StrategyFocusedHR

Giving Hope For All Those Impacted by the Social Media Onslaught

2012-02-08T12:23:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday, I was an invited guest on a panel discussion during Social Media Weekend at Columbia University.

This is their second annual Social Media Weekend hosted by Prof. Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Student Affairs, and a big social media fan. My panel guest were Maggie Mistal, nationally known career coach and former co-worker, along with David Gaspin, Head of Talent Acquisition at the Ladders. The name of our panel was "Social Media and Job Search."

The weekend consisted of workshops, panels and keynotes to help journalists, media professionals and others understand social media. Our current crop of social media tools are talked about constantly and get a lot of press.

Transitory tools, but more than that

Watch TV and you see the ubiquitous Twitter or Facebook logo. However, I believe that in 20 years from now people will likely no more recognize the name Facebook than they do MySpace or CompuServe. The landscape is constantly evolving and everyone is now looking for Facebook and Twitter.

The tools are transitory, but the social web is not.

As I rode the train in that Saturday morning, I gave thought to the audience make-up and made the assumption that we would be speaking to both undergrad college and graduate students. Since I got there a little early, I sat in on Google’s presentation of Google Plus Hangout On Air, which is an amazing tool.
As that panel ended and we headed up to the stage, I noticed that the room was filled up with Baby Boomers and some Gen Xers. I could count on one hand the number of Millennials that were in the audience. Not that they are not concerned about jobs or career, it’s just that they did not show up for this panel.

Industry changes and the fallout

To me, it felt like an audience that I knew well since I spent a considerable amount of my career in the publishing industry. I do not think there is an industry that has been as negatively impacted as this industry at the hands of social media. From newspapers and magazines to book publishing, the entire model has been changed.

My life has been affected by this onslaught. All my reading is now done on my Kindle.
At one time I had three weekend newspapers delivered to my home; now I have a single one delivered to my Kindle. I find an article online, use the app "Send to Kindle," and there it is. The weekly magazine now seems stale with old news.

As an avid reader of books I found the transition hard, but what I found was that I could have access to my entire reading list in one, simple tool. No more heavy briefcase loaded with books. Blogging and social network have, first and foremost, had the impact of making every consumer or reader a potential producer or publisher.

Social media has empowered authors and potential authors. The digital revolution in general, and the web and social media in particular, have been and will continue to affect a sea change not only in publishing, but in all media industries as well.

It’s pretty clear that we’ve barely scratched the surface of how technology and communications will affect our lives, and the effect on the publishing industry is a lesson for all industries.

As we started the weekend session at Columbia, I got a sense that some members of this audience did all the right things — college, j-school, and great corporate jobs (or at least, jobs they did at one time). However, because of the tsunami of changes, they are trying to rebrand and either do a solo thing or try and get back into the corporate game.

The right pedigree, but misaligned

It was a room full of talent with all the right pedigrees and no work to match. We had a stimulating conversation throughout our 75 minutes on stage. The Q&A was phenomenal and the entire panel gave it their all. We lingered and took time to speak to everyone, gave encouragement, offered our services and guidance in any way.

My ride home found me looking out the window and staring at nothing in particular. I just hope that they picked up maybe a nugget of information that will advance their journey.

My hope is that we gave them hope. I will follow up as promised and have that cup of coffee over the next few weeks to everyone that will take me up on the offer.

I so wish I had an answer, but sometimes, even HR folks are left staring into space.

The Quest for Excellence: It’s Why Learning Never, Ever Ends

2012-02-01T19:40:00.003-05:00

“I will be glad when this is all over. I will never have to study anything anymore.”

That was a statement from my daughter during finals week in her senior year of college at Penn State. She sounded worn out. As I listened on the other end of the phone, I looked at my watch and realized it was too late to respond to that. I knew she was not in the mood to be receptive.

Last week, I was in Pittsburgh leading two seminars for the Human Capital Institute (I am a faculty member). As I spoke, I kept emphasizing the need for constant learning

As I thought of that statement I realized the model for professional learning and development has changed tremendously. There once was a time when I would choose to attend a couple of learning events per year. When I returned from them, the vast majority of the time the courseware would eventually end up in the credenza in my office.

Does your learning become credenzaware?

I even coined a phrase called credenzaware. As I looked at the credenza in my office, I could literally track the learning events over the years. Each title brought back memories and some of the key points about the event. Some of the titles were dog-eared, but the vast majority was in pristine condition.

My intention was to implement as many initiatives as per learning event. Yes, that was my intention in the first place. I will say however, that I did eventually complete a fair number successfully.

One key point that I did make a point of was to give an overview of the key points from each seminar to my department upon return.

With all the negative metrics facing our organizations today, simply attending one or two events per year will not bring you sustainable and innovative change to your workplace skills. The model of learning has to change as well.

The mindset of the new HR leader has to be about change. The only way for that to happen is that we must constantly stay up to date on research and new ways of looking at the same old problems with a new set of eyes.

Learning on demand

Learning is about exposing ourselves to new ideas and today’s new technologies, because technology has changed and leveled the playing field.

On iTunes, they have a feature called iTunes University that allows you to download lectures, discussions from top schools, universities, and other cultural institutions from around the world. The vast majority of them are free. Once you subscribe, every time you sync your iPad, iPhone or iTouch, the information will automatically download.

There are also thousands of podcasts, both video and audio, with so much rich content in your area of interest. Deloitte, PwC, Wharton School, Harvard Business Review and so many others are there for your listening — and more importantly your learning — experience. Subscribe to your favorite feed and you will never miss an episode. And again, best of all, they’re free.

YouTube is another favorite learning platform for me. Whether it is talent management, human resources management, or other areas in that spectrum, the lectures and discussions are there.

The quest for excellence

Technology, as a platform, has upended our self-development model, because we can now learn on demand.

My daughter is now working for a major advertising firm in New York City and she comes home with work, workplace related magazines, etc. We discuss her industry, what she is learning, what she is reading, and more. She now fully understands that the learning never stops if your quest is for excellence — or as close to it as possible.

The French novelist Marcel Proust said, “The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.”

Learning gives us that new set of eyes.

Managing Talent: Why You Should Treat it Like a Marketing Portfolio

2012-01-25T08:38:00.000-05:00

How defined is your brand?

“I have always believed that great brands are built on improving the lives of the people they serve; I wanted to prove that maximum profit and high ideals aren’t incompatible but, in fact, inseparable,” said Jim Stengel, former global marketing officer of Proctor & Gamble and author of GROW.

While reading a recent issue of Advertising Age, I came across an interesting article about branding — not from a qualitative state but from an analytical and quantitative approach. The article was based on work done by Stengel (along with Millward Brown) identifying the 50 fastest growing brands in terms of value and consumer preference.

They designed an analytical, rigorous method that tested corporate ideals as the core of an organization’s success. Their findings were called the Stengel 50 — brands that built the deepest relationships with customers and achieved the greatest financial growth from 2001-2011.

Superior growth for businesses built on ideals

“We define ideal as the higher-order benefit a brand or a business gives to the world,” said Stengel. “Some companies are very explicit about their ideals, like Zappos – their ideal of delivering happiness is on their boxes, all over their offices, even on t-shirts employees wear. Other brands, like Louis Vuitton, are more implicit about it. But all their actions – throughout their products, stores and communications – amplify their ideal to luxuriously accentuate the journey of life.”

I have always admired marketing professionals and how they have almost seamlessly transitioned from a communications endeavor to research-based methodology to provide strategic value that can make their organization more successful over time.

After reading more about the study, what I realized was that this study demonstrated how brand ideals aren’t simply about altruism. Those who centered their businesses on ideals had a growth rate triple that of competitors in their categories.

Human Resources disguised as Marketing

Marketing has a way of slicing and dicing customers in such a way that shows a profound analytical understanding of their customers. The successful companies leave no stone unturned in taking that information and building an airtight relationship that is constantly being monitored.

I think that Human Resources can learn a lot from the ways of the marketing industry. The relationship between organization and their employees must be strengthened, now more so than ever.

If organizations would spend time and resources getting to know their employees as well as they know their customers, there would be no hand ringing in trying to come up with solutions based on qualitative findings. But finding an engagement score and turning that into a successful intervention will take a further look.

So many of HR metrics are “after the fact,” where the numbers represent what has happened. I have often thought of what behaviors or drivers caused the actual number. What is the reason behind the number? Is it the organizational structure that dictates or drives a major component? Is the leadership culture at the front of the equation? Is the culture too rigid or faceless?

Pulling the curtain back on the numbers could yield a treasure trove of information. This finding allows us to frame a narrative and tell a credible story.

Managing talent and organization as a portfolio

Thoroughly understanding the talent within the confines of an organization would allow us to manage it as if it is a portfolio: high potentials, high performing, executive leadership, critical skills. There are special needs for all.

Managing this involves deciding what resources to include in the portfolio based on the goals of the business and the ever-changing economic conditions. This approach allows for maximum return on limited resources

Our field of endeavor is going through so much change that we must try much as we can to look into every nook and cranny to stay abreast of new techniques. But in a lot of cases, we do not need to necessarily reinvent the wheel. The methodology is out there, and what better way is there to examine than the relationship between your organization and its customers and use what you do there to better manage your talent?

The model is there, and with a little tweaking, we can raise it to another level.

Passion & Drive: They’re the Game Changers For Top Performers

2012-01-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

“It would not be enough to keep you interested.”

That statement was told to me by a dear friend who had interviewed with a non-profit and was told this was the reason that she would not be hired. Say what?

When you are in HR you get calls all the time since you are the “resident expert in all things HR” (their words not mine). I had to tell her that this is the first time in my career that I had ever heard that one. She is an accomplished HR consultant who has an excellent career.

Finding the sweet spot

A few years back, she got involved in a non-profit as a volunteer assignment. She was so excited that she would be able to bring some of her “real world corporate” experience to bear on their organizational and procedural dilemmas.

That’s all well in theory, but she later found out that the leaders of this non-profit did not want change, and, that they detested the use of the word “business” in a non-profit space. While my friend was successful in getting through a strategic plan and building other organizational models that could serve as a framework for other initiatives, in the end, she left. She retreated back into the womb of corporate America.

