One Size Fits One

by Owen J. Sullivan   Employees today want individualized career options. If management doesn't provide them, workers are going to take their knowledge and skills elsewhere.   Employees are taking more control over how, when and where they work. Consider the sizeable growth in virtual workplaces. Employees who have greater control over their work have higher levels of engagement. And higher employee engagement directly correlates to a positive improvement in the bottom line.   Yet employees are exhibiting signs of pent-up frustration about how they have been treated throughout the downturn. While employers may have taken necessary steps to streamline operations remain viable, it appears employees have felt sidelined in the process. The result is a disconnected and unhappy workforce.   In a recent study of 900 workers in North America, Right Management found that 60 percent were dissatisfied with their present jobs and seeking new opportunities, while 27 percent were networking and updating their resumes. These insights provide a barometer for employee engagement.   Meanwhile, recent research conducted by Manpower found that 76 percent of organizations say flexible work arrangements boost employee morale, and 64 percent believe these policies increase retention. The bottom line is that employees today want more options.   There are three main reasons for the increasing demand for more options:   1. Personal economic security: Successful individuals have experienced sustained prosperity and have secured more affluent economic futures.   2. Dramatic changes in social norms: In many societies, social norms have been altered to accommodate or even encourage individuals to expand their life priorities beyond their career.   3. Ubiquity of communication and information technologies: New technologies are making it easy to accomplish the same work from anywhere at any time.   Further, employees indicate that they want:   a) Flexibility in how and where work gets done - meaning the ability to perform jobs where, when and how they want.   b) Flexibility in how work is compensated - meaning the organization takes a holistic approach to compensation, with valued compensation ranging from more money to more time off or more time to be innovative at work.   c) Diversity with career choices - meaning having accomplishments defined beyond the traditional measures of career success, with expectations of employers to accommodate and encourage life priorities outside of work.   d) More options to learn and grow - meaning continued and varied career development opportunities that help them contribute in ways that are meaningful to both the employer and the individuals.   Choices for the Knowledge Worker   The most highly skilled workers are mobile in any economy. People are attracted to career development opportunities, work-life balance and companies with perceived innovative cultures. If management doesn't provide employees with these opportunities, workers are going to take their knowledge and skills elsewhere. Employees today can change jobs because they can and want to, not because they have to.   The implications of not paying attention and not taking action now will cost businesses dearly. Not stemming the potential loss of high-value talent can result in:   a) Lower productivity as workers focus on job searches rather than on current performance.   b) Lost business opportunities, which result not only in lower profitability but also in negatively affected customer retention.   c) Unwanted turnover, which costs an average of 1.5 times the departing individual's salary, time applied to rehiring and on-boarding.   d) Loss of intellectual capital as it walks out the door, along with the irretrievable investments made while the individuals were employed.   e) Erosion of the workforce fabric impacting the dynamics of the organization' s culture: the loss of the unique personality, history and values the individual imparts.   And yet it doesn't have to be this way. Leaders of all levels: Be forewarned. The time is now to take action by building and implementing a talent strategy that is aligned with the business strategy.   Talent Strategy Best Practices   Lack of a formal talent strategy is the No. 1 impediment to executing business plans. Learning officers must apply the same rigor used to create an overall business strategy to develop a workforce strategy that:   1. Articulates a comprehensive vision of where the company wants to go, what unique value it delivers what it wants to accomplish.   2. Organizes work structures to unleash the knowledge, innovation and creativity of every employee in order to achieve that vision.   3. Examines, understands and delivers what employees want from their employers and work environments.   When designing a workforce strategy, you must first understand how complex trends and shifting business realities will impact your organization - now and in the future. This then allows you to identify the right people for the right jobs, build the necessary leadership competencies and skills, and develop and retain your best talent.   To do just that, CLOs should take the following five-step approach:   1. Inventory current talent and identify future needs. Every organization has a strategy, but not all have people with the competencies to execute it. Create competency models and success profiles to align business goals with the talent needed to achieve them. Modeling identifies the knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences, motivations andpersonality traits on organization' s workforce must develop to realize present and future strategic goals and enhance company agility, innovation, engagement and retention.   2. Align the workforce strategy with the business. A well-articulated strategy provides a sustainable, proactive process to execute strategic imperatives and build internal understanding. Identify employee and workforce issues impeding strategy implementation. Prioritize workforce management strategies and align them with broader strategic goals. Keep in mind that once the strategy is communicated, it will often necessitate change. To avoid a change in direction that results in going off in all directions, the organization must maintain its focus. Managing change in a volatile business environment that seems ever more volatile is an increasingly pressing leadership challenge - which leads us to step three.   3. Develop leaders and build a pipeline. Investing in leadership development will ensure a steady flow of available talent to continue to grow the company over time. Build leadership capacity that is both deep and wide. Additionally, succession management can ensure a smooth, seamless transition from one leader to the next. A growing number of company boards and executives today are viewing succession management as a mandatory business process, encompassing all levels within the organization to ensure deep bench strength.   4. Further, make sure to develop leaders who understand the importance of ensuring all employees know what is expected of them. Establish performance goals and guide leaders to provide continuous feedback and coaching to their direct reports. Employees perform best when their efforts are linked to the organization' s strategy. Ongoing performance management should include career discussions that ensure alignment of an individual's performance and goals with strategic objectives and measurable business results.   5. Focus on retention and engagement. Leaders need to clearly and effectively articulate business strategy, vision, mission and purpose to the entire workforce. A workforce that understands the organization' s strategy is better able to execute it.   6. An engaged workforce is far more productive than a disengaged workforce and displays much higher retention rates. Improve retention and engagement by helping employees understand the significance of their roles and how they directly participate in achieving the company's business objectives and performance goals.   7. Invest in career development. Helping talented employees develop their careers offers forward-looking organizations a powerful engine for driving workforce engagement, retention and productivity. It also builds its reputation as an employer of choice and strengthens its ability to retain and attract top talent. Tap into employees to understand their individual motivators, skills and interests, and match these with business priorities.   How Are Companies Responding?   What are companies doing to address the rise of individual choice, and how are they building solutions into to their talent strategies? Let's consider the following example from Procter & Gamble (P&G).   P&G was experiencing growing retention issues, particularly for employees who had been in the same role for about two years. Employee engagement was trending downward for the second year in a row. Recently, there had been downsizing in the top and bottom levels of the organization, which meant that horizontal career growth opportunities had decreased significantly, resulting in an unprecedented increase in lateral movement across the company.   P&G learning leaders wanted to create an organizational shift so that employees could be more proactive and successful in managing their own careers. They implemented a career management program that included assessments, workshops and individual, one-on-one coaching. The program provided employees with career management tools to engage in self-discovery of their career-related issues and to translate data into pragmatic career plans.   To date, this program has been implemented divisionwide to several hundred employees in North America, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and China. P&G reports that the attrition rate of those who participated in the program is less than half the company average, yielding an ROI of more than 200 percent.   The Impact of Customization and Flexibility   Individuals have diverse work preferences, needs and expectations. Companies need work practices and employee experiences that will attract and engage the best talent - those who are loyal, committed and take pride in their work and the organization. Individuals want to take greater ownership of their careers and development. Investing in developing talent from within, rather than hiring from outside the organization, will achieve greater employee engagement by ensuring work remains challenging and meaningful. Aligning the skills and capabilities of individuals with the overarching business strategy satisfies employees' need to make a difference and contribute to the company's overall success.   Customization and flexibility are essential to attract and retain high-value talent. We need flexible developmental policies and processes that address the unique needs, preferences and expectations of individual workers. Employer brand and reputation will become increasingly important, as will demonstrating organizational values tied to broader social issues. The purpose of the organization and each employee's role within it needs to be meaningful.   To meet the demand of today's skilled workers, leaders need to:   1. Provide leadership and strategy. They must clearly define and communicate the strategy, align it with the company's mission and illustrate its overall impact on society.   2. Create a collaborative, flexible and innovative work culture. The work culture needs to leverage new technologies and move forward team-based and outcome-oriented processes.   3. Understand and utilize levers of engagement. Each of your employees is unique. Understand what engages them, their life priorities and their challenges. Create work practices that meet them where they are in life.   Building the workforce that is needed both now and in the future will be a key success factor. And once you have the right people in the right roles, you must keep them engaged. One size does not fit all.     [About the Author: Owen J. Sullivan is executive vice president of Manpower Inc and CEO of Right Management, Jefferson Wells and Manpower Professional. ]

