Knock Knock

Who’s there?

HR?

HR WHO?

HR “ wants a seat at the table.” 

I’m sure most of you have heard some variation of that in the recent months, that “HR wants a seat at the table of your company.” The cliched saying is all the rage in the HR world, but before you invite these folks to the table, ask yourself these questions: Is my current HR department equipped to handle what I need them to do? If not, what should our company do?

As we begin to answer those questions let’s delve a little deeper into who typically ends up in the human resource department these days:

A)     “Outgoing” personalities: While these individuals may have been hired for sales roles or account management roles within companies, they were quickly jettisoned off into corporate HR to take advantage of their “people skills.” In essence this was an easy way for a company to put a good face forward in their recruiting efforts.

B)    Corporate social workers: Individuals who say “I want to work with people” in an interview. Yes, it’s those individuals who want to make employees happy and plan the office holiday party.  

C)    Administrators:  This is especially true in companies that experienced a major downsizing during the recession. Former office managers, benefits administrators, and human resource generalist are being thrown into the new role of “talent acquisition manager” or “HR manager” even though they have no experience in these roles.

Here are some more interesting statistics as highlighted by the famous Fast Company article by Keith Hammonds “Why we hate HR” http://bit.ly/dcLHt.

•    According to the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, just 1.2% of 2004 grads majored in HR. It is fair to theorize that number is reflected at other top business school throughout the country whose curriculum had been geared towards preparing top students for the lucrative fields of finance and consulting.
•      SHRM data suggests that when HR professionals were asked about the worth of specific academic courses toward a successful career in HR only 32% indicated strategic management and finance was ONLY 2%. That bears repeating, of those in HR only 2% believed it was important to understand finance!!! You’ll be happy to know that 83% believed it was important to have course work teaching them good interpersonal skills.

Based on the aforementioned statistics it’s easy to see why so many companies are hesitant to “give up a seat at their table.” As Jim Collins famously noted in Good to Great, the best companies focus first on the “who” then on “what.”  In fact the “who” is so important to organizations and their ability to adapt that Professor Edward Lawler has noted, “business strategy should be determined by talent considerations and it in turn should drive human capital management practices.” Most executives recognize now more than ever, having someone who can strategically acquire, engage, and retain the top talent is a must for their organization to grow.  However, they are left to ask themselves but whom can I trust to be the guardian of all of our talent?

The fact is that the great majority of HR professionals are ill-equipped to handle the responsibilities of what the role of HR has really become. Here’s an example of a job description that sums up perfectly the evolution of what is expected of an HR leader moving forward: http://budurl.com/agvphr. It’s pretty easy to see that a solid understanding of finance and strategic management are essential. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of companies today HR has become akin to a pizza delivery driver who just drops off the pizza but doesn’t stand behind the product he’s delivering.

The way I see it this leaves companies with two options to solving this HR problem

1)      Partner with consultants

AND/OR

2)      Hire an all-star who can deliver what you need. 

The recent trend of the most talented workers becoming Free Agents (http://bit.ly/9tcfBP) is here to stay. This gives companies a wonderful opportunity to leverage the exact skills necessary at inflexion points for their company without making them commit to the individual or organization for the long term. The recent acquisition of Hewitt by AON for $4.9 billion is evidence that the HR consulting/outsourcing industry is growing at a rapid pace. Many of the Fortune 500 already have leveraged this trend and outsource a portion of their HR, as well as work with consultants on strategic HR matters. Among the many benefits of working with a consultant or outsourcing your HR are as follows: 

A.    Specialist: You are getting an expert with a wealth of experience, who can provide you with unique, innovative, and timely solutions. Often times these consultants can be hired for one-off services within a particular field of expertise wherein they can share best practices.

B.    Pricing: As opposed to having the sunk cost of HR on your books you can make it a variable expense for your business. Additionally, you don’t have to offer benefits to consultants, which is another area of tremendous cost savings to your business.

C.    Focus on Core Deliverable:  Whereas HR is most likely not a core deliverable for your business, it is for those consultants whom you elect to work with. By partnering with consultants or outsourcing your HR function entirely, your time is freed up to focus on the big picture items and strategy that drives your business growth.  

In addition to the opportunity to partner with consultants or outsource your HR, many companies have gone the route of hiring the true all-stars in the HR field. While I earlier highlighted several of the issues with the generic/traditional HR individual, the fact remains there are some amazingly talented people in this field. The companies whom can identify and attract these people to their organization need to hire them as soon as possible (*Here’s a hint for how to identify them, search the blogosphere!). These select individuals are highly coveted and deserve compensation and responsibilities commensurate with what they can bring to your organization. 