Funny thing, though; she actually found fulfillment in the non-profit space and could see how, in the right environment, she would welcome the opportunity to give it another try.

Out of the blue she gets a call, and it was from a major non-profit looking for a head of HR in a contract role. The role was discussed in a way that she thought this must be karma, because they said that they wanted someone who could move HR into a more strategic role within the organization and with the various boards.

How do you gauge a candidate?

During the interview, my friend specifically told the story about her prior non-profit engagement and the level of work that she had done, the challenges, and most importantly, the fulfillment that she got from working in the non-profit space. In the end, however, it was not enough.

The candidates that the non-profit has had an interest in since my friend interviewed were all hands-on generalists. I suppose those are the one who would stay interested in the work and keep it administrative.

Last week I read an interesting story about the rebirth of the Lincoln brand at Ford. In the need to find a new designer for this iconic but fading American brand, they were in the hunt for a top flight designer who would totally redesign this product.

As the process began to search for this “savior,” they interviewed a number of top flight designers with excellent credentials. They all looked corporate; you know the type — the ones that (as they say) all came out of central casting. They fit the stereotype of the position.

Superstars come in various disguises

But one of my learning moments in recruiting is that superstars can come in various disguises. That is what happened at Ford. A gentleman by the name of Max Wolff came through the door. In no way was he from central casting.

He grew up in Melbourne, Australia. He was an indifferent student who preferred pool halls to the classroom, but knew from an early age that he wanted to be a designer. However, he was only accepted into design school at a relatively late age because he kept getting rejected because of his poor grades. This time, he excelled winning all types of design awards and leading design teams on all types of projects.

Fast forward, he was the designer that designed Cadillac’s new flagship, the XTS. He came to Ford for the interview in a souped-up Mustang and was someone who would never be mistaken for a Lincoln buyer. Looking disruptive with trendy haircut, trendy shoes and the requisite amount of stuble on his face, he did not look like the one that they would have asked for from the casting department.

As it turns out, Wolff was hired and by all accounts in the industry, he is the best thing that could have happened to Lincoln.

Why passion matters

Never value physical appearance when hiring, whether it be the visual presence or the resume, over inner passion. It is the inner passion and drive that hiring managers should be on the lookout for. That little nugget of inner passion is the game changer.

You should also hire for the aspirational level of the job, especially in a strategic role. Never settle for just the body that will do the job as it is laid out. Where would you like the role to be in the future is the target that you should aim for.

Passion is the driving force that catapults us forward even when our motive, intellect, and character are called into question.

In the end, passion will NOT allow you to become disinterested.

Can You Hear Me Now? The Impact of Social Media on Your Workforce

2012-01-12T09:53:00.001-05:00

Can you hear me now?

That ubiquitous phrase made famous by Verizon became quite apropos at the end of 2011. After the most embarrassing debacle in history of marketing/pricing, Verizon was forced to backtrack, put their tail between their legs, and somberly walk away from what they thought would be another revenue steam.

Netflix was faced with the same situation in mid-2011.

What was the major connector to both of these events? What was the determining factor that drove them to make an immediate u-turn? The answer: social media.

Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2011 was the protester. What drove the protest throughout the world that drove their movement? Again, social media was the key.

Two of the most driving forces going into 2012 are social media (and the power of it), and the employee, regardless of the level of engagement.

The pendulum has swung

Organizations can no longer ignore the social media aspect of any initiative, whether it is short/long term strategy or internal change issues. Social media has changed the dynamics. Employees, whether you are ready for it or not, are going to be engaged and there is absolutely nothing an organization can do to swing the pendulum back in their favor.

As an enthusiastic participant in all things social, each one has the opportunity as a platform that will drive change within the organization. It is not only just some silly fad, as I have heard it described.

Corporate culture meets social media

In this era of uncertainty, layoffs, and overworked employees, it is a huge challenge aligning and engaging your teams .

Culture defines an organization, and to maintain that level of connectiveness requires communication and constant reinforcement. Social media offers the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with and among employees, former employees, customers (both new and former) and other key connecting points to the organization.

Each platform — whether it be Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin — offers value. But others can still offer opportunity and should be brought into the stable. Sites like Glassdoor and Vault give an unvarnished opinion of the organization. Yammer could serve as the company’s “water cooler,” providing a virtual platform for open discussion. UpMo, which is a new entry, offers promising opportunity for managing talent

There must be a strategic thought process underlying the individual approach. This process should enable the enterprise to manage its culture, enrich its culture, and as much as possible, protect its culture. In today’s climate, you can’t leave any stone unturned,. You not only need to connect but also be aware of all the implications of not being connected.

It’s not just for marketing

Social media has taken the world by storm. This should not be about limiting and controlling the social media aspect of your organization because you can’t control it. I had a conversation a few years back with a CIO who proudly explained how he had “locked down” his organization “against the intrusion of this social media crap.”

Gen Y/Millennials, and to a lesser extent Gen X, are not going to consider you for employment if you adopt a locked down approach to this phenomenon. Not only that, but as you hunt for new talent that may have come from a company that encouraged social media, you will find that you are not going to be the employer of choice.
We should start asking how we can make social media bigger in our organization by considering how social media platforms can help achieve business objectives beyond marketing.

Harnessing the power

Here’s how to harness the power of the social media beast:

Allow it to shape and manage your company’s culture.
Allow it to help you strengthen change management initiatives.
Allow it to help you improve execution of corporate strategy.
Allow it to let you better facilitate corporate communication.
Allow it to let you better manage and increase employee engagement.

It is all about the people, folks. It is about the culture of your organization. It is about building relationships, cooperation, change, openness, and individuality. Social media offers an opportunity that has the ability to drive so much change within the enterprise.

Ignore it at your own peril.

In the same way the assembly line changed manufacturing at the turn of the last century, and more recently, how the Internet changed the way businesses operate, social media is changing the way consumers think and employees work and connect to each other.

What to Ask as You Start 2012: Why Would Somebody Work For You?

2012-01-04T19:43:00.000-05:00

As we enter the doors of 2012, the prognosticators have all given their respective thoughts on what is coming into focus for the year.

These are all great readings, but if you have survived these past few years of economic turmoil (and the aftermath), you know that, really, who knows?

All organizations have basically put together their various strategies for either getting back into the game, moving to the next level, or something similar. Some of those strategies will be called into focus as the year progresses. Think Verizon and their slogan — “Can you hear me now?”

As I read Sunday’s New York Times, there was an article that encapsulated IBM strategy that was devised by Samuel J. Palmisano, who is departing as IBM’s chief. In the article, Palmisano mentioned that he focused on four key questions to drive strategy and growth when he took the helm of IBM.

4 questions for business excellence

He says his guiding framework boils down to four questions:

“Why would someone spend their money with you — what is unique about you?”
“Why would somebody work for you?”
“Why would society allow you to operate in their defined geography — their country?”
“Why would somebody invest their money with you?”

The No. 1 question for HR executives and the C-Suite

I continue to read over these questions and marvel as to how these four powerful questions would frame a conversation about any organization. To me, the most powerful question in the group is the simplest — “just why would somebody work for you?” I would love to pose that question to any senior level executive as they embark on a 2012 that, by all accounts, will be another year of uncertainty.

Just imagine during the interview process if his question was posed to the interviewer, whether that is the recruiter, hiring manager or senior executive. “My question is why should I come to work for your company, what makes your organization so unique from a people prospective?” As Emeril Lagasse of Food Network, would say “ BAM.”

How would YOU answer the question?

In some companies, it would result in a deer-in-the-headlights look from the other side of the table, and probably, that powerful question would not derive a credible answer. But every person that you sit across the table from (yes, including all the employees in your organization) are asking that question in some way, shape, or form.

A low level of engagement in your organization is an incubator for these types of questions. The clarity of specific words may not be formed in this way, but they are hovering around in the employee mindset.

Can you sell your Employee Value Proposition?

This brings me to most important message that an organization must live, eat breathe and sleep — the Employee Value Proposition. This is the key link to your employer branding. Every organization should not only think through this powerful question, but also need to develop a mission statement the specifically focuses on why an employee would want to work with you.

So, what is unique about you and your organization?

What are the major people policies?
What processes and programs demonstrate the organization’s commitment to employees?
How does your organization create and sustain employee growth?
How are you developing your managers and employees?
Are your employee rewards in balance with an employee’s performance level?
Is your corporate social responsibility policy telling a compelling story?

People plans need to relate to business strategy

The essence of the Employee Value Proposition should be the central reason that people choose to commit themselves to your organization.

The branding message should be shouted from the mountaintop and used in all recruitment efforts as well as any other opportunity that offers the opportunity to tell others about your organization’s people strategy.

High performing companies know that their business strategy is viewed through the prism of their people strategy. Going forward into this New Year, there is simply no other way to get to your prescribed destination.

So, if you can’t answer the question as to why somebody should work for you, you may want to go back to the drawing board.

Believe me, everyone will be listening for your response

Want to Get Your Organization on Track? You’ll Find Passion Is the Key

2011-12-21T07:39:00.000-05:00

I worked all my life and never really understood the passion thing until later on.

I had great jobs, I did great work, but I was not passionate. I started out in sales for IBM and held numerous sales positions until I kind of morphed into HR.

I eventually left sales and took a part-time job as a computer trainer. What I learned about myself that I was pretty good at this and I really enjoyed it. By this time I was back at IBM and the powers that be decided I could bring more value to the organization in another role. That role enabled me to work from the client’s site to solve their training needs.

The level of enjoyment I found was gradually rising. My next move was to design training systems and solutions, and on top of that, I was able to work from home full time. By now, I was hooked.

I had found my calling.

What a pine cone taught me about passion

My next step was at Martha Stewart Living. This was a primer as to what passion was about. This was where I became the student and the organization became the teacher.

I was impressed when I would see designers in such an intense focus which I had never experienced to this point, trying to tweak a product that they just were not satisfied with.

On the day of orientation, we were given a tour of the magnificent offices that really gave you the WOW factor. We passed a large conference room where about 10 people were sitting around on the floor, looking at pine cones. Yes, that’s right — pine cones. They would turn them over, choose another, and do the same, looking at it from all angles.

