for Evidence-Based Decisions

Here is a list of sources I offered the audience as credible options for finding research materials:

• Management journals (scholar.google.com)
• HBR
• SHRM Foundation
• Deloitte/Bersin
• i4cp
• CEB
• ATD
• CIPD

If you just do a quick Google search for one of these organizations and the topic you need to research, you’ll more often than not find something to help make your case. I actually had participants do this during the session, focusing on areas like recognition’s impact on productivity (definite linkage), using talent pools for faster hiring (no data we could find), and other relevant HR activities.

Be careful not to just grab a story of a company that is doing neat things and grabbing headlines, because that’s not enough to warrant good evidence. You want to find information from a study or some other data-backed approach that helps to lend credibility to your eventual decision. If it’s just a neat anecdote, then you’re really not improving the process any more than just making a decision based on gut instinct.

Making an Evidence-Based HR Decision

There are six key steps to making an evidence-based decision in the workplace.

1. Asking: translating a practical issue or problem into an answerable question
2. Acquiring: systematically searching for and retrieving the evidence
3. Appraising: critically judging the trustworthiness and relevance of the evidence
4. Aggregating: weighing and pulling together the evidence
5. Applying: incorporating the evidence into the decision-making process
6. Assessing: evaluating the outcome of the decision taken

Using this approach can help you to not only leverage evidence, but think critically about how valuable the evidence might be relative to other sources of data and information about your problem. Instead of going with the normal approach of “Bob said this worked at his last company,” we can use more credible sources of information to frame and resolve the issue.

Examples of Evidence-Based HR

Seeing this practice in action is the most powerful way to really “get” the value it can offer. I originally was turned off by the idea of having to research everything HR does on a daily basis, but in reality we make relatively few key decisions like those an evidence-based approach to HR would help with. For instance, New York spent more than $75 million on teachers to help increase student performance and teacher satisfaction. The result? No improvement. There is already data available that could have shown that this kind of approach has not yet been proven to deliver strong results (this examination of multiple studies still came away inconclusive, or “cautiously optimistic,” calling for additional research). Despite the lack of evidence, someone went ahead with the program anyway.

Here are a few examples of how it works in practice.

• Selection Techniques-Your hiring managers are often used to creating high pressure interview situations to “see how candidates will respond.” They also like using tools like application data and GPA to filter out candidates. You find research that demonstrates the validity of their methods is in some cases no better than performing a coin flip to make a hiring decision, helping to sway them into using more structured methods and assessments for hiring decisions.
• Employee Recognition-One of your managers is resistant to using recognition because “everyone can’t get a trophy” and she doesn’t want to “coddle” her workers. You find some existing research that points to the value of recognition not just in increasing worker satisfaction, but in increasing productivity as well, helping the manager to see the benefit to her and the team by improving her recognition skills and practices.
• Performance Management-One of the trends in the US is “disposing” of the traditional approach and taking a different avenue for rating and assessing performance. You want to make this move with your company because you feel like your existing process is not adding organizational value. There isn’t much data, if any, available to support the different approach, but there is some data showing that collaborative environments support better teamwork and cultures than those focused on forced ranking and distribution of employees.

Leveraging research can drive immense value across the board, even for organizations outside the private sector. For instance, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, which repairs military aircraft for the US Air Force, used new research methods to speed repair processes for C-5 aircraft, allowing reductions in working capital of approximately $50 million (source: Deloitte).

While many of us aren’t working hands-on with aircraft, we still have the company’s largest budget item, its people, under our purview. Isn’t it time we started treating them like the valuable assets they are, managing them to the best of our abilities with the most relevant research and information available?

Article source:Ben - 3 Examples of Evidence-Based HR in Action»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Is Focus the New Time Management? by Melissa Fairman

And an update on the February reading challenge  I look at the clock on my computer and realize its already 11 and I’m not quite sure what I accomplished in the first three hours of my day. That’s not true. I know that I’ve answered a ton of emails, responded to IM’s and had 3-5 …

Continue reading "Is Focus the New Time Management?"

