Guest Article: Making the HR Technology Leap by Ben

I was talking with a friend last week about technology–specifically the kind we use in the HR, payroll, and recruiting space. His organization is using an awful tool that costs quite a bit of money. It’s not user friendly. It doesn’t make data easily accessible. And it’s become a running joke that any basic business need will require yet another $20k+ module just to meet that single need. It sounds like they are in the perfect place to be considering other technology, right?

And yet he and I both know that they are not going to make a change any time soon. Despite the availability of various “HR modules” within the system, he uses a point solution to handle recruiting needs and an Excel spreadsheet manage employee data. At some point he’s going to have to move to something else, but he and his organization are just part-way into the HR technology maturity curve. Here’s a look at the curve (in my opinion) and how technology is normally put into place.

The first steps

Diving into HR technology doesn’t have to be scary

One of the first steps most companies take in terms of HR technology typically comes with recruiting. Adding an applicant tracking system to eliminate manual job posting, tracking of candidates, and collaboration with the hiring team. Using a piece of recruiting software (like RecruiterBox, for example), can drastically change HR’s role in the hiring process from administrative to strategic.

I can still remember the before and after look at my recruiting practices when it came to technology implementation. When it was all manual, I was just trying to keep the mass of information organized enough to pick anyone competent and qualified. When we transitioned to using an applicant tracking system, I was able to then spend more time coaching hiring managers, screening candidates more thoroughly, and onboarding new employees.

Another common first step is in payroll. Again, it can be an opportunity to change from very administrative (did we get that person’s dependents right?) to a more strategic focus on compensation, variable pay, and other important elements that fall through the cracks when you’re spending several hours a week reviewing pay stubs.

Next up: performance/learning

Depending on the organization, as they grow there is usually a focus on automating performance management, learning, or both. For instance, when I worked for an organization with heavy regulations around training and staff certifications, our primary system (even before having a good HRIS) was a learning management system (LMS). In another organization, I campaigned regularly for a performance management solution to help alleviate the burden of continuously growing performance management paperwork. This is often seen as less strategic and important than recruiting or payroll, which is why it’s not at the top of the list in terms of implementation priority.

One area I’ve seen grow of late is the set of companies offering performance feedback/employee engagement solutions based on simple surveys and quick “pulse” feedback gathering. These are very easy to implement and don’t require all the trouble of the typical performance management solution.

The later stages

The deeper into this maturity process the company goes, the more likely it will select a suite to consolidate vendors and ensure a uniform data set across the various platforms (learning, performance, compensation, etc.)

One area I’ve been very interested in of late involves the difference between companies that pursue point solutions to solve various problems and those that snag the suite to combine each area. A few questions that have bounced around in my mind:

• Which type of organization has better performance?
• What factors play into that overall technology selection choice?
• Are organizations using data better if the systems are integrated than if not?
• What about the specific benefits highly targeted point solutions offer that the big suites do not?

What are your thoughts? Where are you in this HR technology maturity curve? 

Article source:Ben - Making the HR Technology Leap»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: An Ocean Between Us by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

I think a whole bunch of leaders are scared to do their jobs. I'm serious. The pressure of leading in today's world is scary even for those of us that have been leading for a long time. What are they afraid of? Well, it's actually more like who?  It's not their boss, or their customers, or their vendor partners.

They're afraid of their employees.

Myth #1 - Leaders Are Too Busy
Newsflash! Everyone is busy! When leaders try to explain to the team that the reason they are unavailable is they're too busy it is embarrassing. Guess what? Your employees are busy too! Those lame excuses don't cut in 2015. (heck, they didn't cut it in 1915 for that matter)

The cop out strategy that leaders have used for years is the open door policy. Ha! Fail again! This ancient approach was designed for the sole convenience and power of the leader. Think about it...

"Welcome to my office, the one your coworkers just watched you come in to and close the door to speak with me. I'll be here behind my big desk reinforcing that I have all the power. Thank you making me feel better about myself."