Is Business a Foreign Language for HR?

by Susan R. Meisinger

"Knowing the business" is not the same as understanding "the language of business," contends Meisinger in her latest column on whether the next generation of HR executives will have the skills needed to navigate tomorrow's business environment.
 

Every year, the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) holds a banquet to induct new Fellows, individuals who have been recognized by their peers for their contributions to the profession. While the black-tie affair in New York City is always memorable, the meeting of the Fellows prior to the dinner is even better. During the meeting, this group of respected, thoughtful and experienced HR executives engages in a frank and open discussion about the profession and issues that confront it.

One of the topics for discussion at the meeting in November was the next generation of HR executives - how to find the best and the brightest students today and introduce them to a challenging, exciting and rewarding profession in human resource management. While more and more entrants into the profession have a degree or concentration in HR management, there are many more HR professionals who "end up" in HR, and as a result, lack critical knowledge of the field. Another concern frequently raised by HR executives is the challenge of up-skilling their HR staff to better enable them to operate in a global environment of rapid change and constant ambiguity.

The challenge to HR leaders isn't new - it's just more pronounced because of the pending exit of the baby boomers and the recent economic downturn, which has forced most HR executives to assess, and reassess, their teams. Over the years there's been a great deal of research done on HR competencies at successful organizations. Doesn't every generation of leaders wonder if the next generation will be up to the task?