Article source:Melissa Fairman - Is Focus the New Time Management?»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: Is recruitment in Australia still dominated by bias, racism and sexism? by Ross Clennett

In the run up to International Women’s Day this past Tuesday, I couldn’t help but notice a couple of news articles that were a sobering reminder that many people responsible for recruitment are still operating from a mindset that remains from last century.   The first was reported in industry news service, ShortList: Seek data reveals widespread bias (28 February 2017)
Article source:Ross Clennett - Is recruitment in Australia still dominated by bias, racism and sexism?»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: Awkward Impact by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

"One of the greatest challenges leaders face is to communicate the thought in their head without offending everyone listening to them share it."
- Jay Kuhns

More Than Perception
The phrase "improve communication" gets thrown around so frequently, I'm not sure those who complain about it even know what they're asking for. The intent is sincere, but communication is far too broad a term to actually drive change.

I'm convinced more than ever that one of the main culprits of poor organizational communication is the abysmal delivery of "the message" from some members of leadership.

Usually the intent is on point, yet their awkward delivery (often completely unaware of their impact) not only creates problems, it undermines their credibility.

Let me say that again...they undermine their own credibility...and don't even realize they are doing it.

To themselves.

You Have to Internalize Feedback
For those leaders fortunate enough to receive constructive criticism about their ineffective style they must do one very important thing...

Listen!

Feedback, particularly in these instances, truly is a gift. Do not attempt to justify "what you meant to say" or "blame the offended person by claiming they are just too sensitive."

It's not them. It's you.

How About You
We have an obligation to support these struggling junior leaders, regardless of their age or years of experience. 

Junior leaders are those that have not matured in their leadership skill set yet, and need the honest feedback about the negative impact they are having on the team.

I'm all in to help. How about you?

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - Awkward Impact»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR

Guest Article: Never A "Right Time" by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

Guest Article: Keeping up With the Joneses: Corporate Style by Ben

If you’re from outside the US and unfamiliar with the term, “keeping up with the Joneses” is a term that focuses on everyone’s desire to compare themselves with their peers, even when it’s emotionally unhealthy. Instead of focusing on our own strengths, we look at what others have or can do, and we want that instead. There’s a business version of this, and we’ve all been guilty of it at one point or another. For example:

• We hear success stories and try to mimic what other companies do. For the last ten years I’ve heard more “we want a culture like Zappos” stories than anything else, even if that request has taken a dip in recent years. The problem is people aren’t willing to put their money on the line to make it happen.
• We find a cool trend and jump on it, hoping for some mythical results. This always reminds me of the goofy “Google interview questions” like how many manhole covers in a city or how many elephants fit in an refrigerator. The questions didn’t predict success on the job, and Google ultimately moved away from them as a selection tool (thank goodness).
• We get word about some new “best practice” through the news, and everyone wants to try it out. This is where I put unlimited paid time off. It’s a hot topic, but there isn’t anything to show how it really helps to improve the workplace other than anecdotal evidence here or there.

Getting Serious about Talent Practices

A few years ago, someone presented locally on HR metrics. The speaker prescribed specific metrics to everyone in the room, telling them that they needed to be capturing data because these were the “most important” measures. The problem? Some attendees were from staffing firms, others were in manufacturing, and still others were in professional services organizations. The truth is there is no “right” number of metrics, especially for such a diverse group. I haven’t forgotten that kind of peanut-butter-spread approach to advice on measurement, and that’s one reason I am going to be working to fix that this year with some of my speaking opportunities.

This week I’m delivering a workshop to an audience of HR leaders around two key topics: measurement and change. As I’ve been creating the slides and activities, one of the messages I’m striving to get across is that we need to be more of an evidence-based practice. That term goes back to roots in the healthcare community, as evidence-based medicine. The purpose is finding a course of action that is based not on gut instinct or hopeful results, but on some sound and proven science.

Imagine going to the doctor with an illness and getting five different recommendations for cures. You’d be a bit annoyed and unsure about how to proceed, right? But this is what we see daily in the HR profession. If you bring up a problem for discussion, you’ll get those same five different cure ideas from your peers, often based on a personal experience, a story of a friend, or something similar. Don’t worry, I’ve been guilty of this as well.