I surely did not get it and asked the HR person, “What are they doing”? Her response was that they are probably looking for pine cones for a photo shoot. My reply was they have a bag full, just choose one. Her comeback was, “we want the perfect one or as close to perfect as possible.”

For a quick moment, I thought that just maybe I had made the wrong decision. When I eventually saw that photo, I now understood what the HR person meant.

Why I’m passionate about HR

Passion is described as an ardent love or strong affection for an object, concept, etc.

We all come across people every day that just love what they do. They have found their calling and they enjoy every aspect of it. As my father would say, you have to live, breathe and sleep it.

I thought of all that this week when I appeared on Thursday’s “HR Happy Hour” radio show with the great host Steve Boese. John Hollon and I were guest talking about the upcoming HR Transform conference in February. I saw a tweet that said:# passionate @Ronald_thomas.

When I read that the next day, I thought that yes, I am extremely passionate about HR. To clarify, my passion is about how HR that plays a strategic role within the organization. It’s about the HR role that partners with marketing, finance, IT, bringing HR’s human capital expertise to bear. It’s the same as the other disciplines and how their expertise is valued and brought to bear. THAT is the HR that I live, eat and breathe.

I work sometimes on weekends and into the night reading, preparing, and just studying the field. I want to know what every key thought leader in this space is thinking.

My reading list surpasses any college assignments, and my quest for excellence does not stop at 5 pm. Sometimes I am so anxious to get the day rolling, that I just get up at 4 am, read a little and then get to the gym by 5. I’m ready each and every day to get it on.

In order for organizations to get back on track, passion is a key competency that must be looked at.

How you can describe if you have passion

I heard a story a while back about a man who approaches three laborers breaking and shaping rocks. The man asks the first laborer what he is doing. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m breaking rocks,” the laborer replies. The man asks the second laborer what he is doing and he responds that he is building a wall. The man then asks the third laborer what he is doing and the laborer responds, “I’m building a cathedral.”

Here are a few of the touch points that I look at to describe passion:

Do you feel energized while you are doing it?
Does your performance level increase when you are engaged in it?
Do you become animated when you talk about?
Do you have a higher energy level when engaged in it?
Could you talk about all day and at every opportunity about it?
Do you daydream about the issues around it?
Do you get excited in anticipation of engaging in it?

People that are passionate about their work will answer in the affirmative in most of these. Yes we are a special breed and we love every minute of it.

So if you are in HR and you do not get the questions above, it may be time to move on. HR is being transformed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I look forward to meeting everyone at Transform HR in Austin this coming February. If you are passionate about the transformation of HR you will be there (smile).

Great Managers, Great Leadership; Think of Them as Engagement Maestros

2011-12-14T08:42:00.001-05:00

A new VP rides into town for the holidays!

This past week in New York, as in other cities, there were Christmas parties all over town.

In this case, the department got together with drinks, food and holiday festivities. It was a festive occasion with everyone engaged and having a heck of a time. The new VP walks into the room and works it masterfully. He had conversation for everyone; not just fake small talk, but actual conversation with each person about their work and who they were.

A Gen Y person that I know is not satisfied with her job and works for this company. Her complaints were that the job is not challenging and she has nothing to do but basically sit and do make work. She was actively looking for something else, spending lots of time trying to get out.

However, internally she had already been identified as a superstar by all. Although she has been there only a short time, she is known as the go-to person to get it done. She has grasped the business, speaks in meetings, and asks relevant questions that managers have told her that they wished they would have asked.

Ask the right questions

The problem is that she wants more work to do and really wants to get involved in more challenging assignments. The harder and more challenging, the better.

The VP came along and the two of them have a great discussion. He later asks some of the managers about this Gen Y person because he was impressed. The comments come back which sums it up: “star in the making,” “extremely capable,” and that “she has grasped this business.”

The morning after the party, she walks in oblivious to any of this until one of the managers pulls her aside and gave her the backtalk.

The impact of leadership

The VP was impressed with the conversation, and more importantly, with the feedback from the managers. His reply to his team was, “What do you think we should do about her?” He wanted the team to put their heads together to figure out a way to get this promising Gen Y employee more involved in the business. He assumed that if they didn’t, this young talent would leave for greener pastures.

And THAT is what manager engagement is all about.

There is so much talk about employee engagement that I think we should all pull back and realize that the manager is the most important part of the equation. That single individual could wipe out the large disparity that we see in every stat as it pertains to employee engagement.

That’s because when managers are disengaged, it breeds a toxic work environment. This environment festers into a workforce that is, for the most part, motionless and robotic.

Managers control engagement

Being an engaged boss means taking an active role in ensuring that your employees have what they need to be successful, and more importantly, in connecting with their team.

“If an employee ever walks into your office and resigns, and you as their manager are surprised and shocked, you are not engaged with your team.” This has always been my mantra.

Managers/leaders control engagement within the enterprise. Being an engaged boss means taking an active role in ensuring that your employees have what they need to be successful.

10 questions if you want to drive engagement

Here are 10 questions that are important for managers/executives to ask if they are focused on driving engagement:

Does your team feel inspired and motivated by your leadership?
Are you aware of your team members’ career goals?
Do you know your team members’ significant others, kids names, family situation, etc?
Is your team seen as a fun team and collaborative?
Are other employees looking at your team longingly, wanting to be a member of it?
Do people that you have managed over the years still keep in touch with you?
Would your team look forward to a meeting, lunch or dinner with you?
Do you communicate frequent feedback, both good and bad?
Are you seen as a coach, or do you constantly micromanage?
Do your employees feel that you are their maestro?

While you could probably think of many ways to identify an engaged leader, the onus is on the manager.

Manager as conductor/leaders as maestro

“Any asino can conduct,” Italian maestro Arturo Toscanini once said, “but to make music, eh? Is difficile!”

This quote from one of the early composers says as much about music as it does about managing people. There are managers and then there are those that everyone knows are great leaders who make music with their departments.

A maestro is considered a master conductor as opposed to a regular conductor. Based on that, the great manager would be called the maestro.

Like a conductor, an executive is at once both a leader and an artist – directing the actions of others towards a goal. This goal is enabling your team to reach levels that satisfy the need of personal accomplishments, department and organization goals.

This is music. This is leadership. Leaders out there should strive to be the maestro and not simply the conductor

The 7 Ways Organizations Justify Bullying in The Workplace

2011-12-07T19:09:00.001-05:00

“You are fired, Get out! I am not going to pay you for two weeks! Leave now and I mean right this minute.”

Yes, that is the way that it ended. OK, I gave you the ending. Now I will back up and give you the full story.

A friend who had been passively looking for a job finally got an offer, but at the last minute, decided to stay put. A month later, her company was going through layoffs but she was spared — or at least she thought so.

Her manager called her in during this period and told her that while she would not be laid off, they were going to demote her, and on top of that, her salary was going to be cut. She walked out of that meeting dazed.

Why bullies poison the workplace

She went back to her desk and immediately called the company that had made the offer and to her surprise the position was still open, and yes, they still wanted her.

That “You are fired” statement I mentioned above came from her manager when she walked in to give her two-week notice.

I recently came across a book titled, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t. Author Bob Sutton defined assholes as those who deliberately make co-workers feel bad about themselves and who focus their hostility on the less powerful.

I despise those type of people, and we all know them. They poison the workplace, cause qualified and talented employees to quit, and are bad for business REGARDLESS of the bully’s talent or effectiveness.

The more that organizations let these folks run amuck, the more detrimental they are to the enterprise. They also set a bad example for others to act out. When the tipping point comes, and people realize that the inmates are now running the asylum, it makes the corrective action that much more difficult.

School is the training ground for bully behavior

The potential for individuals within organizations to behave unethically is limitless. Unfortunately, this potential is too frequently realized. If these types of incidents are dealt with in the heat of the moment, not only can they be corrected immediately but you also send a signal throughout the organization that this will not be tolerated. It is like a pebble tossed into the water that sends out larger ripples.

Bullying in school is the training ground for bullying in the organization.

I have always looked on with amazement at parents going through the time-outs with their children. When I grew up and the way that I was raised, all my parents had to do was to give me that “look” and I knew immediately that I had crossed the line. My kids laugh today about this because they also know that when I look a certain way that they have crossed the line.

Within the organization it should be the same; leaders should know that the culture will not allow bullying. If your direct reports begin to act out, deal with it immediately. If this begins to be a continual problem, think of it like a cancer within the enterprise and “excise” it, because if you don’t, it will grow and infect other “organs.”

Recognize any of these justifications?

If bullies exist in your workplace, see if your organizational justification has been one of these seven reasons I hear all too often:

He just goes off from time to time; he means no harm.
OK, I will ask him to apologize again.
Ron’s skills are so valuable we can’t afford to lose him.
I just had “another” conversation with Ron. He will be OK.
It’s easier to keep him than to find a replacement.
That’s just how Ron is. He is just passionate.
He doesn’t mean any harm; he’s just under a lot of stress.

If you have heard these, or a derivative of them, you have a problem. If you have turned a blind eye to abhorrent behavior, you have a problem. If you think this will go away without intervention, you have a bigger problem.

I do not like the fact (and have never reveled in the thought) that HR is seen as the workplace police, but this behavior has to stop. The effect of a bad employee is of grave consequences both to the organization/employer and his or her colleagues as well.

As for my friend who was fired, she did leave her job that day and was glad to get out. She is now ensconced in an environment where talent is valued and developed —and bullies aren’t tolerated.

Did You Spend the Holiday Reflecting on What is Really Important in Life?

2011-12-01T08:51:00.001-05:00

This Thanksgiving, we did not say the usual prayer before the feast.

This year instead, I received a note from a family member who asked if we could go around the room and let each person express what they were thankful for.

I did not give it much thought as I led off the thank-you’s. I listened to each comment, and they were insightful and touching. At the end of about 10 thank you’s we were all teary-eyed. It brought to the forefront how each individual looks at their lives through the prism of thanks. I also noticed how strong our relationship is as a family.

