Welcome To The Occupation

HR Smells Like Bug Spray

2013-03-31T08:21:00.000-04:00

I don't like insects. I find no good use for them and wish that their existence was wiped from this planet. This is why I have an exterminator come to my house every three months. It's also because I live in a row house in South Philadelphia where every house is an ideal nest, playground, and dining room for these little agents of Satan.

So a regular visit from the bug guy is a good idea. He walks around and inspects. He sometimes lays bait that looks like sawdust. Sometimes he sprays his death liquid in every corner.

The other day, while he used the spray, we talked about its toxicity and smell. He mentioned that solutions have become scentless due mainly to professional environments. It's in the workplace he said where people overreact to the smell, claim they've become sick and go home. He believes it's all in their heads.

Nevertheless, to keep people from freaking out at work, spray has become less odoriferous. But it still needs to smell like something awful, at least a little bit. Because if it didn't smell bad, people would assume that the death liquid was merely just water.

It's odd. People want the spray to smell like nothing because the smell makes them sick. But if it smelled like nothing, people would believe the spray is ineffective. Yet, since bug spray is designed to seep into cracks and create a bug apocalypse out of sight, how it smells is irrelevant.

Scent plays an important role in determining success in particular occupations though. Cooking is one example. Garbage collecting may be another. But what about other professions where it may not be so obvious, like HR. Obviously, HR doesn't have a smell. (And before you say it, yes, sometimes it stinks.)

HR should have a smell though. It should leave behind a trail of cinnamon, or fresh baked cookies.

Unfortunately, it smells more like bug spray. It's unfortunate because bug spray is not a scent we elect to pump into our homes, or hang from the rear view mirror of our cars. Nevertheless it needs to sprayed around the office. Sometimes it bothers employees. Sometimes so much so that they have to go home. To others, it's no bother at all; they're thankful for the spray.

The reality though is that even if it's odoriferous or not, it still seeps into the cracks and does it best work there. It's here where HR ensures our workplace is safe from hidden potential damage. It's here where HR doesn't interfere with the line of business. It's here, where through constant application and maintenance that there is almost no need for HR in the future.

But like my exterminator who I'll never stop calling no matter how few bugs I see, and as long as humans are used as a resource, there will always be a need for HR. Also like my exterminator, I believe that the better the job is done, the fewer problems will occur. I only wish that the job done by my exterminator and HR smelled a little more like cinnamon, or fresh baked cookies.

I Hate The HR Fear

2013-03-17T08:07:00.000-04:00

I never thought of myself as a person with a lot of fears. But as I thought about writing about my fears in HR, I realized that I have decent size list of fears:

Spiders, bees and most other insects
Rodents
Heights
Swimming in the ocean
Food past its expiration date
Tainted food
Prescription drugs
Fire
Dogs
Burglars
Driving at night

and this is only what I thought of in 30 seconds.

But creating a litany of fears is not the purpose of this post. It serves as an acknowledgement of fear ... that feeling in your stomach when the blood rushes somewhere else in the body, the panic in your brain from confusion, the sweat on your brow, the trembling of your fingers because your adrenaline glands just unleashed its payload into your blood stream. Yeah, that fear.

Everyone has fears. And I can live with most of mine. I don't think anything listed above is irrational. I think they are common sense fears that everyone should have.

But the one that I did not list that does annoys me is HR Fear. This consists of two different types of fear
1. Fear of HR; and
2. Fear that comes from working in HR
_____________________________________________

Fear Of HR is an external fear, and thus not mine since I am in HR. This is the fear that you see in employees eyes, or in their voices when HR needs to speak with them. Even the most seasoned employee that work closely with HR, show this a little bit. It's a reaction of uh-oh, what did I do? This for me, as an HR person who rarely has the "uh-oh" conversations, sucks.

I think the reality is, as long as I wear the HR tag, this will never completely go away. Nevertheless, it's a battle worth fighting because employees shouldn't be afraid of HR. To combat this, I approach it from this angle:

Never like this fear - if you do, you're sadistic which has no place in HR.
Never assume that because employees are afraid that they are guilty of something - I've seen this behavior in other HR folks and it's awful (see #1).
Always pepper your language with acknowledgements they should not worry. (Unless of course they should)
Be prepared for the hysterical person who wasn't listening to the words from #3.
Don't assume responsibility for the employee's emotions if you've done everything to convince them not to be afraid. After awhile, you have to accept what you can't change.

_______________________________________________
On the other side of the coin, there is Fear That Comes From Working In HR. This is a completely different matter and I own this one. Fortunately, I've come to a place in my career that I'm not afraid to admit this fear because it used to be a lot worse.

When I was starting out in HR, I knew the responsibilities were important. Potential revenue loss, lawsuits and company shutdown could all result from poor recruitment decisions, poorly trained employees, or lack of HR taking control. So when told early on, "you're in HR, so tell us what to do so this bad stuff doesn't happen," I certainly felt The Fear.

Over the years, I have felt that fear a lot, and still do on occasion. Each time though, I knew that fear would propel me to find the answer. I also knew that I had to relinquish my fear to accomplish my goals. This is certainly not easy when adrenaline is pumping through your veins.

But this is what happens when we encounter new experiences that we sense could have bad outcomes. It's the same sense we have when meat is past its expiration date, or when the ocean waves seem stronger than usual, or when there is a new species of insect crawling on your arm.

It's true that researching, networking and having a good attorney help alleviate the fear that comes from working in HR. But as one's career grows and successful choices are made, experience make you wiser. It is truly the most effective thing to keeping the mind calm.

Franklin Roosevelt once said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Obviously, he never worked somewhere that had an HR department, or worked in one. Then again maybe he had plenty of experience by that point in his life. Or maybe he was just born without adrenaline glands. Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to the day when I feel the same.

Hero Worship: I Don't Get It

2013-03-10T09:21:00.001-04:00

I think it started sometime in grade school, this notion that we should have heroes. I remember being asked at different times who's your hero. I also remember classmates responding with examples like a parent or a fireman. All very nice responses.

I on the other hand could never conjure an answer for anyone that I admired for their courage or noble acts. I came up with smart aleck responses like Godzilla, or President Tito, knowing full well that Godzilla didn't exist and that I had no idea who Tito really was.

Nevertheless, much like many strands of DNA that exist in normal people, admiring others was not in me. Sure there have been people that I've liked or liked their work. But I wouldn't say that David Bowie or Barney Frank were heroes, at least not in the traditional sense of the word.

My opinion is more aligned with this speech from Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"It's not that I condone Fascism, or any ism for that matter. Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an ism. He should believe in himself."

Still, the impression that I was left with was that hero worship was needed in order to have a successful life. Which as an adult, I know is completely untrue.

In fact, as an adult, history is becoming littered with a growing number of "heroes" that have become disappointments: Enron, O.J. Simpson, John Edwards to name a few.

This is probably why there is still a clamoring for heroes. Society is so desperate to find someone or someones who won't turn out to be complete jerks after all is said and done.

Because of my missing DNA, I'm rarely shocked when heroes go down. I'm also more inclined to admire the ordinary in life. I like simple. Simple is good. It's grounded. It's pragmatic. It's not ostentatious. I also find when I'm surrounded by chaos or embellishment, it's much easier to express daftness and curiosity.

Take for example, business meetings. I don't like them when there's no agenda, when someone dominates just to hear themselves talk, and when there's no questioning or debate over the subject's merit. When I'm in those situations, I turn to my inner-Tom Hanks-from-the-movie-Big self for inspiration ...

And if you're familiar with this movie, you know that this causes John Heard's character to get very upset. That is not Tom Hanks' character's intent. But it's quite effective.

So if forced to choose a hero, it would be that guy in that meeting. Because that's behavior that I truly admire. That's behavior that I get.

Don't Work Too Hard

2013-03-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

It's 4:48 in the morning. I'm asleep.

At 4:49, the sound of humans yelling outside our house disturbs my slumber. The sound starts as indiscriminate noise and eventually evolves into words. But I can't discern the emotion. Is it happy yelling or angry yelling? Is it a get-away-from-me-you-vagrant-creep yelling or is it I-wish-I-was-closer-to-you-so-I-wouldn't-have-to-disturb-the-neighbors-because-I-like-talking-to-you yelling?

A few seconds of panic and intense listening eventually reveal the emotion and actual words to be happy yelling. And just as soon as the conversation started, it ended with this parting statement, "don't work too hard."

From panic to snide in two seconds, my brain thought of many retorts ...
For one ... "Yes, don't work too hard ... at being considerate." Or ... "Perhaps you should." And ... "I'm sure he won't."

But the snideness gave away quickly to the emotionless autopilot of my workday morning ritual. Eat some food. Shave. Shower. Dress. Make lunch. Etc. And the day begins.

More specifically my workday begins ... my hectic existence wearing the many hats of operations and human resources. My slide toward daily mental and physical exhaustion hopping from meeting after meeting after meeting after email after email after phone call after phone call jumping from one project to the next. All in what feels like the blink of an eye.

All in what feels like too much.

But is it really? What is too much? Why do I feel like this sometimes? And who's to blame?

As I thought about my neighbor's rackety expression for a few days, the answer to my questions came from two unlikely places.

The first was my boss. As I exclaimed the extent of my busy schedule, the reaction was far removed from sympathetic. It wasn't apathy. But it was not unkind either. It was a pragmatic response that in the context of writing may not have the same interpretation. Hence I won't specifically repeat what was said. But it did shift my mental direction.

The second was from a complete stranger. Striking up a conversation with someone at my gym, we talked about fitting in gym-time in the midst of busy schedules. He asked what I did for a living. When I said my title and where I worked, his response was, "you're that busy?"

Reflecting back on my response to his question, I realized I rationalized with some crap about IT and other operational functions. Moreover, I realized I'm only as busy as I make myself out to be. Hence, the answer to one of my questions was, it was me. I was to blame.

It didn't answer my other questions about what is too much. But my neighbor's advice became a bigger influence in the following days. I've never liked the expression, "don't work too hard". It invokes laziness. But now it seemed more relevant. My schedule has prevented me from enjoying some other things in life. One of those things is writing.

