If I Was Running A Company…The Grim Reaper

This week is Halloween and the Grim Reaper is approaching the human resources department according to all these articles here. Apparently the HR bloggers are recreating an episode of Touched By An Angel.  Seriously, is HR one foot near the grave?

Let’s be clear about one thing: the concept of HR is going to be there. Even if there is no HR, people within the organization must recruit, hire, train, negotiate, give orientation, write their own policies, explain benefits, budget, and all the other goodies they have to do.  I could mention the organizations can outsource HR, but what would be the fun of that?

Which leads me to why people are discussing HR’s fate.  The problem with HR is they have too many definitions. While some organizations view HR as tactical, strategic, and proactive;  most organizations, employees, and HR professionals themselves view it as administration, office, and (at times) legal work.  This is where the disconnect is with HR and their employees.  To show you the disconnect, here’s an audio clip of an employee who is upset at HR. Let’s call him Mr. Tony:

Also, I had a discussion with my friends about HR and here are the responses (Of note: my username there is pudgeyt). The perception is there that HR professionals are bad people.  Is there a way to change that?  There are several answers I heard from:

• Change the department name to “Talent Management”
• Outsource HR
• Make it into Marketing
• Put it under the Legal team
• Just put it out of its misery

All of the selections are reasonable, but one thing that struck me the past month was Steve Boese’s tweet to one of the speakers at the WTPF SOARS event and one of the tweets said (and I’m paraphrasing), “People should not be HR Managers…they should be General Managers.”  As Sherman Lewis would like to say…BINGO! 

To me, HR is a war room for organizations.  They plan, recruit, and discuss what are the organization’s and employee’s strengths and what needs to improve.  HR creates the working environment for organizations.  The problem is most organizations don’t realize it.  Departments need to realize what value HR has, but on the flip side, HR professionals need to know how the industry and organization is structured and be democratic about the process.  Basically…it’s a two-way communication.

In all honesty, I don’t care how organizations view HR.  If organizations vision for HR is admin or legal purposes, that’s fine. If they vision HR for branding or strategy, that’s fine as well.  Just find the right HR professionals who want to share how organizations view HR. 

To answer the question, is HR dead?  No…HR has a concussion.

By the way, if I would replace the name “Human Resources”, here would be my answers:

1. War Room
2. Romper Room
3. Situation Room
4. My favorite: The Norris Department

#TWTRCON DC 2009

Last Thursday, I attended #Twtrcon in DC. Twtrcon is a conference for businesses that have applied Twitter in their business strategy, so no novices here.

The main reason I went to Twtrcon is to meet people I met before and finally see the faces of the people I met through Twitter the past year so they wouldn’t think I’m a fake  I can say I have reach double digits meeting the HR/Recruiting people, although I have 700 HR/Recruiting pros to meet.

Twtrcon had several sessions throughout the day. The ones I was most anticipated were Michael DiLorenzo of the NHL on real-time branding since if you go to my all-around Twitter feed you know I’m a bit “devoted” to the NHL.  I also wanted to listen to Jessica Lee and Kerry Noone’s presentation on Twitter for Recruiting since that’s my area of expertise. Both were great discussions on how to use Twitter.

Twtrcon also provided a few memorable quotes:

• “Free the Nerds”
• “People should tweet, not brands”
• “There is no social media expert”
• “Twitter is a sushi conveyor belt moving at 100 mph”
• “Twitter: blogging for lazy people”
• “If you aren’t failing you aren’t trying”
• “What wine pairs up best with bacon?”

The presentation that had everyone’s attention was Scott Harrison’s charity: water. Scott showed video and stats of how much people have donated and how their donations help in Africa. Almost everyone agreed that it was a powerful presentation, although some question that his presentation has nothing to do with Twitter. In hindsight, I agree that it wasn’t focusing on how Scott was utilizing Twitter, but I really think Scott made the point that if you have a powerful message, it can be transmitted anywhere, no matter the source. 

There are some things I want to change for Twtrcon like the 5 minute real-time tools “ad”.  I found it more promotional than informative and I wouldn’t mind if they gave us 30 minutes to walk around the area to see the new products for Twitter, which for the most part, are very useful.  Another adjustment Twtrcon should make is have a screen in front of the speaker or panel to see what questions arises, they can answer it, although if they put a screen outside the Grand Hyatt to let everyone see what people are tweeting about, that will be much better.

Overall, I thought the sessions were useful, but Tonia Ries made the greatest point in the beginning of Twtrcon that the conference is for the people to share their ideas and network with other tweeple and this conference drive that point.