But this year I’m really focusing on being more intentional about my recommendations. I’m going to be focusing more on finding and uncovering evidence to support my approach. I’m actually going to be interviewing an author soon for the podcast on science-based principles of selling as a way to explore how to influence others. The two topics are connected, because he went through the same thing within the selling profession, taking advice of numerous “gurus” or basing practices on personal experience instead of an approach proven by science.

Best Practices? Maybe

I’ll leave you with this: by the time something becomes a “best practice,” the companies that used it often have moved to something else. The Google interview questions I mentioned above are just one example. One of the challenges of being an early adopter is that I see all of the newest and “best” talent and learning practices. I hear about what’s hot and what’s not. But the thing that never goes out of style is gathering data, making a decision based on that information, and then collecting feedback on results to adjust your direction or stay the course in the future.

Create your own book of best practices that fit your organization and its people. That’s the only set of practices that really matter.

Article source:Ben - Keeping up With the Joneses: Corporate Style»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Be Kind to the Person Right in Front of You – #RTOK by Jennifer Miller

Kindness is free, but sometimes we act as if it’s a rare treasure to hoard. Or, we think small actions won’t make a difference. We’re wrong on both counts.

The act of kindness costs nothing but a few moments of time and it reaps huge dividends. The size of the gesture is less important than the loving intent behind it. Leigh Anne and Sean Touhy (whose life was featured in the movie The Blind Side) have a theory which they call The Popcorn Theory. It goes like this: You can’t help everyone. But you can try to help the hot ones who pop right up in front of your face.

In their memoir In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving, they write, “Too often, we think we lack the means to improve someone’s lot. We’re wrong. The Popcorn Theory doesn’t oblige all of us to write impressively large checks or take in every hungry child with a face like a flame. It only requires that we perceive the person standing right in front of us.”

A couple weeks ago my colleague China Gorman invited me to an event called Random Tweets of Kindness. It was started in 2013 by Lars Schmidt, a guy who felt we all could use a reminder to be kind to everyone. He bills this event (which happens via Twitter—and, if you choose—in real life) as a “modest effort to spend a day focused on gratitude and public thanks.”

Random Tweets of Kindness is on March 8, 2017. If you’re on Twitter, give a shout-out to people who you’d like to thank publicly for the ways they have made a positive difference in your life. Use the hashtag #RTOK.

Not on Twitter? Send a note (or a Snap or tag them on Facebook). Or tell them personally.

Whatever way you decide to reach out, just do it. As the Touhys remind us, it doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. But for you to make a difference, you need to take action.

Want to know more about Random Tweets of Kindness? Go to the Facebook page for details.

Article source:Jennifer Miller - Be Kind to the Person Right in Front of You – #RTOK»

Guest Article: VR, AR & HR? by Melissa Fairman

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and Augmented Reality (AR) games like Pokemon Go are new technologies but the applications go beyond making fun of people or playing games. Many companies are already using this technology in the office and on the factory floor. After reading a couple articles on this, the nerd in me decided to …

Continue reading "VR, AR & HR?"

Article source:Melissa Fairman - VR, AR & HR?»

Check out more of Melissa Fairman's work at HR Remix

Guest Article: What I learned from Australia's most provocative recruitment blogger of 2016 by Ross Clennett

If you are reading this blog I suspect you read other recruitment blogs on a reasonably regular basis, via a subscription service or your LinkedIn feed or some other method.   Given your knowledge of the recruitment blogosphere take a guess who in Australia published the most provocative recruitment blog of 2016, as measured by comments?   Greg Savage?   Craig
Article source:Ross Clennett - What I learned from Australia's most provocative recruitment blogger of 2016»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: How SMART are your goals? by Ben

About the Author: Jarrett Lee is a Research Associate Intern working with me at Lighthouse Research. His research focuses on case studies of companies that successfully deliver results on their talent and learning transformation projects. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Communication Arts as well as a Master’s of Science in Human Resource Management from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. 

Goal setting is one of the most popular and talked about HR topics. Goal setting is unique in that it is directly involved in all aspects of life. Goals can be career-based, family-oriented, or even personal. Larger goals such as career goals may take years or even your lifetime to accomplish, while smaller goals may only take weeks or days. Regardless of whether it is professional or personal, all successful people set goals.

