Archive for: HR Strategy

With the new year fast approaching, there are a multitude of issues that will continue to impact the workplace and require HR professionals and business leaders to stay ahead of the curve. Whether through technology, legislative changes, or the ever-evolving workforce; what has always worked in the past may not be effective (or legal) any longer.  Keeping abreast of these changes and designing strategies to address them may make the difference between retaining your workforce or losing them to the competition.

Equal Pay & Unconscious Biases

Equal pay for women will continue to be an important issue going into 2019. According to Reuters (an international news agency headquartered in London, United Kingdom):

• Females make only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men
• Woman graduates make 82% as much as their male counterparts
• Women on US Corporate Board of Directors is only 12%
• Women owned companies average 60% lower revenues than male owned companies

In a recent Harvard Global Online Research study, including over 200,000 participants, it showed that 76% of people (BOTH men AND women) are gender biased and tend to think of men as better suited for careers and women as better suited as homemakers. This bias spills over into the workplace every day.

 Considerations:

• Evaluate compensation practices and review employee compensation to determine if there’s pay inequity in your organization.
• Review employment practices to minimize the impact of any hidden or overt biases that would be holding women back and/or paying them less for their skills than deserved.
• Look for ways in your organization to help grow and develop female employees into leadership roles.
• Implement training programs for employees to understand how biases can affect employees and the company’s success.

Salary History Ban

Many states have legislated a ban on asking job candidates about their salary history as a means to prevent current or previous pay inequality from following a person throughout their career. Determining a candidate’s compensation based on their salary history can perpetuate existing wage inequalities that are the result of gender bias or discrimination.

Considerations:

• Even if you’re not in a state where the ban is in place, its best to start focusing away from salary history and instead find avenues to better identify the candidate’s expectations, how they align with the need and expectations of the position you’re trying to fill, and the potential career path the job has to offer. Some things to consider:
• Instead of asking for salary history, tell the candidate outright what the salary range is for the role, and then see if they want to continue the conversation.
• Take a data-driven approach. Research compensation standards for the role you’d like to fill and consider their skills, background, and education to determine a final offer.
• Review your hiring practices. Implement strategies to help you identify the key skills and experience needed for the job and develop interview questions to objectively measure candidates against that criteria. Standardized interview questions, candidate evaluation forms and training everyone involved in the interview process can help ensure a more objective selection process where the best candidate is selected based on critical skills and experience versus where they are salary-wise at the time of hire.

The Tight Labor Market & Lower Retention

According to the June Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, there were just shy of 6.7 million open positions in April. The number of vacancies is pulling well ahead of the number the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts as unemployed. This year is the first time the level of the jobs available exceeds unemployed since the BLS started tracking these numbers in 2000. (Source: HR Today, August 2018)

According to recent studies, 3.4 million Americans quit their jobs so far in 2018, which is twice the amount of those who were laid off from jobs, costing employers millions. (Source Wall Street Journal, July 2018)

 Considerations:

• If you want to solve the skills gap for your company specifically, start investing in training, goal-setting, performance metrics and learning. Apprenticeships are on the rise in the US, consider hiring entry-level staff you can mold into the right employee.
• Flexibility in the workplace is no longer a request by moms and/or Gen Xers.  Both genders and every generation are looking for workplace flexibility for their own reasons. To stay competitive, organizations will need to figure out how to accommodate these requests for flexibility such as flexible starting and ending times and options to work from home as needed—perhaps even adjusting the normal work day to a 5 – 6 hour day.
• Instead of agonizing over a wage increase you can’t afford, consider looking to intangible benefits like flex-scheduling, financial wellness programs or workplace collaboration opportunities. A 2016 Aflac Workforces Report found 60% of employees are likely to accept a lower salary in exchange for better benefits.
• Ensure you have a structured and effective onboarding program. Research links effective onboarding to reduced turnover and increased retention. In one study, employees were 60% more likely to remain with the organization for more than three years when there is a structured onboarding program.¹

(1Source: Gillespie Associates. (2016). Why onboarding that new hire will increase your bottom line. Strategic Onboarding.)

Gig Workforce

According to a report by Gallup, “The Gig Economy and Alternative Work Arrangements”, approximately 36% of U.S. workers participate in the gig economy through either their primary or secondary jobs.  According to Freelancing in America more than 55 million Americans do freelance work, and 79% of them prefer freelance work to a traditional job.

Considerations

To attract and retain the gig workforce, you’ll need to make shifts in how you handle these freelancers all while staying in compliance with the laws around employee versus contractor.  An added complication can be determining whether this individual is truly a contractor, or should they be classified as an employee.  It’s a fine line and the Department of Labor has been watching closely.

Rising Health Care Costs

The rise of employer sponsored health plan costs will continue in 2019 and expected to approach $15,000 per EE in 2019*. Expect total cost of providing medical and pharmacy benefits will rise 5% for the 6^th consecutive year. According to a National Business Group on Health Survey (NBGH) health benefit costs are still rising at two times the rate of wage increases and three times general inflation.  “…Making this cost trend unaffordable and unsustainable over the long term”.

 Considerations:

• Many large employers are holding down costs by steering employees towards cost-effective service providers such as telehealth options and high-value in-plan provider networks.
• Offering more choices in plan offerings like PPOs (preferred-provider organizations) allow employees to select plans that best fit their needs (and their pocket books).
• Spousal surcharges. Next year, 33 percent of large employers will impose a surcharge for spouses who can obtain coverage through their own employer, and the average annual spousal surcharge will be $1,200. Only six percent of respondents will exclude spouses entirely when similar health coverage is available through the spouse’s own employer.
• Behavioral health benefits.Three in 10 large employers will conduct in-house campaigns next year to reduce the stigma around mental health conditions and treatment. More than half will offer self-directed online resources.
• Opioid restrictions.A majority of large employers (55 percent) are greatly concerned about the impact of prescription opioid abuse in the workforce. Employers are working with their partners to implement multiple strategies to change prescribing patterns and increase access to alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, physical therapy and chiropractic care.

(*Source: By Stephen Miller, CEBS August 13, 2018 SHRM Article “For 2019, Employers Adjust Health Benefits as Costs Near $15,000 per Employee”

Artificial Intelligence

HR technology companies are developing and promoting more and more Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. Some of the technologies being developed can help HR professionals track and reveal troubling patterns in real-time to address such issues as employee engagement, turnover, and absenteeism (to name a few).  Automating repetitive tasks and improving workforce productivity are two of the top potential outcomes from implementing AI technology.

Considerations

As with any technical solution, careful consideration should be given on the pro’s and con’s of different programs and have a clear purpose in mind before implementing.  Establish clear goals and how AI can enhance the employee experience and benefit the organization before implementing it.

Other important compliance and legal updates to be aware of in 2019:

Mandatory E-Verify Included in Trump’s 2019 Budget Proposal

In his proposal, President Trump allocates $23 million to be invested in expanding the E-Verify program to mandatory nationwide use. Since 1996, E-Verify has been voluntary for most employers. It also has become mandatory for federal contractors, certain state contractors, and employers that want to implement science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) when hiring foreign graduates of U.S. universities. Although it is not currently required at a federal level, many states have laws that either require or encourage some employers to use E-Verify. We may see other states follow-suit in 2019.

New FLSA Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) intends to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to announce a new proposed salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA’s) white-collar exemption from overtime pay—but likely not until January 2019.

Under the current Act,  salaried employees who are managers and those with certain “specialized skills” like a professional degree or training in a specific field are exempt from being able to earn overtime pay if they make:

• More than $455 per week; or
• Over $23,660 a year

A halted 2016 rule would have doubled the salary threshold, requiring employers to pay overtime to salaried employees unless they make:

• More than $913 per week; or
• Over $47,476 a year

That raised cap would have made over 4 million more salaried workers eligible for overtime.

In 2018, the US Labor Department Secretary R. Alexander Acosta suggested during his confirmation hearing that the maximum for mandatory overtime pay should be increased to around $33,000. it’s unclear what the new rule will look like, but the new proposal is expected to be less sweeping. Lawmakers are expected to begin the ruling process in January 2019.

IRS Raises HSA, HDHP Dollar Limits for 2019

The annual contribution limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) are going up in 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced May 10. The maximum out-of-pocket limits for an HSA-eligible high-deductible health plan (HDHP) also will be increased for inflation, according to Revenue Procedure 2018-30. For self-only plans, the contribution limit (employer + employee) for calendar year 2019 is $3,500; this represents a $50 increase over the 2018 limit. For family plans, the 2019 limit is $7,000, a $100 increase from 2018.

This is just a sampling of some of the key trends we have in store for us in 2019.  As HR professionals, it is going to be imperative for us stay alert and informed about the continued changes to our workforce, recruitment and retention policies, and legalities in order to be competitive and in compliance.

 Terry Salo is the Senior HR Consultant at strategic HR inc. (strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions or would like to share your comments, contact Terry@strategicHRinc.com.

 

By Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SCP

With a new political landscape and continuous changes in our demographics, 2017 is going to be a rapidly changing year for the HR world.  HR is going to have to stay on the forefront of legislative changes and may even need to get more engaged in influencing those changes.  Plus, with the continuous evolution of our workforce, what has always worked may not work anymore whether it be recruitment, compensation, or even workplace policies.

So what’s keeping HR up at night and on our toes during the day????

TREND 1 – Retiring Baby Boomers
For years, the work force has been dominated by the Baby Boomers.  The masses of Baby Boomers in the workforce have dominated the other generations by sheer numbers.  Slowly this is changing.  As of April 2016, the Baby Boomers are no longer the largest generation in the workforce as the Millennials surpass them.  Currently, around 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day according to PEW Research. Some Baby Boomers are retiring while others are plunging into their next career.

Considerations: With a mass exodus of Baby Boomers, whether to retirement or a new career, how will your company manage this loss of wisdom, knowledge, and experience?  What can your organization do to retain the Baby Boomers at some level to minimize the loss?  What steps can you implement to transfer this knowledge to the younger generations?

TREND 2 – Entrance of Generation Z
Welcome Generation Z (born 1991 to present) to the workplace.  According to Bruce Tulgan’s research on the “Great Generational Shift,” Gen Zs grew up “over supervised, coached, and constantly rewarded by their parents.”  As a result, this generation has high expectations for themselves, their boss and the company.  They have a lot of wants and want to know exactly what they need to do to attain those wants including clear goals, precise timelines, and acceptable rewards.  While some feel this is the trophy generation where everyone was a winner, truth be told, it was the parents that did not “keep score”, the kids certainly did.  They are competitive and they know how to keep score.

Considerations: This generation does not “trust” the system and wants clear goals tied to rewards.  HR is going to be challenged to create an environment that will accommodate these workers including new programs such as training managers, creating clear milestones, developing incremental rewards, ensuring open and regular communications, and more.  Gen Z won’t be appeased with “if you work hard, here’s where you’ll be in 3-5 years”.  They want to see more immediate rewards – next week, next month, 6 months out.

TREND 3 – Workforce Flexibility
To begin with, flexibility in the workplace is no longer a request by moms and/or Gen Xers.  Both genders and every generation are looking for workplace flexibility for their own reasons.

Considerations: To stay competitive, organizations will need to figure out how to accommodate these requests for flexibility such as flexible starting and ending times and options to work from home as needed—perhaps even adjusting the normal work day to a 5 – 6 hour day.

TREND 4 – Gig Workforce
An even bigger challenge is going to be the emergence of the Gig Workforce.  It’s not really new but according to Freelancing in America more than 55 million Americans do freelance work, and 79% of them prefer freelance work to a traditional job.