It's true I've complained about writing for the blog for the past year. But it wasn't the writing that annoyed me. It was writing for the blog and the nonsensical crap that goes along with it. I didn't start the blog to be popular. But conversations about page views, subscribership, retweets, and the like, water down the good feeling from writing, in of itself. That social media competitive component was what was making me cranky. I was working too hard on the blog, and not the writing.

It felt genuinely good to write this and I'm glad I fit into my busy schedule. I'm also glad I regained some perspective on my "busy schedule."

I'm curious though if I'll ever know what it means to work "too hard". At this point, the only notion I have is sometimes it's worth it. And sometimes it's not. Maybe the answer will come again in the form of another wake-up call from my neighbor.

Improving Productivity By Improving The Temperature ... by Rashed Khan

2013-02-17T09:11:00.000-05:00

Getting the most out of your staff by taking steps to improve their productivity is important. After all, you are paying them to come work for you. We can’t simply crack the whip and tell everyone ‘to just be better’ since this normally results in unhappy staff and reduced productivity. There are a number of ways to nurture productivity but one factor which few take into consideration is the temperature at the workplace. Getting this right will help bring out the most in your staff and the best thing is, it isn’t even hard to do since it only requires the temperature of your already existing heating system to be altered.

A study carried out by Career Builder showed that 21% of employees claimed their workplace was too hot and 11% of employees complained about it being too cold at their workplace. If we scale this study to all businesses then it is possible that nearly a third of your employees are having their maximum productivity stamped on with the use of poor work temperature! A study by Cornell University found that workers in really cold conditions tend to make more mistakes which can result in tasks taking 10% longer to complete – that’s 10% out of your pocket wasted! So what is the optimal work temperature I hear you ask?

The Optimal Temperature

The optimal work temperature can vary depending on the employee’s background, own preferences and also country of origin since people from warmer country for example tend to feel more comfortable in warmer temperatures. Research carried out by Helsinki University in Finland showed that the optimal temperature is somewhere between 21 to 22 degrees Celsius (69-71 F.)

Beware

Knowing the optimal temperature is only half of the battle, you also need to apply this by actually keeping the temperature within the 21-22 degrees Celsius range. I often find that in the office it is colder in the morning since the heaters haven’t been switched on and as a result of this, some members of staff put the heating system higher than required in order to heat the building quickly. Later on in the day, staff begin to complain about it being too warm and then put the heating level too low in order to quickly cool down the room. This confusion attempt to create a comfortable working environment is not only causing your staff a great deal of stress but it is also hindering productivity. Your staff may want to work, but the constant changes in temperature are making it difficult for them to be the best they can be.

Some Tips

The biggest challenge however, will be settling on a temperature that everyone is happy with. Here are some steps you can take finding that sweet spot at your office:

Discuss the temperature – Ask your employees how they feel about their current temperature. Allow employees to vote and once you have the results, you can try to find a temperature which will keep the majority of your employees happy.
Monitor progress – Play around with the temperature at your office and monitor the progress of your staff. Use trial and error to determine the perfect temperature
Change the way you dress – This tip is more for the employees amongst you rather than the management. If you know it’s going to be a cold day then consider wearing something thicker or more layers. Similarly, if the agreed upon temperature at your office is not right for you then consider wearing thicker or thinner clothes to counteract this.

Determining the optimal temperature can be difficult since each person is unique and while the optimal temperature preferred by the majority is 21-22 degrees Celsius, this may not be the case at your office. Experiment with the temperature at your office and follow these guidelines to improving productivity by determining the right temperature for your office.

About the author: The following tips on improving the temperature at work to improve productivity were provided on behalf of national tool hire experts HSS Hire. Amongst other products, HSS Hire have a range of heaters for hire.

"HR and Indoor Air" ..........................................by Jakob Barry

2013-01-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

Human resources, otherwise known as the big HR, has a lot to deal with everyday in the workplace. That’s why one of the last things on the HR mind is the state of an office’s indoor air. But in truth it’s an important job in making sure it’s breathable and healthy.

That’s because when air becomes tainted or stale it’s not as easy to breathe and when this occurs people’s concentration begins to slip. It doesn’t mean employees are going to pass out at their desks but on certain levels their work will be compromised.

For this reason in order to make sure the indoor air is as pristine as possible the HR person should check up on some of the following:

Dust

No matter where you are dust is a natural part of life that accumulates both indoors and outdoors. It’s comprised of various kinds of particles, which are mostly organic but can also be synthetic like from construction projects where a lot of plastic or other materials are being cut or from sanding a wall that is being prepped for painting.

Either way, when enough dust settles indoors and employees are exposed to it on a daily basis it’s unhealthy to breathe and in some cases could cause sicknesses in people with sensitive respiratory systems.

Regular dusting should be done at least once a week throughout the office to prevent dust from building up on shelves, books, and other areas. This will greatly decrease the chances of dust playing a negative factor in production.

Filters

Central air systems are great for managing the temperature of an office but they can be another source of unclean air. How so? Like many devices with filters, when the filters are overused they collect a lot of residue that can harm the system’s integrity. The result is that dirty particles have the potential to re-circulate into connected airways tainting the indoor air.

A good preventative measure is to judge whether the central air is used often or once in a while. If it’s the former the filters should be cleaned or replaced once a month depending on their make. At the same time wipe down vents as filth collects there too.

Cleansers

Believe it or not most standard cleansers may clean well but their chemical ingredients produce fumes that can spread through an office and linger long enough to make employees drowsy or give them headaches.

That’s why whenever the office is being cleaned it’s important to ventilate the space well so employees coming in the next day aren’t caught in a cloud of these odors.

Alternatively, eco-friendly brands of cleansers could be used. Some may still have undesirable scents but at very low toxicity.

Outside Influences

Finally, if all of the above are periodically checked up on the last thing to consider is outside influences. Depending on its location noxious air may be blowing towards the office and could infiltrate through windows and doors.

This includes if it is along a busy street with lots of exhaust, if people smoke near the entrance, or if a nearby factory uses certain chemicals which produce objectionable odors.

Sometimes there’s nothing practical which can be done, however, there are always creative ways to deal with these kinds of issues and for the sake of the employees no rock should be left unturned in order to make sure the company’s indoor air is kept well.

Author Info: Jakob Barry is a home improvement journalist for Networx.com. He blogs for pros across the U.S. like heating contractors in Washington D.C.

Welcome To The Occupation Is Going One Step Beyond

2012-12-18T21:57:00.000-05:00

A month ago, Welcome To The Occupation had its 3-year anniversary. For those three years, I have put a great deal of effort into effecting change in the Human Resources field.

Unfortunately I have recently realized that changes in my professional life have limited my ability to continue to deliver my message. So instead of standing in the way of other writers who have something to say and prove, and instead of completely retiring from the fold, I’m going to take Welcome To The Occupation in a new direction.

I want WTTO to continue to be a force for change, to push the envelope, to question the status quo, and to stamp out other evil doers’ games. But I also want it to stop being a self-aggrandizing mechanism that strokes my fragile ego. Thus, WTTO will become a collaborative effort with various writers on the state of HR, the state of business and management, and how we can be better at work and as human beings.

I will maintain my status as chief writer. But I’m going to take on a different role as editor-in-chief.

So here’s the all call: if you’ve got a story to tell, if you’ve got a beef with the world, if you’ve got a thirst to write about the pink elephant, then let’s work together and put out some great content. Contact me at pasmuz88@gmail.com and tell me what you want to do.

If you’re unsure on what to write about, here are a few suggestions:

Why HR Should Desire A Seat At The Children’s Table, Instead Of The Adult’s.

How Multi-tasking Is A Fallacy and a Method to Sell Gender Identity.

Enough Is Never Enough.

Anger and Sadness Have a Place At Work Too.

Why HR Needs To Watch Every Penny.

And of course there are a few rules for guest writers:

WTTO is an independent, ad-free website and I intend to keep it that way. Articles cannot be advertisements for products.
Writers must provide a 2 to 3 sentence bio.
WTTO is syndicated by a couple of other news sources, and you’ll have to agree to have your content syndicated as well.
You have to be OK with having an editor who has final say.

So as I leave you to contemplate your story, your beef, or your pink elephant, to keep Welcome To The Occupation going one step beyond, here are some inspiring words a wise man once said,

"Don't watch that; watch this. This is the heavy heavy monster sounds. The nuttiest sounds around. So if you're coming off the streets and you're beginning to feel the heat. Well listen Buster, you better start to move your feet to the rockiness, rock-steady beat of Madness ... One Step Beyond!"....

HR Tech Swag Video, Songs & Good Luck

2012-10-14T19:37:00.000-04:00

I know ... another blog post about the HR Tech Conference. Right? But this one is just for fun. It's full of sights, songs, comedy, and good luck.

Let's start with the latter. This year hotel prices in Chicago were high, and hard to obtain in the Loop for less than a small fortune. Thus, many folks I knew were staying on the outskirts. But for me, I booked my hotel only a couple of weeks ahead of time and got a reasonable rate at the Club Quarters on Wacker Street.

My luck didn't stop there.
When I checked in to the hotel, I half-seriously asked if I could have a free upgrade to a suite. Seriously, they said yes. So they gave me a room on the 40th floor. It turned out that the room was the 40th floor. Here's one of the pictures I took from the room ...

I also had the chance to do some sight seeing on Wednesday. Here are my feet standing in the skywalk of the Sears Tower ...

Here's the Flamingo sculpture ...

And one of the Cloud Gate ...

Songs:
As always there are lots of songs floating through my head all day, everyday. For no reason and no rhyme, here are the top 5 for HR Tech ...
HR Tech 2012 Songs by Paul Smith on Grooveshark
1. Wings - "Magneto and Titanium Man"
2. Lou Reed - "My Friend George"
3. Seal - "Killer"
4. Genesis - "Just A Job To Do"
5. from Rocky Horror Picture Show - "Over At The Frankenstein Place"

The last song originated from my friend Dwane Lay. For no reason I can remember, he was singing that the evening we put together the 2nd Annual HR Tech Swag Video, which you can see here ...

