Strategic HR |

Not Much of a Reduction

Since word came out early this year that we’re “officially” in a recession, a lot of companies have implemented a reduction in force. That’s a nice way of saying they’ve downsized. The question is: did they set themselves up for more costs instead of less?

When the job market is bad, like it has been this year, there are more employment lawsuits. The unemployed need money and will try to find it any way they can. Yes, you are as likely a candidate to “fund” their unemployment as anyone else and we’ve seen a significant increase in lawsuits. How can they sue? It’s so easy in California that this is a somewhat silly question. But, for our purposes here, we’ll take it seriously.

Let’s look at your methodology. How did you choose to terminate that employee over another one? Will they agree that it was based on fair and objective reasoning? What was your process in implementing the downsizing? If you provide benefits, did you comply with the new COBRA ruling about subsidizing the cost?

Did you really think through the whole downsizing concept to understand the long-term effects? Your employees now know you’re willing to throw them away when [click to read more ...]

Are You Boxed In?

I recently read a short article that I really liked because it made my mind go in several directions. It was focused on three words: creative, flexible, and imaginative.

Many of my friends were aghast when they discovered I had entered the world of HR years ago. Why? Because they knew me personally and understood that I’m creative at heart. Always a hobbyist, I have numerous craft or DIY projects going on all the time. In addition, I wasn’t the typical employee who just followed orders.

People have asked me how I can stand to be in "stodgy old HR" when I’m so creative. My reply is simple. HR takes a lot of creativity, flexibility, and imagination to be successful. After all, we’re working for win-win situations. It’s much easier to fall back on the old stand-bys and just say "that’s how it’s going to be done, period."

Here’s the part of the article that grabbed me: "If you are creative, you can think of alternative ways to work around problems, ways that align with your own skills and reflect your values. If you are flexible, you are able and willing to change and modify plans; you adjust to new circumstances and [click to read more ...]

A Little Too Focused on the Job?

We’re all guilty of it … we’re guilty of working so hard to get tasks completed that we sometimes forget to keep our eye on the bigger picture.

In HR (human resources), this micro vision can keep us from being as effective as we should be. You need to know about your company and that takes macro vision so you see beyond what immediately impacts you. What does your company produce or what service does it provide … can you effectively put it into a 30-second elevator speech? Who are your biggest customers and biggest competitors? How is the budget divided up? What’s in the pipeline for the future? How does your company expect to grow?

Admittedly, I never really thought about this until it was brought to my attention a few years ago. I had an inside HR position with a company that was acquired and then closed within a year. When I began speaking with recruiters they were all surprised by my knowledge of the business itself. And I was surprised to learn that this wasn’t common.

If you don’t have a good understanding of what’s happening in your company, how can you do your job properly? The [click to read more ...]

What Do You Value Most?

I spoke this morning with the ex-COO of a company in which I worked. He is now working at a large (11,000 employees) company known for hiring top candidates from the best schools, often at the master’s level. However, he remarked on something that has been of interest to me for years … the fact that the company is finally recognizing that a college education can’t replace or provide work experience.

For years I have fought the degree bigots … those managers and VPs who believe every job requires a degree to be done properly. Even my arguments about the illegality of universally requiring a degree, per se, has fallen on deaf ears. The degree bigots don’t want to believe that people can learn to do most jobs with or without a degree.

The exceptions to that statement are in the fields of accounting and science. These days, I might also add computer science. These are fields where college classes teach practical information that is necessary for the job. Most other degrees are really making the graduate "well rounded" intellectually but don’t add a lot to the practical side of getting a job done. I’ve met many employees with a [click to read more ...]

Rumbles

Scratches

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Not Much of a Reduction

Are You Boxed In?

A Little Too Focused on the Job?

What Do You Value Most?

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