This set the tone in a much more powerful way than Thanksgivings in the past.

Sometimes, we are all so fortunate and take so much for granted. But think for a minute if you had to list, say, 10-15 things that you are thankful for in your life. What would they be?

Although there was one comment about work — that was it — but they all mentioned family.

Tuesdays with Morrie

It reminded me of a book a while back titled Tuesdays with Morrie.This novel tells the true story of Brandeis University retired sociology professor Morrie Schwartz and his relationship with his students. One of his students, Mitch Albom, tells his favorite professor (Morrie Schwartz) that he will keep in touch. He’s like a lot of us, however; we mean well but do not follow up until it’s too late.

Mitch doesn’t contact his professor until one night when he sees Morrie being interviewed on TV. It turns out that Morrie has developed ALS (referred to as “Lou Gerhig’s Disease”), and is in a wheelchair. Mitch begins to visit his professor and soon realizes that Morrie is still that great professor that he learned so much from during his college years.

Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class” — lessons in how to live.

So over a period of 14 Tuesdays, they sat and talked about life. The book was set up in a way that over those 14 visits, each one revolved around a specific topic. They talked about family, forgiveness, love, marriage, culture, etc.

Not one chapter was specifically devoted to the world of work.

When I read this book a few years back, it gave me a sense of what life is about based on the wisdom of a dying man with little time left on this side. It made me realize that human relationships and health are more important than all the jobs, accomplishments, gadgets and modern convenience, or pressures to get ahead either professionally and/or monetarily.

Sometimes we all get so caught up with the trivialities of life that our compass becomes misaligned. All of our so called importance is just that, so called.

Get over it

I read an article a while back about a church in a wealthy town in Connecticut that had set up a career workgroup because so many of their members were out of work. They would meet weekly, and according to the pastor, some of the participants were a little hesitant to join in the discussion because they were somewhat reserved. He observed that the largest issue in the room was that their lives revolved around being that SVP, VP or C-Level executive.

Their entire existence was about being that person they no longer were.

When we said our Thanksgiving prayer of thanks, every one of my family members talked about how much we all love each other and how much we all mean to each other.

I looked over and saw my wife, who is the greatest person in my life, with tears in her eyes. At the end we were all hugging and still holding hands.

It was truly a remarkable Thanksgiving and one that we will all remember years from now.

My parents always told me that you can learn a lot about a family just by watching how they interact. Do they laugh a lot? Do they laugh at themselves? Do they cherish the times together?

This Thanksgiving taught me a valuable lesson that I had somewhat forgotten. Despite the changing lifestyles and generational dynamics that characterize modern society, the family remains the central element of contemporary life.

Key Engagement Question: Would You Recommend a Friend to Work Here?

2011-11-23T08:08:00.001-05:00

One of the most important questions when it comes to employee engagement is, “Would you recommend a friend to work here?”

One of my Gen Y mentee’s called me last week. The problem was I was in Boston on business and she knew that. So when she called I knew there was a problem. As I glanced at the phone, my thought was, “What now?”

When we finally talked she told me that a friend of hers was applying for a position at her company and had asked if she could do an internal transfer of her resume to the hiring manager. She wanted to know, “what is it like to work there?”

Would you recommend your organization?

My question to her was, how do you feel about answering that? Her response, while not surprising, went to the first line in this post. Would I recommend someone to work where I work?

Hopefully we have all worked for companies where we would not give this a second thought. You love the company, you love the culture, and the executive team is collaborative. While it may not be perfect, it could be the closest to perfection that you have encountered.

And regretfully, you may have also been part of an organization where, if someone asked you that question, you would tell them to stay as far away as they could.

As the economy starts to show signs of recovery, organizations may believe that they will be able to revert back to their normal people practices. However, this is a different workforce than they have ever witnessed. They will be challenged to attract and retain critical talent to grow their businesses, while at the same time, they will continue to face enormous pressure to hold down costs. On top of that, engagement is at an all-time low.

So it may not be a potential employee contacting an insider about your organization because there are numerous websites — Vault and Glassdoor, to name a few — that will give you an unvarnished opinion of the culture in just about every company today. While not scientific, it does give you a snapshot view.

Is your workplace appealing and unique?

Employer branding is a much discussed topic today.

Should organizations treat their customers the way they treat employees? I think not. Some of the stories that we have all heard, and some that I have written about from time to time, causes passionate HR folks to just shake their heads.

When a company undertakes employer branding, the “product” it is selling is the employment experience it offers, and the “customers” of this product are current and prospective employees. As a matter of fact, your customers are often prospective employees.

A company that manages layoffs poorly and gains negative media attention will likely see an impact on their employer brand. And, this could very well create a negative image for their consumer brand.

With today’s online communication tools and networks, negative publicity can be circulated globally — and instantly. If that happens, the damage to your reputation can take years to restore. Not only that, but your former and current employees could be the drivers for this message because they have lived it each and every day.

The employment experience

While we all look at surveys for nuggets of insight to help increase employee engagement, one thing that I have noticed is that the same drivers keep popping up. On top of that, we all know that the culture and industry can have a tremendous effect on all of it.

Companies can measure employee loyalty and engagement by asking one simple question rather than relying on lengthy satisfaction surveys. This question gives you all you need to know to start this process:

“On a scale of zero to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend us to your friends or colleagues to work here?”

The findings from the response to that question should enable companies that are “really serious” to start listening to both ends of the spectrum. They have all the answers; they know it all. They are the only ones that count in trying to get it right.

So, back to my phone call. My mentee responded to me by saying that she told her friend the truth about layoffs, the atmosphere in her department, and gave her an overall snapshot of the organization. She told her it is not a pleasant workplace. She told the truth as she sees it having been employed there only nine months.

Hearing this reminds me of some wisdom I remember from a 2008 Deloitte report:

“Only those companies that win the hearts and minds of their talent will be able to deliver value over both the short and long term.”

The New Org Chart: Identifying the REAL Information Brokers in Your Business

2011-11-17T18:11:00.001-05:00

New York City is known as a city to people watch.

As I ride the subway each morning, the ride takes me through neighborhoods that have both private and public schools. The cars are inundated with teenagers on their way to school. Just try and imagine a room full of teenagers, all divided into small groups.

I always look up as they come in the subway car: Youth and lots of noise. I watch and try to pick the leaders in each group, and it is so easy to spot them in their clusters.

Who are the real leaders?

Everyone jockeys to either stand next to them or to make sure they get his or her attention. When they tell their little jokes they all look to see whether the leader-in-waiting responds. When (and if) he or she responds with laughter, everyone laughs with what seems like a laugh of relief. Everyone wants to be noticed by “their leader.”

These same scenarios play out in the real work world each and every day. We all know them; they are leaders within their respective departments, they hang together, they lunch together, and they hang after work together on occasion. These clusters are spread all over the organization.

The clincher is that they are not leaders by title, but they carry lots of influence within the organization.

Centers of Influence

I coined an acronym for these leaders that I call the “COI” — Centers of Influence. Their names may not pop up on the organizational chart, but they have the juice. I would never touch any change initiative unless I got them involved in some way. That may be through a focus group, information gathering, or just a one-on-one from time to time. I would always want to know what was on their minds.

Within organization today the org chart is the Holy Grail, but with changes and challenges in this economic environment, is that really how information flows? Are those invisible knowledge centers showing up?

Maybe not.

An organizational chart of a company usually shows the managers and sub-workers who make up an organization. It also shows the relationships between everyone from the senior leaders on down.

Theoretically, information flows from the leaders down. In many large companies, the organization chart can be large and incredibly complicated and is therefore sometimes dissected into smaller charts for each individual department within the organization.

The real organizational chart

But is this really the way that information flows?

As I watch those young folks on their way to school, these leaders in each hub/spoke arrangement may not be officers in their school government, or they may not be the best students grade-wise, but they are leaders nonetheless. This unofficial, bestowed-upon aura can have powerful implications within an organization.

The effectiveness and efficiency of an organization depends on the strength of the relationships of its people. When we understand the patterns of interaction among the people in our organizations, we also find there are many ways to leverage this information.

Relationships rule

Doing this allows us to accelerate the flow of knowledge and information across the organization. No change management initiative should be tackled without this understanding. Forget the org. chart. Identify the key leaders — the “information brokers” — and you are much more likely to get around the bottlenecks.

Over the past few years “restructuring” efforts have resulted in fewer hierarchical levels across the organization. As a result, the coordination and work occurs through informal networks of relationships rather than through formal reporting structures or structured processes.

These seemingly invisible webs have become central to performance and strategy execution. Having the appropriate connectivity in networks within organizations can have a substantial impact on not only performance but innovation as well.

So let’s seek them out, get them involved and let the knowledge flow and the bottlenecks disintegrate. If you do, your execution level will surely increase

Volunteering: How You Can Turn It Into the Ultimate Team-Building Event

2011-11-09T18:56:00.000-05:00

My daughter decided to volunteer through a program at her job.

Each employee has the opportunity to volunteer their services and receive a day off in return. She was up early on a Saturday morning and headed into New York City to work at a soup kitchen in the Bowery.
To her surprise, basically the entire division that she worked with was there. She was really surprised to see the senior executives there in their jeans and sweatshirts.

She could not stop talking about the experience and how wonderful for her company to sponsor such an event even if there was not a day off in return. She met many of the people in the kitchen and got a chance to really have a conversation with a number of them one-on-one.

A real team-building event

When they finished, all of them retreated to a local restaurant to have lunch. The discussions at this roundtable were not like what would take place in an office environment. Everyone was open, and laughter filled the air.

My daughter came away with a new sense of the team that she works with every day. The volunteering opportunity turned into a learning event for the participants. Not only did they get a chance to see how people in unfortunate circumstances live, but they each saw something within their co-workers that they would probably not have noticed within the confines of an office environment.

This impromptu team building exercise did more for team building than any off-site event would have done — and it was all accomplished through an employer-sponsored volunteer program.

Employer-sponsored volunteer program equals real value

According to the Institute for Volunteering Research, volunteering is an essential part of life for 58 percent of the population.