Rich HR Desserts (Day 2 & 3 of HR Tech)

2012-10-12T07:26:00.000-04:00

One of my HR colleagues who ventured to the HR Technology Conference for the first time this year frankly declared, "this is different from SHRM conferences." When I asked in what way, he answered, "there's no little guy here." I reluctantly agreed and we both admitted there was a better way to declare the difference.

So as I thought about that comment over the course of the day, I understood it more. By design, HR Tech is smaller and not as broadly focused as SHRM. HR Tech isn't catering to the HR professional who is looking for instructions on how to fill out an I-9, or what interview questions to ask. Instead, HR Tech is hoping you can do all of this already. HR Tech wants you to not think about how to do everything in HR. HR Tech wants you to think about how to do it better.

Thinking about day two, my colleague’s comments kept resounding with me. Another comment from another colleague about how HR Tech is more likely to attract venture capitalists than SHRM, I thought this post title should be titled “Rich Man, Poor Man.” But as I watched the general session on “New Cool Technologies”, I realized it’s not a matter of rich as an opposite of poor. It’s rich in terms of density. It’s rich like a dark chocolate and peanut butter cake with vanilla cream cheese icing.

Better Is Better

Richness aside, it is about providing content to make you think about how to do HR better. It’s also important to know how and why technology is important to HR. In short, it comes down to the three things presented at Naomi Bloom’s panel discussion that morning: the cloud, social connectivity, and mobile usage. No matter how you feel about any of these things, you are certainly involved with one of these facets. Moreover, by 2025 the workforce will be using them instinctively and probably be onto the next technology.

As a result, HR faces the real-time problem of bringing all three into the workforce. Part of the problem is organizations aren't typically seeking HR’s advice in these matters. Sometimes it’s because all technological matters immediately default to IT. Sometimes it’s because all social media outlets are seen as a simple extension of Public Affairs. Sometimes it’s because HR doesn’t volunteer to get involved because they’re too busy with their day-to-day tactical duties.

Whatever the case, as evident from Marcia Connor’s closing keynote speech, HR is not involved enough. Since social connectivity is a human function, it’s absurd that HR is not part of social connectivity within an organization.

Put On Your Sales Hat

Hence, if HR is not part of this conversation, maybe it simply requires a salesman’s foot-in-the-door approach. Maybe HR just needs to behave like my friends in sales: do some research, know your marketplace and get a thicker skin.

Thus, to make the case for more HR involvement, HR should start with an area they are already considered experts. HR can choose anything: employee relations, compensation, recruitment, or health-care benefits.

Point in case, one of the best sessions at HR Tech was Mark Stelzner’s CHRO panel discussion on health-care benefits. As they weaved their way through the complex issues facing organizations in this country as well as globally, Stelzner turned the conversation toward technology’s role in the solutions. Not surprisingly, their ideas reflected the notions of social, the cloud, and mobile.

For HR and organizations, health care insurance has many issues. Primarily employees are economically dependent on employers for affordable care. Employees choose benefits from a very personal and emotional standpoint. Keeping employees engaged with their CDHP and hoping they take care of themselves amidst all of the other issues in their lives is an uphill battle.

During the conversation, social, the cloud, and mobile were mentioned as thoughtful tools to use. But these are just methods to communicate and can’t be thrown at the problem hoping it will just go away. The key for these methods and tools to work is if they are designed to go beyond simply communicating. They have to make connections.

In the benefit world, social, the cloud, and mobile have the ability to connect employees to their organizations. They provide workflow solutions. They can easily turn open enrollment from a once a year event to a twelve month engagement cycle. They can link employees to other employees who want to explore new approaches to healthy behavior. They can break the myths about what health care is, and what it’s not.

But it still requires connecting as its framework and organizations must be committed to connecting employees to other employees, management, and the organizations. This sounds like HR’s job description, doesn’t it?

Just Desserts

All in all, this wasn’t just a lesson in technology, it’s a lesson in HR bringing technological issues to the forefront of their workplace for solutions on connecting better. It’s about HR recognizing the workforce of the future and preparing its organization for it today. It’s about HR doing its job.

Moreover, this is just another example why HR Tech Conference is so rich in content. Every year, I walk away charged from the topics, the discussion, the people and the ambiance. But more importantly, it makes me a better HR professional and that’s an HR conference doing its job.

The beauty is when HR and HR conferences are both doing their jobs. Everyone gets richer. Everyone gets dessert.

It's Up To Me (Day One at HR Tech)

2012-10-09T07:55:00.000-04:00

When I was young and thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I considered teaching. I sensed the seed of that notion but it never took root. At least that's what I thought at the time.

Since then, I've ventured down many paths and finally settled in a HR role for the past fifteen years. Hence, I've learned the intricacies of recruiting, administration, benefits, safety, compliance, engagement, etc. etc. I've also learned there are nuances to these that appear to be an ongoing treasure hunt. During this time, my position continued to elevate and for the past year and a half, I've been in a director's role.

In that role, I understood as the name implies, my job would be to direct. Thinking of a movie director, I was able to envision this role easily. I understood there were many moving parts. There were actors, writers, set designers, costume makers, all of the different roles. As the director, my job was to point the way.

However, one nuance of the director’s role is it is a great opportunity to teach. Since I took on the director's job, I thought and believed it to be part of the role. Lately though, this has grown into a palpable feeling.

Broad, But Relevant

Attending the HR Technology Conference for the fourth year in a row, I wondered if this year's conference would have any impact on me. In the past, I've gone home with more ideas than I could implement in one year. The question after four years is, are there any nuances left to learn from this conference?

To me it's odd, but there are. Some of this relies on looking at the agenda and choosing interesting content. But much more of it, depends on creating content that is broad enough to touch the relevancies for the individual.

Thus, when I say that day one of the HR Technology Conference was about teaching, I cannot say that was the intent. But it certainly touch the relevancy in this individual.

Opening Keynote

After Bill Kutik’s opening comments on Monday, the day’s keynote, Tom Koulopoulos President & Co-Founder Delphi Group energetically bound onto the stage with the immediate message that we need to break free from the lens that we see through.

Koulopoulos’ was referring to how we need to rethink the cloud in human terms. The cloud is not the internet. The cloud is the reflection of our behaviors. And the changes in this technology over the coming decades will prove to be bigger and more persuasive than we can see now.

The cloud is beyond Facebook and social media outlets. It’s a disruptive force that will define our future connections … social, economically, politically, and organizationally. Furthermore, the role of HR is to grasp this behavior and be its captain.

For Koulopoulos, disruption is a key role for HR. We must see the set behavioral patterns in the organization, seek ways to disrupt this system, and teach the organization new behavioral patterns. Recognizing my current feelings about teaching, and my belief that dissent is a true HR value, I easily concurred. Hearing this was welcome validation.

Marsh’s Transformation

Continuing this theme, Ben Brooks, SVP & Global Director, Enterprise Communications & Colleague Engagement, and Laurie Ledford, CHRO, from Marsh Insurance painted a vivid picture of how they have used social tools to create an enterprise talent management solution in their concurrent session.

Comparing their organization to San Francisco foggy mornings, it was notable that this probably applies to many organizations. The morning fog prevailing over the city delays air flights and blocks your view of seeing the hustling metropolis below, and this is how CEO’s view their organization. Not willing to settle for this, Marsh used some of the inherent transparencies in social programs to alleviate the fog.

Carefully constructing a program based on their culture, they wisely didn’t just put up a Facebook page and encouraged the use of Yammer. Instead, they started with the theme that everyone is a teacher. They believed everyone had something to share on a social platform that someone else could learn. From there, they engaged their early adapters, created curiosity for the typical social media lurkers and encouraged more activity from the passive contributors.

They recognized the need to keep the platform simple. Hence they used a Wordpress format. But even though they understood that simplicity will encourage more participation, they set a high expectation for people to grasp the technology. They believed that anyone could adopt the social program. They even created a method for their CEO to be involved which eventually opened up some of the fog in their organization.

Have a Theme

One of Brooks and Ledford’s takeaways was to have a theme in creating this type of program. But in the broader sense, I thought HR should be more thematic overall in their organizations, not just for a project or program. I have witnessed HR departments create missions for their department. I think the concept is interesting but sometimes convoluted. A thematic approach is simpler and more embraceable. A theme stays consistent even if the plot and characters change.

Thinking about this teaching role for HR, I left the first day of HR Tech feeling like it’s up to me. This was not an arrogant or burdensome feeling. It was an empowering feeling. It was the notion that HR is more than the administrators and the school principles. We’re the teachers.

Is HR Right For You?

2012-10-05T08:18:00.000-04:00

This was the title and subject of a small article in the Metro newspaper. (Click here for the online article.) Despite my skepticism, the article offered some realistic, albeit general, advice that I concurred.

"Solid analytic and math skills", "strong sense of ethics and confidentiality", "be a bit of a cheerleader", and "possess a keen business mind to understand how talent affects the business" are noteworthy traits mentioned in the article. But these traits could apply to many management-type positions.

"Being good with people", and "keeping organized records" along with many other general traits could be added to the list. But again, the general traits apply to many work scenarios.

Human Resources is unique and is not suited for everyone. To attract the right caliber person to the profession, traits reflecting more personalization need to be expressed. Because choosing a career is a personal decision, the better this is expressed, the better the chance people make the wisest career move.

Below are my top ideas for personalized traits specific to the HR field. I'm sure there are more and I welcome additional suggestions.

1) Believe friendships develop over time.
The word, "friend" is bandied about so easily these days. People that people don't really know are considered "friends". But a real friend is someone who is reliable and trustworthy which takes time to develop. This is an important trait because your personality has to reflect the need to help people. Helping people doesn't equate to liking people and this is confusing to outsiders, a.k.a. employees. People confuse friendliness with friendship and it takes a resolve from the HR side to walk the thin line between keeping a professional distance and being emotionally supportive.