Considerations: To attract and retain the gig workforce, you’ll need to make shifts in how you handle these freelancers all while staying in compliance with the laws around employee versus contractor.  An added complication can be determining whether this individual is truly a contractor, or should they be classified as an employee.  It’s a fine line and the Department of Labor has been watching closely.

TREND 5 – Tight Labor Market
The labor market continues to get tighter and tighter.  It is becoming more and more challenging to find talent let alone technical talent (STEM).  Plus, a tight labor market means it is a candidates market and candidates know it.

Considerations: Companies will need to continue to partner with education institutes to develop candidates with these skills.  They will also need to be willing to grow the skills internally rather than expecting to find them on the street.  In addition, companies will need to begin focusing on the candidate experience.  It will be critical to break down the journey a candidate may take from beginning to end with your organization and ensure it is very positive in the eyes of the candidate.  Timeliness will also be critical.  If you think a candidate is great, so does someone else.  Lastly, hiring is just taking longer, and costing more – from resources to the time to fill.  Keep an eye on your metrics, so you’re not caught off guard.

TREND 6 – Return of the Performance Review
In the past, the buzz was to abolish performance reviews.  But, guess what?  They aren’t going away.   The reason organizations were eliminating the reviews was because an annual discussion was not effective, which was no surprise.

Considerations: Discussions with employees on performance and development need to be happening more regularly, at least monthly or quarterly, if not more often.  An informal or formal approach to ongoing discussions with employees has to be established.  The Millennials (Gen Y & Gen Z) are looking for these regular conversations and the other generations are jumping on the bandwagon. What tools can you provide your managers and how do you hold them accountable for ensuring these regular discussions are taking place?

TREND 7 – Bonuses versus Raises
With a tight labor market and robust economy, wages are increasing too.  More and more companies are shifting to a compensation structure of bonuses based on performance over the annual merit raise.

Considerations: Employers are trying to get more creative to handle this increased cost by offering bonuses to employees in lieu of pay increases.  For example, an increase of 1 – 4% doesn’t have a huge impact on an employee’s salary on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis.  However, a bonus of $500 – $10,000 will have a bigger and immediate impact.  To do this, employers need to start with a competitive base pay and then create formal incentive plans to help employees know what they need to do in order to get what amount of bonus.

TREND 8 – Parental Leave
Work / Life benefits continue to be top of mind as well.  One of the key ones is “parental leave,” meaning both maternity and paternity leaves.  Big or small, we are beginning to see organizations taking steps to offer time off for both mom and dad for the birth or adoption of a child.  Some companies are offering very generous plans (i.e. 12 weeks paid) that are the same for both, while others are starting out by offering a paternal leave at a different amount than maternal.

Considerations: To be competitive, what will your organization do with regards to parental leave?  While there was a lot of buzz on paid leave in the election, Congress is unlikely to act any time soon.  That doesn’t mean your company can rest on its laurels, when so many other companies are stepping up to offer paid leave.

TREND 9 – Compliance issues for 2017
With any new presidential administration, we can expect a great deal of change in 2017 to workplace compliance such as:

• Fair Labor Standards Act – exempt/non-exempt and overtime requirements
• Paid Time Off – Time off for sick, maternity, and other leaves of absence
• Affordable Care Act
• Equal Pay
• Immigration

Considerations: To effectively help our organizations, we need to stay on top of issues. Some of these changes will be for the good of a company and others may not.  Be sure your voice is being heard on these issues by connecting with your local congressman, and pay attention.  It seems that changes are happening daily, if not hourly.

Finally, we’ve talked about the customer experience and the candidate experience; both of these are directly tied to the employee experience.  We don’t often step back and evaluate the interactions an employee goes through while employed with us.  The best place to start is to create a map of the journey an employee navigates including such points as onboarding, expectations, feedback, recognition, communication, growth and development, workloads, and more.  Now more than ever, it’s critical to consider what you are doing to keep your current talent.

This is just a sampling of some of the key trends we have in store for us in 2017.  As HR professionals, it is going to be imperative for us stay alert and informed about the continued changes to our workforce, recruitment, policies, and legalities in order to be competitive and in compliance.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, SCP is the President at strategic HR inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com).  If you have any questions or would like to share your comments, contact Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

By Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR, SHRM- SCP and Brianne Waugh, MA

The end of the year and beginning of the new year always seems to be a time of personal reflection and the same is true of our organizations! When we hear the word audit, most of us immediately think “finance” or “accounting,” not Human Resources.  However, as HR continues to evolve into the role of business partner and strategic partner in our organizations, the HR function is one that should be audited and analyzed.  A properly conducted review of your HR processes and systems can provide measurements that show support of the department’s objectives and shows contributions to the company’s bottom line.

What audits should I do and how are they different?
When you are involved in a review of your Human Resources function, there are typically two distinct components: the HR Audit and the Organizational Analysis.  Whether conducted together or separately, these reviews are different in their focus and yield highly actionable recommendations.

In the HR Audit, the focus is compliance and processes but should include all areas of HR such as:

• Recruitment
• Training and Development
• Benefits and Compensation
• Communications
• Employee Relations
• Recordkeeping
• Health, Safety and Security
• Legal Compliance

Document reviews and interviews during an audit process will allow an auditor to review what an organization says it does (the policy/procedure), what it is doing (actual practice), and what should be done (best practices).

In the Organizational Analysis, the focus is on how HR contributes to the success of your company: checking the health of your HR function, diagnosing what’s getting in the way of the results you need and identifying specific interventions to make improvements in your system and the structure of how work gets done.  Information reviewed includes:

• Company strategy and business goals
• Current organizational structure and organization chart(s)
• Information on all business sectors or partners
• Historical information on the business.

 

What can I expect when I do these reviews?
To begin either review,  start with information gathering, including applicable HR policies and procedures, forms/templates, current organizational charts and other important documents.  The review will only be as good as the information you provide to the auditor so the results will be limited if you aren’t honest or don’t provide all of the information requested.  After a thorough document review, the interview process will begin and will include anyone involved in Human Resources including internal customers within your organization (such as hiring managers and C-level executives).

After the document review and interviews, the auditor will create a report that will show specific recommended actions.  For the HR Audit, the report should indicate the reason for the recommendation (compliance, best practice, etc.) and make suggestions on how to improve the area identified.  The report should allow you to organize the information and create priorities for areas of improvement.  Finally, the report should also include an overall assessment of the alignment of HR systems with the organization’s goals and recommendations for improvements in that area, if necessary.

For the Organizational Analysis, the report should include details on the findings regarding current functioning and recommend actions to enhance and improve your HR results as a key part of the organization.  The recommendations may include assessing design elements such organization structure or addressing operating norms and potential root causes which need to be further evaluated and addressed to help improve operations.

We do annual physicals on ourselves.  Evaluating the physical health of our human resources function should also be done each year.  Overall, these reviews will provide your organization with an objective evaluation of the Human Resources function as well as a road map for growth and continued improvement.

Wow, that’s exactly what my organization needs!  How do I get started?
We’re here to help!  Give us a call at 513-697-9855 or visit our website www.strategichrinc.com so we can get started on your HR Audit and/or Organizational Analysis today!

Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP and Brianne Waugh, MA with strategic HR inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions or would like to share your comments or success stories, you can contact us at info@strategicHRinc.com

In a recent article in The Washington Post, several major firms reported they were either eliminating or drastically revising their annual performance reviews.  While the cheers from employees and managers might be deafening, the HR world is no doubt shuddering.  How will we evaluate performance and determine salary adjustments and promotions?

But the subtle distinction here is that while some firms (such as Accenture and Deloitte) are eschewing the “annual” part of the performance review, they are actually ramping up the ongoing review for employees.  In large international consulting firms such as these, the change makes sense.  Employees are constantly evaluated by their clients, project team members and project leaders.  By using these timely evaluations, they are able to quickly give feedback to their employees and foster the developmental dialog in a “real time” manner rather than waiting for the “annual” review process.

Giving timely feedback to employees about their performance and overall career path is invaluable.  One of the biggest complaints that we see coming from employee surveys of small businesses is the lack of feedback from the managers.  Employees want to know how they are doing and the lack of timely feedback and good dialog with their manager can cause even more long term issues and overall job dissatisfaction.  Annual Performance Reviews were initially implemented to force dialog between an employee and their supervisor “at least once a year.”

Perhaps Accenture’s CEO Pierre Nanterme’s recent interview with the Washington Post will help clarify this new approach to performance appraisals.

“And for the millennium generation, it’s not the way they want to be recognized nor the way they want to be measured. If you put this new generation in the box of the performance management we’ve used the last 30 years, you lose them. We’re done with the famous annual performance review, where once a year I’m going to share with you what I think about you. That doesn’t make any sense.

Performance is an ongoing activity. It’s every day, after any client interaction or business interaction or corporate interaction. It’s much more fluid. People want to know on an ongoing basis, am I doing right? Am I moving in the right direction? Do you think I’m progressing? Nobody’s going to wait for an annual cycle to get that feedback. Now it’s all about instant performance management.” (As reported by Lillian Cunningham in The Washington Post, July 25, 2015)

 In evaluating whether this change makes sense in your organization, consider these essentials:

• Preparation is key to ensure the employee feels valued.
• Outline the objective of the discussion to put the employee at ease and let them know what to expect.
• Encourage candid discussion.
• Be clear where the employee stands in regard to future growth, salary review and promotion.
• Provide positive praise and recognition.
• Wrap up the discussion with a mutual understanding of the performance and development opportunities.
• Establish goals and objectives, whether it is a quarterly, semi-annual or annual.

Is your performance management system robust enough to help align employee to the overall business goals, provide constructive feedback for improvement and create a rich development plan for their growth?  strategic HR inc. can help you create your own process and forms and then help train all of your managers on how to successfully conduct a performance appraisal.  Don’t let a bad or inadequate system come back and haunt you later – let us help you now!

A special thanks to the strategic HR inc. team for sharing their expertise for this article, specifically Bob Anderson, MA; Debbie Hailey; Leanne Colonna, SPHR, SHRM-SCP; and Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP.  For any questions, just email us at info@strategicHRinc.com.

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Since I teach a graduate class in Strategic Human Resources Management at the University of Cincinnati, I am often asked: “How can Human Resources become a strategic partner with top management?” There is no generic answer to this question because each organization’s culture is unique. Therefore, I typically answer people that ask me this question with a variety of options and help them identify which one is the most appropriate for their culture.

Competencies

To have an ounce of potential of becoming a strategic partner with management, there are a few competencies that you must master. While I have seen numerous lists detailing these competencies, I like the list that Dave Ulrich provides in his book, Human Resources Champions (if you haven’t read this book, it is a must). Three of the key competencies he detailed are:

• Business Mastery
• Personal Credibility
• Human Resources Mastery

Now, I know everyone has really pushed this “Business Knowledge” competency but it is important. The only expectation of the competency is that you understand the various aspects of the business from products and services, to competitors, to the financials, to the strategic goals and objectives. If you don’t completely understand any piece of your organization’s business, take the time to learn about it. Also, be sure that you are staying up to date on all new business developments both inside your organization and within the industry.

Having mastered the business knowledge will mean nothing if you don’t establish credibility with others in the organization. This means you need to be responsive (answer your phone and return calls in a timely manner), keep commitments (show up and be on time to meetings), share insights on issues being discussed (even if your view is different), demonstrate the value of human resources activities (we can be a cost saver too), interface with management whenever possible (build those personal relationships), and need I even say it – be ethical!

The last competency listed was Human Resources Mastery. Not much needs to be said on this topic other than to be sure that you have complete command over most of the human resources skill areas. Management is going to look to you for expertise and you need to be able to demonstrate it at all times.

