The study found overall, only about 1 in 5 (21%) study respondents have a broad and inclusive definition of diversity, while 17% admit they have no definition at all. Higher market-performing organizations are more likely to define diversity broadly, with 28% reporting they include all diversity groups in their definition, compared to only 15% of lower-performing companies that include them all. Roughly one in four (23%) lower-performer companies do not even have a diversity definition, and 12% of higher performers don’t either. Also, few organizations measure the bottom-line impact of diversity initiatives. In higher-performing organizations, 76% said they do not calculate a return on their diversity investments, while 80% of lower performers don’t measure ROI.

Higher-performing organizations have a more inclusive definition of diversity

Diversity strategy, however, is a widely recognized topic, particularly among larger companies. A full 78% of organizations with 10,000 or more employees report having a diversity strategy, compared to 44% of companies with 100 to 999 employees and 31% in companies with fewer than 100 workers.

The perceived importance of diversity is not lost on companies, either. Seventy-two percent of higher-performing organizations say that diversity issues are “important” or “very important” today, and 80% believe the issue will be important/very important in 10 years. That compares to 76% of lower performers who feel diversity is important or very important today, and 83% of them believe it will be so in 10 years.

“Defining ‘diversity and inclusion’ is a primary challenge for organizations to ‘move the needle.’ If you cannot agree on what diversity is, how do you create a strategy?” asks i4cp’s Mary Ann Downey. “How do you know when you have succeeded? Another challenge is measurement. If you define diversity narrowly to attributes that are measurable, such as race/ethnicity, gender, etc., are you addressing the business challenge?”

Regarding budget considerations for diversity programs, larger and higher-performing companies are more likely to set a specific budget. Fifty-nine percent of companies with more than 10,000 workers have specific budgets for diversity issues, compared to 19% of companies with 100-999 employees, and 11% of companies with fewer than 100 workers. Higher performers (48%) are also more apt to specifically fund such initiatives than are lower-performing firms, at 27%.

When it comes to measuring the success of their programs, organizations at all performance levels agree that retention and engagement top the list. Improvement in employee retention was cited by 69% of higher performers as the top diversity success measurement, followed by better employee engagement results at 54%. More than half (56%) of lower performers cited retention as the top measurement, and 54% (the same as higher performers) pointed to improved employee engagement. When reviewing diversity metrics, companies at all levels tend to rely on the previous year’s results for comparison purposes.

To support diversity strategies, the most common infrastructure in place is diversity training, favored by 53% of higher performers and 54% of lower-performing companies. Diversity recruiting is favored by 49% of higher performers, compared to 36% of lower performers.

The Diversity Practices Survey was conducted by i4cp in September of 2009. The full results of the survey are available exclusively for all i4cp corporate members.

Additionally, i4cp will be hosting a webinar titled, Global Diversity and Inclusion: A Johnson & Johnson Success Story, today, November 5, 2009 at 1pm EST. The webinar will be presented by Arisa Cunningham, Vice President of Global Diversity at Johnson & Johnson.
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One of best examples of this is Sarah Susanka, whose Not So Big House title launched a powerhouse personal brand that has taken her far beyond her origins as a residential architect.

Sarah Susanka and her “Not So Big” title provide a perfect model of personal branding success based on the choosing the right book title and building on its success

There are hundreds of thousands of contemporary residential architects in America, but no other residential architect has created such an enduring personal brand–or has created as impressive a series of accomplishments as you can discover at her Not So Big website.

Sarah’s brand since 1998

Sarah Susanka’s Not So Big House: A Blueprint For the Way We Really Live appeared in 1998. Since then, her brand has brought her to the forefront of media visibility:

• She’s been a guest on well-known radio and television talk shows like Oprah!, Charlie Rose, and NPR’s Diane Rehm
• Fast Company named her to their inaugeral list of the Top 50 List of Innovators whose achievements are changing society.
• Newsweek Magazine selected her as their Top Newsmaker in 2000.
• US News and World Report dubbed her an innovator in American culture
• In May of 2007, The Lindbergh Foundation presented her with the Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award by the for outstanding individual achievement, demonstrating a spirit of initiative and exemplifying great dedication toward making positive contributions to our world.

How many other residential architects are equally well known?

In addition to the growing list of follow-up Not So Big House titles, her website reveals a wealth of resources for architects, builders, and homeowners. These range from building plans, DVDs, publications, directories. She’s also been able to create a secondary career in personal development with her Not So Big Life title that reflects her underlying philosophy.

How the right 4 words sell books and built a brand

It’s possible to spend an hour discussing the reasons for the success of Sarah Susanka’s Not So Big House title, and how it provided the foundation for her personal brand. (I know, because I’ve done it!)

Briefly, here are some of the reasons for the perfection of her Not So Big House title:

• Instant recognition. Sarah’s Not So Big House title not only instantly signals that the book is about houses, it communicates the basic message: you don’t need “big” to be comfortable. Notice that this is not about about compromise, i.e., “not so big” has nothing to do with “small” or “cheap,” but it does have a lot to do about “right sizing.”
• Concise. The shortness of the title, and the words used in it, permits the title to appear quite large on the cover of the books. (When you visit her “publications” page, study the graphic impact of her book covers; even at thumbnail size, you can easily read the titles.)
• Expandability. The original Not So Big House book was soon followed by titles like Inside the Not So Big House, Outside the Not So Big House, Creating the Not So Big House, Not So Big Remodeling, and Not So Big Solutions for Your Home.

Suggestion: Take the time to make a list of the sales building and personal branding qualities you notice in the Not So Big House title. Use this list to measure the effectiveness of your proposed book title!

I’ve always considered the Not So Big concept one of the world’s great nonfiction titles. During a recent interview, she told how, where, and when the title originated–but that’s a topic for another time. (Or, you can read the Introduction to her Not So Big Life.)

Lessons we can learn

The main lesson I get from Sarah Susanka’s title success is to avoid settling for just “any” title.

Your book’s title can be much more than just the words on the front cover of your book. It can become your brand, a meme–or easily remembered trademark–that makes you and your book memorable while distancing you from your competition.

Take the time to analyze the title you’re proposing for your book.

Ask yourself, “How does my title stack up against Sarah’s?”

Author:

Roger C. Parker is a “32 Million Dollar Author,” book coach, and online writing resource. His 38 books have sold 1.9 million copies in 35 languages around the world. The NY Times called his Looking Good in Print “…the one to buy when you’re buying only one!” Roger has interviewed hundreds of successfully branded authors and shares what he’s learned at Published & Profitable and his daily writing tips blog.