2) Understand history and sociology.
Having an education background in a liberal arts field that promotes understanding of people is beneficial. Psychology is great but it can be limited to only the individual. When counseling employees, having the understanding of group dynamics and overall behavior motivation can have a greater impact. History encompasses everything and sociology is the connecting force from the individual to the workplace.

3) Be a music listener.
Metaphorically, playing or writing music is for the line of business. HR listens to every note, the signature changes, grasps the ambiance, and occasionally sings along to the tune. HR is not the musical star. HR recognizes and promotes the musical star.

4) Preach to the choir and practice what you preach.
Know your values and vision, and seek out those who understand it. Don't succumb to only finding those who always agree. Make dissent one of your values. And then make sure what comes out of your mouth is supported by your actions. Which leads me to ...

5) Condemn lying.
It's the precursor to stealing and cheating. It's the foundation for destruction within yourself, your relationships, and for the organization. Granted I'm not referring to the little white lies. I'm referring to the lies that are designed to hurt and/or ruin a part of someone's life.

6) Can't be afraid to be stupid.
Most people don't want to be seen as stupid. But we all are. If you act unafraid, you can be the model for showing everyone it's OK to not know everything, to forget something sometimes, and to be simply human.

7) See a Psychologist regularly.
This is probably the most controversial. But it could be the most beneficial. A good psychologist can assist one with changing specific emotional behaviors. He or she can promote internal growth. He or she can assist with teaching context beyond one's visceral responses. Overall the lessons learned in therapy can be retaught to employees in your organization. Don't think of this as therapy. Think of it as continuing education.

8) Be a house fixer
No house is perfect, not even brand new ones. Sometimes roofs leak, appliances break down, and mice move in. But that's the fun of home ownership: fixing what's broken yourself, finding talent who can fix the problem, and maintaining the semblance of home without going broke. This is a big challenge and not for the inherently lazy.

9) Love simplicity
Human beings are complicated and dynamic and HR is in charge of this resource. Put humans into jobs and both factors grow exponentially. Breaking complex problems into smaller parts, communicating directly and frankly, and analyzing the simple details could be the most important trait of all. Employees and organizations need simplicity from HR in order for them to complete their complex work.

Lastly, number 10 is your uniqueness. No one is like you. No one has your life history, your knowledge, your thoughts and feelings. Use all of this to shape yourself into an amazing HR professional. Use all of this to make the decision, "is HR right for you?" Hopefully this gets you closer to that decision.

Work Some Forgiveness Into Your Job

2012-09-05T06:53:00.000-04:00

One of my most complicated tasks in Human Resources is to remind folks that we are all human. I think to most people most of the time, this could seem like a simple or maybe unnecessary task. However, it plays an enormous role in my conversations with employees ... managers and non-managers alike.

Obviously, my conversations are not reminding employees that other employers are not insects, or trees, or lamps. I'm reminding folks about the innate imperfections that exist in every aspect of the work we do, where we do the work, how we do the work, and who does the work.

In every job I've had, I've witnessed the same pattern: the dissatisfaction with all of the above. It's based on the human trait of searching for the negative in everything. Sometimes the dissent and dissatifacation is a good thing if the culture is horrible. But if it's a great organization and negativity is not curbed or put into it's rightful context, it can have an unnecessary crippling effect.

A Stone's Throw Away

Recently I started to watch the nightly network evening news again. (Most news sources have been newspapers and the internet.) It's fascinating to watch the obvious slant they have of the imperfections of humans. Every night, the news is presented with the amazed disbelief and dismay that mistakes were made by the police, by scientists, by doctors, by lawyers, etc. etc. etc.

But the largest amount of disbelief that is doled out is for our government and business leaders. These folks get the lion's share of the finger-wagging, the head-shaking and the stunned surprised looks. The tone of these news stories, whether it's opinion poles or guess-work, is our leaders are doing a bad job.

Some are doing a bad job because they are criminals or sociopaths. But I believe that most bad jobs come down to normal human foible. We are simply imperfect in every thing we do.

How many perfect decisions did you make today? Did you make perfect decisions all day? Did you make perfect decisions everyday?

I would guess that the answer to these three questions is no, no and no. In fact, I would guess that you made some bad decisions, some bad judgements, bad rationalizations, and sometimes you did it with bad intent. If you agree you're not perfect, why is so hard to believe the imperfection in others?

Why don't we believe this first and foremost instead of attributing mistakes to deliberateness or stupidity?

The Fantasy Answer

My guess is this occurs when we live in a fantasy world of over-optimism which leads to over-pessimism especially at work.

New hires like politicians are viewed as saviors with overwhelming potential. New managers like doctors are viewed as having exulted knowledge. New jobs like scientists are viewed as doing nothing but saving the world.

The reality is that politicians, doctors and scientists all fail. Approaching situations with extremity on one side of the spectrum, like a pendulum, that attitude swings to the opposite extreme. Hence, over-optimism leads to over-pessimism.

But why do we do this?

The Easy Answer

The big answer is because it's easy. It's easy to believe that everything is black or white, good or evil, smart or stupid. It's harder to believe the middle ground. It's harder to find the color in situations, the dynamic in each individual, and the notions of subtlety. It's harder because it takes more time, energy and insight. It's harder but its worth it.

It's worth it because that time, energy and insight is what sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. As adults, it sets us apart from children. And as a workplace, it sets us apart as great places to work. And the ingredient that provides all of this is forgiveness.

Of course, I'm not saying that all mistakes should be overlooked and dismissed as non-consequential. Instead, the thinking of deliberateness or stupidity should not be the default or the knee-jerk reaction. The thinking should be about your own mistakes and how you forgave yourself. The next thought should be to extend that to each person in your world.

It's true, forgiveness is not easy. It's work. But it could be the best work that you do in your job. Test it for yourself. Work some forgiveness into your job and see if I'm right. If I'm wrong, then it only goes to show than I'm as human as the rest.

HR Tech: The Promise I Can Make

2012-07-31T08:22:00.000-04:00

If you're a historical reader of this blog, you know of my fondness for the HR Technology Conference. Since this blog's inception, I've written about it many times because it truly was a turning point in my HR career.

When I attended in 2009, I was amazed by its size, struck by its boundary-pushing mentality, and seduced by its overall flair. In 2010 and 2011, I luckily was able to attend the show as a blogger and the experiences have continued to be worthy of my time and energy. Moreover, as I was quoted in this year's brochure as saying, "Each time, I walk away with more ideas and leading practices than I can implement in one year's time. As an HR practitioner (and non-techie), I am always amazed by the quality of the conference presentations, the depth of knowledge behind them, and the relevance to my everyday HR work-life."

"Relevance to my everyday HR work-life" sounds like I'm describing the SHRM Annual Conference. But the intent of SHRM Annual is to do that. At HR Tech, it happens inadvertently.

Going to HR Tech as a non-techie HR practitioner, generalist, manager, professional, etc., you will be exposed to a specific niche of HR that touches all aspects of everyday HR life. You will witness the progressive thinking of HR and the future prospects of HR work.

But I cannot promise any of this.

I cannot promise that it will set your HR world on fire, or open any doors of HR perception. I cannot promise you that a conference will change your life, or that it will fill in space where once there was a void. I cannot promise this because I don't know your needs.

Heck, with all the chaos in my life right now, I can't even promise that I will attend this year. But I suspect, if I don't go, I will miss something valuable. I will miss the redesigned Social Media panel speaking about collaboration tools. I will miss the CHRO panel speaking about the future of health benefits. I will miss Pricewaterhouse Cooper and Oracle's presentation on the deployment of a cloud-based HCM system. I will also miss the demonstrations of new and upcoming HR software products.

That's what I will miss. To see what you'll miss, you can click here to see the brochure of the entire program.

But like I said, I'm making no promises. All I know is what I know. It's a great conference presented by smart folks with the intent of making HR and HR professionals smarter. I also know when you decide to go, use the promotional code PASMUZ12 to get $500 off the registration. That I can promise you.

Negotiating Your Salary If You're In HR

2012-07-20T07:17:00.003-04:00

How much are you worth? More specifically, what is the dollar amount you consider to be an accurate assessment of the work you do?

It's a hard question to answer. It's hard because if you ask yourself and the 9 others most familiar with your work, you'll receive 10 different responses.

Unfortunately there is no slide-rule-answer to this question. Compensation is so personal that a person's emotions eclipses another person's logic. Compensation within an organization executed with the best intents and careful calculations can still be viewed as crushing someone's status, creating a gulf of uncertainty, or initiating feelings of unfairness. Because it's so personal, it makes me wonder if anyone believes they are compensated fairly.

Knowing the visceral nature surrounding employee compensation is helpful for HR folks. It's difficult to predict when someone will express, and to what degree, their dissatisfaction with their pay. Being prepared as you can be is sometimes the best defense against the rage and angst that comes with this.

Knowing this can also be advantageous when HR folks have to go to the table and discuss their own salary. It's not as if you can stop yourself from feeling the personal sting of your pay. But putting those emotions aside can serve you better because despite the personal nature, it's still a business decision.

But sometimes HR folks are given the short shift when it comes to compensation. There could be the notion that they should sacrifice for the greater good, or their request for a salary increase is non-objective because they know too much about other people's pay, or maybe HR isn't trusted enough to make decisions about its own salaries.

There could be dozens of reasons why HR folks have a difficult time with talking about their own salary or negotiating for more. But the key to this is to keep a cool head throughout the process. Below are some helpful suggestions to get you past your own illogical feelings and hit the negotiating table with a clear business head.

1) Act like it's not for you.
Act like you're negotiating on behalf of another stellar employee who needs your services. HR is full of failed stage performers. If you are, invoke your inner thespian and be the HR person you would be for someone else.

2) Don't lie.
Remember everyone can access salary information through the internet. If you lie and get caught ... good-bye credibility ... good-bye raise.