This brings me to the future of Twtrcon if it is going to continue when Twitter’s popularity fades.  I remember 5 years ago people were holding local MySpace parties and everything thought it was a great idea.  Then, MySpace is off of anyone’s radar (except for the creeps).  What Twitter brought that no other social media did is involve anyone who wants to contribute of anything.  While Facebook, Linkedin and other social media do have some barriers, Twitter is making a small world even smaller.  Case in point: I met a guy who is a patient of my brother.  However, the world and technology is going fast and Twitter will eventually be in the bottom of the totem pole.  That said, there will be conferences about social media or any speciality involving social meadi and its impact.  This year is Twitter;  next year, there will likely be a Google Wave Conference;  and 5 years from now, there’s going to be a Hologram conference where people stay at their homes and bring their holographic self.  Either way, all of these conferences have one thing in common: the people, which the conferences should always be about.

Resources:

Pictures from ReadySetDC
Twtrcon Presentations
Official Twtrcon Site

If I Was Running A Company…Nonprofit Business

Last week, I discuss how a job seeker can join the world of nonprofits.  Now, I’m here to tell what to expect of going into nonprofits.

What Nonprofits Do:

If you want to get into nonprofits, understand their biggest strength: storytelling.  Nonprofits are there to send a message to an audience.  Nonprofits bring an emotional attachment that the person can either donate money, volunteer, or spend more time on the subject.  If there is no attachment, there will be no cause and no nonprofit.  That is why it is important what makes you tick and how to utilize your skills for “good.”

Benefits:

You know the deal that nonprofits don’t pay as much and work for long hours.  There are two reason why salaries are low.  One is funding for salaries since most come of the salary comes from the government and there are restrictions on how to spend that money.  The other reason salaries are low is your organization is spending a lot on benefits from healthcare, retirement, life insurance, and others to make up for the salary and let you have close to security in the future.

Resources:

I would like to call the nonprofiteers the “Moneyballers” of an organization.  Although nonprofits do not have the resources like the private sector has, nonprofiteers are very clever and know how to maximize with little.  This article from Harvard Business Publishing tells exactly how nonprofits use their resources.

The key player:

Although storytelling and emotional content can bring people together, the most important person in nonprofits is the fundraiser.  The fundraiser can have many faces within a nonprofit: it has a face (or voice) people recognize, a salesperson who cares about the cause, and a super salesperson/networker.  The first two is easy to identify if done properly, but the last one is like the Angel of Death.  It is the one person that you don’t want to see, but it is willing to protect you.  In this case, the fundraiser’s sole objective is to raise money by any means necessary.  Storytelling might bring people to watch a mural, but the fundraiser drives the nonprofits to monetary success.

This brings to the overall point about working for nonprofits currently is strictly business.  Don’t get me wrong, there are going to be business aspects anywhere you go, including nonprofits, but nonprofits need to pick their spots.  What business does for nonprofits is give them structure, but it is also the nonprofits job to keep the focus on their cause and storytelling, but the both can overlap at times.

In the two posts I wrote about nonprofits the past couple weeks, one thing that stands out is work that you care for.  That is why I mention to job seekers to find three organizations/causes you want to work for.  If you don’t have any purpose of what you’re working, then what’s the point of job searching and vice versa for the employees working in nonprofits?

If I Was Running A Company…Nonprofit Careers

In honor of Nonprofit Career Month, and since I deal with nonprofits all day, I’ll take a stab of what it takes to be in nonprofits.

This is a unique time for a nonprofit employee and job seeker.  The economy is still recovering from the recession, but nonprofits are laying off and eliminating jobs to save costs.   However, there are plenty who want to come into the nonprofit world but don’t know how.  Here are the three questions you must ask yourself:

The first question is what is your motivation.  You must have a purpose of why you’re going to nonprofits. Please do not say that you want to go to nonprofits for the sake of it.  In nonprofits, there are numerous choices to go work for nonprofits from the environment, education, civil rights, jobs, even Furry Animal Mascots.  The point here is have a focus on what you want to do and if its money, then work for a for-profit company (unless you want to make money digital and paperless, then there’s an organization for that, I think).

The second question you must ask is do you have the threshold to be in the nonprofit sector.  Remember that nonprofits don’t pay well and work long hours on occasion.  Can you take being underpaid but also take steps to budget yourself for the year?  Can you move closer to your workplace? What about alternative transportation? Eat out or go organic? Do I want to start a family?  All these questions (and more) must be answer and plan ahead.

The third and final question is do you have the skill set and dedication to move into nonprofits.  Every skill set can be transferable from all sectors, but can you be 100% committed to a new area?  Although skill sets transfer, the rules, procedures, and environment change.  Basically it is asking: Are you willing to convert from evil to good?