So does HR belong at the table? Yes. It’s up to you and your organization to make sure that your “guest” deserves to be there. Otherwise, it could be

“Knock Knock”

“Who’s there”

“Your competition”

“Your competition who?”

“Your competition just passed you bye”

 My wife tells me that my blog post are too male-centric so I figured it’s about time I get in touch with my metro-sexual self and reveal a little secret…I watch Bethenny getting married. In fact, not only do I watch it, it is appointment viewing in our house. Although I find the whole concept of “real housewives” deplorable, I find Bethenny quite entertaining. While watching the most recent episode with my wife, a thought occurred to me (shocking I know to have a thought of any substance during trash tv), Bethenny’s current situation has a lot to do with corporate America. 

In the most recent episode, Bethenny unexpectedly gave birth 5 weeks before her due date. Thankfully, everyone involved is fully healthy. This got me to thinking, how many companies out there would be ready for the addition of a huge client?

Do you have a talent management plan and process in place highlighting any contingencies or developments that may occur in your company? Has your company’s growth been stunted because you have yet to develop a talent pipeline? What would it mean to your organization to have a turn-key talent solution ready to go should you land that big client. One thing many companies have done to their contingency plan is to increase the use out of contract workers. In fact according to this CNN article (http://ht.ly/1T5vX), experts predict that up to 40% of workers in the next 10 years will be contract workers. Industries where contract work is experiencing significant growth are IT, advertising, new media, and human resources.  There are several reasons why this trend will continue to grow: escalating cost of health care, flexibility of workforce, allows business to adapt to change quicker, and less management resources tied up in personnel. As our economy continues to crawl back towards recovery, the most successful companies will be the ones who have been proactive in creating a talent management plan, which includes the use of contract workers.  Those that don’t have a plan in place will be left behind as others flourish, sort of like the rest of the housewives from NYC.

“My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;

The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;

Exult O shores, and ring O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead. “

-Walt Whitman

Do all captains of the sea have an innate sense of their own mortality? Do you as a leader? My guess is that those on the Bering sea understand that they won’t be around forever which is why this season has featured a particular emphasis on succession planning. Although their corporations are floating family offices, I think there are many lessons that can be gleaned from the cast and crews featured on the show.

This issue recently surfaced due to the sudden and sad passing of Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie. The interesting coincidence was the time and effort he dedicated this season to grooming his two young boys to take over his ship. No different than any other family business, he was preparing his next generation of leadership. One thing I found most interesting was his idea to send his youngest son off to another boat.

He did this for two primary reasons:

1) To have his son learn how other people run their business. The Captain believed this would sharpen his son’s skills.

2) He wanted his son to appreciate his good fortune of having a ship to take over. He believed his son had become complacent and entitled.  His son happens to be a Gen Y’er so it is obvious why the Captain was having such difficulty!  Would you have the courage to send off your future leaders to another company to acquire new skills and gain fresh perspective? What are you doing to develop your future leaders internally?

On the Northwestern, succession planning has remained a consistent theme discussed from Captain, to leader, to protégé. Captain Sig has been trying to groom his brother for his potential position as Captain and has encouraged his brother to actively transition his skill set to others. His brother, Edgar, currently serves as what corporate America would glean “middle-management.” His peers universally respect him, however, they are ill equipped to handle his responsibilities if/when he takes over the Captain duties of the ship. The potential of him becoming Captain has come to a head because he does not seem interested in the job. This has left Captain Sig in a vulnerable position because he has yet to identify a successor for his job. Just as importantly, Edgar has not been transitioning his skills to the rest of the crew. This leaves the ship in a tough position because if Edgar decides to walk away, as he has hinted at, the ship has yet to identify and train an heir for his job. It wasn’t until recently, at Sig’s urging, that Edgar engaged an eager “deckhand” who wants to run the ship.  And what generation does the “deckhand” come from? It is another GenYer who believes he is qualified and competent, with limited training, to run the ship. Do you have any people at your company who are perhaps over-eager to assume more responsibility?  However, they possess the talent that you know it takes to one day lead your organization. While you appreciate their ambition, what have you done to establish a career path to set up their expectations of what it takes to advance?