But research also supports the view that having an employer-supported volunteering program is good for business. Despite the growing pressure on resources which so many organizations face, an employer-supported volunteer program can bring considerable benefits.

I recently read an article about American Express donating over a million dollars to create a leadership institute for a non-profit organization. That donation of money and their talent had absolutely nothing to do with credit cards.

Smart companies today are rethinking their role in society as well as their roles and relationship with employees and the communities that they live in.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is slowly emerging as a core cultural characteristic of the organization. Consumers and employees are looking for organizations to make a positive impact on the world as well as making a profit. This new movement is not to be seen as a feel good afterthought, but as a critical part of a company’s core values.

Within some organizations today, this role has evolved to an extent that there are now 29 C-Level positions known as Chief Sustainability Officers. I just finished reading an in-depth white paper from the Weinreb Group about the progression of this role within the organization which is in charge of corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility. This position has crept up the corporate ladder in level of importance.

Organizational benefits of volunteering

The benefits of an employer volunteering program to the organization are numerous:

Volunteering as a learning event: Employer-supported volunteering provides an opportunity for participants to develop a wide range of skills and competencies, and can be a part of the learning strategy. Employees can develop better communication and team working skills through volunteering. In addition, volunteering can give them an opportunity to lead projects and have responsibility for managing others sooner than might be possible in the workplace. It can also expose them to a wider range of tasks than they might not get on a daily basis.
Talent acquisition and engagement: A vibrant employer supported volunteering program can contribute to improved employee perceptions of the workplace as well as higher levels of motivation and retention. Companies can communicate employer-supported volunteering alongside other benefits during the recruiting process. At a previous organization I worked at, the CSR program within our company was the key component of our onboarding program. There was a full presentation on all of our activities including the three (3) volunteer days that each employee was given from Day One on the job.
Marketing awareness: A volunteering program can provide increased visibility for a business and can generate positive media coverage. Volunteers in the community serve as company ambassadors and can enhance the reputation of their company.
Making a difference: Employer supported volunteering is continuing its rapid rise up the business agenda. Through a volunteering program a business can make a real difference to communities in which it operates. The reputation of the business will benefit and everyone involved will be making a difference. All of which can have a positive impact on profits.
It’s the right thing to do: Pret a Manager has this sign in their window that states that it gives their entire lot of unsold sandwiches to a local food bank at the end of the day. Why? “Because it’s the right thing to do” is the next line in that statement.

During these trying times when so many of our citizens being unemployed or underemployed, we all should look to give back in some way to make a difference.

Why? Because it is the right thing to do!

Employee Engagement? In a Business, It Needs to Start at the Very Top

2011-11-02T08:16:00.001-04:00

A fish rots from the head down, as the saying goes.

While the word rot sounds offensive, let’s just say it starts from the top.

This week, I was having a conversation when someone mentioned to me that their new CEO of her company was in town. She was slated to be in the New York office for a couple of days.

This CEO met with the senior staff, and as they gave her a tour of the building, she passed numerous employees. In that passing she acknowledged no one — no eye contact, no nod of the head, and basically no “how are you?”

Ignored by the new CEO

All the employees, I was told, looked up from their desk as she went by. A few were a few feet away, but they might as well have been two blocks away. The newly minted CEO just walked straight ahead being escorted by another executive on her tour. No effort at all to engage anyone that she passed.

All this from a company that has had numerous layoffs, mounds of uncertainty and from industry reports strategically compromised.

Let’s imagine for a minute that this CEO during her two-day stay would have met with the entire team to introduce herself for a little Q&A? How about if during the tour, she stopped by some people’s desk to introduce herself? How about planning a little party on the “rooftop deck” for a get together one afternoon? In other words, how about a little “schmoozing?”

Blowing a golden opportunity

To have a perfect storm of an opportunity and to blow it is just sad.

Employee engagement is a key to turning this thing around. Every opportunity that any senior executive gets to interact with their employees is a golden opportunity to begin the transformation.

Every metric shows that the world’s top-performing organizations realize that employee engagement is a force that drives performance outcomes. More importantly, in the best organizations engagement is more than a human resources initiative — it is a strategic foundation for the way the organization does business. That means that it has to start at the the top.

Sending out a signal

Senior executives must realize that everyone is watching all the time. If you say one thing and do another, you are sending a signal. If you talk engagement and then you ignore an employee in the elevator, you send a signal. If you pass someone in the hallway and you can’t come up out of the fog to say a pleasantry, you send a signal.

HR is told (if they are told at all) that it is their problem. Communications packages up the communiqué to get the internal messages out. Executives are concentrating on the numbers and the next quarter in meeting those numbers. Finance is figuring out ways to cut costs, which may mean more reduction in the employee count. Every silo has their own issues, but what about the larger organization which every department makes up?

The C-Suite, in a lot of cases, displays a “rose-tinted” view of engagement that is not shared by the lower level employees. Those on top may feel that their organization is on track. They may also feel that engagement is something they will get to next — once we get something else back on track. They may also feel that, ” I don’t own that initiative; I don’t have the time.”

But to paraphrase The Godfather‘s Michael Corleone, “it can’t wait, that is the key.” A focus on engagement has to start from the top. As much time should be spent on engagement as is spent on the other pressing issues that are being discussed.

3 keys to executive engagement

Here are the key steps for executive level engagement:

Devote more attention to engagement in executive meetings as well as board meetings. It has to be on the agenda. It is a business imperative.

Confront it. It is as contagious as the worse disease. The same way that colds are transmitted, disengagement spreads just as fast.

Engagement at all levels. This is the key. Everyone must not only talk the talk but walk the walk as well. Think trickle-down theory; the engagement level must trickle down to all levels of the organization.

If we are to turn this organizational illness around that is diagnosed as “engagement,” the prescription has to come down from the doctor in the house. That means the CEO and their team.

Yes, you can tell a great deal about a company by the way they treat their employees. That’s what engagement is all about.

High Performance HR? It’s All About Technology AND Social Media

2011-10-27T08:21:00.000-04:00

I only have 90 connections, I know but I was only connected to LinkedIn about a year ago.”

“Yes, I did look her up on LinkedIn and I thought “ ‘how you could be the head of HR and only have 32 connections?’ ”

These statements came from people I spoke with last week concerning the use of LinkedIn.

It seems that a lot of folks (professionals) have been asleep at the switch. The use of social media has transformed the landscape. I know of people that are dissatisfied with their career but they spend all their free time on Facebook instead of Linkedin. These same folks basically set up a page at one time on LinkedIn but never really went back to it.

Social media: THE most important tool for HR

Over the past couple of weeks, LinkedIn has slowly uncovered some new tools coming our way: Linked Classmates and LinkedIn Talent Pipeline. I can only image that what we see now from Linkedin will look nothing like what it will be in the future.

How could this be?

Social Media has changed the landscape of not only corporate America but our personal lives as well. Organizations are struggling with social media policy and how to integrate it within the cocoon of their organizations.

Our personal lives have been transformed with the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr. I often wonder sometimes what it was like before the onslaught of these tools. I call them tools because that is the way that I view each of them.

Their use allows each of us to connect with people that we could not in a thousand years ever connect to. It allows us to connect and keep in touch in ways that snail mail, or phones for that matter, never could.

Are you kidding me?

But in my sphere, LinkedIn is by far the most important tool for HR. Where else can you get a glimpse of a person or eavesdrop on someone’s profile in a legitimate way? This is what talent scouting is about. But when you look at senior leaders in the HR profiles it sometimes makes you shake your head, because there seems to be no real use of it.

My daughter told me an incredible story of a senior executive of her firm that refuses to use the computer. He writes out everything longhand and gives them to his assistant to type. All senior executives were given iPads to use in the sales calls and he flat out refuses to use one, saying it is a waste of time.

I recall a senior level executive who everyone assumed was way in over their head in their new role. This was confirmed when the executive had to prepare a presentation and he did not know how to put a deck together. He finally had to admit that he had never had to assemble one, not only from the technology vantage point, but even from just composing the slides.

Yes, one of the main competencies going forward for will be the use of HR technology.

The intersection of technology and analytics

HR technology and analytics is helping to transform HR into a decision science with a measurable impact on business. The expanded use of the Internet for the delivery of HR applications, especially on a service basis, is also emphasizing the importance of HRIS for organizations of all sizes. This creates new roles for HR professionals and the imperative to develop strong HR technology competencies.

Technology is fully embedded in so many aspects of business, so much so that understanding the use of technology in all areas of the business, and particularly in relation to human and organizational capital, enables HR professionals to speak the language of business in an environment that is increasingly technology-driven.

The use of social media leads to new ways of collaborating, organizing work, building teams and developing new knowledge and skills, and this can help further build organizational and human capital.

High Performance HR

Research indicates that companies with the most high-performing HR function behave differently when it comes to the use of HR technology in efficiency and effectiveness metrics. And, they also operated with 16 percent fewer HR staff.

So yes, the landscape of HR technology revolves not only around HRIS, SaaS and Talent Management systems, but also their new brethren of Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook on the other end of the spectrum.

Eventually all this technology will all collaborate for the greater good of the organization, so let’s all get on board.

Why You Need to Hire People With the Customer Service Mindset

2011-10-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

“We hire happy people and teach them to make sandwiches.” ”To maintain a connection between the front lines and the back office, every manager is required to spend four days a year on the shop floor.” (Pret a Manager).

“We hire ‘customer service people’ and teach them all about coffee.” (Starbucks).

This week, I ordered some merchandise from Amazon and an audible books. Problem was that I made a mistake and downloaded a Kindle book when I meant to order an audible book. I also ordered toner for my printer and when it arrived, it was the wrong toner.

Dreading that call to customer service

As these problems piled up, I dreaded calling contacting customer service. Long waits, transferring the call, retelling the story multiple times; I just hated the idea of contacting them.

My wife and daughter think nothing of buying shoes or clothes, bringing them home to try on, and simply returning them. I dread returning anything. I hate “bothering” customer service.

Well, was I in for a surprise when I contacted Amazon by email. I thoroughly explained my problem in both cases and within a matter of 10 minutes, I received a reply. Because the tenor of my email was apologetic, their tone was basically, “hey don’t worry — we will be more than glad to care of it.”