If your answer is that you still want to work for nonprofits, then act like a nonprofiteer and be proactive.  Go volunteer to events that you want to attend, attend  networking events for a good cause (like Twestival), find people through social media since most nonprofiteers are there, and find people who know how nonprofits operate in their area (HR, Finance, Programs).  To give you a head start, here are the Nonprofit Millennial Bloggers Alliance. 

In a nonprofit career, you have to be 100% committed and dedicated on what you’re doing and anything less than that, try to find another profession.  There are many causes to work or join;  you just have to find something that gets you motivated for your own reason to make your nonprofit career work.

Good Luck!

If I Was Running A Company…Pop Culture HR Award #6

We’re in the middle of Fall and when I think of Fall, I think of leaves falling, football (and hockey season), the fiscal year, and the new TV season.  This leads to the sixth recipient of the award.  Most will not remember his name, but you will…

DAVE NELSON

If you have not watch NewsRadio (which is likely almost everyone who reads this), it is a “behind the scenes” look of how a radio station runs.  The main character is Dave Nelson, who came from Wisconsin and travel to New York to save WNYX, New York’s news station.  Dave came into the station as the “savior” and he did not use force or volatility for his position.  Dave uses rational, pragmatic, and patience (does it remind you of someone?) in his approach to the workplace.  Dave also knows how to motivate his employees, especially Matthew Brock, to do their best and keep it simple.

Of course, any boss will have flaws and Dave has a number of flaws.  He is dating in the workplace with Lisa, making some employees squirm.  Dave also lied that he is a Canadian citizen and came to the U.S. and worried that if Americans discover he’s Canadian, they would assume he’s a spy and call the CIA for his capture. 

Even with all those flaws, Dave turns that into a strength and use that as a learning lesson.  He was once demoted from his Station Manager chair, and then regain it back.  Although all the personalities surround him are unique, his even-keel manner helps make WNYX stay afloat for five seasons. 

So to Dave Nelson, hiding somewhere in the States to be avoided as a Canadian Spy, congratulations on being the sixth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award.

Video below is the best HR related episode, IMHO:

If I Was Running A Company…David Letterman

Laurie asked me to elaborate on the comments I made on her Letterman post and I will do that.  Just to summarize:  Letterman confess he had sex with other staff workers and a CBS News Producer was going to extort him for $2 million. Dave saw something was not right and called the police to create fake check to the producer, which has created this mess.  There are so many HR factors in this story that I will break this down in several areas.

Moral Stance:

We all agree what Letterman did was immoral and if it were any other business, he would be fired.  However, he owns his company, World Wide Pants and he can create the rules, which leads to my next topic…

Letterman’s History:

If you know your David Letterman history, he started his show with his then girlfriend, Merill Markoe.  It started off as a morning show, but then one-year later, it was following the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  If Letterman and Markoe were building a staff, would the staff know that the two were dating and would we hear any qualms of the relationship?  Another thing is if you seen Letterman interview female celebrities like Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Teri Garr, and Julia Roberts, you know he’s a flirt.  If anyone seemed so shocked of the news, look into his past history.

HR and Work Environment:

With all the scandals and hoopla, we would imagine we would hear a lot more stories from staff and crew.  The thing is, there’s no history of a hostile work environment or “taken advantage of a situation” moment.  No one complaint about Dave’s relationship with Merrill or his relationship with Stephanie Birkitt, which I think the staff knew there was some tension since Dave had great “chemistry” with Stephanie.  You would also imagine if a former staff writer or crew will spill the beans on Letterman, but from this Writers Strike in 2007, it sure looks like Letterman took care of his employees.

Personal Environment:

Stephanie and the CBS News Producer had a relationship and my guess is Stephanie mention she had a relationship with Dave and the producer had a Blago moment and wanted to extort money from Letterman but got caught red-handed.  Also, my friend, Bill Lehecka, told me from his source that the producer in question, made contributions to Sarah Palin’s run last year.  This makes it a little more shady since Palin has a huge grudge on Letterman and was seeking revenge and look if Letterman was a “hypocrite.”

Big Picture:

In the HR perspective, this is probably one of the most unique cases in business.  Letterman had sexual relationships during work, yet you hear no complaints at work.  This would classify as a hostile environment, but everyone gets along and it proves that Dave would do anything for his employees.  Also, there would be clues that if Dave use his power to promote Stephanie and from the looks of it, his “relationship” helped her get a law degree, which has not done anything to do with work, which leads me to relationships at work.  I don’t mind people have crushes or fall in love at work, but here are two things if you’re going to keep you relationship at work: keep it amongst yourselves and don’t mess up “company property” and if you do, cleanup and pay.  If I see “stuff” in any property, it’s an automatic firing.  As a rule of thumb for HR: have ground rules on relationships, but don’t deny true love.