Making it Happen

Okay, now that we are clear on the competencies required to become a strategic partner. Let’s talk a little more about how to make this happen. We have all heard the various ways that human resources is typically viewed: the policeman, too costly, unresponsive, slows the business down, etc. Well, now we have to figure out ways to change these perceptions. The first step will be to demonstrate mastery of the competencies discussed above; the second step will be to align human resources with the business strategies.

The best way to do this is to develop a performance plan for human resources based on the business strategies. This will mean you need to take the list of business strategies and develop a list of the human resources strategies that would support each one. This will help demonstrate that human resources does indeed add value. For every activity that human resources performs, you should ask, “Which business strategy does this support?” If you can’t answer the question, ask yourself “Why not?” or “Are we missing a business strategy / goal?”

Once you have aligned the human resources strategies with the business strategies, your job is not over. First of all you, will need to constantly revisit this connection, especially as the organization and business changes. In addition, it is advisable to take additional steps to ensure that you are positioning yourself to be viewed as a strategic partner. Some ways to do this may include:

• Get involved (participate on employee task teams)
• Participate in the organization’s strategic planning (invite yourself or offer input)
• Walk the talk (be a company champion)
• Volunteer to lead a company wide activity (not just the company picnic)

Make a Difference!!

Hopefully, these brief tips will help get you energized to make a difference. The suggestions in this article definitely won’t be all the homework you will need to do. You may want to talk to an outside, neutral third party (i.e. a consultant like me or even another HR colleague) to help you figure out the most appropriate tactics for your culture. Also, you should do some additional research. In addition to Dave Ulrich’s Human Resources Champions, I’d also highly recommend Christine Keen’s Effective Strategic Planning.

In our current soaring economy, it is undeniably a competitive advantage for an organization to capitalize on its Human Resources expertise as a significant component of the strategic management team. It is your job to help your organization first realize this advantage, and then, as Nike says, “Just Do It.” Good luck!!!!

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com) and can be reached at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Have you seen the IBM commercials that focus on some gadget that is the key to your business success (i.e. crystal ball, magical genie lamp)? They are right, there is no magical solution to solving your business problems. But, if I could share a nugget of information with you that would help ensure that your company could obtain a unique competitive advantage, would you be willing to listen? AND, take action? What if I told you many of those solutions will only cost you a little time and a minimal amount of money? What do you have to lose?

We’ve seen our economy go up and down over the past four or five years with many more challenges ahead of us. I’ve seen employers tighten and loosen their belts with each change and with no regard to what may come next. With this last downturn in the economy, many employers cut their most important resource — the people — as though they were a disposable resource. Plus, in an effort to cut costs immediately, many companies not only cut staff but also eliminated severance, outplacement benefits, and any form of advance notice. In many cases, these actions were done without any regard for the staff members left behind. What taste has been left in the mouths of the surviving workforce? Remember, this is the workforce that is going to be depended upon to run the business and ensure continued success tomorrow. Believe me, I hear the stories daily from many individuals and they aren’t very favorable.

Did you know that according to futurist Roger Herman, surveys suggest that 30 – 40 percent of our workforce have already “checked out,” meaning they are more concerned about their next job than doing their current job? Can you afford to have this large of a percent of your workforce uncommitted to you or better yet leave you tomorrow? Not to mention, those that leave you will talk to others outside the organization and how easy will it be to attract “good replacements”?

I’m already starting to get calls from employers saying things like “…there just aren’t any qualified applicants out there…when we find one, they are snatched up in no time.” Does this sound like an issue we should even need to address in an economy with such high unemployment? Absolutely, considering how little regard has been given to employee retention over the last few years combined with the fact that YES we are about to face one of the largest labor shortages in our lifetimes.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in just America alone, we will have nearly 168 million jobs to be filled by skilled workers by the year 2010 but our workforce supply will only be about 158 million. Remember those signing bonuses we had to offer in the late 1990’s when the labor market was tight? Well, they will be minimal to what we will be faced with by 2010 if we don’t start focusing on retention NOW. Sure there are a number of folks still unemployed, some good and some mediocre. But, you need to proactively create a program that will retain and attract the best today and tomorrow.

The cost of an effective retention program is minimal to the cost of your turnover. Did you know that the general rule of thumb for the cost of turnover is about 100 – 150% of the terminating employee’s salary? Can you afford this if just half of those 30 – 40 percent of your employees that are “checked out” leave tomorrow?

Employees are leaving organizations even in this tight economy. Some individuals may be hesitating or waiting for the labor market to improve but have already “checked out.” So, when the economy rebounds, and it will, there will be no need for any hesitation from these “checked out” employees as employers begin begging for qualified skilled applicants.

Do you know why employees leave your organization? According to Development Dimensions International, the top five reasons why employees stay or leave an organization are:

1. Quality of relationship with supervisor
2. Ability to balance work and home life
3. Amount of meaningful work — the feeling of making a difference
4. Level of cooperation with co-workers
5. Level of trust in the workplace

Have you asked your employees why they stay or leave your organization? Your best resource is to interview the employees as they leave or after they’ve been gone for a short while. Better yet, find out before they leave. Ask your employees why they like working for your company and what can you do better? Then, use the results to capitalize on your strengths and improve the areas that they bring to your attention. But, don’t ask if you have no intention of taking action. The idea of exit interviews that never result in organizational changes or improvements is similar to an ineffectively administered suggestion program. If you can’t do what they are asking, let them know and task them to come up with alternative options to make it happen.

In trying to retain good employees, you’ll quickly find there isn’t one solution. The demographics of our workforce now include more women, more minorities, various religions, and four differing generations. The combinations of these demographics will influence what you should do to retain and attract the best employees. You’ll have to be creative and implement multiple solutions that will address each individual’s needs.

Possible Solutions…

Recently, Inc. Magazine published an article on Managing One-to-One by Leigh Buchanan stating that the best way to retain your employees is to manage each one differently. Find out what each needs and what is important in their lives. This will help you accommodate the differences as well as build trust and support with your workers.

To meet these individual needs, you will need to offer a variety of benefits or programs. Money isn’t everything anymore. Folks like things that make their lives easier and help them balance work and personal life. But, what exactly makes their life easier varies from person to person. For some, they may want more time off or flextime while others may want concierge services like onsite car wash, oil change, dry cleaning, or dinners to go. Some employees may need childcare assistance while others may need aging parent assistance. As mentioned above, the best way to find out is to ask! Many of these ideas will only cost you the time to implement and will actually fund themselves. But, as a result, your employees will feel you care about them and are trying to do things to help make their lives more livable.

Another solution involves your supervisors. One of the toughest things to do is to be both a manager and a coach. Like trying to be a mother and a friend to your child, it is easy to be one or the other but not both. But, it takes both to effectively retain your employees. The traditional more common role is the manager, which is focused on day to day issues of managing the staff including performance, feedback, discipline, and getting the job done. All of these issues are important but to ensure a trusting workplace, meaningful work, and strong supervisor relationship coaching skills are critical. Coaches help employees develop and grow within the organization and in their careers by guiding, listening, advocating, counseling, and communicating with their employees. To effectively retain employees, your managerial staff must develop both management and coaching skills.

The key to retention is realizing your employees are a valuable resource to an organization. If they weren’t then you wouldn’t need them at all. But many times, organizations fail to ensure their employees feel like they are a value or asset to the organization. One of the best places to start is by sharing the company goals with the employee and directly linking them to the responsibilities of the employee at the beginning of the plan year. This will help ensure employees know what they do contributes to the success of the company and what exactly is expected of them.

Also, to help employees feel like a value to the organization, you could implement a formal suggestion program. Who knows ways to improve the organization better than the individuals doing the work? And, when done right, employees will eagerly share their ideas and definitely feel they make a difference. You will need to have management support and commitment to the program. Plus, you’ll need to decide how you will reward and/or recognize employees for their suggestions. Many successful organizations even share the savings with the employee who makes a recommendation or at least recognize them in meetings and/or company wide publications.

To elaborate on recognition, I would recommend that you develop formal and informal ways to recognize your employees. Employees are human and humans like feedback, both positive and negative. Your managers need to be coached and trained to provide regular and ongoing feedback and recognition to their employees. Many managers struggle in providing ongoing feedback to employees. Remember, just a simple “Thank you” or “I noticed you put a lot of time into…” or “You did an outstanding job on the XYZ project…” will have a huge impact on employees. To help your supervisors, you can facilitate a round-table discussion for them share experiences or concerns with feedback or designate a person to be available to help them. These simple actions will make the world of difference. Plus, don’t forget to develop some formal recognition programs even for simple things such as employee of the week, perfect attendance, helping hand, outstanding teamwork, employee referrals, project completion, etc.

One other must for an organization to effectively retain a great workforce is communication. Have you ever heard employees in an organization complain that their company communicates too much? It’s impossible!!! You cannot over communicate and employees need to be kept informed. How you provide the communication depends on your organization. It may be through all employee meetings, memos, newsletters, emails, or one-on-one from a supervisor but the key is to communicate it several ways to ensure everyone hears the information.

If you are still saying “Why should I do this?” and the facts about our labor shortage aren’t enough, then hear this: according to DDI, when retention is above average, organizations realize greater customer satisfaction, employee productivity, and most importantly profitability. And, if their research isn’t enough for you, listen to what Michael Rowan, president and CEO of Humility of Mary Health Partners quoted to Business & Legal Reports, “Our greatest resource is our people. We believe that if our employees are happy and feel fairly compensated and respected, then the hospital and patients will be the ones that would reap the most benefits.”

So, like IBM says we don’t have a magic genie in a bottle to grant you wishes but by following some of these tips you will realize a strong competitive advantage which will in return have a positive impact to your bottom-line.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com) and can be reached at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Marketing is a critical cornerstone for any consulting practice. It is imperative to begin your consulting practice with a well thought out marketing plan. While there are many marketing tools and options, the backbone of your plan should include the development of your brand identity. With a clear-cut brand identity, you can successfully tackle the development of any marketing tool.

Developing a Brand Identity

As defined by Brand.com, “Branding — the careful selection and use of trademarks, images, and messages – is the most powerful tool in the commercial world…Brand is the proprietary visual, rational, and cultural image that you associate with a company or a product.”

Branding your business is important whether you are selling a service or a product. When you hear someone talk about tennis shoes, what are some of the companies you think of — Nike, Reebok, Sketchers. We each have a brand that we immediately identify with. You need potential clients to think of you when they have a need related to your specialty.

But how do you get folks to think of you? First of all, as Linda Gravett mentioned in our last article “Where Do I Even Begin?” you need to determine your niche. Many times we want to try to offer everything to everybody because we are scared the work won’t be there. But to be successful, you need to identify a very narrow niche so you can focus your time and marketing efforts.

Next, you can begin branding your niche with your company name and logo design. Initially, my company name was Throckmorton Solutions with no logo. However, I quickly changed the company name to Strategic Human Resources to better describe the services, as well as designed a logo for my business. You may need to hire a marketing guru to help you establish your name and logo since this will be a critical piece of your business.

Once you have the name and logo designed, you are ready to begin weaving the same message into everything you do. Every tool you use to communicate to potential clients should incorporate your “look”. This includes business cards, letterhead, brochures, domain name, website, articles, or speaking engagements.

As an example, let’s use Linda Gravett and my online business, Strategic HR Inc. We began by selecting a name for the company that described our service and gave potential clients immediate access to contacting us on the Internet. In every marketing tool we use, we include the tagline “Providing you with on-line, quick, customized, solutions to your human resources issues” with our logo and company name. Also, we have used computer screen brushes with our logo and name on it as takeaways. We want potential clients, who are usually in their offices at their computers, to think of us when they have an HR question and need a quick answer.