Open doors are only good for one thing...walking out of them. When we stop thinking about our own convenience, and begin to place the employees above ourselves we will finally learn what it means to have an engaged workforce. Until that time, we will be trapped in a never ending cycle of corporate spin that isn't fooling anyone.

Myth #2 - Leaders Are Good Communicators
Consider the biggest time killer on every leader's calendar. Meetings. Don't tell me it's focusing on customers, or employees, or the competition. Meetings dominate life.  If we're going to break the cycle of dominance that meetings play in the modern world of work, effective leaders will need to schedule time to use the open door policy the way it was intended.

Get off your butt...walk out the door...and start talking to your team members. Really talk with them. Don't parade around as if their life is changing because you've stopped by. They don't care about you that much.

They want leaders who will genuinely listen.
They want leaders who will follow up.
They want leaders who will invest the time to understand what is really happening.
They want leaders who will make decisions to make their work life better.

How About You
Are you comfortable walking the halls of your company? What about the hot spots in your organization? By the way, you have them whether you want to hide in your office and make excuses or not. Get moving...start leading...and make a difference.

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - An Ocean Between Us»

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

Guest Article: What you may not know about recruitment's Top 16 Influencers (part 1) by Ross Clennett

Over the past two weeks I have highlighted the nominations (16 individuals) of those who were voted by my invited peer panel as the most influential people in the Australian recruitment industry over the past 60 years. Here's some background that you may not know about each person (eight of the list are profiled this week and the remaining eight will be profiled next week).
Article source:Ross Clennett - What you may not know about recruitment's Top 16 Influencers (part 1)»

Check out more of Ross Clennett's work at hisblog

Guest Article: A Former Manager’s (Surprising) Thoughts on HR by Ben

One of the sites I follow regularly is Ask a Manager, where Alison Green shares her thoughts and wisdom on management, job hunting, and the workplace. With a wildly popular site like hers, she gets all kinds of questions from readers about different situations. I wanted to take the opportunity to get her thoughts on our (HR) side of the fence, so I pitched her a few questions. She was gracious enough to answer in detail, so check out the great Q&A below!

—

Ben: So, Alison, I see that one of your more typical answers to questions from job seekers and workers is, “No, don’t go to HR” when responding to letters you receive. Working in HR, there are times I would like to see some of the requests that these people raise. I understand that HR can be backward and bumbling at times, and for some organizations it can even be an evil arm of management dedicated to squeezing the life out of employees. So, what sorts of instances would you recommend someone actually contact HR for help, assuming no evil intent?

Alison: I’d say there are four main categories of times when I suggest people talk to HR instead of their manager: (1) to report harassment, (2) to report discrimination based on a protected class like race, sex, religion, disability, etc., (3) when they want to take advantage of a protection guaranteed by the government, such as FMLA leave, and (4) with questions about or issues with benefits.

In very limited circumstances, I might also suggest going to HR about an issue with your boss — but not as a general rule. If your boss is yelling or being abusive, then yes. Or if your boss is doing something that clearly your company would be horrified to know about (like dating a subordinate or directing people to violate a safety rule or never permitting anyone to use sick leave).

But if you just don’t like your boss or have relatively mild issues with her, that’s not a matter for HR. In some companies, it can be helpful to go to HR to get ADVICE on how to navigate a tricky relationship with a boss — advice, not intervention. But you have to know your HR department to know if that makes sense; some are great at giving advice in those situations and others will turn around and share the conversation with your boss, and not in a helpful way.

Ben: That’s excellent advice, and I’d agree that those are the times HR actually wants to hear from people. So, what qualifies a company as having “good” HR in your opinion, both as a manager and employee?

Alison: I’d say that a good HR department one that’s highly aligned with the organization’s culture and goals and does excellent work in areas like ensuring that managers are well-trained, benefits are strong and well-administered, salaries are benchmarked to industry norms, and that they help rather than hinder a company’s managers (for instance, by finding nuanced, flexible solutions rather than requiring everyone to operate the same across the board, which is a hallmark of a bad HR department). A good HR department can help managers get more done, more effectively.