Related posts:

1. Are You Really Ready to Contact Literary Agents with Your Idea for Writing a Nonfiction Book to Build Your Brand and Promote Your Business? Getting a literary agent to represent you is an essential…
2. Are You Writing a Book to Build Your Personal Brand? If you’re not writing a book to build your personal…
3. Personal Brands Are More Successful in Diverse Teams Today, I spoke with Scott E. Page, who is a…

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The question that threw him the most (he was admirably cool while looking devastated) was “was it a loss of concentration that led to the goal being conceded?”.  The question would have assigned fault to two of Carragher’s colleagues.  Carragher answered after a brief confused look with “it looked like the ball was just bouncing around and then it the next thing I knew it was in the net.  We’ll have to look at it later to see what happened”.

In the midst of a standard well-oiled interview by a great professional this answer demonstrated the folly of trying to work out what went wrong so soon after the event.  We are often encouraged as managers to ensure that performance appraisal occurs at the time of the event, while everything is fresh in their mind.  But here the “manager” (captain) was ill-equipped to give feedback.

You can take “in the moment” feedback too far.  I recommend a day or two after the event, when the emotion has subsided yet memories are fresh.  A short period of reflection allows for a considered performance appraisal rather than a reactive one.  If you were one of those central defenders devastated by defeat you would not have been receptive to your captain pointing out your fault 10 minutes after the game.  But after a day or so, that same performance feedback delivered well would allow you to develop and avoid the same mistake twice.

Performance appraisal and feedback can be difficult.  Timing of the feedback really matters.

Brendan

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Twitter

From Twitter’s Impersonation Policy:

“The best way to report impersonation submitting a web request from the Support home page–be sure to select impersonation from the dropdown box!  Once you’ve submitted your ticket, we’ll email you a ticket confirmation with more information. You can check on your ticket status anytime by visiting your Twitter Support home page and clicking on  “check on your existing requests.”  If you’re unable to submit a request through our support form or do not have a Twitter account yourself, please send an email  to impersonation@twitter.com with the subject line “Impersonation” and include the information described above.”

LinkedIn

From Linkedin’s User Agreement:

“LINKEDIN DOES NOT HAVE ANY OBLIGATION TO VERIFY THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSONS SUBSCRIBING TO ITS SERVICES, NOR DOES IT HAVE ANY OBLIGATION TO MONITOR THE USE OF ITS SERVICES BY OTHER USERS OF THE COMMUNITY ; THEREFORE, LINKEDIN DECLINES ALL LIABILITY FOR IDENTITY THEFT OR ANY OTHER MISUSE OF YOUR IDENTITY OR INFORMATION…

DON’T… use or attempt to use another’s account without authorization from the Company, or create a false identity on LinkedIn;

Contact information for LinkedIn Corporation’s Content Complaint Manager is as follows: E-Mail: abuse@linkedin.com”

Facebook

From Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities:

“We respect other people’s rights, and expect you to do the same.

1. You will not post content or take any action on Facebook that infringes or violates someone else’s rights or otherwise violates the law.
2. We can remove any content or information you post on Facebook if we believe that it violates this Statement.
3. We will provide you with tools to help you protect your intellectual property rights. To learn more, visit our How to Report Claims of Intellectual Property Infringement page.
4. If we remove your content for infringing someone else’s copyright, and you believe we removed it by mistake, we will provide you with an opportunity to appeal.
5. If you repeatedly infringe other people’s intellectual property rights, we will disable your account when appropriate.”

Use Facebook’s IP infringement form to complain.

Google

This is somewhat unsettling.

As Google has grown over the years, some of its services were created in-house like Gmail, while others were bought and absorbed like YouTube. In addition, local country laws have different requirements and the consequence is that Google doesn’t have one uniform impersonation policy.

The Gmail Help Impersonation page and the Google Chat Help Impersonation page have the same message:

“If you believe someone has created a Gmail address in an attempt to impersonate your identity, you may wish to file a report with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center.

In addition, we recommend contacting your state’s Office of Consumer Protection.

Gmail is unable to participate in mediations involving third parties regarding impersonation. To read the Gmail Terms of Use, please visit: http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/terms_of_use.html.”

So you’re on your own there, but at least YouTube lets you complain. Its Abusive Users: Harassment and Bullying page says:

“Sometimes criticism and insults can escalate to more serious forms of harassment that are harder to ignore. This might include making fake profiles to impersonate or make fun of someone or copying someone else’s videos without permission.

If someone copies videos that you created and you would like them removed, the most direct way to do this is by submitting a copyright claim.

If you have blocked and ignored someone and they still continue to try to upset you intentionally, you may report the instance to us as harassment. Harassment reports are taken very seriously, so please take a moment to consider whether you are actually being harassed. While it might be unpleasant to receive a comment that is rude or that you disagree with, it may not be considered harassment. If you would like to file a harassment report, please use our contact form.”

Ning

Ning’s Terms of Service state:

“You are solely responsible for your conduct, Your Social Networks, Your Code, and Your Content on the Ning Platform. We want to keep the Social Networks on Ning safe and fun for everyone and the use of the Ning Platform for unlawful or harmful activities is not allowed. In defining “safe and fun,” you specifically agree that:

You will not post, email or make available any Content to Users or use the Ning Platform… to impersonate a Ning employee, or any other person, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity, or to obtain access to a Social Network or the Ning Platform without authorization;”

To complain, email Ning Support at info@ning.com.

Yahoo

The Yahoo Terms of Service page says:

“…You understand that all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages, tags, or other materials (”Content”), whether publicly posted or privately transmitted, are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. This means that you, and not Yahoo!, are entirely responsible for all Content that you upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available via the Yahoo! Services. Yahoo! does not control the Content posted via the Yahoo! Services and, as such, does not guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of such Content. You understand that by using the Yahoo! Services, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent or objectionable. Under no circumstances will Yahoo! be liable in any way for any Content, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any Content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any Content posted, emailed, transmitted or otherwise made available via the Yahoo! Services…

You agree to not use the Yahoo! Services to… impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Yahoo! official, forum leader, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;”

To complain to Yahoo, use their Abuse Form.

MySpace

Myspace’s Terms and Conditions say:

“The following are examples of the kind of activity that is illegal or prohibited on the MySpace Website and through your use of the MySpace Services. MySpace reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in MySpace’s sole discretion, violates this provision, including, without limitation, terminating your Membership and/or reporting such activity or Content to law enforcement authorities. Prohibited activity includes, but is not limited to…impersonating or attempting to impersonate MySpace or a MySpace employee, administrator or moderator, another Member, or person or entity (including, without limitation, the use of email addresses associated with or of any of the foregoing);”

Complain to MySpace via their Contact Form.

Other impersonation policies

• FriendFeed’s Terms of Service – complain to terms@friendfeed.com.
• Stumbleupon’s Terms of Service – Use their Questions or Comments? form to complain.
• digg’s Terms of use – email abuse@digg.com for help.
• Skype Etiquette – contact their Customer Support Team if you need to.

Author:

Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.