There is still plenty of room for us to continue to improve our brand identity with our target audience. It’s an ongoing process. Once you establish your brand identity, remember to continuously re-evaluate and enhance them. Some additional tips to help establish your brand identity follow:

A 30-Second Commercial

It is critical that you create a brand statement or 30-second commercial. There will be numerous occasions where you will need to provide a quick summary about you or your business. This may be with face-to-face conversations and networking or for your written materials like marketing letters, proposals, and fliers. You need to be prepared so it flows naturally without missing a point.

Thirty seconds doesn’t seem like much time, but you can cover enough detail to capture someone’s interest. Each situation will be different and your commercial will need to adjust accordingly. You should be prepared with your core message – what your expertise is; what have you done to help your clients; what do your clients say about you; and what experience, education, or certifications you have.

Recently, I had an opportunity to hear Robert Middleton, a marketing guru at Actionplan.com, speak on this topic. He recommended that you develop this message around what people will get from you. Try to make the focus of the information you share more on THEM and how it will help THEM with their needs and less focused on YOU. While this can be difficult to accomplish on the spot, if you prepare your core message ahead of time you can customize it based on the situation with ease.

Business Cards

Business cards are the one marketing tool you will get in potential clients hands the most!!

First tip on business cards: Don’t get caught without one! Whether you are just starting your consulting practice or redoing material, you should always have your business cards with you. You never know when you will run into someone that is a potential customer. Scribbling your contact information on the back of their card, a napkin, or not at all will have a negative effect on your professional image. Even if you have to create a quick self-printed generic card in the interim, be sure you have something.

Your card should continue to build your brand identity by including the same logo, color scheme, and slogan used on the rest of your marketing materials. Key information that should be on every card includes:

• Name (The name you want to be called and include credentials — i.e. SPHR)
• Title (great way to market your expertise — i.e. Diversity Consultant)
• Company Name
• Address
• Telephone Number
• Fax Number
• Email address
• Web address

Business cards can be very unique but should portray your business image. There are a number of things you need to think about:

• What will be the layout of your card — vertical or horizontal?
  (Do you want someone to be able to put your card the right direction in a rolodex?)
• Will you use the front only or take advantage of the space on the back?
  (I have seen some sharp cards that use the back to list services, add a slogan, provide testimonials, or graphically continue the brand identity. Likewise, this can be a good spot for the receiver to write notes).
• What color of paper and what type of paper will you use? (i.e. smooth, glossy, speckled, plain)
• What color (s) will the text and logo be printed?
• Is your font size large enough for anyone to read? (at least 9 point or larger).

There are many sources that provide business cards that you can print from home — Paperdirect.com, office stores, or copy stores. If you want to be able to modify and change information or print as needed, this may be a good option. Plus, it will provide you the choice of pre-designed cards with some color. The only draw back is you need a reliable quality printer and the patience to print your cards as needed. Plus, be sure the quality of the paper is thick and professional.

Hiring a printer, office, or copy store to help you design and print your cards is another option. You’ll have expert insight along with more options on the type and color of paper. The quality of the cards will be much better than the self printed cards. Obviously the cost associated with these services tends to be higher than the self-services, especially to add color.

Additional Marketing Options

There are many tools you can use to market your business and continue developing your brand identity. While many of these can wait to be developed until you need them, you will need to have something ready to provide to them when someone says “can you send me some information?” For me, it started as a bio, then a brochure, and now a website and a folder. A brief description of each follows:

Bio
This is an effective tool to have on hand when someone needs more information about you. Plus, the information is a necessity for a proposal, website, or marketing folder. You should summarize in no more than one page your credentials, years of experience, education, certifications, expertise, skills, successes, customer feedback, related volunteer work, publications, etc. Include anything that would add value in establishing your credibility. To view a sample of my bio, go to http://www.StrategicHRinc.com/About%20Us/robinbio.htm.

Brochure
There are many choices when deciding on your brochure. You can design the layout and content yourself, or you can buy pre-designed brochures that you customize and print as needed. As I shared previously, I’ve used PaperDirect.com in the past for many of my printing needs and have been very happy with the options and quality of the product offered. However, this option isn’t for everyone and you may prefer to have a professionally designed brochure. As with anything, seek referrals and ask for references and examples of their work. As far as content, you could include contact information, summary of your credentials, list of services, testimonials, and a list of customers.

Folder
This is a tool that I found to be most effective as my consulting business evolved. You can use a folder from a local office supply store and jazz it up a bit by adding a label with your logo and company information. Or, for an even more professional image, you could have folders printed with you logo on them. While this isn’t a tool for mass mailings, it is great for including items such as – bios, brochures, comments from customers, lists of references and services, training topics, or articles.

Website
As society continues to become much more technology driven, a website becomes a very effective tool in marketing your business. You can refer someone to it so they have immediate access to additional information about you and your business. Plus, it has the capability to generate business for you anywhere in the world as your business can be found through search engines. However, an effective website can’t be designed overnight and takes much time and thinking. The key will be to continue the same brand identity throughout the site and create ways to attract customers and get them to come back on a regular basis. Look for an article dedicated to this topic in the next few months.

You will have many opportunities to use these basic marketing tools throughout your consulting practice. By determining and developing them now, it will help you when the right opportunity comes along. Some marketing opportunities you may want to consider include mass mailings; sponsorship at a tradeshow, conference, meeting, or event; speaking engagements; publication of articles or books; volunteer work; website; and most often networking. We will be discussing many of these options in detail in our future articles. The key to the success of your marketing tools will be the development of your brand identity and continuous and consistent use of it throughout all your communications regarding your business.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com) and can be reached at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

by Laura Littlecott, PHR and Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR

In light of recent major events in the economy and financial markets, your employees may not be gathering around the water cooler to talk about the latest episode of “30 Rock” or what’s on their holiday gift lists, but instead may be speculating about the future of their holiday bonuses, raises, or even job security. Looking at recent survey data, their fears are not unfounded.

In an October 2008 survey, Watson Wyatt reported that 86% of surveyed companies expect the current economic crisis to have at least some impact on their business and many have already made changes that impact employees. The survey noted that 34% of employers have already made changes to their travel policies and 30% have entered into a hiring freeze. In addition, the survey reported some of the following potential actions within the next twelve months:

• Expected layoffs or reduction in force (26%)
• Expected hiring freezes (25%)
• Expected increases in the amount of employee contributions to the health insurance (25%)
• Re-visiting” merit increase budgets (28%)

According to a recent article on MSNBC, small businesses may be making the most dramatic changes within the month – reconsidering holiday bonuses and gifts. Some are doing away with gifts altogether this holiday season, while others are scaling back end-of-year bonuses. Of course, cutting out bonuses and holiday gifts altogether can have a negative impact, so some employers are getting creative while reducing costs. According to MSNBC, one employer is replacing bonuses with extra time off between Christmas and the New Year, while another is giving an allowance to be spent on wellness items such as gym memberships or toward the employee’s contribution of health insurance premiums. Some employers are still giving end-of-year bonuses, although the amounts are smaller than in previous years. The big blowout holiday party may be going the way of the dinosaur as well – employers are planning events such as on-premises luncheons as a less expensive option to show their employees that even in the current economy, they are still appreciated. Other options employers are considering include: reducing the workweek, mandatory holiday shut down, benefit program freezes, and training reductions. Obviously…not one size fits all and organizations must research the impact of such changes as deeply as possible prior to implementing such drastic economic measures. The overall challenge for employers, as it has been for awhile now, is to do more with less. We are all looking for creative ways to make this happen while still engaging our workforce, reinforcing productive and positive behavior, retaining staff, all while allaying their fears. No problem…right?!?

Tough decisions such as those noted above must be implemented in a compassionate and considerate way and human resources must lead this charge. There is a lot to consider when we are trying to make the right business decisions, determine how to do it, AND do it without adding to employee fears. So, what can employers do to stem the tide of worry among their ranks? According to Workplace Options, many employers are finding that work-life options are boosting employee’s morale. To help ease fears some employers are offering financial management resources like debt management, budgeting or foreclosure prevention as well as counseling resources. If your company has an employee assistance program (EAP), now is the time to remind your employees of your program and encourage them to use it, as many EAPs offer a wide range of services. Similarly, Jay Seifert, founder of Lonestar Wellness, states that “Tumultuous times call for stabilizing influences, and wellness is such an influence.” He urges employers not to cut wellness programs during tough economic times, but instead should bring wellness initiatives to the forefront. Seifert states that “…where workplace wellness programs are concerned, what starts out as a moderate up-front expense quickly becomes an investment with a demonstrable ROI.” A good wellness program can result in improved morale and productivity, as well as lower health care costs and reduced absenteeism.

Another way human resources can support employees and the business during these difficult times is to maintain communications. Watson Wyatt, Workplace Options, as well as a survey conducted by Weber Shandwick Worldwide reported by Business Week, have all found that employees believe that their companies are not communicating enough regarding the economy’s direct impact on their organization’s financial health. Company communication is absolutely crucial during tough economic times. The Weber Shandwick Worldwide (WSW) survey found that most employees are not receiving information from senior leadership regarding the impact of the financial crisis. Harris Diamond, CEO of WSW states that “…colleagues and coworkers talk about the economic issues, which feeds the rumor mill. Some of the rumors might be accurate, but most are false. The result? A demotivated workforce. People freeze up waiting for bad news.” Many companies incorrectly believe that saying nothing in such a climate is better than giving vague information. According to Carmine Gallo in BusinessWeek, simply acknowledging to your employees that you don’t know what the future holds gives employees the confidence that management is at least thinking about the issue. Discuss the specific issues facing your company, and increase your normal modes of communication – your staff wants to know what the financial crisis means to the future of the business.

While the full fallout of the U.S. financial crisis may not be known for some time, it is apparent that companies have made and will continue to make reductions in spending through revisiting merit budgets, bonuses, increasing employee benefit contributions; and in more far-reaching actions such as hiring freezes and layoffs. Employers can ease the concerns of their staff in these times by not forgoing bonuses and holiday gifts, instead making them smaller and tied to performance, offering supportive resources such as debt management and counseling, and by stepping up wellness initiatives to aid in morale and productivity. Lastly, don’t neglect the importance of keeping an open line of communication with your employees regarding the impact of the current economic times on your business. Human Resource professionals can take this opportunity to support the business to ensure that the most appropriate economic actions are taken while supporting employees through increased communication and actions that are in support of the organization’s vision/mission.

Laura Littlecott, PHR and Patti Dunham, MBA, MA, SPHR are Sr. Human Resources Consultants with Strategic Human Resources, Inc.(www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts with either of these consultants, you can contact Laura at LauraL@strategicHRinc.com or Patti at Patti@strategicHRInc.com.

by Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR

Does your company have an employment brand? It should! No matter the size of your company or how frequently (or infrequently) you recruit, an employment brand is key to setting your company apart from the rest. As the labor market continues to tighten and finding qualified candidates becomes more of a challenge, standing out from your competition has definite advantages. An employment brand is just like marketing your product or services, except that in the case of recruitment, your competitors may comprise a much larger demographic. While your “widget” making company may only compete with the two other widget making companies in your region, when it comes to finding an accountant, receptionist or sales team, you may be competing on a much larger scale – not only with the other widget making companies you already compete with, but also with companies in different industries that haven’t before been your direct competition.

So let’s build a brand. It means just adding an employment webpage to your website – right? Wrong! Branding goes much deeper than your website. To brand employment you need to reach deep into your organization and brand from the inside out. It affects your website, your email signature, online job postings, recruitment tools (interview questions) your career fair booth, your application and any other collateral materials that are used for recruiting. It is often helpful to pretend that you are marketing your company’s product or service and apply those same marketing principles to your employment message. What is your marketing department doing to attract and retain customers? Apply those ideas to attracting and retaining your “customers” – your employees.