After another exchange of emails the problem was solved, and the tone of their emails caused me to go back and reread them. Wow, talk about customer service!

At the end of the call they made sure that I acknowledged satisfaction. “Mr. Thomas, does that take care of your problem? Mr. Thomas can I help you with anything else today?” By then I was in love with customer service.

Confirming satisfaction also accomplishes a smooth, subtle shift in “ownership” of the issue. When the customer says in his or her own words, “Yes, I’m satisfied,” the transaction is complete and successful — in the customer’s mind as well as in yours

Now I get Starbucks and Pret a Manager‘s talent acquisition strategy.

But will this work if the job is more technical in scope? By that, I think of the recruiter as a generalist.
Customer service is rewarding profession. The people who understand this fact are the ones who excel and who help to distinguish their company from its competitors.

Attitude comes from within

I’ve heard countless professionals say that when hiring employees they value a candidate’s service-oriented attitude far more than technical skills or even product/industry knowledge. This is because they have learned from experience that the skills and the procedures can be taught, but attitude has to come from within.

Here are my take aways from my customer service experience this week. It taught me that we could all learn from some of the key skills of a professional customer service rep.

Listening – Customers need to feel that they’ve been heard and understood, and that doesn’t happen without good listening on the part of the customer service representative. Do we really listen, or are we listening for that pause to get our 2 cents in? Whether you are an executive, manager, or line employee, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to improve your listening skills. People who listen effectively are seen as more helpful, more “in tune” with what is going on. People who are good listeners are listened to more than those who are poor listeners.
Positive language – This means using words and phrases to create a positive image in the customer’s mind, with an emphasis on solving your dilemma. Using positive language shows a willingness to serve and a commitment to building brand loyalty.
Confirming satisfaction – Before we end the transaction, you must confirm satisfaction. This skill demonstrates to the other person that you care about getting it right. It shows that you are willing to go the extra mile to get it right. Lastly, it shows the customer that they determine what right is.

Let me repeat: THE CUSTOMER DETERMINES WHAT RIGHT IS..

This is a important step because during this process it transforms ownership of the issue. When I said, “thank you so much for taking care of this issue,” the transaction was complete.

So next time you are looking to hire your next HR professional, especially recruiters, think about the customer service mind-set. Everything else being equal, err on the side of hiring customer service skills.
Yes, remember that they are the brand!

What Steve Jobs Taught Us About The Power of Following Your Passion

2011-10-13T07:10:00.001-04:00

My daughter lives upstairs and last Wednesday night I heard her running down stairs. When she poked her head in my office, she said “Steve Jobs just died.”

At that moment I wanted to say in slow motion, noooooo!!!! I got up and we went into our TV room and turned to CNBC to watch the coverage. My wife came in and we kind of sat around misty eyed as if we knew him personally.

My daughter talked about all the cool products that his company created. I talked about his prowess as a business disrupter who followed his passion and changed the world. My wife wanted to know if he had family, if he was married, and whether he had kids.

Over the next few days these type reactions have played out in all forms of media.

Follow it no matter what

My discussion with my daughter was about the importance of following your passion. Whatever it may be,you need to follow it in some shape or design.

I know so many people who have followed their parents dream and are miserable –the legal family where everyone is a lawyer, and there is also the medical family where everyone becomes doctors.

Life is tough enough as it is; try and imagine living your life and hating that you never gave your dream a try.

That is one reason why the workplace today is so dysfunctional.

Passion equals innovation

With innovation being the maxed out word in business today, the only way that innovation going to be achieved is through passionate people.

Passion is what makes your days fly by. You get more done. Your mood is always good, even at the end of the day.

More importantly, within the organization it has an affect on everyone — a real, positive, and calming affect. Your team believes in you. They trust and support you.

More importantly, passion produces innovation.

Imagine for a second that Jobs had run his company as a run of the mill CEO, coming to work and managing the numbers, playing it safe. That would have meant that there would be no disrupters such as going into the music business with the Ipod. That would have also meant no movement into the phone business which is surely not a transition from the computer hardware business. That would have also meant no cool aesthetic designs on all the Apple products.

Every time I get the opportunity to speak to college student or graduates, my message never changes: Manage your career for you. Find that passion. Never lose sight of it.

Either now or never

I have always thought that passion came in two flavors: Young passion and old passion.

Growing up and leaving college, we wistfully think of what life will be like. We look forward to getting on with it. I say this works until life happens. That is when reality sets in. But it should not be just about that. While the destination should remain the same, the route may change.

The older version is a version of the dream on hold, waiting until the kids get out of college, you’re more financially secure, etc. But the problem is that the dream deferred can have devastating consequences if major changes in life occur.

A new sheriff in town

Because of the uncertainty and joblessness of new college graduates and the current workforce, the mindset has changed. This will have severe shock, distress, and consequence for the future workforce. While there will always be those dreaming of working in marketing and finance and even HR, believe me that the trust equation with these workers will not be as strong as in the past.

Their passion will have to be managed and nutured. Career management will have to be remodeled and will have to take on real meaning.

Career management will have to encompass the life cycle, enabling these workers to achieve their career goals. It will not happen as the result of a singular event such as a class or conference. It will be a continuing process that will need to be adapted to the changing demands of this economy.

So the lesson from Steve Jobs was that he showed that you can have a big failure but you can also bounce back. You can have passion, and you can make your dream come alive.

One of my favorite songs was written and sung by John Lennon and it covers both of their lives — Lennon and Jobs. They were both dreamers.

You may say that I’m a dreamer.

But I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us.
And the world will be as one.

May we all hold onto our dream.

Business Innovation: Your Talent Management Strategy Is the Key

2011-10-06T20:08:00.000-04:00

New technology and innovation has always had a central place in the growth of business. In today's digital world, innovation has become an even more crucial element of success in business. The recent growth of mobile computing, the web and numerous other technologies are constantly reshaping the face of business. Even business education is changing with a growth in websites like MBA Online offering online education as a legitimate means of getting a business degree. To see more evidence of the power of innovation we only need to read the latest business headlines.

On Friday as I backed out of my driveway, I heard news tidbits on the radio about a company that was possibly announcing bankruptcy. As the news recycled, it was announced that it was Kodak that was possibly going to make the announcement.

Also this week, Amazon announced that yes, they are getting into the tablet business with the new Kindle Fire. As a Kindle fanatic, I read everything I could about the product. At the other end of the spectrum, Borders officially closed their last store last week.

The Kodak dilemma was not a real shocker, but I was extremely interested in it. My hobby is photography and I remember buying dozens of boxes of film at a time. I even had a darkroom in my first house. And now, because of slow reaction to the transformation of the photo industry, they are down for the count.

Innovation as part of the business landscape

Amazon is a perfect example of a nimble and innovative company that started out as a mass online book retailer. It has morphed before our very eyes into not only changing the book business, but also as serious competitor to the king of the hill that we know as Apple. They have also transitioned into a mass online retailer. Talk about innovation!

This is the state of affairs of our business landscape today. Either move along in the fast lane or get out the way. If you don’t, you will be literally run over.

All of these successes and failures can be blamed on their strategy, but I take it back a step to the people, because people are the ones that create the strategy. Did the level of talent and engagement differ from an Amazon, Borders, or Kodak? It all comes back to the level of talent and engagement within the organization.

If any company today ignores that part of the equation, they are venturing forward at their own peril.

Is your employee value proposition interesting?

This is the employee value proposition from Amazon — a place where builders can build. They hire the world’s brightest minds and offer them an environment in which they can invent and innovate to improve the experience for their customers.

This is part of the employee value proposition for Kodak. Every day you make a choice about where you work: which company deserves your talent, your best thinking, and your passion?

Now you tell me which one would you want to work for?

Talent acquisition as the gatekeeper

Talent acquisition should address the strategic value of attracting and hiring the right talent. That means hiring the right person to fit the organization and the job.

Whatever your talent management strategy, it must be aligned with organizational strategy. In other words, take a look at your organizational strategy through the prism of your human capital strategy. If this is not achieved today, talent becomes disconnected from the focus and direction of the organization.

Every strategic direction that is created has ramifications for the talent within the company. What are the strategic roles needed to deliver on this strategy? It is estimated that 10 to 15 percent of the strategic jobs in any company add the most value. Bill Gates once said that if you take away the top 20 employees at Microsoft, it just becomes an ordinary company.

Talent is the elephant in the room

As we run into this quest for innovation, it all comes back to the level of talent within your organization. That starts with the acquisition model you have in place, from your website all the way through the employee life cycle.

To use a manufacturing analogy, you have to have the right quality part in order to build a quality product. That fact is unmistakable.

So, innovation is a bogus word if you do not have the right people on the organization’s bus.

HR Transformation: The Old Way of Doing Things Is Over and Finished

2011-09-27T18:30:00.001-04:00

Kay, my father’s way of doing things is over, it’s finished,” said Michael Corleone in discussing their business transformation in The Godfather.

Last week, it was announced here that the TLNT Transform conference is scheduled for February 26-28, 2012 in Austin, TX. The phrase that caught my eye was, “Share Fresh Ideas at a Different Kind of HR Conference.”

I once worked for a boss who told me that she did not think much of the strategic aspects of HR. To her, it was the “fancy stuff” and we should all concentrate of the basic tenets of HR.

HR today is not your father’s or mother’s human resources. HR today is on the cusp of changing the entire profession.

Anyone that doubts this should just take a look at the level of articles being shared on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook by HR pros. Take a look at the various conventions held throughout the year and the type seminars being given. Everyone in this profession is at a point that they have to step up their game.

HR is being transformed

This transformation of Human Resources from an administrative function to a high level strategic function has moved at warp speed since this recession took hold. It has pulled the covers back on a function within the organization that, in some cases, was chomping at the bit to move it to the next level.

It also pulled the covers back on a function that was woefully unprepared about what to do. This group saw themselves a lifetime career specialist with little need for knowledge or experience of what the rest of the business was about.