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From Business Wire

:Hotel workers walked off the job this morning at the Grand Hyatt Union Square in San Francisco, announcing a 3-day strike against the property, according to Unite Here Local 2…The work stoppage comes two weeks after members of Unite Here Local 2 voted by over 92% to authorize strikes at any of 31 upscale hotel properties in San Francisco. Workers at the Grand Hyatt will return to work on Sunday, November 8, but have called for customers to honor an ongoing boycott at that property. Workers at other San Francisco hotels remain on the job, though job actions remain a possibility elsewhere..”

It seems that the workers have accepted lower raises over the past few years in order to maintain their health insurance plans. This year, however, management has stated that the employees need to pay a larger share of the health care costs.

From SFGate:

Management says premium costs have tripled in the past 10 years, requiring monthly outlays of $1,080 per month, per employee. It wants workers to pick up a share of future costs through higher contributions and co-payments.

Hyatt negotiator Bill Dritsas said co-payments for visits to the doctor or emergency room have been pegged at $5 for 30 years, as have the cost-per-day for hospital stays. He wants a five-year contract that will cap the Hyatt’s health care outlays at $1,235 at the end of that period, and force whatever benefit or co-payment changes are necessary to keep payments under that.

[Union President Mike] Casey said the union is not opposed to higher emergency room co-payments to hold down rate increases but will fight to keep doctor’s visits and hospitalization costs as low as possible so workers don’t forgo routine medical care. He said the union has proposed a one-year contract that would cost the Grand Hyatt just $250,000 to maintain current benefits and provide small raises for its unionized workers while the two sides work on a longer-term fix. Dritsas said the Hyatt wants a multi-year contract that addresses the health insurance issues now rather than later.

Talks resume next week. I really do hope that they can get it settled, but something tells me that this is just the tip of the health care iceberg.

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And given today’s environment, it’s unclear whether demand is increasing or decreasing. Just last week the Wall Street Journal ran a story about the economic downturn causing a slump in H-1B applications, while this week BusinessWeek countered with a piece stating that the H-1B lull in visa applications is only temporary. Confused yet? I know I am.

Like many traditional HR processes, this one may be ready for something new. So over the past few months we have been exploring the immigration processing world in intimate detail.

I know you’re jealous.

Perhaps not surprisingly, we’ve found that the majority of services in this area are provided by law firms. And although there are many such firms offering services, there seems to be little variation in what’s provided.

So this is where you come in. If you’re an HR professional who deals with visas and Green Cards for your organization, we’d love to get your thoughts and opinions on the process. As an added bonus, we’ll donate $5 to a selection of charities for each survey completed.

Click here to take the survey

It should only take you ten minutes to complete (I promise!). This is your chance to be heard and mature the market while helping those in need. If this isn’t your cup of tea, please feel free to forward this link to your (lucky) colleagues  - http://bit.ly/imsurvey.

Stay tuned as we’ll be posting an update on our initial findings in the next few weeks!

While we’ve been working on that, a fantastic group of thought leaders have been putting together an event which embodies pushing the status quo - HRevolution. It begins today and I’m honored to be a participant and facilitator on “The Future of HR”. So don’t forget to follow HRevolution on Twitter over the next few days. It’s going to be a great event.

Thanks again for taking the time to participate in our survey. Let’s keep the conversation going.

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The letter writer, a female vice president, tells of a very low bonus she received after a very high evaluation from her boss, which the boss justified by saying she had gotten as much as possible and more than people senior to her. The letter writer then found out “others with worse performance got far more money.” The writer was very upset by this and wrote to Dear Lucy to find out if she had any recourse.

Lucy’s response, in part:

“You think a bonus is a reward for doing a good job. In fact, it is a prize you get for playing a game that is complicated, skilful and highly political. The boss controls the money and information, and the players lobby to get the biggest slice.

“The winners are the people who get the biggest bonuses, but neither the winners nor the losers will know for certain whether they have won or lost because the boss will tell everyone they have won, even if they haven’t. The result is mass dissatisfaction and paranoia. Secrecy and disinformation abound.”

I know many people reading this post have experienced such soul-crushing bonus programs themselves. And this answer is why I advocate so strongly against cash-based bonuses. Recognition and appreciation of excellent work is not a competitive game in which a prize can be won. Recognition and appreciation should never be political. Recognition and appreciation should never be secret. Structuring bonus programs in the manner as the one described only serves to breed dissatisfaction, disengagement and an extreme lack of trust.

True, successful recognition, rather, is transparent, public or at least published (to account for those who may not enjoy being called out in front of colleagues, even for praise), and above all else, sincere. In this way, everyone knows the score – appreciation and recognition is shown to those who live the values and achieve the strategic objectives. Nothing is hidden and a culture of appreciation can begin to grow in a company – instead of a culture of in which your top performers, like this letter writer, are advised to go find another job.

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Despite the supposed “generation gap” that exists in the workforce, Gallup research has found that certain factors – such as management quality, compensation, quality team dynamics and career development – are valued equally across generations when it comes to prospective employers.

For those differences that still exist, however – both in what these groups want and in how they search for jobs – here’s a breakdown of what to keep in mind when branding yourself to these various age groups.

MILLENIALS
Generation Y, or “the Millennials,” are people born roughly between 1982 and 2004.  The strongest defining characteristic of the Gen Y group is their technology-driven lives. 

What to Emphasize When Recruiting These Workers
Millenials get a bad rap for their supposed attitudes of entitlement, but they just want what any other worker wants – to be challenged and to do work they’re proud of. But because they lack the professional experience of their older counterparts, they might find themselves easily frustrated when relegated to menial ‘entry-level’ tasks.  For this reason, opportunities for rapid career advancement are very important for to generation, as well as good pay and benefits and great training programs, all characteristics shared by BusinessWeek’s Best Places to Launch a Career:

• Great pay and benefits: Last year, Deloitte, which boasts the top spot on BusinessWeek’s list, offered hiring bonuses to 90 percent of their new hires, for an average bonus of $5,102.  Additionally, it’s common practice for these ‘best places’ to offer tuition reimbursement, 401(k) options, flex time and paid time off.
• Top-notch training programs. Cisco Sytems’ new hire training program includes a week-long orientation with various managers across 30 departments, enabling new employees to then select which managers they would like as their own as part of a “matching program.” Because of this system, new hires enjoy an immediate sense of ownership in their new roles. It’s also probably why a remarkable 98 percent of new hires are still with Cisco after two years.
• Opportunities for rapid advancement: Every Ernst&Young employee participates in a formal mentoring program – perhaps helping to explain why most entry-level hires are eligible for a promotion and a raise within the first year.

Where to Find Them
Social networking is a part of this generation’s daily routine, so smart companies utilize various social networking sites to get in front of these candidates – using these platforms to post jobs, informational videos, podcasts and content, as well as interact with job seekers.  (Learn about how Deloitte uses social media for both recruiting and retention purposes.)

