Fistful of Talent

Dear HR (Sucky Economy Version)...

One of my favorite parts of Business Week is the last page.  For those of you who only read online, the actual last page of the magazine is always a column called "The Welch Way" by Jack and Suzy Welch.  Granted, they could come up with a catchier title, but generally, the advice is worth reading and on point.

Recently, they published their annual "Dear Graduate" article, a commencement address of sorts.  While not as entertaining as Ellen's speech to Tulane, I thought the advice was worth repeating to the HR pros out there regardless of new grad or "seasoned" executive status.  The premise of the piece is advice on how to succeed in a sucky economy, so I think you'll agree it is relevant to all.

Do read the full article, and here are the four "codicils" highlighted with my commentary to HR:

#1 - "Get off your computer." HR folks tend to like to hide behind technology.  Whether it was the old-timey voicemail message left after hours or the policy riddled email - we've all done it.  It is easier to tell employees they will now have to pay to park or to remind the Sales Director that his reviews are a year overdue via technology, right!?!  Jack and Suzy are not saying they don't love technology and use it appropriately, but they are saying that to get ahead you have to get in front of people.  Building relationships only leads to good things - whether it is a promotion, recognition, increased credibility or being "in the know", so get out from behind your desk...NOW.

#2 - "You've got to pay your dues if you want to sing the blues."  Here, our gurus are referring to the desire of new grads to have work-life balance and they suggest that you've got to EARN your stripes before asking for balance of any sort.  I love the thought that "flexibility is a reward, not an entitlement".  FOT regulars know this is some of my favorite HR jargon.  Balance is possibly achievable in HR if you work in a status-quo job in a company where everyone is 9 to 5, and really, how fun is that??!

#3 - "Love everyone."  OK, so seems a bit odd coming from Jack but the follow-on comments deal with office politics and how people attempt to align themselves with one group or the other in order to get ahead.  HR folks fall into this trap as well, in addition to thinking we know more than anyone else when it comes to people, culture and organizational structure.  Truly listening to your co-workers, regardless of where they sit on an org chart, and believing there is something of value you can gain from those interactions is critical for HR.

#4 - "Please stop apologizing if you have a business degree."  Yes, capitalism has taken a credibility hit but Jack and Suzy emphasize that business is still a noble profession.  HR is part of that profession that helps create "jobs, opportunity and hope" and we all need to remember that - especially when 50% or more of HR jobs today deal with RIFs, expense control and doing more with less.  Stop apologizing and/or agonizing if you are in HR right now.  This too shall pass.

Whether you are a new grad or HR type struggling in today's environment, Jack & Suzy have sound advice. My two cents to the HR pros...well, is my advice.  What would you add?

Editors Note- Kathy Rapp is the Managing Director of hrQ in Texas, where she helps progressive companies find groovy HR Talent to drive business results.  Prior to joining hrQ, Kathy booked more than 15 years of human resources leadership experience working for such companies as Morgan Stanley and First Data Corporation.  A connoisseur of the intersection between pop culture and business, Kathy believes many talent issues can be addressed via the succession planning lessons experienced by Van Halen (David Lee/Sammy and sadly, Gary Cherone).

10 Minutes That Mattered in the Founding of SuccessFactors...

Forbes has been running a piece on "10 Minutes that Mattered", where they ask CEOs and other influencers in the business world to recall a situation that taught them a lot about life and shaped who they are in the business world. 

Every once in a while, you have the big moments in life.  You know the ones - maybe your grandfather imparted some wisdom to you or a mentor taught you a lesson.

Or maybe you just jacked some kids in the face

More from a profile as a part of the series at Forbes:

"Lars Dalgaard didn't pull his punches when it came to coming up with his company's catch phrase. For the $112 million (sales) Successfactors ( SFSF - news - people ), it's "No assholes." Dalgaard's referring to the kiss-ups and back-stabbers inside many organizations who get ahead not on merit but on political elbowing. Successfactors' software aims to reward the truly good by measuring performance. As it turns out, Dalgaard adopted this philosophy young in life.