Ben: I love that explanation, especially around flexibility. I always thought that was an incredible power (for good or evil) that companies often used poorly. As a former manager who now coaches managers frequently, what relationship do you advise for managers to have with the HR team?

Alison: If you have a good HR department, they can be a great resource to managers — a source of advice on all sorts of tricky issues, from delivering tough feedback to navigating hiring dilemmas to helping retain your best people. If you have a bad HR department, I recommend an avoidance strategy.

Ben: Give me a couple of the most common reasons people say they plan to reach out to HR that cause you to just shake your head at them.

Alison: I think sometimes people think of HR as being neutral referees who they can go to when they have a problem with a coworker or are upset with their manager; they think HR will mediate for them, which of course isn’t exactly how it works. I hear a lot of things like “should I talk to HR about my coworker who won’t stop playing her music too loudly” or “can HR help me if my boss is nitpicking my work?”

Ben: Referencing the last question, I often see this when people are having petty squabbles with managers or peers. Do you think decision to “go to HR” is just an inability to emotionally distance themselves from the situation, a lack of understanding of what HR actually does, a last ditch effort when all else seems to fail, or something else entirely?

Alison: I think it’s a lack of understanding of what HR actually does. It’s the idea I mentioned above that they’ll be a neutral referee. I also think people often think HR is there to be their advocate and don’t understand that HR is there to serve the needs of the business. Of course, in some cases that means advocating for employees against bad managers, because it’s in the best interests of employers to retain great employees, spot and address bad management, and nip legal problems in the bud. But lots of other times, what’s best for the employer might not be what’s best for the employee, and the best interests of the employer will always win out. Employees don’t always get that that’s how it’s supposed to work.

I also think people often go to HR for things they should be trying to solve themselves. It’s why so often when HR reps ask people, “Have you talked about this directly with the person you’re complaining about?” the answer is no. And that’s not surprising — I mean, my mail is full of letters from people who are looking for ways to avoid having a direct, semi-awkward conversation with a coworker or a manager; everyone hopes there might be a solution that will get them out of having a tough conversation that they’d rather avoid.

Ben: That’s entirely true, and I’ve seen it in pretty much every company I’ve ever worked for. Let’s shift a bit on this last question, because I know you have a big chunk of your audience in the form of job seekers looking for advice. On the recruiting side, I completely agree with you about candidates not “reaching out to HR to follow up.” We hate that and it just slows things down (hint: we often have other things besides recruiting going on, and while recruiting is a big deal for you it might be a relatively small priority in the bigger scheme of things). So, is there a time or two that makes sense for a candidate to reach out to HR?

Alison: If you’ve been interviewed, and they told you they’d get back to you in X amount of time, and it’s a week past X. At that point, it’s reasonable to reach out and see if there’s an update on the timeline.

Or if you’ve been interviewed and you have another offer that you need to respond to, so that the company has a chance to expedite things if they’re interested in you.

Otherwise, I know it’s tempting to follow up and ask for updates, but really, if the company wants to hire you, they’re not going to forget about you. People do know that on some level, but it’s so normal to feel anxious and want closure and everything else that makes job searching so emotionally difficult.

—

Thanks again to Alison for spending some time with us! Please follow her on Twitter and check out her site if you haven’t already. Here are a few good stories that you don’t want to miss:

• someone is leaving their fingernail clippings in my desk
• crazy, shouting, crying, bullying boss
• the top 10 weirdest coworkers

What did you think of Alison’s honest opinions about HR from a manager’s point of view? Do you agree or disagree?

Article source:Ben - A Former Manager’s (Surprising) Thoughts on HR»

Check out more of Ben Uebanks' work at Upstart HR

Guest Article: Performance Doesn’t Happen Without Accountability by Melissa Fairman

We need more accountability.  We need it from our politicians,  our leaders,  our friends and of course – ourselves. If you want to move your organization further, get better results or just make it a nicer place to work we have to push for accountability.  That means we (HR) have to take on the bully in XYZ department that everybody is afraid of. Or maybe it means we have to closely with line managers on how to have tough performance conversation with someone who is really nice but just isn’t cutting it right now.  I’ve been ruminating on this topic for a while now and wrote a piece on it over at PIC, here is a quick snippet:

“Too often we fail to hold ourselves or others accountable because we want to avoid tough conversations.