The first step in creating your employment brand is to consider your audience. In other words, who are the people that you hope to attract to your company and hire. It used to be as easy as saying we want the best workers of those that are out there looking, but today you have to expand that wish list to include not only qualified applicants that come to you, but passive job seekers as well. The folks we want most for our jobs tend to already have good jobs. We have to entice them to leave the comfort and security of their current job to take a chance on something new. That’s were branding comes in. The focus of branding is to create a message about your employment opportunities that make the job seeker want to work for you as an employer of choice. You can determine who your target audience is by looking at those in your current workforce and determining which ones are the “A” players. Then create a list of those characteristics they have that you want in your new employees, establish how to determine if a candidate has those characteristics and where those possible candidate might “hang out”.

Identifying the target audience is just the first, but a very important step. Next you have to craft your message. You’ll need to communicate distinguishing characteristics about your organization that makes it the best place to work. The strong brands have an Employer Value Proposition (EVP). The EVP communicates in actions and behaviors why you are the employer of choice and they often evoke emotion and provide tangible benefits. In marketing, we often rely on the four D’s, meaning your message must be:

• Desirable – something that your customer (your future employees) want,
• Distinctive – your organization provides something that is different from your competitors (different from their current employment situation),
• Deliverable – what you offer potential employees must be accurate and truthful,
• Durable – the message should be one that is durable over time (not that it can’t be tweaked and rewritten, but it must be a long standing attribute).

Your brand/message needs to focus on those key issues that matter most to the people you want the most. These attributes were likely determined when you identified your target audience. Remember, your communication of the EVP’s must be articulate, honest and appealing to all, not just to management or executives (unless that’s your target audience). Also, it’s important to remember that your current employees are the most effective communicators of your brand – make sure they understand (and believe) in the brand you are trying to communicate.

While the employment brand is present on many levels, it is true that most of us learn about a brand from the organization’s website. And as most job seekers are using the Internet for a large portion of their job search, it stands to reason that the company website is one of the strongest vehicles for the employment brand. Go out on the web and there are some really good examples of employment brands that you can refer to for examples.

• Microsoft (www,microsoft.com) is not only a behemoth in the IT industry; it’s also has a well respected employment brand. Their career page asks “How far will you go?” and then goes on to answer the question for job seekers with additional employment links: a life@microsoft page, a meet our people video clips section, an online careers newsletter, and a fantastic blog. Microsoft goes out of their way to permeate the job seekers space.
• Local employment giant Proctor & Gamble (www.pg.com) has a good employment brand as well. Their career page states at P&G there is “A new challenge every day” and defies the job seeker to “Discover your challenge. Discover your future. Discover P&G”.

True these are all multi-million dollar organizations with a lot of marketing (and recruitment) dollars to spend, but the principles they use can be applied to even the smallest of employers on a less-grand, budget conscious scale.

An employment brand isn’t something that can be determined in an afternoon meeting. Neither is it a “program” that can be created and rolled out to the organization as a transformation initiative. The employment brand is a reflection of what your organization represents as a culture; it is deeply rooted and above all else is truthful. On the outside, your employment brand is an expected employment experience, while internally it’s how you treat your employees and a mirror image of your organizational culture. If after examination you find that your culture isn’t creating the type of environment that creates a positive employment brand, then it may be time for a cultural assessment and transformation. But that’s another topic…

Debbie Hatke, MA, PHR is a Human Resources Management Consultant with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have questions or comments about this article, you can contact Debbie at Debbie@strategicHRinc.com.

By Clay Scroggins with CompareHRIS.com

This HRIS Software or HRMS software selection advice is based on my experience of more than 15 years within the HR software industry. I have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of companies during that time do a good job and unfortunately, many who did a poor job with this process. You certainly don’t want to go through the process a year or two down the road again because you ended up making the wrong selection. That type of thing is what’s called a career limiting move.

Ten step plan for HRIS Software Selection

1. Improve your HRIS software knowledge
2. Determine your Needs
3. Create a detailed HRIS software needs and requirements spreadsheet
4. How much can you spend?
5. Pick a handful of HRIS software systems to evaluate
6. Demo advice
7. Research the short list
8. Determine the implementation scope
9. Make the decision
10. Getting approval

1. Improve your HRIS software Knowledge

Before you can determine your needs, budget, or anything, you have to understand what the overall capabilities, features, and options are of the various HRIS software applications. There are a number of ways you can educate yourself on these capabilities. One is to look up articles, such as this one. There are tremendous online resources and articles created on this exact subject. There are also a number of sites that show a number of HRIS software applications and provide helpful information for your education, as well.

2. Determine your needs

Everything you read about buying HRIS software is going to say exactly the same thing. Telling you to determine your needs is nothing new. The concept is used so often it is almost considered a cliche. The point of this section is to tell you what this statement means and why this step is extremely important when starting your search for HRIS software.

There are currently hundreds, if not thousands, of HR software providers doing business in North America. There are numerous vendors who list themselves as either an HRIS vendor or as an HRMS vendor. There might be as many as 100 of these companies. When creating your needs and requirements for either HRIS Software or HRMS software, you need to think of your job as narrowing this list from 100 vendors down to 10 or fewer.

I have reviewed a large number of these HRIS systems. In my opinion, these vendors offer 60% of the same functionality. So if you approach 100 of these companies and state that your requirements are to have a system that tracks job history, performance review dates, birthday report, turnover reports and other reporting capabilities most, if not all, of these applications will show you the same capability. This would be like looking for a house and telling the realtor that you need any number of bedrooms, any square footage, and in any neighborhood.

When creating your needs and requirements, look at it from the perspective that if you were to design an HRIS software application what would you include in the software. Exactly what reports do you need, what data do you need to track, how would you populate the database fields, and would you need to interface with any of your other software applications?

In this process of determining your needs and requirements, make sure to also confer with other departments who might end up utilizing portions of your HRIS product, as well.

3. Create a detailed HRIS software needs and requirements spreadsheet

You will likely look at a number of systems and, like looking for a house, eventually you are going to forget which system did what and offered what advantages. I recommend creating a detailed spreadsheet to assist with this process. Down the left side, list your needs and across the top, list each vendor. If you want to offer more detail, you might end up reviewing several HR information systems to score each product.

4. How much can you spend?

Now that you have improved your HRIS knowledge and you have a detailed list of your needs, you need to determine how much you can spend before deciding which applications you want to evaluate.

How much you can spend can be a little tricky because of the various pricing options vendors offer. Hosted solutions will offer their applications at so much per employee per month. The advantage is that over the short term, your upfront investment is going to be far lower with these applications than purchasing an application, where the investment is largely made on the front end. Even with purchase options, you might look at a lease to own contract where you pay for the software over a five year time frame and you own it at the end of the contract.

5. Pick a handful of systems to evaluate

The first thing to do is find the short list that seems to meet your needs. Perform a few searches and you will find a hand full of sites that list a number of HRIS systems on their sites. Some even offer the capability of filtering the products by options or features.

The hard part is figuring out which systems not only meet your needs but also match your budget. In a perfect world, buying HRIS software would be like buying a car. With a car you can go to a web site, type the kind of car you want, the price range, and you get a list. This is, unfortunately, not the case with HRIS software. The less expensive systems will gladly provide their prices. The more expensive systems are, in general, going to expect you to run through the whole dog and pony show before providing the prices.

The sales people for those companies, while they might not offer the prices up front if you call and tell them what your max budget is, will at least tell you if that is possible or not. At the end of this process, you should have your list scaled down to four or five systems of which you will want to see a demo.

6. Demo advice

With each demo, have your spreadsheet in hand and make sure that each need or requirement you have identified is shown during the demo. With your score spreadsheet in hand, provide a score for each need. This step is actually pretty easy because you did your homework up front.

7. Research the short list

After reviewing the four or five products, you will likely cut this list in half. From here, do a little research on each company. Ask for references, see how long the company has been in business, and how many installs they have. To receive unbiased opinions, hit the SHRM technology boards and post a message asking if anyone else has used the product and see what their opinion is. Add scores, the prices, years in business, and the number of installs to your spreadsheet.

8. Determine the implementation scope

You will know exactly what you are paying for the software, service and/support. Some companies may fix cost the implementation costs. Others will provide an estimate of time to complete the work and training. In either case, if the scope of the project is not determined in detail before the project begins, this is where you are going to go over budget. Make sure you receive an implementation quote that shows hours for each phase of the project. Look it over and make sure that each of your needs is met with the process.

9. Make the decision

Looking over your spreadsheet is the easiest step in the entire process. By now, you have likely narrowed your list to two or three systems and there is no confusion because the best solution is scored the highest on your spreadsheet. Of course price, references, and your company research will play a part, as well. Congratulations on a successful search!

10. Getting approval

Sadly, many companies view HR as a cost center. As a cost center, it can be difficult to get approval for a system that may benefit a single department. This is part of the reason, under determining your needs, I recommended involving other departments. Determine what the company objectives are and try to tie your case for HRIS software to these objectives. A system that benefits the entire organization makes a stronger case for need.

Clay C. Scroggin has over fifteen years experience in the human resources software industry. Clay is President and Owner of CompareHRIS.com, a web site dedicated to assisting HR professionals with their search, selection, implementation and use of HR software. CompareHRIS.com offers an extremely comprehensive HRIS selection tool to assist you with your HRIS, HRMS, or Human Resources software selection process. Make sure to download CompareHRIS.com‘s free HR and Payroll Software Buyer’s Guide.

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

“Business changes come as waves gathering shape, gaining energy and momentum, then crash across the companies that find themselves in their path. Those companies that anticipate and respond quickly to these waves of change can often rise with the tide; those that don’t are often crushed on impact.” 
– Michael F. Corbett with Corbett & Associates, Ltd.

In our Emerging Issues in HR article last month, I presented you with the steps involved in deciding whether or not outsourcing is a solution for your organization to consider:

Step 1: Create a Team
Step 2: Conduct a Process Review
Step 3: Review Strategic Plan
Step 4: Identify Core Areas
Step 5: Decide What to Outsource

If you moved to Step 5 and still felt outsourcing may be a solution for you, you then decided what you may want to outsource. Whether you are outsourcing all or part of the human resources function, the decision involves more than just HR and cannot be taken lightly. You will need to follow the next five steps to ensure success.

Step 6: Strategic Alignment

Whether it be a piece or all of your HR function, you need to create a business case to justify how the decision supports the company’s strategic plan. A great way to pull together the information for this “business case” is to complete the same five steps you did when you created your team but now with a focus on outsourcing:

• Desired results: what does this team hope to accomplish by outsourcing? What are the potential benefits?
• Potential barriers / obstacles: what are some potential costs and barriers that may prevent outsourcing from being successful? How will you address those issues?
• Supports: what resources, people, or organizations could help the team?
• Plan: what are the specific goals and expectations that you will have for a vendor providing the outsourced service?
• Evaluation: how will you measure the success of the outsourcing?

Be sure when you capture the results and obstacles that you analyze the cost and benefits of outsourcing the program versus retaining it in-house. Include in your costs and benefits the dollars, time, quality of work, and pure sanity or hassle of doing the work.

Step 7: Evaluate Vendors

The “business case” you create in Step 6 will also become the details of an RFP. Your RFP should be very clear on exactly what you are expecting from vendors. In your RFP, request that vendors provide you with facts and check lists and limit the amount of narratives that are provided to help you in your evaluation of the vendors.