"I was the only foreigner in an English school when I was 13 years old. That experience taught me just how low a tolerance level there is for anyone who's different. They teased me because of my accent. They would call me "bacon" because--and this I can now find funny--England imports the most bacon in the world from Denmark.

Now, I'm normally an anti-violence kind of guy. But I eventually had to punch a couple of kids in the face. It really wasn't my nature. I learned you fight back when you need to. Don't let someone walk all over you. You're a happy dolphin most of the time; then, when someone attacks, you're a shark.

Oh, I give people a chance. Never judge a book by its cover. But fight for your own place."

LOL.  Now, I can understand the story and I get that part.  Playing devil's advocate, if you need to fight for your own place in an organization, doesn't that mean you might be seen as a a****** by those around you?

Has there ever been an environment more full of contradictions than the American workplace?

Beer Bust - The Sobering Side of Employee Entitlement...

I worked for a tech company in the 90's...and it was awesome.  We had a bunch of really bright, creative and fun people running around in shorts and flip flops making things happen.  We even had a vending machine that dispersed free cokes (regional note:  In Texas we refer to all soft drinks as "cokes", even those living in Pepsi and Dr. Pepper sections of the state.  If you say "pop" we know you're not from around these parts.)

Then, a horrible event happened - - the late 90's!  Along with the tech bust came massive expense reductions, which included no more free cokes.

You would have thought we'd just asked people to wear suits, closed-toe shoes and take a 50% pay cut given the outrage - - but nope, we'd simply asked them to take their caffeine habits down a notch or pay for their drinks.  AND, we only charged 25 cents!!!

It seems the same sense of entitlement is rearing its ugly head once again.  But this time, one company is messing with their employee's BEER.  Here's the low-down regarding the horror going on at New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, CO.

"There are downsides (to employee ownership).  Some workers get sucked into an entitlement mentality, Jordan says, citing a staffer who asked to borrow a company car to go on vaction. (The employee was politely told no.)

The recession has led New Belgium to cut back on some benefits.  Annual raises have shrunk from between 7% and 8% to 4%, and limits have been imposed on expensable lunches.  And until recently workers were allowed to take a full case of beer home each week.  That last cutback was hard to take.

It was a bit of an adjustment, says Orgolini.  It's hard to change what people have gotten used to."

Seriously?  You work for an awesome company that gives employees an ownership stake and a free custom bike after a year of employment.  After five years, you can go on an all-expense-paid trip to Belgium.  And even with the downturn, you STILL get to take home two free six-packs of beer a week!!!

I get that it is tough to change what people come to expect, but don't you wonder if the CEO of New Belgium wants to smack anyone that gives her grief over going from 24 to 12 beers?!!  I know that I was not overly sympathetic to our employee's indignation over having to pay 25 cents for their cokes.

You've got to admire a company that lives its values and has perks that represent the foundation of the organization.  I kind of hope anyone that has given them grief over the loss of free beer is handed their bicycle helmet and sent peddling!

Editors Note- Kathy Rapp is the Managing Director of hrQ in Texas, where she helps progressive companies find groovy HR Talent to drive business results.  Prior to joining hrQ, Kathy booked more than 15 years of progressive human resources leadership experience working for such companies as Morgan Stanley and First Data Corporation.  A connoisseur of the intersection between pop culture and business, Kathy believes many talent issues can be addressed via the succession planning lessons experienced by Van Halen (David Lee/Sammy and sadly, Gary Cherone).

See My Workplace at DAXKO.... A Great Place to Work....

In case you missed it, my company (DAXKO) was named one of 7 great places to work by Fortune Small Business.  I've been at DAXKO 11 weeks, so I'm responsible for none of the good stuff.  Still, hope to be a part of adding to it in the future, and the good stuff represented in the article was part of the reason I decided to make a career change and join the DAXKO team.

One programming note - if you read the Fortune article, it focused on all the fun stuff that looks great on the company brochure to candidates.  We work pretty hard as a company as well, but stuff related to that didn't make the cut.  Next time, Fortune?

News video clip about the article here...