Maybe it’s with a direct report that is going through a tough time, you feel bad for their plight but they just aren’t producing good material like they have in the past.  You want to move them to a lower profile project until things settle down but…

Or maybe it’s a co-worker that you like as a person. They are a great person but they’ve been slacking lately and you really need them to get their s*** done so you can finish your project.

These are tough situations because there typically isn’t a clear answer to what should be done. The knee jerk reaction from some of us is “tell them their work sucks and be done with it!” others may cite the extenuating circumstances…”

Click over to PIC for the rest.

Article source:Melissa Fairman - Performance Doesn’t Happen Without Accountability»

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

4 Signs You May Be Burnt Out

This article is a part of a 2 part series on Workplace Burnout: how to identify it and how to manage it. Burnout is a state of chronic stress, when one is no longer able to function properly. It is caused by constant distress which has built up over time. Here are the signs to look out for that are your bodies way of telling you to take a step back.

1. Feelings of irritation
If you find yourself constantly irritated by things that seem small and nonsensical, this may be a sure sign that you are headed for burnout. This may just start as just a feeling of irritation and if unmanaged can lead to feelings of anger or rage. Anger that’s not controlled can have serious consequences on your professional and personal life. So if you feel constant irritation it may be time to take a break.

2. Physiological Symptoms
If you are experiencing unexplainable physical symptoms such as a sore stomach or constant aching head, it may be a sign of burnout. There symptoms are more obvious but often people may misinterpret the cause of the discomfort and brush it aside.

3. Sleep disturbance and feelings of lethargy
Depleted energy and constant tiredness as a result of insomnia type symptoms or a lack of opportunity to sleep can be detrimental to your functioning. If you find yourself relying upon caffeinated drinks to survive it may be time to take a break before you hit burnout. Studies have shown that “a person who has been awake for 17 hours faces the same risk of a crash as a person who has a Blood Alcohol Content reading of 0.05” and are twice as likely to crash their car than someone who has consumed no alcohol.

4. Reduced performance in the workplace
Reduced performance can be a sign that your concentration while at work is being affected. A lack of concentration is one of the first symptoms of burnout. This may present in various ways such as feelings of indecisiveness or helplessness. You may also experience feelings of being unproductive or frustrations that work is taking a long time to complete.


It is important that you self-reflect to establish if you are affected by any aspects mentioned above. In the next alert, we will give you some strategies to manage and overcome burnout. The important thing to remember now is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you require any assistance, please contact your company’s EAP service or call Beyond Blue’s Support Service on 1300 224636.

Guest Article: War Ensemble by Jay Kuhns, SPHR

Risk.

Reward.

Failure.

Reset.

Progress.

Success.

…repeat.

Battle Ready

The world of work is loaded with lots of twists and turns. I love (kidding myself that I’m actually able) to be in control. 

The pace is simply too fast to stay ahead. The rush I get is trying to balance all of my responsibilities in the moment.

Think white-water rafting in a power suit.

For me, it’s no longer about taking the time to step back and plan a neat little strategy that feels so perfect that it’s impossible to fail. That’s what inexperienced leaders think actually happens.

The reality for me is to balance all of the action, the waves, the hits, the setbacks, and the think-fast-on-your-feet moments that separate progress from stagnation.

Battle Tested

So how do you know when you’ve moved from a panicked leader who is scared to make a mistake, to one who is looking for the next wave of treacherous challenges with anticipation?

You’ll know because the work will feel different.

You’ll know because the butterflies you used to feel will now get you fired up.

You’ll know because you won’t want any other member of the team to handle the big stuff.

How About You

Work isn’t really like war. But that doesn’t mean you should’t get yourself pumped up like never before. This week could be the biggest week of the year. But only if you decide to make it so. Are you ready?

I’d love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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Article source:Jay Kuhns, SPHR - War Ensemble»

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