3) Don't mention other employee's salaries.
You know the salaries of other employees. You know why their salaries are the way they are. The person who you're negotiating with knows this about you. It's the most tempting card to play. But expressing this knowledge could sound like whining.

4) Talk to your network.
Pick five people you're close to in your HR world. Tell them your situation and ask for recommendations. Ask them if they were your HR representative, would you go to bat for me? Ask your mentor, if you have one. DO NOT ask your friends what they think. Friends tell you you're great, you're getting screwed, and you should present ultimatums.

5) Acknowledging that this is difficult because it's personal.
Feeling frustrated is not fun. Feeling frustrated that you're frustrated is worse. And feeling frustrated because you feel that you should not be frustrated is the worst. Recognizing you're frustrated and embracing it instead of oppressing it makes it much easier to tolerate. It alleviates expressing the frustration viscerally. If you calm the frustration, you may want to consider acknowledging this openly at the negotiating table. Negotiating requires giving up something. Sometimes that's in the form of information. If you calmly state, "this is difficult for me because it's so personal, but I'm doing my best to approach this from an HR view" you may gain more respect and credibility.

6) Be prepared to discuss this at any point.
You're in HR. You've heard all the reasons that work and the ones that don't. Memorize these and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Film yourself making your case. Watch and listen to yourself. Are you composed or are you in a rage? Does it make sense, or is it illogical? If you were on the other side of the table, would you give yourself a raise?

If you search the internet, you can find many more helpful suggestions. But much like any advice it's not always applicable. What works for one, is wrong for another. But all in all, I think if you can't honestly answer affirmatively the last question, "if you were on the other side of the table, would you give yourself a raise?", it will show. There's a good chance then that none of the advice is going to work.

Hopefully this information serves you well. Hopefully it gets you the fair and equitable salary that you consider to be your value.

The Social Generation

2012-07-08T08:29:00.000-04:00

Not to be over critical of my blog post title, but a title like “The Social Generation” has an almost pretentious ring to it. It sounds like the name of a book that's desperately trying to get your attention and perhaps sell you on the idea that social media is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

But as it stands, it was the best title to describe my last day at SHRM’s Annual Conference. If you were there, you would know that the idea of social media was pressing itself to not be denied. There were signs in prominent places throughout the conference noting how to follow on Facebook or check in on Foursquare. Plus there was a large area called The Hive devoted to helping folks catch the social media bug or wave or whatever you want to call it.

Coincidentally, the idea of sociability was my biggest reason for attending this year’s conference. I’m fortunate to know a good number of folks attending the conference. Many of them friends. Many more are like-minded acquaintances. Thus, the conversation only ended if I voluntarily wished it so. Considering the last couple of stressful months, I looked forward to spending the time in their company.

Social Chances

Hence, it was a challenge to pull myself away from colleagues and think about the agenda of speaker sessions. But a benefit of attending a conference is to get away from your comfort zone of friends and colleagues and explore a different world of people. Isn’t that the best way to combat complacency and conformity? Isn’t that true sociability?

With sociability we can determine the landscape of our environment. We can determine where the lines are drawn. We can determine who has talent and who doesn’t. We can determine who we should trust and who we should not, and who we are comfortable with and who we are not.

Jim Collins (author of ‘Good To Great’) presented the opening keynote at SHRM Annual on Wednesday morning and spoke about the idea of being stranded on a mountain with your work peers. I thought seriously about this. Would I want to be? Fortunately for me the answer was a resounding yes. In fact, I can’t think of any replacements.

But this didn’t happen overnight. This was process of sociability. This was a long process of working with each one of them, getting to know their strengths and weaknesses. It was time learning what it would take to climb any mountain and to know if tragedy struck, they would extend the effort to pick up my slack and make the team succeed. They also learn that I would do the same.

Social Outlets

So when we speak about the social generation, I think it’s commonplace to speak only of those who were born with a Facebook silver spoon in their mouth. But the truth is we communicated very well before social media came along. So the Social Generation is not just folks between the ages of 20 and 35. It’s everyone between the ages of the newly born to those who about to pass away.

Social media is just another outlet for us to develop our sociability. For many it's essential outlet. For some it may never be. For others it may become essential in the future.

Thinking about Ted Fishman’s wonderful presentation on Wednesday based on his book, “Shock Of Grey”, I noted that Fishman’s portrayal of the world’s aging population was missing one factor: social media. This was by no means an oversight or dismissal. It was clearly the next link in his discussion that he hadn’t bridged yet.

Nevertheless, it was obvious that with a global population that is growing older because of life longevity and decreasing birth rates, fewer people in the future will grow up with siblings, or cousins, or other relatives in the same age group. Instead there’s a better chance they’ll grow up with grandparents and great-grandparents. Thus their families are becoming deeper instead of wider. Because of that lack of width, there is a need to seek out more non-relatives of the same peer and age groups. Hence, this is where social media becomes the logical extension.

As a society, we strive to be social. No matter what the preference is. Societal changes in demographics and family structures will play a large part in the future construction of the social vehicles.

From the HR stand point, the social impact cannot be ignored. The changes in society directly affect the workplace. It’s good to see that SHRM as an organization is beginning to recognize social media, embrace it and share its benefits with its membership. Being social is who we are as people. No matter what form it takes, this will never change.

We are, always have been, and always will be, the Social Generation.

This post reminded me of this song. Make of it what you like, or just enjoy ...

Sometimes The Job Chooses Us ... Might As Well Embrace It

2012-07-06T07:14:00.000-04:00

For many reasons I decided to stop having guest writers post on my blog. But when my friend, David Greyson from Dovetail Software presented me with an essay that is directly tied to my last post, it was an easy decision to say yes. (Like all good HR folks, I know when to bend policy, even when it's my own.) I'm back next week with regularly scheduled posts. In the meantime, I present to you the truly last guest post on Welcome To The Occupation. It's a good one. Check it out ...

Unlike Keith Richards, I didn’t pick up a guitar at 13 and know, just know in my bones that I was born to melt faces with liquid cool guitar riffs. I certainly didn’t leave Harvard to start the largest software company in the world because BASIC and COBOL (computer languages) spoke to my soul, ala Mr. William Gates. And by no means was I so physically gifted at sport that I knew as a prepubescent teen that I would run past or dunk over other mere mortals in my chosen competitive realm of domination. No folks, I was just like the other mortals. I had ideas of rewarding professions that I may excel at, but I was far from “chosen one” status.

As a freshman in college it was time to pick a major. I did a self assessment. I had a knack for making friends (still have a big ole pack of them). I loved winning. Technology was interesting, but not the intricate computer coding or engineering stuff. And I was good at convincing people to do what was in my interest. I thought about politics and/or a legal profession, but decided I wasn’t ready for either yet. So, I settled on a very vanilla Marketing degree.

I was going to sell high dollar computer systems and make a fairly handsome living doing so! It wasn’t a crazy pipe dream. This was tangible. I was always terrific at selling while growing up. I went door to door, outselling my lawn mowing competition from age 13-16 and built a 30 yard a week business. I was a top salesman at a huge, high end bicycle store from age 16-22 while I attended high school and college. This was doable.

Right out of college, I was hired by the largest computer company in the world (I’ll let you guess who that is) as an inside sales rep. Step one accomplished! Since selling was my bread and butter and I had visions of grandeur, I soon made top sales rep on a team of 27. I held top dog status the next 3 quarters. I wasn’t exactly bringing in professional athlete money, but I was feeling pretty good about myself when my team got disbanded and I was granted pick of the litter in a vast 900 person inside sales center. I picked software. This was supposed to be the best team and a ticket to getting out in the field, taking me one closer step to my goal. Little did I know that reps NEVER went to the field from the inside sales center. I’m talking talented inside sales reps that were wildly successful but were utterly shunned, never given the opportunity to move outside. It was no different for me and I soon became increasingly frustrated and ultimately left.

I was still quite young/naive, the grass was greener on the other side, and I don’t mean a little greener. I mean neon, glowing green, like the candy grass in Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory. This was my time to start my own business and I gave it a real go over the next 8 months. I wrote a detailed business plan while consulting industry specialists, crossed my t’s and dotted my i’s. Did I get the capital investment? No, I did not.

Next on the list was law school. I was fascinated by law, especially criminal law. I volunteered on the grand jury for 3 months. The grand jury is a collection of 12 relatively law abiding citizens that review a docket twice a week and decide if there’s enough evidence to warrant an indictment. Our concentration was felony cases. Our docket consisted of approx 100 cases per session and I can assure you some of them were quite juicy and some were quite gruesome. Remember, murder, sexual assault, robbery, all fall under felony crime. The detectives and beat cops would share the evidence with us and occasionally defendants would plead their case to us as well.

Well I was hooked. It was fascinating. I was going be a criminal defense attorney. I studied 6 months, night and day for the LSAT (law school entry exam). I was scoring in the upper 80 percentile on full length sample tests. I could ace the reading comprehension sections, but the logic games, oh those evil, evil logic games…! They were ultimately my downfall. I took the test twice and scored in the 50th percentile both times, wiping out my chances at the upper tier schools I applied for. I made the waiting list for a couple, but ultimately not one of them took me.

I was genuinely heartbroken and emotionally drained after working so hard to chase multiple dreams. I had accumulated some debt from all of the admission fees and time away from work, was briefly living back with my parents while studying, was removed from a career path and quite honestly, significantly frustrated and a bit depressed.

Why couldn’t I achieve my dreams if I worked so bloody hard at them? What happened to the old saying, “if you give it all you have, you’ll succeed!”? They don’t tell you in school that there’s a strong possibility that no matter how hard you try, some people’s brains aren’t wired for LSAT logic games. They don’t mention to you that convincing savvy investors to risk 10 cents on a young pup’s unproven business idea typically has about a snowball’s chance in hell.