What To Do With a Workhorse Who Never Shows Up.

I recently had an interesting conversation with a hiring manager.  He wants to interview a current contractor on his team for a full-time role.  However, he is having some reservations. 

Mainly...this guy has trouble showing up for work.  When he does come in, it's usually around noon or so.  He's missed meetings, missed 1:1s, and is often hard to find.  Hearing this, my immediate thought is, "Why are we even talking about this guy and, more importantly, why is he still contracting on your team?"

The reason this guy is still around is that, when he is working, he's a freakin' machine!  He may not be at his desk, but he's putting in the hours.  Much like me in college, he's often online at midnight or 2 in the morning.  He's still putting in 50+ hours per week.  And, the work he cranks out is great.  He's found and fixed problems that could be major. He's stepped up to work on new challenges facing the team and had great success.  In general, he's impressed a lot of people with his raw talent and abilities.

But, then...he misses an important AM meeting, and everyone goes, "Gawwww!" 

So, what to do? 

We don't work in an environment that expects you to be chained to your desk from 9-5.  We encourage people to set their schedules and just do a great job.  Telecommuting is made very,very easy for us so that, on a fine sunny day when we would rather work outside than in our office, we can.  Or...we can just work from home and start our weekend a bit early, as long as the job is done.

Still...even with our work-life balance and telecommuting capabilities, we're still expected to be team players.  We're still expected to be with our teams when it's important.  Results are often driven by these team efforts. 

I think, if one decides to go forward in a situation like this, two things are important. 

--First, from an HR point of view, it's important for me to outline what our culture expects from our employees.  Sure, we make it easy to work from home.  But responsibilities don't lie only in your production.  Senior people are expected to serve as mentors to more junior people.  We want to grow the talent on our team, and that will be a real challenge if you're always working remotely. 

--Second, it's really important that the hiring manager sets expectations around what defines success in a particular position.  Practices that can be tolerated by a work-horse contractor cannot become practices of a full time employee, of which much more is expected.  Success in this role is defined, not just as being a kick arse programmer, but also in being a rock star teammate who helps the team become better as a whole.  

If we decide to move forward, are we essentially condoning his behavior?  By knowing beforehand what we're getting and hiring him anyway, are we telling him that we'll continue to look past his absence?  Maybe.  But, an important factor about making the switch from contractor to FTE is that your overall performance affects your bottom line.  Raises, bonuses, stock and promotions are all dependent on your total contribution.  If we're condoning it by hiring him, he'll see a big rebuke come review time. 

Editor's Note - Jason Pankow is a Senior Recruiter for Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE and Xbox Software groups.  Jason supports the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, bringing in technical, as well as creative, talent to Redmond.  Look him up on Xbox Live, where he'll ring you up for a triple-double as Steve Nash on NBA 2K8 or kick it old-school via a 7-digit score on Galaga...  

Why Enterprise Rent-A-Car is Smarter Than Your Company in Talent....

I'm going to describe a service encounter I have frequently when I travel, followed in parentheses by what I experience with the competition:

At the company I'm referencing, the service reps at the counter:

-Smile when I enter (competition - sporadic smiles, with variability to grumpy).

-Are great at stage banter - the art of making small talk while they serve you - meaning you get an emotional connection that's hard to get elsewhere (competition - rare stage banter, most of the reps are just trying to get the transaction done).

-Are conversational while they try to upsell me, meaning it feels like a conversation - I don't even mind telling them "no" (competition - sells via a pre-packaged script that they've memorized, which is quoted as they sound like a robot).

-Seem genuinely interested in what I do for a living, what I'm in town for, where I'm from.  I've learned it's because most of the reps at this company have strong career ambitions of their own, and they've learned to ask questions and network (competition - rarely am I asked what I'm doing in town).  They're naturally curious...

Which service encounter would you rather have?  The answer is obvious.  The company referenced is Enterprise-Rent-A-Car.