Offline, these companies make use of their partnerships with college campuses. In 2008-2009, for example, Teach for America recruited on 471 undergrad campuses and made job offers on 379 of them.

GENERATION X
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X tend to be skeptical, pragmatic and practical, self-reliant, independent and individualistic, according to PsychologyToday. Like Gen Y, they are well-versed in technology, but have a few years of professional experience behind them, as well.

What to Emphasize When Recruiting These Workers

• Stability: This generation is attracted to companies with strong portfolios, plans for the future, and proven longevity.
• Corporate culture: Gen X thrives on diversity, responsibility, honesty and creative input. They like a casual, friendly work environment, seek challenge, involvement and flexible learning arrangements.
• Work-life balance and flexible work arrangements: Many are working parents, so they seek assistance from their employers to care for both growing children and aging parents.

Where to Find Them
Generation X is more likely to use job boards, professional or trade association Web sites or visit individual company Web sites to search for jobs than Gen Y, as well as tap into their networks of friends, family and former colleagues. That said, it’s important that you not only communicate the benefits of working at your company clearly, but that you do so continuously, in order to maintain brand awareness.

BABY BOOMERS
Born between 1946 and1964, the Baby Boomer work ethic is characterized by dedication, loyalty and a willingness to stay in the same job for a long time. They have a lot to offer businesses with their work and life experience, skills and knowledge that many younger people can’t offer. They tend to work longer hours – and respect is paramount when managing a Baby Boomer.

What to Emphasize When Recruiting These Workers
Money is not necessarily the most important factor for seniors. Raised with a strong work ethic, these workers enjoy recognition and support for their efforts. Because they’re also thinking toward the end of their career, retirement benefits and flexible work arrangements are important to them. Focus on the following aspects of your company when talking to these workers:

• Recognition programs
• Health and retirement benefits
• Flexible work arrangements (such as flexible scheduling, job-sharing, and phased retirement)

Where to Find Them
Cornell University, AARP’s Best Employer for Workers Over 50, uses placement agencies for older job seekers to successfully target mature workers and retirees.  In addition, Cornell recruits from within its own ranks of retirees through the Cornell Retiree Association and the Cornell Association of Professors Emeriti. First Horizon, another ‘Best Employer’ on AARP’s list, also uses placement agencies for older job seekers and draws on a relationship it has cultivated with Senior Services of Memphis to locate and attract mature workers and retirees.

Keep in mind that, as noted above, certain qualities will always be attractive to job seekers, no matter what age group, and that no matter what, a cross-channel recruiting campaign – one that utilizes both online and offline resources – will give you the best chance for reaching the greatest pool of candidates.

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Today was day one of the 3rd annual ABA Labor and Employment Law Annual CLE Conference.  Like most conference events, this one comes complete with keynotes speakers and various breakout sessions.   Instead of being a conference for HR practitioners, this is a mainly a conference for lawyers.  This means a lot of the sessions are spent talking in case names and citations like 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyatt, which was one of a number of labor and employment law case decisions handed down by the U.S> Supreme Court this year and reviewed by Kenneth Dau-Schmidt of Indiana University in the opening keynote.

This type of information is useful and informative for lawyers, but pretty dry to sit through all day long, and even worse to try and blog about.  So, in lieu of providing 6 dry and boring blog paragraphs, I decided to take notes on the things from each session that I found really surprising or interesting, or both.  So here are my interesting tidbits from each session that I attended today.

Top 5 issues in Employment Law

I found it a little odd that in a session called “Top 5 issues”, the panel talked about 4 issues which are of paramount importance at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  These were:

• Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA)
  • Proposed regulations being finalized on Title II of the Act
  • Are people dealing with these cases yet?  Not so much.
  • GINA is a pro-active Civil Rights law, not a reactive one like most others.
  • Represents a huge challenge to EEOC. Requires training and education for agency and employers.
  • EEOC doesn’t expect to see a huge explosion of charges or litigation.

• Employment Non-Discrimination Act
  • “Gay Rights” bill
  • Would add sexual orientation/sexual identity to Title VII (very important to members of the LBGT community and supported by the Obama administration)

• Family Responsibility Guidance
• ADAAA

Other important things going at EEOC

• Full complement of board members at the EEOC (finally!)
• Trying to change the way they do things at the EEOC
  • Have been struggling with financial resources
  • Finally able to hire 250 new practitioners
  • Able to do the real work they have been wanting to do and train people for new approach

The new approach is that the EEOC is no longer a charge processing factory.  They now consider the EEOC to be a law enforcement agency!

A Conversation with the NLRB

This was a panel with the entire National Labor Relations Board in attendance.  That would be the complete 2 member board consisting of Wilma Liebman and Peter Schaumber.    Each gave opening comments before accepting questions from a panel and the audience.

Peter Schaumber

Schaumber has been thinking about the decline in organized labor membership.  According to Schanumber, this decline not due to employer resistance or employers committing excessive levels of Unfair Labor Practices.  He says it is more attributable to the loss of manufacturing jobs, the current high profile issues of some organized industries, a disinclination of many current workers to embrace the union model, and the development of a global economy.

Schaumber also observed that much of the current conversation of labor relations reform in the US revolves around the need to make it easier to organize.  Schaumber calls out organized labor for failing to give consideration to the possible need to revamp their business model to something more fitting with the realities of the present day economy. He then suggested some other approachs for discussion, including:

• Internal worker councils, such as are common in Europe
• Can unions  be more aligned with business?
• What would a labor law with this emphasis look like?
• Could following a more salutary approach change this paradigm?
• Obama board – will they change board law?
• Will they “Pass EFCA via the Board”?

He closed by saying it would be a grave mistake to undertake a wholesale reversal of  Bush board precedential board policy.  This would not promote collective bargaining.  The NLRB needs to be carefully balanced to represent the interests of parties, management and labor.  Stability in Board law is critically important in this economy.

Wilma Liebman

This is a time of great change, a time of great opportunity, a time of great uncertainty.   Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case to determine the status of a 2 member board.  She doesn’t think all 500 cases are at risk. Right now only 77 have been taken to Circuit Court for review.

Board would obviously decide what they would have to do if they were to lose in case.  Liebman believes the decision to proceed as a 2 member board was a good one.  Other issues facing the NLRB include:

• Uncertainty over the appointments of President Obama’s board nominees
• Looming uncertainty of labor law reform, when it will occur and what it might look like

Constant “flip flopping” may have been caused by extended 60 year period without reform by Congress.

Labor relations is a field of deep divisions.  Bush board was always divided.  3-2 splits and dissents were common.

Controversy has exacerbated the loss of confidence in the NLRB.  Resulted in a decline in trust of the Board.  Unions avoid the Board at all costs.  Deep divisions over EFCA and other types of labor law reform.  Liebman – this debate is welcomed, however rancorous.