A theme that permeates any discussion of the future of the profession is the critical importance of an HR professional' s ability to speak "the language of business." Yet some of the competency research results seems confusing. According to Dave Ulrich, "we have consistently found that knowing business is not as highly ranked as a predictor of HR effectiveness. " Much more important in determining an HR executive's effectiveness is whether the individual is viewed as a "credible activist" - someone who offers a point of view, takes a position, and challenges assumptions. They practice HR with an attitude, and are able to influence others.

So why do HR executives and other business executives always zero in on the importance of business expertise? Ulrich's take, with which I agree, is that knowing business (finance, marketing, operations) is the ante, or ticket, of admission. Without this knowledge, HR won't be included in key business discussions where they could provide a point of view, take a position, or challenge an assumption. And, if invited, they won't be asked to stay. Unfortunately, many in HR limit their own opportunities because their expertise is too narrow.

Today, most HR professionals will take the time to understand why or how the business manufactures a product, or the nature and quality of a service that's being provided. But understanding the language of business, to me, includes understanding the financials of an organization. It's not just understanding the impact of a business decision on the budget, but understanding the impact of the decision on the very value of the enterprise.

If business knowledge is a ticket of admission, HR executives need to ensure that their HR leaders of the future are armed and ready and, at a minimum, have some background in finance and accounting. It's not an easy challenge, since so many in the profession have totally unrelated degrees, and most HR-degree programs focus on just HR coursework. Even the PHR and SPHR certification exams, while including some knowledge requirements pertaining to business, are exams designed to measure the grasp of a body of HR knowledge.

It will require that HR executives ask for more detailed information on the knowledge and background of candidates: Did they ever have an opportunity to focus on finance and accounting in their academic or professional careers? If not, HR executives need to be willing to provide the opportunity to do so. Without it, the HR professional will never be a credible activist in their organization.

This doesn't in any way diminish the importance of the HR knowledge required to be a successful HR executive. It, too, is a ticket of admission. It highlights the breadth of knowledge required for a career in HR management. It requires both HR and business expertise.

A grasp of the HR body of knowledge provides HR professionals with a road map for the direction they may need to take in their organization. But a grasp of finance and accounting provides them with knowledge of the topography underneath the road map. This combination ensures they will pick the best path forward for their organization.

About the Author: Susan R. Meisinger, former president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, is an author, speaker and consultant on human resource management. She is on the board of directors of the National Academy of Human Resources.

10 Tips to Impress HR

By Jessica Stillman

The interview process nearly always includes a sit down with human resources as well as your potential future boss and colleagues. The folks in HR don’t know the most about the day-to-day requirements of the position being filled and they’re unlikely to have to deal with whoever gets the gig on a daily basis, so what exactly are they looking for and how do they determine whether you’ve made the cut? Recently, opinionated blogger and experienced HR pro Laurie Ruettimann gives us job-hunting schmoes a break and offers a peak inside the mind of HR on her blog Punk Rock HR. Her ten tips are a must read for any job-hunter looking to wow human resources in an interview, and is particularly valuable for those new to the interview game.

• Never badmouth anything or anyone. This applies to your former employer, coworkers, or Osama bin Laden. We’re trying to screen out whiners and troublemakers. I don’t care if your last supervisor was a tyrant. Be kind and magnanimous about everything and everyone.
• Make sure your appearance is in order. Fair or not, you are judged based you based on how you look. Check your fly and make sure your eyebrows are smooth.
• Don’t smoke on the day of the interview. We can smell it. We don’t like it. There is an unconscious bias against smokers, and let’s face it, you have a reputation for being lazy. Smokers are more expensive to insure, too. Why would we want you on the payroll? Help me help you. Don’t smoke.
• Don’t be too aggressive and tell us how awesome you are. You’re here, aren’t you? A little humility, and some self-deprecating comments, will go along way with HR professionals. Trust me.
• Don’t tell us your life story. We hate it when you confuse HR with your mother, your therapist, or your best friend.
• Don’t expect us to have a timeline for the interview process. We have no idea how long it will take to fill the position. Ideally, we want to fill the opening tomorrow so we can get back to online shopping. Realistically, it will probably take a few months.
• Be prepared to talk about your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t ever tell us that you struggle to delegate. You care too much. You take on too much responsibility. An interview is a conversation, not a bad eHarmony profile. Show some self-awareness.
• When you take us through your resume, don’t gloss over the mistakes. We like it when you stop and tell us about an experience that taught you something. It shows character. Address your flaws outright and tell us how you learned something.
• Compliment us. Seriously. We are human beings, too. Scan our offices and look for awards, photos, or something noteworthy. Make a connection. This is what salespeople do, and it works. We will remember your praise.
• Make it easy for us to hire you. When you give us examples during the interview process, frame those examples in a way that relates to the job description, the issues in the industry, or the company’s mission. Be relevant and you will be remembered.

My personal favorite is the warning against speaking like a bad personal ad incarnated. What’s yours?