Lastly on the Time Bandit there was a unique decision that took place. The ship (company) has always been in the family and Captain John’s son, Scott, is on deck. However, when discussing who was responsible for leading the ship moving forward both Captain John, and his brother Co-Captain, decided that they don’t think Scott is the right guy for the job. Quite simply, they believed he had not learned all of the skills necessary to effectively run their boat. His experience and skills to this point were limited. Thus, they made the difficult decision to promote another, more eager deckhand, who had made it his focus to learn everything there was about the boat. When faced with an emotional decision, about future leadership, they put company first, family second. I applaud them for making that choice. Would you? Interesting note is that once they promoted this deckhand he developed and ego and are now they are concerned with their decision. They made a smart decision by labeling it a “transitionary trial period.” Much like a baby taking an allergy test, you offer them a small sampling to see how they are going to react rather than give them the whole enchillada.

I applaud all of the Captains for understanding the importance of proactive succession planning. The best succession planning is not when you do it when you’re retiring in a week. It’s when you are still committed to an active role in the business. It is a process, not an event. Those that implement a structure for transitioning successors by forecasting future needs, are those who will end up with the best companies moving forward. Get started now! 

Do all captains of the sea have an innate sense of their own mortality? Do you as a leader? My guess is that those on the Bering sea understand that they won’t be around forever which is why this season has featured a particular emphasis on succession planning. Although their corporations are floating family offices, I think there are many lessons that can be gleaned from the cast and crews featured on the show.

This issue recently surfaced due to the sudden and sad passing of Captain Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie. The interesting coincidence was the time and effort he dedicated this season to grooming his two young boys to take over his ship. No different than any other family business, he was preparing his next generation of leadership. One thing I found most interesting was his idea to send his youngest son off to another boat.

He did this for two primary reasons:

1) To have his son learn how other people run their business. The Captain believed this would sharpen his son’s skills.

2) He wanted his son to appreciate his good fortune of having a ship to take over. He believed his son had become complacent and entitled.  His son happens to be a Gen Y’er so it is obvious why the Captain was having such difficulty!  Would you have the courage to send off your future leaders to another company to acquire new skills and gain fresh perspective? What are you doing to develop your future leaders internally?

On the Northwestern, succession planning has remained a consistent theme discussed from Captain, to leader, to protégé. Captain Sig has been trying to groom his brother for his potential position as Captain and has encouraged his brother to actively transition his skill set to others. His brother, Edgar, currently serves as what corporate America would glean “middle-management.” His peers universally respect him, however, they are ill equipped to handle his responsibilities if/when he takes over the Captain duties of the ship. The potential of him becoming Captain has come to a head because he does not seem interested in the job. This has left Captain Sig in a vulnerable position because he has yet to identify a successor for his job. Just as importantly, Edgar has not been transitioning his skills to the rest of the crew. This leaves the ship in a tough position because if Edgar decides to walk away, as he has hinted at, the ship has yet to identify and train an heir for his job. It wasn’t until recently, at Sig’s urging, that Edgar engaged an eager “deckhand” who wants to run the ship.  And what generation does the “deckhand” come from? It is another GenYer who believes he is qualified and competent, with limited training, to run the ship. Do you have any people at your company who are perhaps over-eager to assume more responsibility?  However, they possess the talent that you know it takes to one day lead your organization. While you appreciate their ambition, what have you done to establish a career path to set up their expectations of what it takes to advance?

Lastly on the Time Bandit there was a unique decision that took place. The ship (company) has always been in the family and Captain John’s son, Scott, is on deck. However, when discussing who was responsible for leading the ship moving forward both Captain John, and his brother Co-Captain, decided that they don’t think Scott is the right guy for the job. Quite simply, they believed he had not learned all of the skills necessary to effectively run their boat. His experience and skills to this point were limited. Thus, they made the difficult decision to promote another, more eager deckhand, who had made it his focus to learn everything there was about the boat. When faced with an emotional decision, about future leadership, they put company first, family second. I applaud them for making that choice. Would you? Interesting note is that once they promoted this deckhand he developed and ego and are now they are concerned with their decision. They made a smart decision by labeling it a “transitionary trial period.” Much like a baby taking an allergy test, you offer them a small sampling to see how they are going to react rather than give them the whole enchillada.

I applaud all of the Captains for understanding the importance of proactive succession planning. The best succession planning is not when you do it when you’re retiring in a week. It’s when you are still committed to an active role in the business. It is a process, not an event. Those that implement a structure for transitioning successors by forecasting future needs, are those who will end up with the best companies moving forward. Get started now!