There are constraints on the Board, whoever sits on the Board.  Liebman doesn’t think it likely that there will be fundamental changes from the Board itself.  This is much more likely to occur on Capitol Hill.

Union Response to Schaumber

Nancy Schiffer of AFL-CIO  termed it to be “stunning and breathtaking for a member of the board who has diminished coverage of the Act over the years of his service to present a critique of the Union movement right now without an equal critique on growing scorched earth policy in labor industry.  EFCA is a model for a less adversarial, more cooperative model of labor relations.”

Schaumber responded to this criticism by saying the NLRB has only one constituency:  employees.  Management and unions are customers.  Unions should encourage Board independence, not to serve the interests of any one stakeholder.

I know who you are and I read what you write:  Blogging, tweeting, GPS and e-mail

This was the title of the last session of the day.  The panel was mixed, with both labor and management side attorneys presenting.  Ironically, blogging was never mentioned.  There were many fireworks over the uses that management might find for these technologies, and whether or not employees needed to represented to avoid major issues.

It is clear that this is an area of developing practice for lawyers on both sides.  The lawyers who understand the technology are doing a lot of business giving advice to clients on both sides about social media concerns.  However, only about half the lawyers in the room had even a basic familiarity with sites like Facebook or Twitter.  Management attorney Eric Barnum gave some cautionary advice to the audience:  ”If you don’t understand this technology, you need to think really hard about advising clients in this area!”  Words for lawyers (and HR practitioners) to live by.

Labor-Management Rift Runs through it all

In all the sessions, there was an undercurrent of tension between the labor and management practitioners in the room.  It was noticeable by low key sniping and snide comments that took place over and over again.

It was an interesting first day.

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MBG stands for: Management By Gimmick.  Even though employees can tell if you are using MBG, many members of management don’t know they are using it.  They tend to love formal Recognition Programs.  Why?  It makes it easy for them.   They also think that all employees will strive harder just to get a chance for that “Employee of the Month” award and get that cherished parking space, that photo on the wall or that certificate.   This has not been my experience.

Just having a “program” smells like MBG.  I have always maintained that you have to be very, very careful when “recognizing” employees.

When I am consulting with a new client, they invariably express a desire to start a “program” for building morale or recognizing employees.  I always warn them of the pitfalls of “programs” and how they reek of MBG.

Another acronym that is appropriate here is – KISS.  Keep it Simple by having the employee’s manager provide warm, sincere stroking of the productive efforts of his or her employees on a real time basis.  And… this personal recognition needs to be personal.  Each employee is different and it is part of the manager’s job to know each employee’s needs in this area.

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All things being equal, we prefer to do business with those we know, like and trust. And all things not being equal, many of us would still prefer to do business with those we know, like and trust. I heard this said at a panel discussion recently and I couldn’t agree more.

The question is: How can we allow that know, like and trust to happen effortlessly and automatically so that networking doesn’t seem forced, fake, or time-consuming?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored how we can tap into the natural ability we each have to build relationships organically, letting nature take its course without injecting anything artificial into the process to force them to blossom more quickly.

And we’ve seen in this series that the more we get it right up front—with who we connect with and how we connect with them—the easier it is to converse, and ultimately convert that connection to a true relationship. Those who realize this, for example, understand why you wouldn’t send a Facebook friend request or a LinkedIn invitation without crafting a personalized note, any more than you would phone someone you’ve never met and start chatting away without introducing yourself or mentioning a reason for calling.

This week we’ll wrap up the series with a focus on the third step of the organic relationship building process: conversion.

Conversion is about evolving from simply being known to someone, to ultimately being trusted by them. Trusted enough to buy from you, trusted enough to tell their friends and colleagues about you, trusted enough to offer their help to you when you ask for it.

Conversion

But there are different categories of conversion:

Supporter: Where there’s a natural chemistry and mutual respect. Anyone who likes you will usually be willing to help you out with a favor or spend time with you to give advice and feedback.

Partner: Where there’s a natural synergy between your respective goals. These are folks who can help you expand your business by collaborating with you to develop new markets, products and services. They help not just to feel good, but also because there are direct and tangible benefits to them for doing so.

Customer: Where there’s a natural need someone has that your product or service can fill. For example, corporate training managers, event planners and others who hire speakers for their organizations would be potential customers for me.

Endorser: Where there’s been an actual experience of working with you. These folks can give a whole-hearted recommendation based on their hands-on knowledge. They can help answer questions the prospect may have, thereby serving as your mini-sales force.

The reason some people struggle with networking is that they focus on meeting only those who fit into the Customer category. Or worse, trying to push everyone they meet into the Customer category even when it doesn’t make sense.

Realistically, only a small percentage of folks you’ll come across will ever buy from you. But that doesn’t mean they can’t play a crucial role in your business success as a supporter or partner.

In fact, when you have supporters, partners and endorsers, winning over customers becomes a lot easier because other people are doing the selling for you.

So the key to successfully converting initial connections into productive relationships is to focus your conversations on winning people over as supporters first. Build your know, like and trust factor by finding out what’s important to them, what they’re pursuing, and how you can help.

When you work on gaining someone’s support rather than to trying to leapfrog over into the sale, not only will you put less pressure on yourself with networking, but you’ll also put less pressure on them. And in that natural, relaxed state will the most robust, productive and profitable relationships take root and flourish.

Author:

Liz Lynch is founder of the Center for Networking Excellence and author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008). Connect with Liz on Twitter at @liz_lynch and get your free Smart Networking Toolkit at http://www.SmartNetworking.com.

Related posts:

1. Building Relationships Organically – Part 2 Step 1: Connect We started this series last week by…
2. Building Relationships Organically – Part 3 Step 2: Converse You are one conversation away from your…
3. Building Relationships Organically – Part 1 When we don’t need anything and simply interact with the…

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One day I’m waiting for an appointment, thumbing through the latest issue of Oprah Magazine.  As I scan Oprah’s must-have fashion items for Spring, I see a really cute straw tote with red patent leather trim.  It’s made by Liz & Co. exclusively for J.C. Penney.  Price $50.

Being a handbag collector (Mr. Bartender calls it a fetish)…I had to have it.  So I started searching online without any luck.  Next, I contacted JCPenny online and asked where I could find it.  Their reply: only in stores.

(I know you can see where this is going.)  And, you might be saying, “It’s a handbag, give it up.”   But I was determined, so I dragged Mr. B to the mall to help me look for this bag.  (He’s a saint.)  At the store, we walked around for a long time and couldn’t find the bag anywhere.  I spoke to a sales clerk, department manager and then the store manager.  None of them knew about the bag, Oprah Magazine, or the ad.