However with the understanding of the value of a company’s human assets, their is a great need to ensure that the talent is not just on board but also properly motivated, developed and engaged. The role has been transformed. The old-style HR that dealt with the administrative aspect was not suited to this task.

Let the transformation begin

I read a book a few years back by Dave Ulrich (Human Resource Champions) that was talking of this transformation back in the late 1990’s. At that time it was seen as the transformation bible.
In 2006, a survey of American companies by Mercer firm stated:

"The HR function continues to evolve and transform around the world. In fact, 50 percent of respondents say they are currently in the midst of a transformation process, while another 12 percent have completed an HR transformation within the past year and still another 10 percent plan to begin HR transformation efforts within the next year. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (63 percent overall, including 58 percent of U.S. respondents and 65 percent of Canadian respondents) reported they have either completed a transformation within the past 12 months or are currently in the midst of a transformation effort.”

Perception is reality

With the transformation process moving along, somebody forgot to tell the C-Suite

According to this study, fewer than 5 percent of executives said they thought that their organization’s management of people was not in need of improvement. So can a traditional HR person all of a sudden become a strategic thinker? I had a COO tell me once that, “people who have never been strategic cannot at the turn of a dime and become more strategic.”

I became somewhat upset when I saw an article a while back that suggested that marketing and PR would do a better job of running certain aspects of HR. In other words, the skill set has evolved into other areas of business expertise.

Some companies have indeed gone outside of HR to find people to run HR. Just this week in New York, Conde Nast, a major publishing company based in New York City, appointed one of their senior executive editors to a high level HR role.

Ready, Set, Go

The transformation has begun and it is gaining speed. There is nothing old school HR can do about. It kind of like looking through a photo album from college days, looking at your style and shaking your head because you can’t believe that you dressed or looked like that. That is how future HR professionals will look through an organization’s photo album in the future and marvel at how dated HR was back then.

It will not be easy, but anything worthwhile never is.

So Michael Corleone’s statement to Kay was on point; HR’s old way of doing business IS over.

The transformation has begun.

See you in Austin next February.

Disclaimer: I will serve as the chairman of the TLNT Transform conference being held Feb. 26-28 in Austin, TX.

What Great Organizations Seem to Get: To Execute, You Need Engaged Talent

2011-09-21T11:37:00.000-04:00

It’s all about trust.

“HR is never on this floor. She came in and headed to our bosses’ office and stayed behind closed doors all afternoon.”

“She came back today and is in the office again. Our bosses’ door is never closed, but as soon as she comes, the door closes.”

“Well, she is back again for the third day. Do you think I will lose my job? I have two interviews lined up for next week. I can’t wait to get out of here. Everyone feels the same way.”

Last week I had an interesting conversation with a friend who shared the above quotes with me. When I hear comments like these, my thought is, “what could you possibly have been thinking?”

The No. 1 topic for our workforce today.

All of this reminded me of an HR person that I knew that relished being called “The Terminator.” She would smile each and every time she told this story.

HR, if you are planning layoffs, do not hold the meeting in an open environment. If you have to meet do it, meet off-site, or in another office, or on another floor. But don’t show up if you have never been there on a daily or weekly basis. If you look out of place on the floor, rethink the geography.

Although this could be just a normal planning meeting, in this climate, it will not be perceived that way.

Instead, it will be perceived in a way that all of your employee base will accelerate their job search immediately. They are going to go on the career offensive; they will take the ball in their own hands and run with it. They will not sit idly by anymore.

Career management is topic No. 1 for our workforce today.

Employees today are focused on uncertainty or any sign that shows something is happening. The rumor mills are percolating 24/7. That is why it is key that we be aware of the signals that we send.

Engagement killers

I will now add this to my list of engagement killers.

The list includes:

Lack of trust in Human Resources;
Lack of trust in management;
Careers that are guided by politics;
Non-engaging leaders; and,
An atmosphere of rewarding bad behavior.

Managing people in a changing world: the people agenda

Organizations today must maximize their human capital, and that gets more challenging each day. How do all of us in HR help our organizations promote and sustain economic performance? How do we lead, develop, and engage our people in this economic climate?

People should be at the top of every organization’s agenda, with as much importance as the organizational goals. Successful organizations get this! When you see names of companies on the best places to work list, you can rest assured that they get it.

The reasons they get it are numerous, but mainly, because you need engaged talent to execute. That’s right; not systems or processes — you must engage.

People’s misbehavior has been behind a lot of the organizational collapses the last few years. The list is numerous, from Wall Street to corporate collapses.

If people are truly the greatest asset, they must be managed the way the organization manages its other assets. If not, then something will have to change going into the “post” recession. It is ever more apparent than ever that it is all about the people.

The importance of trust within the organization

Recently, I came across an article titled the “Trust Equation,” and it fit perfectly within this scenario. It highlights the importance of trust that can be blanketed across the organization.

It is all about trust.

Trust = credibility+ reliability+ intimacy+ self-orientation

Credibility means telling the truth. When you don’t know say so. Do not leave room for speculation. Do we look, act, react and talk credible. Do we exude credibility?

Reliability means whether we are seen as dependable and can be trusted. It links words and deeds, intentions and action.

Intimacy is when people trust you enough to have difficult and revealing conversations, and when you have shown that they care.

Self-orientation means it is not about HR. We can’t always be right. We should not be afraid of not having all the answers. We can’t be so consumed with our own agenda all the time. We must collaborate with our organization and its people.

Going forward it is all about rebuilding and reconnecting to a workforce that has been battered beyond belief. If anyone would have told us years ago that we would have ended up at this point of organizational complexity, we would have seriously doubted it. Yes, there is heavy lifting ahead, but it is the perfect opportunity for our profession to lead this charge.

This is a golden opportunity for us to really “earn” the title of Business Partner. It can be given but to be effective, it has to be earned.

The Lesson from Yahoo: Like It or Not, Every Manager IS a Role Model

2011-09-14T09:18:00.000-04:00

“I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board,” Carol Bartz wrote to her company’s workforce.

“These people f***** me over.”

“Why don’t you have the balls to tell me yourself?”

“The board was so spooked by being cast as the worst board in the country,” Bartz opined. “Now they’re trying to show that they’re not the doofuses that they are.”

These were all quotes from the aftershock of the way that the CEO of Yahoo was fired. If you did not know better you would think that this was a segment from the “Real Housemates of Yahoo” reality show.

This can’t be corporate America acting out! Who gets the time out? Are you kidding me? As my favorite fictional hero leader Vito Corleone would say, “How did things ever get so far apart?”

That is what it felt like for me in watching this episode unfold on last week.

Upheavals in the ranks

There were quite a few upheavals in the C-suite last week. AOL dismissed the founder of TechCrunch. Bank of America let two of their senior executives go.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz was fired over the phone by Yahoo's Board Chairman.

But the Oscar for dysfunction in corporate America has to go to Yahoo.

The difference between BofA, AOL and Yahoo is that their playbooks were a lot different. The first two made their announcements with standard press releases, including the normal “seeking other opportunities” language and a mention of restructuring the layers within the organization. Regardless of your thoughts about these generic announcements, you have to admit that generic looks pretty good right now.

As this unfolded my thoughts were in two directions: first, for the employees and second, about the organization.

I have always felt that the proper way to release someone was to do it with dignity. In the era of social media, this has to be the model you use.

Employees and role modeling

If Yahoo’s senior team is acting this way, try and imagine how the employees felt. Trust me, there was no productivity going on in the office the day this all came down. Everyone was surely gathered around in “water cooler conversation.”

There were probably calls from family and friends, wondering what it meant for them. Why? Because in the end everyone today is worrying about that paycheck. For the star players, their stock just rose a little. They will now be receptive to the head hunters call. Calls will now be returned.

Every manager in every company, whether they like it or not, is a role model. What you say, how you say it, and how you lead all makes an impression on someone. From the mail room to the C-suite, (and in this case, the boardroom) every leader is a role model. Whether you agree with that statement or not, it’s true.

We all are like beacons in the night, broadcasting our signal. That is why being aware is so important.

That is why we should all be aware of the message we are sending out. Employees are watching and worrying, potential employees are watching and wondering, investors are watching and worrying, and corporate governance professionals are watching and just shaking their heads.

Talent takes a step back

Yahoo recruiters trying to entice talent to come through the doors of Yahoo were just slapped in the face. Yes, good luck with that. Highly talented professionals within the cocoon of Yahoo just realized that, “maybe I should start looking?”

Gen X and Gen Y, already skeptical of organizations anyway, just got a wake-up call. And their next CEO is looking up from the sidelines and is wondering whether taking the helm of Yahoo is really worth it.

Then, the rumor that the company has also put itself up for sale just made everybody’s job that much harder. Whatever search firm handles this has more than their work cut out for them.

Where was HR’s guidance?

But after all of this I have a much bigger question: where was Yahoo’s HR board member?

I am sure that the board did not give this a thought, because as I read through the bio’s of the board, there are no former or current Chief HR Officers on it.

According to the NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors):
"The top three issues for public company boards have remained the same over the past three years: strategic planning and oversight, corporate performance and valuation, and CEO succession. It is easy to see that many of these board issues have people implications as do some of the major responsibilities of boards.”

Does this not call out for HR representation, or am I missing something?

They should be ashamed of themselves

According to the NACD study, less than 2 percent of all director seats are filled with executives with an HR background. Knowing that, you wonder why you do not see more of these type actions?

So there you have it. Any board-level HR director would have reined in this action immediately and taken everyone back to the drawing board to rethink this. Then, it would have been staged in a way that would be employee, investor, and Wall Street friendly.

These people on the Yahoo Board created a royal mess. They have left the employees with that glazed look about their careers. The loyalty and trust between the parties is gone. Boards know better, leaders know better.

My Grandmother’s favorite saying after I would mess up was “Boy you should be ashamed of yourself.” Yes Grandma, they should — all of them.

When Will You Be Ready to Finally Go on the Offensive?

2011-09-08T18:56:00.000-04:00

While letting the TV watch me the other night (which means that it is on and you are positioned to watch it, but the mind is wandering into the universe), I was brought back to life when I noticed that it was a documentary on Muhammad Ali, specifically the fight with George Foreman dubbed the “Rumble in the Jungle.”