The second point is the media/PR standpoint.  I read articles that Dave’s confession in public was weird and bizarre.  Was it weird and bizarre that Letterman was ahead of the curve and had to release the story in public since it would harm his company?  By getting ahead of the story, Letterman diffuse the trouble a little with open candor.  Was the media expecting your typical canned answers, were they amazed Letterman had an affair?  This leads to what is wrong with mainstream media.  The only stories I hear from broadcast and cable TV is Letterman had an affair, instead of a major crime was committed.  Is this the mainstream media’s answer to survive: juicy stories on celebrities?  Now, you know why the general public doesn’t trust the mainstream media

My impression is this:  Letterman did something morally and ethically wrong, but did not do anything legally wrong.  Also, as surprise as you maybe; behind the million dollars, houses, and notoriety, he is human but is one of the most unique leaders currently with his ironic demeanor, Midwestern roots, and a thing for regular folks.  It is hard to pinpoint who he is, but we’re making attempts because we want to know.  The only people who knows the situation is Dave and the other parties involve and that’s their business, not ours.  I guess we are a peephole society.

If I Was Running A Company…The Application Process

I headed back to the office for a consultancy gig of a non-profit for my own recruiting firm to do some administration stuff as well as help on the staffing, which this organization has huge changes coming up in the fiscal year.  One of my main responsibilities is posting jobs and implement my social recruiting skills.  I have posted on Twitter (as you see in the right side, I do it multiple times to see if people can see and then apply), and on Linkedin Groups.  I get a lot visitors from Twitter, but some action.  The Linkedin Groups have been very good based on quality responses I get from my Linkedin mailbox.  This is where the honeymoon ends.

In those emails, people wrote that they’re interested for the job.  I follow up saying that’s great, try to apply on the organization’s website.  If you send an email saying you’re interested in the position, what you want the recruiter to do with that email?  Recruiters won’t help you take shortcuts. Earn it by filling out a form.  It’s a lot of hard work, but I think the job seeker can handle this.

The other issue I have from the emails is some of the people who did or did not apply have ask me to send their resumes to the hiring manager and put it at the front of the line.  You know what you doing job seekers?  You’re asking for payola.  It is telling me that you’re desperate and have no confidence or patience on your job search.  If you want to be in the from of the line:

• Go to networking events
• Have a portfolio of your best work
• Share your blog or Twitter page
• Apply in confidence
• Ask politely for help

The process should be that easy for job seekers, but sadly this behavior is contagious like the swine flu.  Just ask  Ask A Manager, I Hate HR, and myself.  My theory of why people are behaving this way is the job market is small and the only way job seekers can get an advantage is to “distract” the recruiter and hiring manager and keep their focus on them.  If you want a job that badly, act like an adult by filling out the form, wait like everyone else and when it’s your turn, do something.  If you’re lucky, the employer can give you a lollipop.

If I Was Running A Company…Pop Culture HR Award #5

So you already know that the next recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award is a woman.  Thank you for the suggestions.  I review every woman suggested and every time I checked, this person popped up every time.  I was trying to find a reason not to select her, but could not.  Therefore, the fifth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award is…

Mary Tyler Moore

Looking at her career, Mary’s story parallels what the modern working woman are achieving.  She had to struggle with unique roles such as an elf dancer for commercials as a teenager, until Carl Reiner discover her and ask her to be the character wife of Dick Van Dyke.  She was in her 20s and became a popular figure with her looks, fashion and comedic timing.  Her experience under Reiner and Van Dyke help thrust to her most famous role.

As Mary Richards, Moore created the first independent working woman in television who was a career driven woman, who is single.  The character at the time was bold and refreshing and gave a show an edge of how would an independent woman reacts to certain situations.  You know the show was great when you make Ed Asner’s character funny when the character is gruff and dramatic (hence Lou Grant being a dramatic series).  The show was in the top 25 for six of the seven seasons (the last season was the only season out of the top 25) and being the pioneer of working women at work and entertainment.

After the Mary Tyler Moore Show ended, Moore tried many different things and the results are mixed.  She starred in Ordinary People as Beth Jarrett.  Although some people thought this could ruin Mary’s career as people were familiar with her in a comedic role, the movie critics and audience agreed Mary was great in the role and was nominated for Best Actress.  In the 1980s, Mary wanted to make a comeback to TV in her own variety show and sitcom, but both failed.  In the 90s, as she became older, she revealed her problems with alcohol and being diabetic.  Currently, she’s the International Chairman for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International and an animal rights activist.