With my tail between my legs, I went back to doing what I hoped I was still good at. I was a little older and a heck of a lot wiser, or at least a heck of a lot more realistic. I convinced a technology staffing company to give me a shot. It was sales so I figured it out and became fairly successful at it. After a couple years I used it as a springboard to join a software company that brought me on as a lead generator with a path to becoming a sales director. I quickly did well enough to make that sales director role and here I am. I’m certainly more than “back to where I started”, but in a sense, I’m somewhat “back to where I started.” And you know, the grass isn’t greener on the other side this time. I really like my job. I like being pretty good at what I do. I love winning again. I love making new friends out of customers founded on hard work and trust. Selling to HR is fun! I feel very fortunate to have found a great company with intelligent, dedicated people that I can feel proud to be a part of. So when recruiters and ex colleagues call me up and try to steal me, I tell them they’ve got one heck a sell job if I’m to leave Dovetail Software. And you know what else, I don’t really want to be a lawyer anymore.

This is enough for me. It’s satisfying. It’s fulfilling. I can embrace other challenges in life now that I have some career stability. Now when I want to do something really different, I don’t flip the switch on a massive career change, I label that sucker a hobby and treat it as such.

So if you’re contemplating a career change that may significantly set you back, I’m not saying don’t try it. I’m just saying maybe you’re not with the right company or the grass isn’t as green on the other side as it appears. I will say that I’m quite proud of myself for giving it a real go. I didn’t dink around when I made the decisions for change. I really went for it. I FAILED. And being a Leo, failing is like a hot fire poker in the ass, but I learned some painful lessons and I do not aim to emulate them again.

Moral of the story? Sometimes the profession chooses you. Embrace it! Take a casual stroll across the neighbor’s lawn before packing up the farm and moving to another patch of dirt. If you do choose to venture out, GO FOR IT! But don’t be too proud to come back if it doesn’t work out.

David Greyson has been a Sales Director with Dovetail Software for 3 years. An Austin, TX based company, Dovetail offers a comprehensive HR specific Case Management application. David lives in Philadelphia with his wife and dog.

Confessions Of An HR Blogger

2012-06-24T07:13:00.000-04:00

Several weeks ago, I was asked by a long-standing respected member of the HR community, "what do you want out of your work?" I was taken aback because there was no judgement in his voice. It was a sincere question that was followed with an offer to help when I responded, "I don't know."

I explained 2012 was the year that I was going to do it all. I was going to excel in my job as director, garner a reputation as a public speaker, write informative and inspiring blog posts that would be chosen for syndication, write a book on HR, educate myself at several conferences, and take on any other opportunities that came along. I figured that after I took on everything, I could fully evaluate what I really want to do.

As interesting as this may sound, I was not living in the reality of me. I already knew what I wanted but it seemed too simple to embrace. The truth was (and is) I just want an interesting job with a fair equitable salary. Since I have this, I don't know why I'm chasing after a bunch of stuff I don't want. I don't want to be famous or renowned or an attention hog. I don't want to be an HR guru. I don't want to care about any type of clout scoring. I just want a simple job.

Granted, there is definitely life beyond the job. There's work that can be done on this blog. There may be words thought and written that can be beneficial. But frankly, I don't feel that I have much to offer anymore. I think my writing lately is noise and not worth publishing. Realistically, what subjects have not been covered already by myself or the hundreds of other bloggers, writers, and pundits?

I'm not retiring Welcome To The Occupation. But I'm not going to make this blog work a primary focus in my life anymore.

Offered Survival

My primary focus has to be my job. I'm now in a position overseeing HR, and IT, web, facilities, graphics, and print shop. This requires more hours and for me to educate myself in matters that are not HR. It requires attention to details that are interesting and always evolving. I'm also not going to act as a figurehead. I want this new role to be a success and because it is also my primary financial source, I'm taking it very seriously.

There is also another matter that is going to require much of my time outside of my job. It's a personal/family issue that I've been ignoring for the past three years. Thankfully I finally have the opportunity and resources to deal with this properly. Aside from my job, nothing is more important to me than fixing this problem.

On a more personal note, I'm not going to miss blog writing that much. I have a confession. It's not healthy for me and I don't enjoy it most of the time. When I started this blog in November 2009, I just wanted to use it as a means of enhancing my resume and as a vehicle to develop better writing skills. What it became was a source for bolstering my self-esteem. Conversely, it also became a source for crushing my self-esteem.

The problem is I don't understand why people like reading this blog. Hence, I constantly overreact emotionally to the good and bad results of this blog. I would be overly ecstatic if a post was popular, if subscriber numbers increased, if I was on a 'best of' list, or someone told me they loved my writing. In turn, I would be overly wounded if the opposite occurred.

Run With The Devil

This neurosis created bad habits. I checked my blog traffic numbers and subscriber numbers at least five times a day. I spent more money and time than I should have to garner more attention to the blog. I wanted to shut the blog down many times but couldn't let it go. I was addicted to the admiration.

My guess is there is at least one pompous member of the HR community who is going to express their disgust for my neurosis. He has made similar comments on social media outlets about others because HR is supposed to be more than human. With that notion in mind, I'm at the point where I believe that social media has become a sad place. It's full of outward expressions with no thought of decorum, manners, or respect for the truth. It's not all bad. I've met some great people via social media. But it's become more of a source of disgust for me than joy.

All in all, I was challenged to face some hard truths about myself and presented with some opportunities that I'd be a fool not to grab. I've also become aware that this blog cannot rule my life. Nor is this blog really that important in the grand scheme of things.

I'm not sure what the future holds in the work that I must do. But I certainly feel better getting this off my chest. I guess that's what confessions are supposed to do.

It's What You Know In HR

2012-05-29T07:42:00.000-04:00

In January of 2012, I took the Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) certification test. Signing up for the test, studying for the test, and finally taking the test were not easy for me. I struggled with scheduling it and consequently had to pay a late registration fee. I struggled with studying, setting aside time to do so and retaining what I read. I struggled with the notion of being tested and the fear of failing. The whole process was quite unpleasant.

Immediately after taking the test, I felt relieved. I also felt confused as to why I went through this process and what benefit it served.

Later that evening as I wrote about the experience for my blog, I realized the weeks studying were quite valuable. Typically, I spend a great deal of time reading human resources-type magazines, blogs and books focusing on the nuances of the field. Occasionally I revisit the basics when necessary and when relevant. But for the SPHR test, I had to immerse myself fully into all of the basics regardless of its personal relevance to me. Hence, I re-learned (and learned) some human resources information I had forgotten, and some of which now I have a better understanding.

The point is no human resources professional knows it all. Nor should he or she expect to. But to be proficient and efficient in this field, one must be on a constant learning path. Many of the basics of HR have remained consistent over the years. But how much of it have you forgotten or need to revisit? The HR field also changes because people change, organizations change, and society changes. To keep up on these nuances, how much time do you spend on this?

Obtaining and retaining this knowledge is important to the organizations that employ us. They count on us to know the basic HR laws. They also count on us to keep up with common law cases that shift the directions of policies and procedures. They count on us to understand individual and organizational psychology, and sociology. They count on us to observe political and societal changes that affect our values and beliefs. They count on us to be ready with all of this information for whenever the time is appropriate.

To be respected and valued as an HR professional in your field and your organizations, you have to bring a respectable value. And that respectable value is knowledge.

Thus, it is important to keep learning. After the basics are learned, learn them again; study for your PHR or SPHR; or take some online or offline courses. From there, continue to read news releases on court decisions, political changes, and fringe benefits for businesses. Continue to read books on the newest psychological theories and societal behaviors. And if you haven’t already, start reading blogs of other HR professionals. Blogs are a great way to network, reaffirm your convictions, and open your ears to leading practices.

The other place to learn is from you. With the highest degree of probability, every person fails. Mistakes are inevitable, and one must know and accept this. Achieving that knowledge gives one the strength and confidence to learn from their mistakes and succeed in the future.

There is a saying, “those who can’t do, teach.” This is extremely true of human resources. Human resources don't make the widgets, don’t write the report, and don’t fly the planes. We teach those people to do all of those things more efficiently, guide them through the risks, and ensure their success.

But before you can teach, you have to know. Before you can know, you have to learn. Before you can learn, you have to realize what you don’t know and be open to self-improvement. Therein is where you will find your value in any organization. It is and will always be what you know.

Acing the Phone Interview: Give It Your All When You Answer The Call

2012-05-16T07:13:00.000-04:00

The longer I work in HR, the more I question the behavior of job applicants. I don't freak out if there's a typo on a resume. But from garbled cover letters to strangely odoriferous interviewees, from lying to acting obnoxious, I wonder aren't folks paying attention to what damages their chances of employment? Aren't they paying attention to all the advice out there?

I think one of the most disregarded advices is how to act on a phone interview. (Guess what. If you're not paying attention while talking to me on the phone, I can tell.)

So when Melissa Crossman asked if she could do a guest post on the subject while I was on a blogging vacation, I said it obviously cannot be said enough times. Here's Melissa with some good advice...

The phone interview is a popular preliminary measure for hiring managers for many different reasons. For one, it saves more time and money than a formal in-person interview, while making it easier to filter out unfit candidates and increase accessibility for distant applicants. Despite the importance of this process, too many applicants immediately hear the word "conference call interview" and think of the process as an informal, less serious version of a traditional interview.

However, I can tell you I’m now sitting in my office chair because I took the phone interview seriously. My current company first called me to set up a phone interview, which did take me by surprise. We set up an appointment for a few days later, and I carved out time on my lunch schedule to take the call. A week later, I was called in for an actual interview. Ideally, you’ll be able to take a call at your home like I was, even if you have to make a little extra time for it. If you can’t, choose somewhere quiet, like an office or your car. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that phone interviews aren’t important just because you’re sitting in a Subaru!

Since you likely came across this article by searching for phone interview tips, congratulations: You're one of the few who does value the importance of a phone interview. To make it a success, follow these top four crucial tips.