This was the fight that Ali appeared to be beaten but miraculously came back in the end to win it.

This was the fight that the strategy called “rope-a-dope” was invented.

The rope-a-dope is a tactic of protecting one’s self during combat while an opponent wears himself out. As the contest continues, the opponent tires and starts to make mistakes. Once that happens, the other boxer can exploit those mistakes with a counter attack.

In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor.

In the workplace today, I sense both organizations and HR leaders are being pummeled by the storm called recession. Unlike the hurricane that we just experienced here on the East Coast, which eventually petered out after leaving considerable damage, the storms battering the organization are continuing.

Effects of the big opponent

As sales revenues and profits decline, organizations have cut back on hiring new employees or have frozen hiring entirely. In an effort to cut costs and improve the bottom line, they may stop buying new equipment, curtail research and development, and stop new product rollouts

Expenditures for marketing and advertising may also be reduced. These cost-cutting efforts will impact other businesses, both big and small, which provide the goods and services used by the organization or the consumer.

The business may cut employees, and more work will have to be done by fewer people. Productivity per employee may increase, but morale may suffer as hours become longer, work becomes harder, wage increases are stopped, and fear of further layoffs persists.

The Rope-a-Dope strategy

Smart organizations and smart HR leaders are already planning or in the midst of the rope-a-dope strategy. As I follow discussions on Twitter,or read posts on LinkedIn and Facebook, I get a sense that, at the very least, HR folks are reading, planning, plotting and executing their own rope-a-dope.

So while we may be in rope-a-dope mode, the vast majority of our peers are also waiting on the opportunity to pounce on the opponent called recession.

And that opponent has thrown out everything in the boxing playbook, including:

The Hook (employee engagement);
Upper cut (layoffs);
Jab (talent management);
Straight right hand (low morale);
Uppercut (lack of trust in management); and,
Combination (poor manager-subordinate relations).

The recession is still smoldering after we assumed it had been put to rest. The job numbers released last week showed no growth, which has caused more of us to think that maybe we are just on a merry-go-round.

But the most important part of this equation is the human capital component of the organization and its strategy.

But like Hurricane Irene, it will be over — and that is what the rope-a-dope strategy will be about.

Where do we go from here?

I have always said that this is the perfect storm for Human Resources.

For HR departments that can’t raise the level of their game once the sunlight starts to reappear, well, I think you know what that means.

HR’s role is evolving. It needs to be involved in broader organizational activities. HR needs to become interdependent with the rest of the organization. HR needs to take a comprehensive approach that aligns its actions with the entire organizational strategy.

The strategic integration of HR into an organization achieves a competitive advantage. It has much to contribute in a strategic supporting role. The ultimate goal is to support an organization through the management of human capital, which is the major subset of the broader organization’s strategy.

Yes, HR needs to be part of the organization’s strategy development. In order for this to happen it must present top management with solutions that address the strategic need and support of the organization.

Let’s call it the HR Rope-A-Dope

Today on TLNT Radio: Employee Engagement is About the Simple Stuff

2011-09-01T09:36:00.000-04:00

Regular TLNT contributor Ron Thomas joins hosts Lance Haun and John Hollon for a discussion on engagement in the workplace. We talk about the little things employers can do as well as the idea behind "Thank God It's Monday."

Employee engagement is a topic fresh on everyone’s mind. While there may be some best practices out there, nobody is really sure how to do it the right way for their organization.

Our guest this week, former Martha Stewart Living Vice President for HR & Organizational Development Ron Thomas, told TLNT Radio there are two simple ways to keep a pulse on employee engagement and some easy ways to get the most out of informal engagement exercises.

Simple Employee Engagement

Thomas pointed to a recent piece he did for TLNT in which he talked about the effectiveness of small things that help boost employee engagement. A couple of the things he mentioned (like giving people a day off on Friday) are things that were easy to implement immediately without the need for complicated analysis. Another, like pizza every Friday, might take some time to get momentum and support behind but can be another simple and inexpensive way to get people engaged and thinking positively about work.

We also talked about the principle of TGIM or “Thank God It’s Monday.” If people are generally excited to come into work versus dreading it, that’s a simple barometer to measure the level of engagement in an organization. While occasional tough weeks may have employees ready to go for the weekend, if every week is like that, you can have some serious issues.

Thomas also talked about his own experiences with how much executives really pay attention to engagement, his tips for going from a TGIF to a TGIM culture and more.

Listen to the interview

Thank God It’s Monday: What It Takes For True Employee Engagement

2011-09-01T09:05:00.000-04:00

Thank God It’s Monday

While waiting on the bus the other morning, one of the other gentlemen at the stop started complaining about the local bus that makes the same stop as the express bus which we both catch. The driver of the local bus stops when she wants to, regardless of the number of people trying to flag the bus down.

“She always has attitude with passengers” he said. “Maybe it is because it is 6:25 in the morning,” I replied jokingly. No he assured me, she is always like that.

This conversation brought me back to another driver that I knew from another bus route that I took years back.

Engaged vs. non-engaged

This driver was the perfect example of the engaged worker. He was the exact opposite of the above mentioned driver.

He knew all his passengers. He always had a piece of conversation for everyone. His personality would melt even the most hardened faces. I would always watch with amazement as to how he had the passengers eating out of his hand.

If he did not see you for a few days, he mentioned it. I would watch him intensely, waiting for the opportunity that I could “interview” him. I wanted to know what his secret was.

One of the things that I have always noticed is that when people commute, their attitudes become brighter the closer Friday comes, while on Monday, everyone is buried in their paper, iPod, Kindle or whatever device or distraction they have.

Friday vs. Monday

There seems to be no conversation beyond the occasional nod of the head. But when Friday rolls around, the cloud is lifted and you hear conversation all along the platform. The smiles are back, the swagger is awakened again, their is the sound of laughter. The acronym TGIF thusly is well earned.

As I left work early one day and headed to the bus terminal in New York City, my bus pulled in and my favorite driver was behind the wheel. Here was my chance because I knew that I would have front row seats to this performance and I could have that engagement conversation that I had wanted to have with him.

“I love to drive” was his reply when I asked him his secret of how do he stays so even keeled and joyous. He said that he cannot wait to get to work and get on “his” bus and meet with “his” riders. He said he can’t wait until Mondays roll around.

A few years back, my wife and I were sitting out in our backyard on a Sunday afternoon, when I wistfully asked her, “Do you ever wish that you could fast forward Sunday so that Monday is here and you are at work?” You can just imagine the look that she gave me. There is no need for me to give you the answer.

Ratio of engagement

What makes some workers just love their job so much, while you have others that are in the same environment see things differently? Imagine for a second that if you could get 70-80 percent of your organization to love their jobs that much.

Gallup created an engagement ratio that they feel is an indicator of an organizations health..

In world-class organizations, the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is 9.57:1.In average organizations, the ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is 1.83:1.

"Actively disengaged employees erode an organization’s bottom line while breaking the spirits of colleagues in the process. Within the U.S. workforce, Gallup estimates this cost to be more than $300 billion in lost productivity alone. In stark contrast, world-class organizations with an engagement ratio near 8:1 have built a sustainable model using our approach. As organizations move toward this benchmark, they greatly reduce the negative impact of actively disengaged employees while unleashing the organization’s potential for rapid growth.”

True engagement

Creating a great work environment will be the foundation of a great growth strategy. Engaged workers say ”my customers.” Engaged workers say “my company.” Engaged workers feel empowered. Their customers feel it as well as their co-workers.

As HR folks, what could we be doing with our programs to truly engage my employees? To delight them? To surprise them? To involve them? To give them something they can’t help but talk to other people about?

Thank God it’s Monday.

Creating a Talent Strategy: Why You Need a “Hard Knocks” Approach

2011-08-25T10:30:00.001-04:00

An organization’s business strategy should drive its talent management strategy the same as it does marketing and finance.

Try and imagine a business creating both long term and short term strategy and not including the latter two. Unthinkable right?

While watching the show “Hard Knocks,” which is kind of a reality show for the National Football League, I always enjoy the segments when all the coaches get together to plot strategy.

All hands on deck

The team meeting between coaches has everyone in the room. All hands are on deck. The reason for that is because they are plotting not only the overall strategy, but the weekly game plan too. Although this is only pre-season, the model is the same during the season.

Again, try and imagine a head coach calling a strategic meeting with just the offense — and the defensive coach not being notified, or for that matter, not even being invited.

In these meetings, everyone is involved and everyone is on the same page. There is not a faction or coach worrying or fretting over getting inside the room. Offense, defense, receivers coach, special teams, hell, even the strength coach is in attendance.

What a concept.

Business today demands a talent strategy

As companies gradually make the shift back to profitability, they will realize that the key to renewal, growth and innovation all revolves around people. The knowledge worker is the key to the equation.

It does not take a rocket scientist to realize this. But workers have been battered and are still getting battered daily.

The mindset of the worker

Just last week, Bank of America announced that they are laying off 3500 workers and that the number will probably grow to 10,000 over the next few years. Don’t ever think that this is just an abstract number. Every person, whether employed or not, has either seen or heard those numbers.

Their thought process always comes back to, “will I have a job next year?” Or maybe if a person is unemployed, their thought could be, “will I ever get a job?” This is the new worker landscape.

The mindset of the worker has gone through a metamorphosis.

Whenever I walk through Penn Station in New York City and see someone on the phone crying, I assume that they just got laid off. I think this because I was on a call one day and saw someone next to me crying uncontrollably. When I asked them if they were OK, they told me that they had just been laid off after working for this company for 15 years.

The strategic thing

HR executives going forward are going to be asked to create and implement organizational capability and talent strategies for the post-recession world. The days of the HR bureaucrat are over. The strategist that occupies this seat will be a tactician that, while understanding the fundamental administrative side of HR, will also have a strategic mindset and can frame the function with strategy.

The organization is going to need and demand it. The workforce is going to need and demand it.

And without the engaged workforce and committed senior leadership, the ballgame is basically over.

So the next time you are aware of the big meeting and you are left on the sidelines, think of the NFL. Your organization demands it.