The secret sauce for Enterprise?  As reported by Fay Hansen in Workforce Recruiting, Enterprise will employ 1,800 interns this summer, most of them rising juniors and seniors. By the time the interns head back to school in September, most of the rising seniors will have received a formal job offer from the company, and by the end of the fall semester, most will have accepted.

Here's what the article doesn't tell you.  While Enterprise fills their talent pipeline almost exclusively with young college grads, the strategy isn't about age.

The strategy instead is about opportunity and competition.  All the college grads take the job with Enterprise for one big reason - career opportunity.  Enterprise actively sells the career dream of being promoted and rising through the ranks.  They've got thousands of stories related to kids starting with them out of college, then becoming branch, district and regional managers.  It's one of the best cultural plays you'll find in the area of career opportunity.

Of course, with 80% of their positions in retail-based customer service, they're perfectly positioned for the model but give them props - the strategy leads to a culture where I'll actively choose Enterprise as a customer, because I know when I go in that I'll get the responsiveness that I outlined above.

Enterprise rocks.  I'm not getting paid for this post.  Try them if you never have and experience what I outlined above, then ask yourself, "Did that feel different"?

I'm betting it will....

Editor's Note: By day, Kris Dunn is the VP of People at DAXKO, a cool software firm dedicated to providing solutions to the best membership-driven organizations in America. At night, he morphs into a blogger at The HR Capitalist and the Founder and Executive Editor of Fistful of Talent. That makes him a career VP of HR, a blogger, a dad and a hoops junkie, the order of which changes based on his mood. Tweet him @kris_dunn...

We Need a Way To Measure "People." FAST!

Quick: what's the most important determinant of a company's success?

Did you say Culture? Leadership? People? Something like that?

If so, good for you. You're onto something.

Now, here's your challenge: since people do what gets inspected (not expected), and what gets inspected is what gets measured, you're going to have to fight a torrent of pressure pushing you to solve financial problems with financial solutions... not because people think financial solutions work, necessarily, but because those are the ones that we can measure.

Never mind that they got us into our current financial crisis. The power to focus on what gets measured is simply that strong: here are homepages from BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune. All of them, on May 10, contained stories entirely focused on financial metrics. We're still very much an economy driven by dollars and finances.

(Kudos to Fortune for having a "management" tab... even though the stories on that page were a bit... light.)

Just because we cannot measure the value of human behavior—and let me be clear, by "measure," I do not mean with a Myers-Briggs test—does not mean that human behavior does not have a critical impact on our financial well-being. Denying the impact of leadership, culture, people, etc. due to lack of measureability would be like denying the health benefits of blueberries due to the inability to measure the impact of antioxidants. Logically, that makes no sense!

Even if you don't deny the benefit of blueberries and their antioxidants, you still have a problem when putting together nutrition information boxes: if you can't measure the value of antioxidants, you can't put that information in the nutrition info box, and if you can't put it into the box, then others can't use the info to make a decision.

It's a tough spot.

Unless you have the creativity to spot causal relationships and the courage to stand by your convictions, you may find yourself trapped once more by the same-old-same-old quarterly earnings pressures.

When you do, just remember that when I asked you what the most important determinant of your company's success was, you answered people.

Stay focused on what's most important, and you'll be fine.

Editor's Note: Editor's Note: Jason Seiden is a career consultant for professionals and managers (http://jasonseiden.com/). He wrote the best dang career book ever (just ask him), called How to Self-Destruct: Making the Least of What's Left of Your Career, and is a master facilitator of the cranial extraction method of on-the-job performance improvement.  And yes, even though we value the intrinsic worth of his writing, we pay him per post.  That makes us part of the problem..

Taco Buffet Does Not Equal Diversity...

Alright, you are now forewarned - Cinco De Mayo (the 5th of May for all of us non-Spanish speaking HR Pros) is just a few days away and inevitably someone is going to be coming to the HR Department (or if you're lucky enough to have a Diversity Department) to ask how we are going to recognize our organization's Mexican employees.  So, I'm going to plead with you not to take the easy way out and go for the Food, Flags and Fun approach to celebrating the diversity of your workforce.