1. Create a "Cheat Sheet"

One of the best things about a phone interview is that the interviewer can't tell if you're referencing outside resources when answering questions. Although you'll want to research and rehearse as much as possible ahead of time, it helps to have a cheat sheet handy in case you get nervous or flustered during the interview. Compile a brief description of the company and the job you're applying to for reference during the interview, and have your résumé nearby as well. Always prepare for the most common opening discussion point in the interview, which is usually "Tell me about yourself." Plus, don't let a long, awkward moment of silence at the end of the phone interview occur. ALWAYS have a list of questions prepared to keep the conversation going and indicate your personal engagement.

2. Dress to Impress

The interview will have no idea whether you're wearing a suit and tie or a clown costume, but dressing in professional attire often helps to get you in the right mindset for the interview. One phone interview I’ve never been able to forget occurred while I was running late from my son’s soccer game, which was cut short by an unexpected rain storm. Even though I knew the interviewer couldn’t actually see me, I wasn’t exactly feeling my best in wet clothes, muddy shoes and frizzy hair. The self-consciousness I felt translated through the phone, and changed the way I would normally speak and act had I been more prepared and confident about my appearance.

3. Choose a Quiet and Inspiring Area

A home office is an excellent place to conduct a phone interview, but virtually any exclusive, quiet area will do to ensure a successful session. Before the interview, customize whatever space you have selected by including pictures of your professional idols (Steve Jobs, perhaps) along with your personal idols (Mom and Dad?) to add some psychological support throughout the session. If classical music really helps to get you thinking more fluidly, listen to some of your favorite composers before the interview is scheduled to begin. Try to think of the interview as a performance where you need to research the part and prepare extensively before being put in the spotlight.

4. Practice the Art of Active Listening

Remember that the interviewer can't see you making strong eye contact and nodding profusely to express your engagement in the conversation. To make up for body language falling short, utilize active listening methods to show that you are interested in the subject and paying attention to every word spoken. Some of these methods include repeating back part of the question you're asked or referencing points made earlier in the conversation. Remember to ask for the interviewer's name and contact information before beginning the interview to start the conversation off on a personal level.

Phone interviews may feel less natural and traditional than a face-to-face interview, but taking the right approach can often work in your favor. Above all, just remember to take the phone interview as seriously as you would any other interview. Since this will most likely be your first impression with the company, applying the above tips will allow you to truly make it count.

About the Author: Melissa Crossman blogs on behalf of OnConference and lives in Indianapolis with her husband and two kids.

Carnival of HR: The Cake Edition

2012-05-09T07:37:00.000-04:00

It's Carnival of HR time again at WTTO. And in keeping with my tradition of creating a theme around the selection of HR posts, this time it's all about cake.

No one was forced to write specifically about cake. But many did have a cake specific post, something related to frosting, texture, shape, layers, decorations, special occasions, candles, fire, burning the house down, why it's better than pie, 1990's bands that were one hit wonders, why things are easy, or reality TV shows. For those who didn't, it was no problem. All the writer had to do was provide the cake (a.k.a great post) and I put of layer of icing on it.

So for your confectionery pleasure, I present the
Carnival of HR: The Cake Edition.

HR has a tendency to create a large, lush, multi-tiered extravaganza of a cake with tons of frosting and decorations, when all we need is a single layer cake ...

Anita Lettink / Visions For HR: "HR Simplicity Challenge: The 5 Worst HR Policies"

But then again, flat cakes don't always do the trick. Sometimes you need depth to your cake. With the extravagant cake, you can mix different flavors of cake and frosting together, you can even sprinkle some cookie crumbs on top or mix in cookie dough ...

Lois Melbourne / Acquire Blog: "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie"

Cake tastes so good. Some even say it's good for you. Sometimes I wish that all food tasted like chocolate cake. If it did, I would eat it all day. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be too much and you have to hold back ...

Naomi Bloom / In Full Bloom: "Making My Peace With Not Knowing/Following/Connecting/Clicking Through Etc."

Some people though don't like cake and won't serve cake. When Dan sent me his link, he specifically told me, "No cake for you Milton." Why I never, I thought. But after reading Dan's post, I see he prefers pie instead. In fact, he sees every piece of the pie ...

Dan McCarthy / Great Leadership: "The Future Of Leadership Development"

Cake is perfect in so many ways. What many people don't realize is that cake is responsible for ending most of the wars on our planet. Cake brings people together and creates harmony and friendship. Let's see pie do that ...

Ben Eubanks / UpstartHR: "I Heart Cake Time"

Ian asks the existential question, "can cake be the icing on the cake?" I say yes! But I still like the icing to be the icing on the cake ...

Ian Welsh / Toolbox.com: "If I Knew You Were Coming I'd Have Baked You A Cake"

Many things are easy as cake. But leadership is not one of them. In fact, leadership is no cakewalk ...

Jesse Lyn Stoner / My Blog: "5 Pitfalls To Avoid When Identifying Team Values"

According to the song MacArthur Park, someone left the cake out in the rain. Why in the name of all that is holy would someone do that to a perfectly good cake? It just goes to show, people do strange things for strange reasons and it'll always remain a mystery ...

Robin Schooling / HR Schoolhouse: "Gratuitous Sex or Sex for Gratuities? An HR Story"

I have no patience once a cake has the last spread of icing on it. I don't want to wait for it to settle. I want to dig right into it. But sometimes there is value in taking a step back and marveling at all of its cake glory ...

Sandrine Bardot / Compensation Insider: "The Value of Post-Mortem Analysis for Compensation Projects"

Know yourself. If you want cake and need cake, don't wait for someone to get it for you ...

Lynn Dessert / Elephants At Work: "Knowing What You Want Versus What You Need"

I love TV shows where all they do is make cakes. It fascinates me to see the work of making a life-size car out of cake. Or creating replicas of football fields and store fronts. It's a great example of blending the love for a skill with the deliberate practice of enhancing talent ...

Susan Heathfield / About.com Human Resources: "Focus On Growing Your Strengths"

Cakes are like stories. The outside is different from the inside. And if you're the baker, you know what's inside. But to everyone else, they have to guess what's on the inside. As the baker, you better hope it taste good ...

Gautam Ghosh / Talent and Social Business: "Stories and Branding: What It Means For Employers"

How many different ways are there to make cake? You have your flour, eggs, chocolate, etc. But how much better can this recipe become? So you throw in a little vanilla, or rum, or butterscotch chips and next thing you know, you have your own recipe and it tastes fabulous ...

Dwane Lay / Dovetail Connect Blog: "Cake, Covers and Best Practices"

It's sad to think about cake becoming too expensive to afford. What would you do ...?

Shana Sweeney / Benefits Babble: "Benefits: It's More Than Just Cake"

Sometimes you can never have too many candles on the cake. But you should still know how many there are. It shows you know where you've been ...

Tim Gardner / The HR Introvert: "Heritage"

Sometimes cake should be for everyone and everywhere. Even at work ...

Nancy Saperstone / HR Initiative: "Happy Birthday To You"

And that is, how they say, the icing on the cake. Thanks to everyone who contributed. I hope everyone got their fill of cake. Just in case you need some more, here's The B-52's ode to "Cake" ...

Why HR Should Be The Comptroller's Best Friend

2012-05-06T09:48:00.000-04:00

Because Bert Doerhoff and I enjoyed working together on his previous post, "Your Company Turned You Into An HR Manager...Now What?" we decided to do it again. This time I wanted to explore how important the relationship between HR and Accounting is, and Bert again has some great advice. I'm particularly fond of #'s 3 and 4. Here's Bert...

In my history in accounting, I have always tried to foster a great relationship with the HR professionals. From what I have found, human resources professionals are great communicators, are empathetic, and have a decent sense of humor as well! Hence, they make great lunch companions! All generalizations aside, HR professionals have a difficult job, and it’s important for accountants to realize that. It's also important for HR to realize the difficult job of accountants.

In a small to medium-sized businesses, the Human Resources and Accounting departments often work closely with each other or have overlapping duties, especially in preparing payroll. If you fulfill a Human Resources role in your company, then you know how difficult it can be to report to and work closely with another department. HR professionals and accountants do not always see eye to eye, but it’s important to keep this relationship strong and stable to maintain the health and efficiency of the company.

Below, I have outlined some tips for keeping the level of teamwork at its absolute prime.

1) Realize you have similar strengths!

A lot of accountants’ work is keeping organized, keeping records and keeping track of numbers. When HR professionals perform their duties, this is exactly the quality that they should have! A good HR manager has an eye for any errors or mistakes with salaries, paycheck amounts, time sheets or billing periods. Remembering this common strength between the two departments can foster an environment of teamwork rather than conflict.

2) Clearly define the division of labor.

Sometimes there is gray area between the HR and accounting departments, so it’s crucial to carefully define which duties fall under which department in your company. This division of labor will truly depend on the size and nature of the business. Enlist the help of the boss to define which responsibilities lie in each department.

Typically, Accounting would handle any duties that require extensive calculations – commission input, deductions or earning codes and retirement plans, while HR managers deal with the “employee side,” handling pay complaints or retirement plan enrollment. Defining these roles early will help prevent confusion in the future and ultimately help HR managers do their job better.

3) Don’t be afraid to coach.

Sometimes accounting and finance personnel can become so involved with the numbers that they lose sight of the human factor that drives the company. Let them know how the business is running and the overall mood of the employees. It’s important for the entire team to understand the company culture, and being hunkered down over data and numbers is one easy way for accountants to lose sight of that.

4) Learn the lingo.

HR managers don’t have an accounting degree, and they’re not expected to have one. However, it can be immensely beneficial to learn the basic financial tools that are used. What are accrued revenues? When is the accounting period? How do you set up a balance sheet? Having this fundamental knowledge will help HR managers fill the gap between HR and accounting. It also lets accountants know that you’re making an effort to understand their work. It can be a great idea to set up a meeting every couple weeks to go over financial topics so that all employees are on the same page.

5) Keep your eye on the goal.

Remember why you chose your company in the first place. You probably chose it because the business showed promise, had a positive company culture and dealt in an industry you enjoy. If you are sometimes asked to take on roles that should truly be done by Accounting, go ahead and take on the project. The ultimate goal is the success and growth of the company.