If you need help identifying potential vendors, you may find the following resources helpful:

• HRO Today www.hrotoday.com
• Outsource Institute www.outsourcing.com
• SHRM www.shrm.org – (New HR Outsourcing Forum recently established)

As you evaluate each vendor response, some things you may want to look for include:

• How large the vendor is? Can they handle your capacity?
• What is the size of their typical client?
• What are their payment terms (i.e. travel, phone, email, emergencies)?
• How do they stay up to date on new technologies and HR issues?
• What is their specialty or expertise?
• What recommendations or referrals do they offer and what do they say about their services?
• How will the vendor’s culture mesh with your culture?

As you select your vendor, keep in mind this is a relationship that you will be building and maintaining hopefully for the long-run. Both you and the vendor need to benefit from the relationship and have very clear cut goals and expectations to succeed.

Step 8: Put It in Writing

Never rely on a handshake agreement but always put it in writing. Be sure the contract clearly maps out the scope and expectations. The contract should be very specific on the terms including fees and guarantees. It should also detail how to terminate the agreement and what must be done upon termination (i.e. what needs returned). It is tough to write a contract that is all encompassing of every issue you may encounter but be sure to anticipate possible issues that need both parties agreement. It will aid in resolution down the road and ensure an ongoing relationship and success for everyone.

Step 9: Communicate

This step is probably THE most important step to ensure the success of your outsourcing endeavor. How many times have you ever been told by your employees that you communicate too much? This is one of those situations where you need to communicate as often as you can as much as you can. Do not underestimate how the change of outsourcing will impact each employee. Without details from you on what is happening, why, and how it will impact each of them, they will fill in the blanks themselves. As a result, you could see a huge impact on morale, productivity and loyalty.

Recently, I had a client who decided to outsource their IT function. Due to the timing and sensitivity of the issue, the client chose not to communicate much if anything to the employees. The employees felt something was happening but were not sure what. When all was done, the IT function did get outsourced but morale and productivity in other areas of the company suffered immensely especially when groves of individuals from areas not even impacted by the outsourcing voluntarily left the organization for more security.

Don’t get caught losing key employees due to lack of communication. Be sure you communicate the good and the bad as much as you can. Also, be sure you prepare your managers for what to communicate and how to handle the situation since they will be the front line and first resource for communication with employees.

Step 10: Re-evaluate

Once you’ve begun outsourcing with the vendor, be sure to set dates to re-evaluate how it is working. You will want to evaluate your decision to outsource based on the actual costs, benefits, and return on investment. Is outsourcing giving you the results that you had anticipated during Step 6? Also, be sure you evaluate the vendor. Is the vendor meeting the goals and expectations you had for them? Are you getting the feedback you anticipated from employees on the service being provided? Do the goals, expectations, and/or fees need adjusted in any way? You should do this re-evaluation as often as necessary to ensure the relationship and need stays on track, which will only add to the success of your decision.

Hopefully, I’ve armed you with the facts, thoughts, process, and tools to anticipate the outsourcing wave so that you can rise with the tide as needed rather than getting wiped out…remember…

“Business changes come as waves gathering shape, gaining energy and momentum, then crash across the companies that find themselves in their path. Those companies that anticipate and respond quickly to these waves of change can often rise with the tide; those that don’t are often crushed on impact.”
– Michael F. Corbett Corbett & Associates, Ltd.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have questions or comments, you can contact Robin at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

By Cathleen Snyder, CIR, SPHR

It’s that time again. Along with the New Year, January brings an opportunity to look back at the previous year, what worked, what didn’t and what just didn’t happen. It’s also a time look ahead at the coming year. Many people will make their New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, become more fit, rebuild the relationship with your sister…

HR should be no different. January is an ideal time to take a hard look at your organization. What were the good things that happened last year that you want to make sure are carried forward? What were the not so good that you can learn from? What did you intend to do but never got to? What changes occurred in your organization and what was the impact on HR that needs to be addressed?

Some key areas to consider:

Job descriptions — When were they last updated? For many organizations, job requirements changed out of need. One employee was laid off or left and not replaced, so those duties were absorbed by another. Are these changes going to remain permanent? Also, some of those changes resulted in the realization that certain duties were a better fit for the alternate position. Now is the time to make it official and update job descriptions.

Social Media — It’s everywhere, and as much as some may want to ignore it, you can’t ignore the potential impact on your business, both positive and negative. Facebook is now considered to be the new search engine response driver. The more content you have on your Facebook page the more likely you are to appear on top of search results. Is your company getting the maximum benefit from social media? It’s also important to consider what your employees are saying about your company via social media. Do you have a policy in place regarding the use of social media? Does HR monitor social media outlets to see what is being posted about your company? What liability exposure needs to be considered? This is an area that is evolving daily, literally. The company that chooses to ignore it does so at its own peril.

Workplace Harassment — This past year seemed to bring a rise in Workplace Harassment issues. Companies are seeing an increase in harassment and discrimination complaints. Whether your company experienced this trend of not, it is important to evaluate whether you are positioned to weather the potential storm. Do you have a Workplace Harassment policy? When was the policy last updated? Has it been communicated to employees recently? When was training last conducted? So many companies think that these issues don’t happen to them – until they do. Make sure you have taken the necessary measures to handle any complaint that may arise. The upside is by raising awareness the result is often a more positive work environment.

Compensation Survey and Review — The past couple of years may have seen salary reductions in order to survive the economic downturn. With the economy finally starting to recover, a review of your salary structure may be warranted. Have you reinstated those pay cuts? What about 401k matches? Are you still paying competitively? This is especially important as companies begin hiring again. The coming year promises to be a tight hiring market. You will want to position yourself to attract the best candidates and retain your superstars.

Training and Development — What does your training budget look like for 2011? For many organizations, this is an area that has been slashed in recent years. We have all heard that as the economy stabilizes, employees may be more open to changing jobs. What are you doing to retain your top talent? There has never been a more important time to show your commitment to your employees, by offering opportunities for learning and growth, before they head for the door. 

Recognition — While the past three years has been tough on business, it has also been tough on employees. More has been asked of them during these rough times, as business tightened its belt. How have you shown that you recognize and appreciate those that got you through? Budgets may still be tight. This is an opportunity to get creative in showing your “human” resources how much they are valued.

These are just a few areas worth looking at when considering what you will choose as your New Year’s resolutions. Some may be easier to keep than others. If you don’t already do so, identifying a strategic plan for the coming year is instrumental in ensuring these resolutions are met. Some resolutions may involve changing direction, some may involve formalizing a direction that is already underway. Either way, it’s a brand New Year and a clean slate.

Cathleen Snyder, CIR, SPHR, is a Senior Human Resources Consultant with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com) and can be reached at Cathleen@strategicHRinc.com if you have any questions, comments, or success stories.

By Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR

As we near the end of 2012, and possibly the end of the world for those of you who still use the Mayan calendar, it seems fitting to take a look back at some of the projected “trends” of 2012 and look to what’s possibly ahead in 2013.

When it came to predicting Human Resources trends for 2012 much of what was predicted last year seemed rather expected versus earth-shattering. Many companies saw job growth, continued globalization, an increase in the use of workforce analytics and reporting (due to the growing use of cloud computing), the development of talent pipelines and creation of leadership pools (for succession planning), and witnessed ever increasing government regulation. Much in the business world tends to have a trickle-down effect from larger companies to the midsize and smaller companies. It is anticipated that many of these trends will continue to evolve for larger organizations and will start to touch smaller companies in the coming year. The year 2013 is expected to experience these HR trends:

Recruitment (Job Growth)

• Intense hiring competition for hard-to-fill jobs
• A focus on sourcing (online) which will play a bigger role in recruiting
• Employee referrals to be a key recruiting tactic and will benefit from social media platforms
• More attention paid to the candidate experience
• Demands for a quick hire putting recruitment over development
• Continuation of remote work as employee work option (and recruiting tool)
• Mobile platforms (smartphones and tablets) continuing to evolve in their role with candidate communications and interaction
• HR turning to traditionally marketing-based techniques such as: employment branding, SEO, pay-per-click, email marketing, social media, etc. to reach candidates

HRIS (Workforce Analytics)

• Recruitment metrics will be focused on future needs, rather than looking back at the past
• Consumer use of technology (particularly social media and app-based communication) will integrate with HR systems, such as ATS
• Social media will become more data driven and useful for analytics

HR Strategy

• HR will need to prove return on investment for HR activities
• HR will become more decentralized with segments pushed to managers as HR takes on more strategic role working with HRIS systems and streamlining processes
• Retention issues will increase as employees get recruited for better opportunities elsewhere

Compliance (Government Regulation)

• More aggressive enforcement in the DOL (Job Classifications), the EEOC and NLRB.

Recruitment and the demand for skilled labor will continue to take a front seat as companies struggle to fill jobs that are increasingly technological in nature. The need to attract, and retain, a robust workforce will be key to survival, particularly for small companies and start-ups.

In 2012 the hunt was on for qualified applicants to fill many open positions. However, the current talent mismatch put the kibosh on what many thought should have been easy pickings from the vast number of unemployed when it came to hiring. So creative recruitment ensued which included hiring bonuses and other enticing forms of additional compensation, as well as things such as fitness and yoga classes, wellness initiatives, tuition reimbursement, legal assistance, office parties, monthly BBQs, and other miscellaneous perks. But there were a few standouts who opted for more unusual offerings:

• Unlimited Vacation
• Morning Breakfast
• Catered Lunches and Dinners (sometimes provided daily)
• Noise-Cancelling Headphones
• Treadmill Desks
• Office DJ Booth (for letting off steam at the quarterly office party)
• Nap Pods
• Volleyball Courts
• Veggie Gardens
• Field Trips
• Spanish Lessons
• Pet Insurance
• On-Site Doctors (at a non-health company)
• Mentor Moms

Much of the creative hiring practices were employed by technology and start-up companies vying for a limited number of talented individuals vital to their growth. But as hiring becomes even tighter in the coming year, look for a greater number of mainstream companies to start using creative incentives to increase their workforce numbers. If you are considering offering some creative hiring (and retention) benefits in 2013, keep in mind they should be benefits that your employees actually want – don’t just offer miscellaneous benefits because they are “cool” or different.

Debbie Hatke, MA, SPHR is a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant and Talent Strategy Manager with Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have questions or comments about this article, you can contact Debbie at Debbie@strategicHRinc.com.

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Performance management has become an ever-increasing critical tool to success for businesses. Within the last year we have experienced both a booming economy as well as a recession; a historically low unemployment rate combined with massive layoffs and business closings. But the bottom line to all of this is people! AND, we are human and as such are typically much more productive when we have clear goals, expectations, and feedback.

“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where-” said Alice
“Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
     – from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

If you have had the opportunity to attend one of my strategic planning sessions, you’ve seen me use this quote in reference to developing a company or department’s strategic plan. But, a strategic plan is a waste of time and effort if it does not get communicated and tied to the performance of all employees through Individual Strategic Plans. Whether this is a formal process or informal process depends a great deal on your particular organization.

Let’s start with the informal process… If your organization can effectively communicate and link the strategic goals of the organization to each individual’s goals AND regularly provide feedback to an employee, then you may be able to succeed without a formal performance management tool. Even with an informal process, you will need to develop a system with specific checkpoints to be sure the communication is constant and two-way to ensure that the employee is on-track and getting both positive and constructive feedback in a timely manner.

If the world were perfect, I would encourage everyone to use an informal process; however, time seems to get the best of us. Without a formal process, goals are unclear at best, and feedback is rare. To facilitate a process that is successful for both the employee and the organization, a formal performance management system can “work for you.” A well-designed performance management system should make your job easier not more cumbersome.