Food, Flags and Fun is when your organization, no matter what the holiday, decides that celebrating with a special lunch menu in the cafeteria would be the best way to show the importance diversity has in your organization.  So, for Cinco De Mayo, the cafeteria has the taco buffet; Black History month is celebrated with red beans & rice, corn bread and greens; Chinese New Year, you get the orange chicken - you get the picture.  Is it just me or is this actually the opposite of celebrating diversity?  And if you think I'm kidding on the menu items, ask around - I actually worked at an organization that for years thought it was alright to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by having fried chicken, greens, macaroni & cheese, etc. - I told the head of our cafeteria the only thing he was missing was the orange drink, banana pudding and watermelon! That's not diversity, that's racist. 

So, what can you do about it?  Start by putting some of the ownership of celebration and education back on to those specific sets of diverse employees - you might be amazed at the what, why and how they come up with to recognize their own heritage.  Our last Cinco De Mayo celebration - our associates with Mexican heritage actually did have a traditional cook off and it allowed all associates to be involved.  Also, start by getting away from Diversity Programs that are politically correct (you know the ones - usually has to do with first designing a rainbow poster to announce the education session) and start designing programs that show how HR can tie diversity back to the bottom line of your business.  It can be as simple as taking your customer service measures and showing your operations partners how your most diverse locations get better scores or are more productive, etc.

Don't worry if you don't' get this all done by May 5th - Memorial Day is right on its heals and I'm sure all the Veteran's in your company can't wait for the Spam sandwich and baked bean lunch.

Editor's Note - Tim Sackett is an HR Pro in Lansing, MI and is currently searching for his next gig (open to relo).  15 years of of Human Resource experience with his most recent position as a Director of Recruitment for a large healthcare system.  He also has worked in retail, dining and automotive industries and has his Master's degree in HR and SPHR certification. He's a decent Little League coach and one day dreams of being the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Goals vs. Commitments, Again... Because Jessica is Committed to Making Us Discuss This Further.

I had this back and forth conversation last week with Laurie Ruettimann over at Punk Rock HR on this notion of goals versus commitments. Let's rewind and revisit the chat:

• Microsoft has employees establish commitments rather than setting goals.
• Me? I like the positioning of it - commitments seem to tie back to an employee's values and therefore, it feels deeper. More meaningful. Goals are transactional. They're set, then accomplished, then you get another one.
• Laurie? She feels that work is a transaction, and commitment is something she's made to her husband and the cats she has adopted. Employees aren't paid to commit, and companies don't make commitments to you as an employee, Laurie feels.

It's an interesting discussion. And Kris Dunn jumped in the conversation too last week. First, I get that it's hard to make the argument for commitments over goals as an HR pro, especially when you think about having to lay someone off, for example. You take an employee who is committed, deeply committed. Then you have to make financial decisions for your organization and let some staff go. Particularly for individuals who have demonstrated commitment to your organization - it's heartbreaking, right? And if you've done R.I.F.'s, you know what that's like. ("I've given so much to the company." "How can you be doing this to me?" And to think I had to answer those questions in my first HR job - at age 20! What were they thinking? That's another post for another day.)

But on the flip side, I also know what it's like to not be committed. Me. Yes. Let's not be naive about this - I've had bad days, and bad runs. And you won't get the best out of me when my mentality is that I'm just showing up and doing what I need to do to earn a paycheck. I promise you I'm ineffective when I'm not committed and distracted (including with wandering eyes). You can't have an organization full of noncommittal Jessica's - trust me. There's no moving forward. There's no progress. So let's talk about commitment a bit further...