I came home frustrated.  Then I saw the news headline saying that JCPenney was reporting decreased sales for the quarter.  Well, that did it.  Here I am unable to spend my money at their store and they’re telling the world consumer spending is down.  So I went on Hoovers, looked up the contact info for the exec’s of both JCPenney and Liz Claiborne and fired off a few of letters . . never expecting to hear a word (but I felt better).

About a week later on a Sunday night, my phone rings.  You can imagine my surprise when the gentleman on the other end said, “I’m the president of JCPenney and I just read your letter.”  I’m like, “you’ve got to be kidding.”  So he tells me that he’s going to have someone “look into it.”  I say thanks and hang up the phone figuring I’ll never hear another word.

Meanwhile, I get an email from someone at Liz Claiborne.  They tell me they’re trying to find the bag at a store and will send me one (at no charge) as soon as they find it.  I reply with thanks…again, not holding my breath.

Liz Claiborne’s offices send me a second note – they can’t find the bag at any store…so they’re having the factory in China make me one.  At this point, I’m thinking Ashton Kutcher must have started a non-celebrity version of Punk’d because there is just no way…

About a week later, I get the red tote from Liz Claiborne.  It’s just as nice as what was pictured in the magazine.

Couple days later, I get a second tote.  This one was from JCPenney and it includes a matching red patent leather wallet.  (Obviously, they understand that women with handbag obsessions like matching wallets.)

And, a couple days after that…I got (you guessed it) a third bag.

After laughing hysterically, I packaged up two of the totes (yep, I kept the matching wallet) and sent them back with a letter explaining that the tote was really beautiful but I didn’t need three of them.  And, I received the nicest letter (PDF) from the Chairman of JCPenney.

The reason I enjoy telling this story is because here’s a fabulous example of recovering from a customer complaint.  Every organization will have a bad day.  It’s how companies deal with it that sets them apart.

While this story didn’t play out on Facebook or Twitter, it easily could have.  Good customer service is more than just delivering things right the first time.  It’s fixing them when something goes wrong.  Done right, not only do you keep the customer…but you have them singing your praises.  This little story about my red purse is one JCPenney and Liz Claiborne should be proud of.

How does this relate to transparency?  Well, don’t let a fear of something going kablooey hold you back. When you make a mistake – admit it and fix it.  Then, what do you have to worry about?

You May Also Like:

1. Transparency Training
2. Endurance

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In an economic downturn and subsequent recovery, change is inevitable for every organization. Effective Change Management is often a mix of the strategic and the practical. It can encompass everything from ensuring strategies are aligned, to making sure your weekly bulletin goes out on time, on message and to the right people. From a HR perspective, it is important to provide leadership and guidance by example and the following actions can help HR executives to lead the way during the change process.

1. Define and deliver your HR strategy

Make sure that HR strategy is consistent with the overall business strategy, and where necessary provide input and ideas into the overall business strategy. Make sure you achieve buy-in from key stakeholders. This can be achieved by clearly outlining your proposed improvements and delivering on project ideas early on. Part of aligning HR strategy with the overall business strategy will be achieved by sharpening your HR operating model and asking how each HR role will support your organization in the next 12 months. You will be better able to respond quickly to organizational changes with better HR systems, more effective processes and better aligned capabilities in place. This allows HR to deal with the next new change more effectively.

2. Understand HR cost drivers

It is vital to know what drives HR costs. If you know your key performance metrics and what has an effect on them, you can quickly demonstrate that you understand the cost, service and risk implications of any proposed organizational changes on your own department. A good grasp of the cost implications of strategic decisions and the analysis to back it up – really helps when it comes to making changes. By conducting an assessment of the HR department, you get a better understanding of your internal benchmarks. A key metric for HR to understand is the HR “Cost to Serve”of each employee, including staff, systems and third parties. This can vary widely between businesses and geographies and it is important to know why.

3. Take a lead on sourcing options

Take the outsourcing decision to your board – do not let the board take it to you. Be proactive and do the research into how outsourcing could benefit your department (see article Top 5 Benefits of HR Outsourcing)and bring about positive change, as well as cost-savings. Show that you have been actively looking at alternative ways to provide better and more cost-effective HR services in payroll, IT, recruitment, training, HR administration and benefits. Develop your own “build or buy” criteria to help gradually improve HR services. Demonstrate that your business case takes into account the benefits of moving from fixed cost to a more variable cost (that will help in the downturn and the subsequent upturn).

4. Lead by example

There is a balancing act that good HR directors need to master. Often, HR directors are so outwardly focused on supporting the organization that they can neglect the day-to-day workings of their own department. When aligning HR strategy to the wider business strategy, HR directors need to focus on the internal working of the HR department, and most importantly, the people within the HR department. Show leadership through developing your talented team members, and use this as your core team to lead change. Retention strategies start at home, so show the board what you are doing to keep and develop your most talented team members. Be innovative. The organization will look to the HR department to lead on this – secondments, project roles and recognizing excellent service are all initiatives that can inspire people within the organization.

5. Implement change decisively and calmly

All executives in the organization must demonstrate leadership by managing change in a calm and decisive way. HR can stop the organization making “knee-jerk” reactions – more than ever, this is the time to make the right decisions for your organization. Implement changes calmly, effectively and consistently.

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Mary does not have a HR background, however has been a top executive with an engineering background. This has raised the question,

“Do you think someone with a ‘non-HR’ background can make a successful HR Director?”

I posed this question to an Institute of Directors discussion on LinkedIn (UK-based members-only group) and within 24 hours had over 20 comments, which brought out a range of strongly-held views on people management and Human Resources.

Some themes, and my commentary from the discussion :-

Can someone with a ‘non-HR’ background be HR Director? Absolutely, they could bring in real experience of the workplace, fresh innovative strategic thinking, strong stakeholder relationships (particularly for internal candidates) and bring in the real thinkers from outside HR.

What about specific HR knowledge on policies, benefits/reward, industrial/employee relations, employment law?
“It’s a positive sign they want to make deep changes in HR and don’t want to draw from the HR community” from the Workforce article.
Naturally this specialist HR knowledge is needed, but it doesn’t all need to be with the HR Director, or in some cases it doesn’t need to be within the organisation. Larger organisations can afford to employ specialist direct reports, and all organisations can go outside the organisation for specialist HR services. The HR Director is still ‘accountable’ for decisions made on employment law, but that doesn’t mean they need to know the latest directives in minute detail.

The context is key. The range of competencies and experience required for a particular HR Director role is varied and will depend on the circumstances. From major transformation to taking over a ‘steady ship’, the skills needed to ‘transform’ an organisation are very different to those needed to ‘manage’ an organisation. (see article HR Transformation Highlights Skills Gaps in HR.)

Who is responsible for ‘People Management’ anyway? Well everyone actually – from the CEOs to managers and employees. HR does have a key role, but it is not their sole responsibility. People solutions come not just from the HR Director, but from a collective team of specialists.