To begin developing a system or any new program or initiative, I like to use Development Dimension International’s (DDI) six Checkpoints for Implementation:

1. OUTCOMES — What results am I looking for?
   • For your performance management system, you’ll need to think about what you hope to gain from the system. For example: increased productivity, improved retention, increased employee morale, and improved communications.
2. BENEFITS — Why is this important? (Payoff — What’s in it for me?)
   • Both the company and the employee need to know why they are doing this in order to feel ownership for the system. Your organization may see the benefits as some of the outcomes listed above, as well as a method for linking individual performance to the organization’s performance. Individuals may see it as a way to continue to develop and grow with the organization while adding value back to the company. Remember, growth opportunities and meaningful work are two of the top reasons employees leave their jobs.
3. BARRIERS — What might prevent me from being successful?
   • In order to ensure the success of your system, you need to anticipate any barriers and identify what you will do to prevent or minimize the impact of those barriers. Some examples may be: resistance to change, time constraints, or lack of management support.
4. SUPPORT — What resources are available?
   • You’ll need to clearly identify what resources or individuals are available to help you develop and implement the system. Once you have identified your resources, you’ll want to include them in the process as much as possible in order to obtain their buy-in and benefit from what they can offer. Some examples of support are: top management, employees, expert consults, other organizations, budget, and customer needs.
5. APPROACH — What steps must I take to achieve my goals? (Be specific — who, when, duration, etc.)
   • By identifying the outcomes, benefits, barriers, and supports, you will be better able to begin mapping out the approach for developing and implementing your performance management system. Some questions you may want to consider include:
     1. What exactly do you need formalized to help facilitate goal setting, feedback, and documentation?
        • Many times organizations assume performance management is the evaluation at the end of the review period. However, an effective performance management system begins with the development of a performance plan at the BEGINNING of the evaluation period. This performance plan or individual strategic plan is a living document that may need updating throughout the plan year.In general, systems should include both competencies and goals. With most of my clients, we develop a group of core competencies or behaviors that mirror the values of the organization. Plus, we develop individualized goals for each employee that are tied to the goals of the business.There are many canned and customizable systems out there that can help you identify what you want to include in your system. To help you generate ideas, you may want to seek samples from other companies or resources (i.e. Performance Appraisals: A Collection of Samples by SHRM Information Center ~$35.00 or Performance Impact by KnowledgePoint). Be sure any piece of information you include on the form adds value rather than creates work for others. Plus, be sure the form is a tool not a rule!
     2. How often do you need to formally discuss goals and feedback versus informally?
        • Like your business plan, a performance plan is a living document and the goals and feedback should be ongoing and constant. However, it often takes a formal get-together for this to actually happen. If your organization is not one to proactively meet throughout the plan year, then a formal meeting, even if short, should be arranged at least quarterly to ensure an employee is getting timely feedback and still supporting both their individual and the organization’s strategic plan(s). Plus, if you summarize this quarterly meeting your end of the year review will be a breeze.
     3. Who needs to be trained on performance management and coaching?
        • We all could benefit from training on performance management and coaching. Even if you are the best manager, a refresher on performance management simply helps you continuously grow as a proactive manager. Formal training can also help ensure all managers are working with the same set of tools, including assistance with the seeming struggle about how to be a manager and a coach at the same time. Learning what has been successful and not successful with others will help everyone in the organization succeed.
     4. What will you do to involve both employees and management in the process?
        • Employees and supervisors will not take the time for performance planning and reviews if management does not support it. Management has to realize the value added (i.e. increased productivity, improved morale, retention) of performance management and demonstrate their support of the system to all employees. This may require involving a key management player in the development and implementation of the system.Like management, employees will be more encouraged to take the feedback and direction of performance management seriously if they are involved with the development of the system. To do this, you can either survey employees to identify their needs or include them in a team tasked to evaluate and develop a program. COMMUNICATE!!!
     5. How will the system be tied to compensation?
        • Of course, any system is going to be much more open and honest when there is little or no connection to pay. The catch is, that you need to have some way to measure employee performance, in order to provide performance based increases. You’ll need to develop a clear philosophy and supporting policy for merit increases. Because this will depend on your budget and values, each organization may have a totally different philosophy and policy on pay increases. By making this policy clear and communicating it up front, the link to compensation will have a better chance of being both objective and effective.
6. EVALUATION — How will I know when I’ve reached my goal?
   • Too often this last checkpoint in implementation is skipped. It is very important for you to constantly evaluate your program. Some ways you can do this is through focus groups, employee surveys, or interviewing management. The key is to schedule it and just do it!

Remember, you don’t want your employees feeling like Alice did in Alice in Wonderland. You need to be sure you are communicating the expectations and goals of the organization and tying them to each employee’s Individual Strategic Plan in order to realize success. Whether this is a formal or an informal process doesn’t matter as long as you are doing it!!

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions, wish to share your comments, or your organization needs individualized help developing a successful performance management system, you can contact Robin at 513-697-9855 or Robin@strategicHRinc.com for more details.

by Linda Gravett, PhD, SPHR

It’s no secret that in today’s global marketplace, competition is keen and the skills, knowledge and abilities required to keep up with, let alone lead, the competition are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Supplier relationships are often spread across the globe and can become very complex, given language and cultural barriers. The demographics of the existing or potential customer base of many organizations is a moving target. In the meantime, shareholders in private sector companies and stakeholders in public sector organizations have high expectations for profit or results as a return on their investment in time, money, or both. Additionally, this society has become very litigious and we’ve seen an increase in costly sexual harassment , racial harassment, and other diversity-related lawsuits in the U.S. These factors support the need for strategic planning and a diversity initiative as a component of that planning.

Organizations today spend a great deal of time, effort and money on sending their leaders to off-site retreats and conducting an annual strategic planning session. Typically, a major portion of the time is devoted to establishing a Mission Statement (Why are we here?) and a Vision Statement (Where do we see ourselves going?). Unfortunately, these plans often don’t focus on implementation tactics for achieving the Mission and Vision, taking into consideration environmental barriers and support mechanisms that the organization faces. Some companies develop tactics; that is, methods to carry out their objectives and goals, but don’t establish a series of process checkpoints and measures to assess how well those tactics are being carried out.

In order to achieve its Mission and Vision, your organization will require specific competencies to ensure survival and success. For example, do you have employees who know how to find potential customers for your product or service? Do you have staff who know how to craft the message that will appeal to these potential customers? If you wish to expand your marketplace into South America, do you have employees who understand the language and culture in target countries? Do you have Human Resources staff who are conversant with the labor laws of the target countries?

Perhaps your organization has established the objective of enhancing its image within the community as part of its strategic plan. The concept of responsible corporate citizen’ may be different in other countries. In Swedish companies, for example, parents are often allowed to take paternity or maternity leave at their discretion. The desire for balancing work and family life has been a mainstay of their society, and an expected work benefit, far longer than in the U.S. Swedes frequently surprise their international clients when they leave at 5:00 p.m. with the announced intention of spending time with their families. U.S. business people might judge this behavior as a lack of commitment to work, when in fact the Swedes are demonstrating their strong commitment to quality of life. If a U.S. organization plans to build an organization in Sweden, tactics to address this conceptual difference must be developed.

Years ago, I was carrying out a segment of my organization’s strategic plan which was to develop and deliver training for new accounting procedures in the public sector. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? The organization where I was employed was in the Far East, and my trainees were all Japanese. Since I could speak the language, I was under the mistaken impression that conducting the training would not be a problem. Indeed, during the workshop my students were smiling and nodding and had no questions when I asked if anyone needed clarification. Following the workshop, I was totally frustrated when all my students (who were also my direct reports) continued to use exactly the same accounting procedures that they were using before the training!

I called upon a Japanese colleague for some advice, and he reminded me of Japanese cultural norms. The ‘boss’ is revered, as is a teacher. In this case, I was both. If the students had asked questions during the workshop, it would have caused me to ‘lose face’ because I couldn’t teach effectively. I had to find another way to educate my students and ensure they had their questions addressed. During the follow-up workshop, I designed small mini-quizzes and provided individual feedback to clarify points that weren’t being grasped. This time, the training was successful. However, I had wasted a training day in terms of my time and the time of five employees!

A critical component of strategic planning is implementation. I know of no organization today that can afford to omit tactics that address the diversity of its customers, suppliers, shareholders and employees if it wants to ensure that it successfully achieves its Mission and Vision.

Your Diversity Initiative Can Enhance Recruitment and Retention

A 1999 joint survey conducted by Saratoga Institute in New York and Interim Services found that lack of a tailored career development program is one of the top three reasons that the ’emergent employee’ leaves an organization. The ’emergent employee’ is not only the often-described Gen X’er who wants to balance work and family life, he or she is the employee of any age who desires to work with the employer to match individual interests with organizational objectives. The study found that other drivers for retention are the quality of supervision and the scope and flexibility of work. Regardless of the reason employees leave, turnover is expensive, and proactive efforts to retain qualified employees are required to ensure that the best and the brightest don’t defect to your competitors.

A well-crafted, carefully planned diversity initiative can bring many positive results to an organization, one of which is improved recruiting and retention capability. I’m referring to a diversity initiative that’s multifaceted, not simply an Affirmative Action Plan. If your organization’s mission and vision require specific core competencies, the diversity initiative should revolve around these fundamental questions:

1. Do we currently have the skills, knowledge and abilities we need to ensure that this organization meets its long-term objectives?
2. In those areas where there’s a shortfall in core competencies, where can we obtain the most qualified people?
3. Do we have employees who currently have the potential and interest to expand their knowledge and skills? If we do, how can we develop these capabilities?
4. If we don’t have employees now with the right mix of skills – or potential to acquire them — what are the recruiting sources available to us?
5. What will it take to attract the people with the skills we need? Does our organizational culture provide the kind of environment that potential employees want?

There is ample data in industry that demonstrates the positive correlation between organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Likewise, evidence supports the positive correlation between job satisfaction and productivity in terms of both quality and quantity. A diversity initiative that contains a focused recruiting plan and targeted retention methods can improve the odds that more of your employees will have a high level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

you may still be wondering how a recruiting plan can be a part of a diversity initiative. Let’s say that your organization has decided to pursue the business of a growing segment of the marketplace — Hispanics. You’ve conducted strategic planning among your leadership and found, during the environmental scanning phase, that Hispanics have not only language differences but cultural differences such as family norms and buying habits. After checking your internal candidate inventory you find that you don’t have any employees within the organization who are Hispanic, speak fluent Spanish, or have experience with the Hispanic culture. This leaves you with the option of recruiting outside the organization, but will simply placing ads in the classified section of the local newspaper attract applicants with the skills and experience you require? Probably not.

To ensure that recruiting efforts stay ahead of the need for Hispanic employees, your Human Resources strategic plan would need to incorporate ways to build a relationship with the Hispanic community and to locate Hispanic web sites and periodicals in which to place ads. The Human Resources efforts would also have to reach into the training and education arena to ensure that current employees and supervisors understand and appreciate the cultural norms of (future) Hispanic coworkers. The plan should include ways to build the capacity within your organization for team efforts in problem solving and resolving conflicts among a workforce that has a different cultural heritage, to enhance productivity and profitability.

Retention efforts are a critical part of the diversity initiative. Even though there are some ‘givens’ that enhance retention, such as quality of supervision and meaningful work, other drivers of organizational commitment vary in relation to one’s age, race, personality, gender, education or any number of other factors. Since replacement and retraining costs are very high, especially in technical positions, well-planned retention efforts can have a definite, positive impact on profitability. One size does not fit all, however, when it comes to peoples’ reason for staying with an organization.