I'm not normally an academic human resources wonky type - but this article landed in my lap right after Laurie and I took our different positions on goals versus commitments. And, I was interested in reading the piece just based on this one line: studies have shown a positive correlation between employee commitment and job performance. And then it got better as I read on. The study breaks down five different forms of commitment at work:

• work ethic endorsement
• career commitment
• affective organizational commitment
• continuance organizational commitment
• job involvement

The journal piece went on to discuss commitment as one of the key factors for organizational survival and growth, and a key factor to become a learning organization. And I buy it. 100%. Think about it - without commitment - how does an organization innovate? How does it pull itself from the trenches? Organizations are made up of people - and when one has a tough day or tough week at work - isn't it going to take a commitment to bring them back the next day to try it again? Breaking down AIG, and Wells Fargo, and untangling Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns, and salvaging GM and Chrysler... none of that is going to happen overnight, nor easily. It's going to take some serious commitment - to your given craft, to a product or industry, or simply out of a desire to be part of an effective organization - and really, to bettering America. (Sorry to pull that card!)

Commitment, we need. When you make a commitment, it's closer to your core. And when I'm recruiting people, I want someone who is committed in any of those five ways, to the values of my organization, and not someone who is just there for a transaction - create a widget, then earn a paycheck. Goals are transactional. Commitments are lasting. Commit not to an organization - fine. Commit to their ideals, mission and values. Commit to being a certain kind of person. Just commit - because now is definitely the time for commitment.

Editor's Note- Jessica Lee is an Employment Manager for APCO Worldwide, a global PR firm in D.C. Like most upscale HR pros, she spends half of her time on recruiting, the other half on ER, Training and OD.  When she's not hammering a candidate to determine Motivational Fit, she's thinking about the future of HR, and wondering how she can avoid using the job boards to fill the next spot in her organization...

That's All You Got? What's Really a Perk and What's a Stretch?

There is a reason I write for FOT and not for Benefits Buzz.  Personally...I find benefits to be ridiculously boring.  I'm glad I have them and God bless the people that secure them for me.  But, you will never find me sitting with the Benefits department. 

However, I was recently discussing with someone what should be considered an honest to goodness "perk" and what is stretching it a bit in order to find something that makes you sound better. 

For example...I once talked to a company that listed "Free Parking" as one of their benefits.  Now, if this company were located in downtown Seattle or another urban location, that perk might be appealing.  But, this company wasn't located downtown.  It was located in Auburn, Washington, about 20 minutes South of Seattle...population just under 50,000.  There are no parking problems and there are no paid parking spaces or parking lots.  All parking is free, not just the on-site parking.    

There is no doubt that benefits are a big part of the compensation package and should be discussed when rolling out the offer.  Key benefits are medical, 401k, and time off.  Here are some real benefits I have seen that I feel are better left off of the pitch:

Free Parking - I mentioned this earlier, but personally, I think if an employer isn't either letting you park for free or offering you some kind of parking stipend, this should count against them more than Free Parking should count for them.

Free Soda -  My company will often list this one, as well.  While I love my free soda benefit and I would miss it if it were gone, I'm not weighing this as a reason to take or decline a job offer.  Plus...it rots your teeth, so don't forget to plug the dental plan. 

Free Coffee - Okay, really? 

Birthday Celebrations - Hopefully this company has a Party Planning Committee. 

Companies often do have benefits that are unique or "above and beyond."  Free coffee is not one of them, but here are some I have seen that are:

Tuition Assistance - Many people are interested in furthering their education and not all companies assist with this.  If yours does, sell it.

Matching Gifts - Socially conscious people love to know that any contribution they make is doubled by the company.  Twice the effect without any further hit to your time or pocketbook.

Paid Parental Leave - The government mandates unpaid time off.  If your company wants to pay someone to make babies, you should flaunt that.

If you are stretching for things to list on your website or flier, and you decide to add things like Halloween Party or your Birthday Off, I think it's time to loop in your favorite benefits person to start looking for some new perks.  While I think all of these are hunky-dory, if I am hearing them in an offer or a sales pitch, my immediate thought is, "That's all you've got?"  It's great that you offer these benefits.  But, if you need to use them in order to make the close, it's time to improve your perks.  

Editor's Note - Jason Pankow is a Senior Recruiter for Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE and Xbox Software groups.  Jason supports the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, bringing in technical, as well as creative, talent to Redmond.  Look him up on Xbox Live, where he'll ring you up for a triple-double as Steve Nash on NBA 2K8 or kick it old-school via a 7-digit score on Galaga...