If it was not for her, we would not know what the working woman would look like today.  Without Moore, would every woman have a secretary job, be a trophy wife, earn little to no income today?  Gladly, we wouldn’t know the answer because of her.  To Mary, she was a prophet, hence the statue in Minneapolis below.

Congrats Mary Tyler Moore on being the fifth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award and everyone is going to make it after all!

If I Was Running A Company…The Jack (or Jill) Of All Trades

In my previous HR post, I mention organizations and companies need to have a divide and conquer strategy to maximize their revenue.  That is the employers biggest adjustment to today’s market.  For current and potential employees: expanding their skill set.

Up and coming workers (interns and entry-level employees) come in to learn more about the industry and decide if they want to stick with their career path.  There will be some who already know what they want to do, but most prefer working for a company because of their history and work culture and have no clue what they want to do.  It brought to my attention what companies need to do: just have interns and office coordinators and don’t put labels on them early.

The young workers are different in this generation because Gen Y are naive but energetic and they can handle multiple areas (i.e. business development and literature, media and accounting, etc.).  The person has a lot of stuff to carry on their minds and they might burnout if not done properly.  What should employers do with all this potential? Have them do it all.

No, the person should not do all the jobs simultaneously, but the person should have one week to explore the different departments and decide where they want to go.  Employers must be like parents and see what the person does best and the person tells their employer what job makes them comfortable.  Employers must be open minded and give the up and coming workers options so they don’t get stuck in a box.

The only problem is what if there are many people who want to go to one department?  That is why labels are thrown out so everyone would try each department.  The up and coming employees are there to learn about how the company functions and be understudies.  It is also a great learning experience for up and coming workers on how each department functions because one way or another, you have to face each department in your career.

After it’s all said and done, if the person wants to stay but does not know about their role, put them in a office coordinator/manager role.  The office coordinator/manager is an equivalent to a utility player in baseball or an all-purpose player in football.  The person has all the talent but it will take a an x amount of time to see where exactly they want to head at.

This is an all-win, no lose situation for both the employer and employee.  For the employer, they mold an up and comer and can promote their workplace culture through references and word of mouth.  For the employee, they get their feet wet and have vast knowledge of how each division works, which will be valuable down the line in their careers.

There will be superstars, there will be role players, and there will be your headcases in your organization.  However, it all starts at the bottom with your up and coming workers and how will employers build them up to be future superstars and special role players.  It’s alright to be good at one thing, but it’s better to know what everything is going on.

If I Was Running A Company…Segmentation

This was brought up originally with Mark Stelzner’s blog post on the SHRM Conference and I have mention this about my criticism about SHRM that big organizations need to break down in sectors.  Last week made me realize this is coming true.

I was in an ASAE Consultants Meeting last week with Kevin Whorton, who is a Marketing Consultant for associations, and said that the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) conference attendance was down 25% from last year, which was not a big shock. The most stunning stat I heard from the meeting was that the specialty associations like biotechnology professionals, and of their ilk, have increase not only membership, but conference attendance the past year.  I wonder why is that?

I did not get a clear answer until I read an article about what else…newspaper columnists.  In the article, Greg Wyshynski (aka, Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports) argues that the era of a general sports columnists is gone and saying hello to niche reporting because of new media.  What does this have to with associations and most organizations?  Everything.

It used to be organizations had to rely on getting answers from big organizations like SHRM or the American Management Association (AMA), but since there is a variety of sectors people can select and with new and alternative media, the big organization might be losing its significance.  What people want from conferences is to get their answers for themselves and their industry.  So far, the big conferences like SHRM and ASAE have not embrace the change yet, in my opinion.  This might be a concern as well for the big companies as well such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Deloitte, and others might have to change their ways.  So, how do big organizations like ASAE and SHRM embrace these changes?

The first thing organizations need to realize is no one owns everything.  The next step is organizations need to split up to industry sectors so people know where they can get their specific answers.  Each sector should have its own conference and tailored their events according to their industry.  Finally, if the big conferences like SHRM or ASAE want to make revenue, eliminate the conferences and conventions and start having a “Spring Break” for industry or profession organizations and just have a hug out for a week and show at the end of the day, they’re united no matter their subject matter.

In essence, the generalization of organizations are close to a thing of a past, but segmenting to industry-specific organizations will drive the future of organizations.  In the end, you get what you want and that is your answer.