Do organisations need a HR function, if most services can be outsourced? There is a market for HR outsourcing (see article on Top 5 Benefits of HR Outsourcing) which vary in maturity from Payroll and Benefits Administration to end-to-end HR services (for large global players like BP, Unilever etc). If someone else can deliver a particular function ‘better and cheaper’ then why not outsource? My recommendation is not to outsource strategic functions which should be delivered by those ‘close to the heart’ of the organisation. Or better than outsource, why not eliminate unnecessary HR administration or utilise ‘self-service’ software applications where appropriate.

Why are we not having this discussion about Finance and IT, what makes HR different? A great question from @bncarvin on Twitter, and also from the LinkedIn debate. My view is that we are having this debate about HR, simply because in many areas HR is not delivering on ‘talent and people issues’ attracting, retaining and developing employees. In some cases, HR is not responding to the strategic agenda because it is bogged down in important operational work, mergers, restructures etc. In other cases, it is because the transformation skill-set is missing. Many of the Chief Executives current issues are ‘People issues’, for example improving performance of employees, developing the talent pool, fostering innovation. If these are not delivered by HR, then the CEO will look for radical solutions such as bringing in talent from outside HR.

My hope is that HR will develop the transformational skills required to allocate more resources to strategic issues, utilise appropriate HR service providers and benefit from the renaissance in HR software solutions (see article 5 Future Trends in HR operating models). With mounting pressure to deliver, HR has to transform or bringing in HR Directors from ‘outside of HR’ will be more common. However if HR does respond, the current question will change from,
“can people with ‘non-HR’ backgrounds become HR Directors?”
to
“can HR Directors become Chief Executive Officers?” (see for example the article Making the step up from HR to the CEO )

For those in HR who can rise to the challenge, the prizes are high indeed.

Does the shoe have to fit? I would be very interested in your views.

Finally I wish Mary Barra good luck in her new role!

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(3) HR Outsourcing market will restructure to deliver standardised services

The HR Vendor landscape is evolving all the time (slide 8), we have HR Technology vendors, HR Outsourcing (HRO) providers, single process vendors and HR consultants. HR vendors are also impacted by current economic changes, with cost pressures and streamlining. The market will look very different in two years time with more mergers & acquisitions, see for example Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt merger.

There have been less huge, multi-year HRO contracts such as Unilever/Accenture or Convergys and Johnson & Johnson. 10-year HRO contracts are more difficult in the current environment. It is difficult enough to predict the needs of your own organisation, yet alone where a supplier will be in 5-10 years time, so HR buyers are more cautious. However, single process outsourcing is booming – RPO, Learning & Development outsourcing or see recent examples of large “Payroll Plus” contracts. The ERP providers are now developing and providing SaaS models – see Wipro and Oracle example and if successful this will indeed ‘blow-up’ the HRO/BPO service model.

The HRO model will change to provide lower cost services to a broader range of organisations. For buyers to benefit from cost savings to achieve their strategic agenda, they will need to accept more standardisation of services. Industry consolidation, technology innovation, economic pressures and a drive to deliver HR strategy will all help to make this happen. Those vendors who provide tools and services that help address organisations key Talent Management issues will thrive.

(4) HR as a corporate function will be leaner, with Employees and Managers doing more

Organisations need to improve productivity in a competitive globalised environment and HR needs to demonstrate ‘value for money’ like every other function. This will encourage ‘leaner’ central HR functions, pushing out more “people management” to managers enabled with much better skills and tools.

Current HR operating models need to change (slide 10). The ‘Ulrich Model’ promoted ‘economies of scale’ and ‘economies of skill’ with the adoption of Business Partners . However, the implementation of the model has had mixed results, including adoption of Business Partner model, questions about whether HR Technology has been a barrier rather than an enabler, and gaps in HR skills required to implement the changes needed.

Business Partners – working within HR or the business with participation in strategic decision-making. This is currently a weak spot in many HR Operating Models, for different reasons including HR Generalists struggling to operate at an Executive level. A key challenge for HR will be to enable Managers to manage their staff more effectively, with less reliance on central HR support. There will be ‘Business Partners’ in future HR Operating Models, but fewer and operating in a different way.

Centres of Expertise – providing policy design and case support, responding to changes in external market or legislation. A big question is can COEs provide best practice at a competitive price?

(5) HR Skills will develop in Change Management, Project Management, Vendor Management and Technology

In allocating more time to delivering HR solutions, HR must review the skills it really requires. Delivering change requires different skills to managing day-to-day operations. Key skills gaps include Vendor Management, Change Management, Project Management and business transformation skills.

Vendor management is an increasingly important specialist skill in HR. (see this useful guide from CIO magazine Vendor Management Guide) With less end-to-end HR Outsourcing deals, and more single process contracts – managing vendors effectively is a fundamental. Building mutually beneficial relationships with effective Account Management, Service Level Agreement management, continuous improvement, negotiating and contracting adds real value.

Project Management – with so much change in mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and technology, HR needs to be in a position to lead large-scale change programmes. HR professionals bring great experience and understanding of the people aspects of change which is so crucial to delivering successful change. Simply put, organisations should be coming to HR when they require project and change management expertise.

And finally, after reflecting on what might be on the horizon, here are some steps to get started (in addition to slide 13) 10 steps before starting your HR Transformation project

This is the second of a two-part blog on Future Trends in HR Operating Models, click here for Part 1 Future Trends in HR Operating Models (Part 1 with Slides)

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The survey defines HR Transformation as – “any concerted effort to change and improve HR operations, whether through outsourcing, shared services, internal reengineering, or a combination of these strategies”.

We use a broader definition. Successful HR Transformation needs to align all the components in the HR operating model including Business Partners, Service Centres, Centres of Excellence, HR Strategy, Managers and Employees.  Sometimes there is too much emphasis on implementing Shared Services or HR Outsourcing at the expense of actually delivering the HR Strategy.
(see comments by Jason Geller “HRO does not equal HR Transformation”)

The survey points to some interesting trends in HR Transformation :-

“The biggest ‘chronic hurdle’ that impedes transformation is the skills of existing HR staff.”
This is cited by over 60% of respondents.  The skills needed to manage HR are very different to the skills needed to transform HR.  The survey doesn’t mention which skills, but experience is required in Change Management, Process Design, Organisation Design, Project Management, Business Case Management, and HR Technology.   So what can you do? Consider these steps before starting your HR Transformation project, utilise transformation experience in other areas of your organisation and use HR professionals as ‘content’ owners.

“Most organisations are meeting or exceeding their cost savings targets.”
Sounds impressive, but of course this depends on what the cost savings targets are.  Some projects aim to break even, but allocate a larger proportion of their cost to strategic objectives rather than administration.