So what is goal setting? Goal setting is the process of identifying something you want to achieve and an end result you will reach. How do you go about setting your goal? One commonly used tool for setting goals is the mnemonic SMART.

SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

The Six W’s of Goal Setting

Specific goal setting refers to the six “W” questions: who, what, when, where and why. Setting specific goals can increase your chance of accomplishment and help the make the goal real to you. Your goal must also be measureable in some way to determine accomplishment. It is also best to track your progress continuously. This will help keep you focused on accomplishing your goal and show how much you have already accomplished.

When setting your goal, make sure it is attainable. Goals will only be accomplished if they are realistically possible. Setting unrealistic goals is setting yourself up for failure. Goals should also be relevant to your situation. Inconsistent or irrelevant goals will not provide any real benefit, even if you accomplish them. Lastly, your goals should be time-bound; setting a time specific deadline will create a sense of urgency and help keep you motivated to accomplishing to your goals.

Take Action on Your Goals

Using these five components of goal setting help you specify a goal, determine if it’s attainable and realistic, measure your progress and set a deadline for achievement. It is also important to remember while SMART goals can help you set your goal, it takes determination to accomplish your objectives. Goal setting is an ongoing process, and while your end goal may not change your steps to accomplishment just might.

Article source:Ben - How SMART are your goals?»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: 6 Strategies to Eliminate Your Healthcare Recruiting Excuses by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

The world of #HealthcareHR is full of excuses. Risk avoidance, nursing shortages, compliance, a perceived backseat to the other Operational departments, and the list goes on.

Despite all of this self-inflicted pressure, HR still plays a critical role and it has nothing to do with making sure the employment records are neat and tidy for the next Joint Commission survey.

Oh, and by the way, there aren't any departments in your organization that can pull it off except HR. So, if you're ready to deliver real results and cut through the excuses, focus on the following items and make a real impact.

1  Employer Brand
I have written many times about employer brand and the power it has to change the perception of organizations in the market. The simple fact is this...every organization has an employer brand, it's just that most are absolutely invisible. Make sure yours dominates your industry.

2  Leader brand
The concept of leader brand is a spin-off of personal brand. For me, leader brand is a more important label, as it speaks to who you are as a leader for your team, your organization, and your industry. Investing the time necessary to establish a meaningful one is not difficult, but if you're trying to convince top talent to join your team and they do any research on you at all, what will they find?

3  Content
There is a reason the phrase "content is king" is so important...because it's true. Yes, the content needs to be meaningful, not just plentiful. But without it, you and your company fall into the trap of repeating your press releases inside the organization and convincing yourselves that the outside world is listening. They're not. Develop your stories, and start sharing them with the world. 

4  Engagement

Using social media channels to distribute your content is not a passing fad, or something that you simply don't have time for any longer. Those tired excuses make you sound old and irrelevant. 

Put content and social media at the top of your to do list everyday. It comes first, not last. If you don't know how to use the various tools you need to reach out and learn. I'll help you, but you have to take the first step and accept that it is 2017.

5  Candidate Experience
Do you still believe it is such a privilege to work at your organization that candidates should be grateful to have the opportunity to even interview with you, let alone get hired? If so, I guarantee you have a long list of vacancies and you "can't understand why?" Focus on candidates, not yourself. No organization is that special, but in the epic struggle for healthcare talent, the candidates absolutely are.

6  Speed
This one is perhaps the hardest for #HealthcareHR leaders to grasp. Going slow, holding meetings for several weeks or months with a "multi-disciplinary team" and "fully understanding the risks involved" are all excuses for "I'm too scared to be a leader." 

Too harsh? You tell me...when was the last time a healthcare organization moved quickly to ensure they had the brand, and the talent necessary to impact the lives of their employees and patients?

How About You
Lists can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. I can relate...they do to me as well. Here's the difference, I want to help you understand these six priorities...how to learn...how to plan...how to execute and sustain. Let's be honest, if I could do these things leading a conservative hospital's HR function, you can too!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - 6 Strategies to Eliminate Your Healthcare Recruiting Excuses»

Check out more of Jay Kuhns' work at No Excuses HR