According to research conducted by Cornelius Grove and Willa Hallowell and reported by the Society for Human Resource Management, native white males will make up 38% of the U.S. workforce, compared to the current 42.5%. Today’s workforce is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever before (20% is non-white). More women are in the workforce than 20 years ago: 48% of today’s workforce is female. In 1994, the median age of workers nationwide was 38 years. The median age projected for the year 2005 is 41. As we become increasingly diverse, individual, tailored efforts in the form of benefits, telecommuting, and career development will be required to keep qualified employees.

I believe it’s time now to begin recruiting for requirements, not tradition, and to hold employees accountable for the skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are necessary to ensure our organizations’ survival and success.

Diversity Results in Various Phases of the Initiative

In this Western culture, too often we expect results — productivity, return on investment, profit — almost immediately. U.S. companies are not always willing to invest in the future if the ‘future’ is a year or more away. Like any other change in an organization’s approach toward doing business, the results of a diversity initiative are not always immediately apparent. I’d like to explore the different phases of a diversity initiative and describe the bottom line results that a company can expect in each phase.

In the status quo stage, an organization’s leaders focus on recruiting and retaining a workforce that is pretty much like them. This can be the case whether the leadership is white male, Black female or college educated. People at top levels either consciously or unconsciously seek out new employees who are like them in terms of both appearance and world view.

A status quo organization has limitations: limited perspectives about making a product, delivering a service, building a customer or client base, marketing the product, and other aspects of the business. The cost in terms of lost sales, failure to add to the existing customer base, and technological advances will vary from organization to organization — however, there is a cost. Perhaps the leadership assures itself that ‘things are OK — we’re making a profit.’ The question becomes, “can we continue to expand, meet customer demands, and stay competitive for another five years?” The company may not have the right core competencies to answer in the affirmative because it’s hiring based on tradition, not requirements.

A company in the reactive stage is one that has grown large enough to have a person on staff who understands the need for compliance with protective labor laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act , or a company that is seeking a government contract and must have an Affirmative Action Plan to bid for that contract. Whatever the situation, the company reacts to a law, or a specific incident such as a sexual harassment claim, rather than articulating a diversity initiative to meet their strategic objectives.

Companies in the reactive stage find that they’re spending money on grievances, law suits, managerial time spent in resolving conflicts, and turnover. Daily firefighting is more the order of the day rather than taking an objective, long-term approach toward attracting, developing, and retaining people with the core competencies the company requires.

In the proactive stage, key people within the organization plan ahead for the needs of the company and take steps to prevent absenteeism, turnover, inadequate supervision, and poor customer service. For example, the Human Resources Department stays abreast of pending legislation and develops and recommends policies that will communicate how the organization will comply with new laws. When problem solving or process improvement teams are developed, an intentional effort is made to include employees across functions and demographic groups to ensure that different perspectives are represented and creativity is enhanced. The company begins to experience sounder decisions and a workforce that is more committed to providing quality work.

As companies progress along the diversity continuum, the leadership decides to include the diversity initiative as an integral component of its strategic planning process. Instead of engaging in recruiting, training, and employee development activities because of the law or public pressure, the organization makes a conscious effort to include diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and talents based on individual talents rather than on factors such as age, race, ethnicity or gender.

During the redefinition stage, organizations establish and focus on business imperatives and take steps to ensure that they have, or obtain, the right mix of skills, knowledge, and abilities to achieve those objectives. The financial benefit comes to the company when, instead of scattering its resources in terms of people, time, and money, it remains focused on the priorities that will maximize its competitive edge. The company’s Human Resource professionals can develop recruiting methods,compensation and benefits, and educational programs that support company objectives rather than using the ‘shotgun approach’ toward achieving goals.

Few organizations are truly in the final stage of the continuum, managing diversity. Managing diversity is a process that includes performance management systems, communications systems, and career development initiatives. In short, managing diversity is the day-to-day focus on concrete, specific ways to enhance the synergy that results from systems that promote the utilization of 100% of every employee’s skills, 100% of the time. This is a high standard and takes ongoing creativity and effort to maintain.

Study after study has demonstrated that organizations that manage diversity effectively experience less absenteeism and turnover, less managerial time and energy spent on resolving conflicts that could be settled between and among employees, improved productivity and safety, and a more positive public image. Each of these results can be quantitatively measured to demonstrate a return on investment for the time and money spent on diversity efforts. Diversity initiatives are not simply ‘feel good’ activities; they positively affect the organization’s ability to remain viable in a highly competitive global marketplace.

Dr. Linda Gravett is with Gravett & Associates (www.Gravett.com). If you have questions or wish to share your comments, you can contact Linda at Linda@Gravett.com.

by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR

Because I was able to attend the annual SHRM Conference in Las Vegas on June 25 – 28, I wanted to share with you some of what I learned from the presentation on Setting Up an HR Department by Nina Drake.

If I had to re-title Ms. Drake’s presentation, I would call it “The HR Audit.” Basically, in the short amount of time that she had with us, she provided us with a brief outline that could be used to audit our current human resources function.

Right off the bat, Ms. Drake’s first recommendation was to “listen…observe…listen”. By this she meant, find out what the company’s strategic goals and culture are, identify what the CEO wants you to focus on, and gather any information about what was done in HR before you. Most of this can be done by conducting a needs assessment to find out what HR functions are in place and what still needs to be done.

To conduct the needs assessment, Ms. Drake broke down the assessment into basically ten different human resources areas:

1. Recruitment and selection (i.e. job descriptions, selection tools, background checks, offers)
2. Compensation (i.e. methods, consistency, market)
3. Employee relations (i.e. labor agreements, performance management, disciplinary procedures, employee recognition)
4. Mandated benefits (i.e. social security, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensation, COBRA/HIPPA)
5. Optional group benefits (i.e. insurance, time off benefits, flexible benefits, retirement plans, employee assistance programs, perks)
6. Payroll (i.e. internal vs. external options, compliance)
7. Recordkeeping (i.e. HRIS, personnel files, confidential records, I-9, other forms)
8. Training and development (i.e. new employee orientation, staff development, technical and safety, leadership, tuition reimbursement, career planning)
9. Employee communications (i.e. handbook, newsletter, recognition programs, announcements, electronic communication)
10. Internal communications (i.e. policies and procedures, management development, management reporting)

Once you have carefully evaluated each of these ten areas, you are ready to put together your strategic human resources business plan. This will help you map out exactly what you need to do and how it impacts the bottom line, plus when you will need to do it. With a good grasp on this plan, you are ready to sell it to management. Some tips that Ms. Drake offered to successfully make this “sell” included:

1. Prepare prepare prepare
2. Focus on bottom line results
3. Compare to competition (do your homework)
4. Highlight benefits of implementing the plan
5. Promote better labor relations
6. Investigate legal requirements
7. Be brief
8. Build consensus

As you begin this process, don’t go at it alone. There is an enormous amount of resources out there including ours – don’t forget you can ask the team of experts at Strategic Human Resources, Inc. any question related to HR Audits and Start-ups to help you in this process. Plus, we would be happy to share any additional resources that we would recommend given your specific situation.

Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR, a Senior Human Resources Management Consultant is President of Strategic Human Resources, Inc. (www.strategicHRinc.com). If you have any questions or wish to share your comments, you can contact Robin at Robin@strategicHRinc.com.

by Linda Gravett, PhD, SPHR

As I’ve guided Human Resource Departments through their planning processes over the last several years, I’ve found that not all Human Resource professionals are convinced of the necessity of strategic planning.  If you’re one of those nonbelievers, in this article I’ll attempt to persuade you of the importance of strategic planning.  If you already believe this is a critical process, I’m also offering some guidelines on establishing an effective strategic planning process.

The first order of business is to clarify what strategic planning is and is not.  The process is not goal setting.  Goals can’t be effective in a vacuum – they have to be aligned with specific objectives in order to be meaningful.  You can say that you’ve set a goal for recruiting and hiring 50 employees this year who are fluent in Hindu.  Unless your organization has a need now or in the future for employees with this ability, why set this goal? Even if a goal is meaningful, there still needs to be a plan (tactics) for actually implementing the goal.  Strategic planning is not a one-time event, but rather it’s an ongoing process that must be fluid to address the changing environment in which your organization exists.  Even though you establish specific, sound objectives and goals in January, be prepared to adjust if a major change occurs in your organization or industry in June.  Strategic planning is not short-term – i.e., one or two quarters out.  Strategic planning is a future oriented, with a vision that stretches out into three or five years so that you can actually have time to set goals, carry them out, and measure the results.

Strategic planning is a dynamic process that must constantly revisit how the world events of the day are affecting your long term objectives.  The strategic plan can serve as a road map, providing tactics to achieve your department’s (and your organization’s) vision and mission.  A vision without a plan is a group of lofty words…and that won’t move you closer to getting results.  The purpose, then, for establishing a strategic plan is to:

• Decide where your department is going over the next three to five years
• Establish an action plan (tactics) to get where you want to go
• Help your staff focus on the truly important activities
• Define the resources you’ll need to accomplish your objectives
• Create a plan to acquire necessary resources

My experience has led me to a strategic planning framework that I’d like to share.  The first step in this framework is position planning.  By that I mean, how do you as the HR leader want to be viewed within your organization?  Perhaps you want HR to be seen as an internal consultant, or a business partner, a change agent or a profit center.  Decide first how you want to position yourself.

The next step is data gathering to find out whether there’s a gap in how HR is actually perceived and how you want to be perceived.  There are some excellent survey tools available on the SHRM website (www.shrm.org) that HR can use to survey its internal customers. Maybe you’re thinking that you don’t want to hear what people are thinking.  I encourage you to be proactive and find out how you’re perceived before your CEO gets negative reports.  You can’t act on data you don’t possess.

After you receive input about what services employees, managers, and organizational leaders want from HR, you’re in a position to assess the implications of this information.  Do you have the right staff (number and skills) to provide the level of customer service that is expected of HR?  If not, this is the time to develop an action plan to update the skills and competencies your staff need in order to be effective and credible.  In other words, enhancing skill levels or number of staff should be one objective in HR’s strategic plan.

Next, it’s time to establish an action plan.  This is the heart of the strategic planning process.  If you’ll note in the attached strategic planning framework, strategic planning starts with a Mission Statement (why are we here), a Vision Statement (where do we want to position ourselves in the future), a candid analysis of environmental barriers and support mechanisms that help or hinder HR effectiveness, and then objectives, goals, and tactics.  Many HR Departments have great fun spending time pondering over a Mission and Vision statements, or even go on to establish objectives and goals.  But don’t forget the tactics:  that’s the action plan for how, who, and when. 

At the end of each year, I recommend that you set time aside to evaluate how well your department has met its strategic objectives.  Did you set success criteria when you set your goals?  Did you meet those criteria?  What prevented success and how can you change your approach?

If you want to take your strategic planning to the next level, encourage breakthrough thinking when your department sets its objectives.  By that I mean, ensure that objectives you set accomplish at least one of the following:

• Provide a significant benefit to the customer
• Change the basis of competition
• Require a radically different allocation of resources
• Create a new standard or system

I’m suggesting that you endeavor to set objectives that provide your organization with a distinct competitive advantage in recruiting, developing, and retaining employees.  What can your organization do that’s different or better than other companies?

If you engage in strategic planning and measurement of results, there are some clear advantages:

• You’ll be perceived as a business partner who understands “the business of the business”
• You’ll have increased credibility when you request resources
• You’ll strengthen your influence within the organization

Dr. Linda Gravett is with Gravett & Associates (www.Gravett.com). If you have questions or wish to share your comments, you can contact Linda at Linda@Gravett.com or by phone at 513-753-8870.