“Past HR Transformation lessons don’t appear to filtering out.”
Each organisation will have different goals, a different workforce and different starting points. But there are themes and lessons learned – so why aren’t they being shared in this digital age of collaboration?  Joining networks such as the HROA help.   Conferences are dominated by vendor/sponsors rather than providing HR transformers with real ‘independent’ lessons learned.  With more sharing and online networking things should improve, see for example initiatives such as our own  HR Transformer Blog and DiscussHR.

“Only 48% engage consultants or sourcing advisors.”
Some organisations are getting external support which is an obvious solution to the skills gap. On business cases which involve large IT transformation and cost savings, a review from an experienced, independent consultant can be money well spent.  There are still objections to using consultants who are perceived to push ‘pyramids’ of junior consultants and lack independence.  Do advisors need to up their game or do they need to market their benefits more effectively?

“66% plan to outsource some HR processes.”
Payroll is outsourced in nearly 90% of cases. End-to-end HR Outsouricng contracts are being signed (see recent IBM Unilever deal) , and buyers do see the benefits of HR Outsourcing, however buyers are even more careful in this environment. With major economic change there is less appetite for 10 year contracts and more examples of tactical sourcing.

“Price is most significant in provider selection.”
It is interesting that Financial stability has risen up from 12th most important factor in 2006, to 6th in 2008.  This will be Top 5 next year with much more detailed financial checking of potential vendors.

The ADP/HROA survey has provided a useful barometer of HR Transformation, it will be interesting to see whether more progress has been made on the barriers next year.

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The list below are reasons why HR projects fail based on the number of sleepless nights they have caused HR Execs, and the more scientific approach of research and surveys. The good news is that they are all preventable – by following tried and tested methodologies such as Prince 2, brushing up on your Change Management skills and mixing all of this with a huge dose of common sense.

Typical HR projects can include change programmes, implementation of shared services, HR transformation projects, outsourcing and IT projects.

Top five reasons why HR projects fail include:

1. Lack of clear executive leadership. Any HR project needs a sponsor to help ensure that it is set up to succeed with the right resources. Having executive leadership comes into its own when the project has to traverse choppy waters. HR projects that have business (non-HR) sponsorship tend do well. Lack of leadership can lead to a lack of vision and people quickly forget why they are working so hard in the first place.

2. Skills of staff. It sounds obvious, but the key skill that is usually lacking is project management. There are simply not enough skilled project managers in HR with experience in successfully delivering complex projects. Many project management problems stem from inexperience, a common example is not breaking up the project into manageable pieces. Another key skill that is required for HR Project Managers is Change Management and unfortunately Project Management methodologies and courses do not emphasise this enough.

3. Governance not set-up properly. If the governance hasn’t been agreed formally at the beginning, it is amazing how initial enthusiasm can disappear when the going gets tough. This comes from not agreeing up-front how decisions will be made during the project. It is well worth investing time early on to establishing project governance. This helps ensure that issues are resolved quickly when they arise.

4. Not managing stakeholders effectively. For most projects, you will need to persuade human beings to change how they do things. This is very difficult and will require diplomatic and sometimes innovative methods to succeed. Not managing stakeholders can lead directly to other classic PM problems like not gaining employee buy-in, dealing with resource cuts, other projects getting priority and not dealing with genuine cultural differences. The key is to identify your stakeholders up front, work out how the project impacts them and what they will need to make the project work. Then ensure that you prioritise your time so you can work through any issues they may have.

5. Project complexity across multiple businesses and geographies. Complexity can be caused by working across different business units and geographies, each with potentially different drivers and cultures. To overcome potential problems, set up the project to gather all requirements, take time to understand your stakeholders and design your Governance to help resolve those tricky issues. Finally, use your sponsor to provide you with guidance where appropriate and watch out for barriers that are perceived rather than real.

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1. To reduce the cost of HR, and to better manage the cost of HR. Many organisations have achieved savings greater than 20% by standardising HR processes, utilising self-service tools and outsourcing. The extent of savings depends on willingness to standardise and transformation of the “retained” HR function. When the HR cost base is more tightly controlled and better managed then decisions can be made about the relative allocation of resources. In sectors with mergers, acquisitions and rapid changes in employee numbers a goal is to provide more variable costs linked to employee numbers which can push clients towards using more specialist 3rd parties.
2. To avoid major investments required in HR technology. That multi-million dollar SAP/Oracle upgrade is much harder to justify in this economic environment. Some HRO providers can provide their own HR platform and offer the latest upgrades and services that your organisation probably can’t.
3. To realign HR to focus on delivering HR Strategy and support its core business. A typical goal of HR Transformation is to increase the proportion of HR cost allocated to strategic HR and reduce the proportion allocated to HR Administration. With non-strategic HR processes outsourced, HR is better able to respond more quickly and more effectively to organisational changes.
4. To improve the quality of HR Services delivered to employees and managers – using service management techniques, self-service tools or best-of-breed suppliers. To achieve this requires excellent change management skills with policy harmonisation, standardisation and changing HR customer interactions. This is difficult work, however the advantage of a legally binding contract and go-live date really can focus the mind.
5. Controlling the legal risks and improving compliance will be more rigorous when there are external contracts with providers – this will become increasingly important in an era of increased regulation.

Top 5 Risks of HR Outsourcing to follow…..

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Andrew Spence, Glass Bead Consulting’s founder and Managing Director, has the following advice to ensure that HR is leading by example and adding the most value:

1.) All executives in the organisation must demonstrate leadership by managing change in a calm and decisive way. HR can stop the organisation making ‘knee-jerk’ reactions – more than ever, this is the time to make the right decisions for your organisation.

2.) Allocate more of your HR resources to delivering strategic objectives and anticipating organisation requirements. Sharpen your HR operating model and ask how each HR role will support your organisation in the next 12 months?

3.) You will be better able to respond quickly and more effectively to organisational changes with better HR systems, more effective processes and better aligned capabilities. This will make HR better positioned to deal with the next “new change”.

4.) Consider ways to deliver HR services ‘better and cheaper’ with more flexible costing. In sectors with mergers, acquisitions and rapid changes in employee numbers, a goal is to provide more variable costs. Evaluate outsourcing options for non-strategic, transactional HR activities.

5.) Understand the cost levers for HR: like every other department, HR will be asked to demonstrate value for money. Determine your ‘Cost to Serve per employee’ and ‘HR : Employee ratios’.

6.) Brush up your retention strategies, particularly for the most talented of Generation Y who have not experienced anything like this before and could easily run to the hills. Utilise the “recession management” skills that the hardy Generation X developed from the dot-com crash and early 90s recession.

7.) Refresh your succession management plan – help your Board identify the skills and experience needed in the next three years. These will have changed from six months ago.

8.) Training budgets are one of the first cost categories to be slashed in recessions, but it is vital to maintain your staff development in the right skills. Quickly reassess and prioritise your training needs for staff in the new environment, so you are better able to negotiate with the CFO.

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