These tips will help maintain a stellar relationship between HR and Accounting and help both departments perform their best work. If you're lucky, not only will this promote teamwork and passion for the work, but maybe you'll get a new best friend out of it too.

About the Author
Bert Doerhoff is the owner and founder of Accubiz, a firm providing accounting services out of Jefferson City, Missouri, which specializes in small business accounting. Prior to starting his own business, Doerhoff worked for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., currently known as KPMG. He has been chosen multiple times by CPA Digest for the “Digest 50 Award,” representing one of the top 50 CPA firms in the nation.

Gen Y Hiring and T2

2012-05-02T20:21:00.000-04:00

"So what brought you here?"

"Curtis sent me an email," was my response to Geoff Webb's question. We were sitting in a small room somewhere in the behemoth of the Gaylord Resort and Hotel outside of Washington D.C. We were summoned to this room because Dice.com and Clearancejobs.com were hosting a brunch for the speakers of a new unconference hosted by SHRM and Curtis Midkiff.

Curtis is known on Twitter as @SHRMsocmedguy. He's also known for bringing social media interests to SHRM. This time he brought some friends as he created an unconference experience for early arrivals of SHRM's Talent Management conference. He called it T2.

He also didn't tell me that much more about it. Curtis sent me an email asking if I wanted to be a panelist on the topic of Talent Management. Because it was Curtis, I didn't ask questions. I didn't care if the other panelists were stuffed shirts or morons. I immediately said yes.

Fortunately for me, my panel was nothing less than stellar. Matt Charney, Jessica Miller-Merrell, Joey Price and I spoke for a rapid fifty minutes. We were graciously held together by our facilitator, Aliah Wright.

What was not fortuitous for me was the subject matter: hiring millennials. This is certainly not my expertise. In fact when asked at brunch for a tip on hiring millennials, it took me a good five minutes to quietly sort through the cynical and snarky thoughts in my head before I replied, "we don't hire millennials. We hire people."

I thought that was some profound stuff. It also became the glue that held my random thoughts together during the panel discussion. Amidst my random comments were some great points by the panelists on mentorships, the importance of Klout, quality vs. quantity of social media presence and the validity of generation separation.

Aside from my panel, T2 had three other panels on the topics of talent communities, corporate culture and candidate experience, and cool tools for recruiters . To get a thorough rundown of these panels, Geoff Webb gave a great overview of the entire show on his website. He even quoted me, after I declared my age of 47. I said, "when I was 20, I felt entitled." (Picture my mother reading this and nodding her head.) Then, in turn I quoted Louie CK on how for the first 20 years of your life all you do is consume and judge. The jury's still out if that was one of my finer moments.

Nevertheless, the conference and the panel was not about me. It was about an opportunity to bring the unconference experience closer to the SHRM general membership.

I know that unconference in some circles is already passe or considered ridiculous. But I'm still a big fan of the unconference. It levels the playing field between the presenters and the audience. It allows for more interaction between the two before, during and after the presentation. It also allows for folks like myself who may not have the biggest brain in the room to have a place to speak their minds.

I'm glad SHRM put this together. It was interesting and energizing. It was a new venture for SHRM. Hopefully it's not the last.

HR: From The End Of The World To Your Town

2012-04-29T08:30:00.002-04:00

"Isn't HR more interested in their employer than their employee?"

A dear old friend of mine wrote these words to me this week. He has a workplace situation and was looking for some reasonable advice. I've given advice before to family and friends. Usually the questions are conventional which this question was too. But this time, I felt a certain amount of fear from this question.

I read a couple of HR blogs that regularly offer advice to their readers (Ask A Manager, Evil HR Lady). Their posts are laden with the disparages, disgusts, and misconceptions about the work place. For the most part, they're easy to read from an outside point of view and to shake your head in disbelief for two seconds. It's also comforting to read their thoughtful solutions and to nod your head in agreement for two seconds, and then move on. But when it's someone you care about, and their situation is life-altering, you hope you're pointing them in the right direction, and they steer their vessel correctly.

However it works out, I think my friend is lucky to have a friend in HR. When I think of all the people that don't and have to rely on advice columnists, I think it's a shame. The workplace affects us all and we should all have a friend in HR.

What if everyone did? Would it dispel the myths that HR is "more interested in their employer than their employee?" Would it change the workplace dramatically and alleviate (if not remove) the disparages and disgust? Would it put everyone in a better place?

Nathaniel Burrage vs. FedEx Freight

Having a friend in HR probably would have helped Nathaniel Burrage. In short, Burrage was denied a trial over claims of race and national origin discrimination he made against his employer, FedEx Freight. He alleged he was harassed by his supervisor because they referred to him as "Mexican" and "cheap labor." Burrage was not Mexican, but encountered this misconception because of his skin color .

After years of enduring these taunts and many others, Burrage filed a charge. The primary reason the court denied trial was because Title VII, unlike the ADA, doesn't make a provision for perceiving someone of a protected class. Thus, they held that the taunts amounted "to incomprehensible name calling."

There was a "but for" test that was applied in the court's decision. The Sixth Circuit court held that "[c]onduct that is not explicitly race-based may be illegally race-based and properly considered in a hostile-work-environment analysis when it can be shown that but for the employee's race, [he] would not have been the object of harassment." But for this to apply, Burrage was expected to demonstrate "white employees were not subjected to the same treatment" which he could not.

The court's analysis also noted Burrage failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by FedEx Freight's anti-harassment policy. Burrage "admitted knowledge of this policy and its procedures" but did not talk directly to anyone in HR. He testified at his deposition "that he had heard from others over the years that these procedures were ineffective, so he did not bother to use them."

Raised and Regimented, Hardly A Hero

It's unfortunate that Barrage did not follow the bureaucratic line to take care of his claim. After reading the case summary, I think it's clear he was harassed based on national origin. Maybe not his national origin. But national origin nevertheless. If he had not relied on presumptions and received good advice, perhaps he would never landed in court in the first place. Perhaps if he had known someone personally who knew HR, he would have been able to resolve his complaint internally and been able to have a better work life.

Perhaps it's not always possible to have someone in your life who's experienced in HR that can help one maneuver through the deluge. If one does, one should reach out. If not, start searching for one.

But back to my friend's original question, "Isn't HR more interested in their employer than their employee?". The answer is no. HR is raised and regimented for both the employer and the employees.

It reminds me of the Elton John song lyric, "from the end of the world to your town." Good HR can bring you back from the feeling it's the end of the world to the comfort of your town, your home, and yourself. We do it for both the employer and the employees. Granted we may not always be Captain Fantastics, but the good ones give it their best shot.

There Are No HR Geniuses

2012-04-22T08:22:00.000-04:00

In the late 90's, I used to listen to Howard Stern every week day morning. I worked in a warehouse where every radio was tuned to his show. So it was inescapable.

I don't remember much about the show except his reasons for divorce and his viewpoint on geniuses.

Every once in awhile, a caller into the show would call Howard a "genius" which he would in turn revile. He would say things like, "I'm a radio show host. Thomas Edison was a genius. He invented the light bulb. Hosting a radio show doesn't equate to inventing the light bulb."

I couldn't agree more.

Recently, I heard someone describe someone as an HR Genius and I had a similar feeling of revulsion. For the record, it wasn't me being called a genius. But it struck me that this language is not only inaccurate but unnecessary.

source: http://www.goldiechiari.com/books.php

The only way someone could be a genius in HR is if they could read minds and predict the future. Also, this type of aggrandizement creates images that make it difficult for others to actually understand the real meaning of HR.

In HR, we have enough problems getting our organizations and people outside of HR to truly understand what we do and who we are. When we use phrases such as HR Genius, HR Rock Star, or HR Thought Leader, what are we saying to the outside world? What are we saying about ourselves?

I know we want to be seen as important in the business world. But these types of phrases strike me as non-substantive, attention-seeking, and insecurity-revealing.

I predict that many people won't agree since these phrases are bandied about frequently. But I can't imagine my boss or anyone in the organization describing me as any of these things. Only HR people are using them. And if only HR people are using them, don't you think this is just a means of upping a profile that exists only in your head?

HR is not the line of business. The business is the business. Without the business, HR is nothing. Get secure with that and you won't need these monikers.

HR Is Like A Big Cable-Knit Sweater

2012-04-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

This week, I received this message on Twitter: "I gave @pasmuz a +K about Human Resources."

Sounds cool, huh? But instead of feeling grateful, I responded sarcastically, "Why? I don't know anything about Human Resources."

Considering I work in human resources, write and speak about it, this proclamation may not make sense. It may cause some to question my credibility or even my sanity.

But in reality, I wasn't having a moment of self-doubt, or sorrow, or stress. Sometimes, I seriously wonder, what do I really know about Human Resources. Sure I can run a department. I can teach the basics and the nuance of leading practices. I can write and enforce policy. I can implement reorganizations and enhance company culture. I can do all of this standing on one leg with my hands tied behind my back.

But I don't think I will ever fully understand the human as a working resource. Humans have some set patterns but not all are transparent. Humans are full of assumptions, presumptions, and judgements which cloud their thinking. Humans protect themselves socially in the face of perceived threats. Humans will make unexpected mistakes in the guise of best intentions. Humans will consciously create chaos.

All of this human behavior (and more) is happening at every work place right now. And HR is expected to manage this resource.

Even though the best HR professionals are a combination of psychologist, lawyer, parent, and insurance agent, it doesn't make them beyond human. HR are not flies on the wall or mind readers. HR cannot be everywhere at all times, and they cannot predict the future.

It's possible to have a high degree of skill and knowledge in Human Resources. But even experts are baffled by the unpredictability of humans.

In some ways, it's maddening. It's like a mystery that can't be solved. And "when you've gone over something again and again and again and again like I have, certain questions get answered. Others spring up. The mind plays tricks on you; you play tricks back!

It's like you're unraveling a big cable-knit sweater that someone keeps knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting and knitting..."*

*Excerpt from Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Warner Bros. films, 1985.

Link to source: http://youtu.be/XjSVRsoBYNY