HR, technology & the future

9/14/13

This week in the SHRM communities most of the discussions have been focused on the use of social media at work. Everyone agrees that it is a very useful tool for connecting people to one another. Some of us face issues at work where the exchange of information between groups could be improved by a cloud based platform. It would help the employees step outside of their bubble, learn from each other, even gain insight on their respective roles, and find purpose and value in their work. It can contribute to an employee's signature experience. As companies try to consider the best approach to implementing social media in their work culture, the challenge is to define and adopt a version that would best fit into that culture.

One of my questions to the SHRM communities was how does an organization ensure that HR professionals receives the proper training or the necessary guidance on how to choose the best technology for their business?

Here are some thoughts on this question. As HR continues to establish itself as a strategic partner, its role will become more integrated into the business of its organization. It is, and will be called to manage a workforce that needs to develop new skills set constantly. They will be required to play more of a pro-active role 1) in recruiting, by using analytics to identify and attract the best talents, 2) in helping employees develop their career path by designing "incentives, market-based mechanisms and information sharing tools" (De Leon, LaVelle & Cantrell, 2013, p. 8). Based on such premises, successful organizations must treat HR professionals as part of that workforce that will be required to be continuous learners. They must ensure that HR is included in the just-in-time workforce capability; which is defined as a "fluid workforce that learns new skills as an embedded part of everyday work while sharing their skills transparently with others" (De Leon et al, 2013, p. 8).

De Leon et al, (2013) predict that skills will continue to be scarce in the turbulent business environment. HR organizations must be able to develop and source the skills "just in time," as needed


De Leon, D., Lavelle, K., Cantrell, S., (2013). Trends reshaping the future of HR: Tapping skills anywhere, anytime. Accenture. Retrieved from http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-Trends-Reshaping-Future-HR-Skills.pdf

HR and social networking

9/13/13

We've considered the various possible benefits of social media in the workplace. It facilitates the connection between people, as well as the exchange or sharing of information between groups. Companies use it as a tool to seek and acquire talents. Due to its nature, social media has become a channel of information. Some of the larger organizations have adopted their own versions of social media which allow people to interact with each other on a social and business level.

The challenge faced by management is how to monitor these exchanges and prevent them from turning into distraction. The goal of investing in technology and other employee tools is to empower the employees so they can be more productive. If it hampers productivity, the use of such technology and its application in particular business settings must be reevaluated. Custers (2012) says it best, "technology provides HR with incredible opportunities, but the challenge is to use them smartly, in a way that balances the interests of employers and employees".  This challenge explains, in part, companies' reluctance to adopt this technology as they must ensure that its implementation will improve the bottom line.

The lesson here is, in implementing social media as a recruiting tool, it is important for HR to be cautious. Failure to plan this implementation appropriately will lead to attracting a large pools of job seekers versus targeting the right number of qualified applicants, especially in today's high unemployment environment. To avoid this issue, HR must be clear about business strategies and develop the appropriate recruiting tactics, which includes identifying the right wireless, cloud-based, or mobile technology to help target and acquire the best talents.

Custers (2012) emphasizes the importance for HR to move with the times and get the most out of new HR technologies. However the effective use of innovative technologies requires that HR be trained on how to identify them and exploit them.

Rose (2012) identifies the 3 challenges facing HR in 2013 as, finding the right talent, creating opportunities (in the current post recession environment) and managing labor and benefit costs. The common objective in addressing these challenges is to identify strategies that attract, retain and encourage the most valuable staff members in order to satisfy the bottom line.

References:

Custers, M., (2012, December 20). The NGA trends for 2013. NGA. Retrieved from http://blog.northgatearinso.com/blog/nga-trends-2013?elq_mid=&elq_cid=201389
Rose, A., (2012). 3 challenges facing HR in 2013. Hcareers. Retrieved from http://www.hcareers.com/us/resourcecenter/tabid/306/articleid/1190/default.aspx

HR analytics and metrics

9/12/13


In the new global marketplace marked by constant change, organizations must develop effective human capital practices aimed at attracting and retaining the best talents to promote innovation. They rely on HR as a strategic business partner; one who understands the dynamics of business, who's knowledgeable about finance, sales, marketing, etc...; one who is able to express the value of HR practices such as talent retention actions, training activities, recruitment, etc... through effective measurements, facts and numbers, because, "without data, HR professionals cannot credibly participate in strategic discussions" (SHRM, 2002, p.12). As a business partner, HR should be able to use these metrics to demonstrate how HR strategies impact organizational performance metrics such as revenue growth, profit margin, customer loyalty, or the bottom line (SHRM, 2002, p.11).

The increased demand for reliable HR metrics in human capital planning and business planning leads to HR's having to rely on a wide range of  accepted analytic methods, where the economic condition of an organization would dictate which model to choose (SHRM, 2011, pp. 7-8). One of the challenges of using HR analytics is that HR professionals must have the global skills to make sure that the method used is relevant to the culture in which business is conducted as, "globalization is driving more impetus toward the use of metrics with greater cultural sensitivity" (SHRM, 2011, p.7). Another challenge is to ensure that the selected (analytic) method is aligned with current and planned business context.

For example, if I were assigned to hire new talents to support business expansion in Fund Accounting at my current employer, following are some of the questions I would need to clarify with leadership before investing in any recruiting activity. What is the size of the new business in comparison to existing business? What is the value of existing talents? What is the rate of client satisfaction with existing talents? What is the current culture in Fund Accounting? How dedicated are existing employees? How much resource is the division able to or willing to allocate to the training of the new hires? What is the acceptable learning curve for the new hires? Is there any other change activity happening in the division? If yes, how will the two events be integrated and how will the new hires fit in the integration?... Based on the answers to these and other relevant questions, I would search for the appropriate technology and develop the communication system to gather the necessary data and perform analyses. Then, I could develop the strategies to target the right talents for the division; the ones that would drive performance and improve the bottom line.

An SHRM article published in 2002 correctly identified talent management as the "primary workplace challenge in the next decade". To address the challenge, HR would be required to compete for talent by creating the best practices to attract, motivate and retain employees. It would also have to learn to manage diversity in the workplace.

In another SHRM article from 2011, HR is facing the talent management challenge; but in doing so, it faces the increased demand by organizations for such metrics as recruiting, training, retention, turnover... It is required to evaluate the impact of HR practices on the bottom line.


References:

SHRM, (2002, March 6). The future of the HR profession. Retrieved from 
http://www.shrm.org/about/pressroom/documents/future_of_hr.pdf
SHRM, (2011, June 22). The top trends for 2012 according to SHRM’s HR subject matter expert panels. Retrieved from
http://www.shrm.org/Research/FutureWorkplaceTrends/Documents/11-0622%20Workplace%20panel_trends_symp%20v4.pdf

HR & trends in technology

9/11/13

This week we are exploring the various ways HR can take advantage of wireless, cloud, mobile and GPS technologies to respond the complex human capital and productivity management challenges that it is facing and will continue to face. While HR continues to explore the use of social media, both internally and externally, through cloud based technology, it has the potential to transform a company's work culture and create the signature experience for the employees. Social media connects people to one another. It can facilitate the exchange of information between employees and allow them to learn from one another. This learning environment would support HR's effort to maintain an innovative culture.

There is a growing trend for the use of mobile apps in recruiting practices. Vendors are also creating apps that allow employees to use their smartphones to complete their work, to track payroll and attendance. Other vendors concentrate on developing cloud based systems that facilitate organizations' access to potential job candidates (Rafter, 2012). Many companies rely on talent search engines to compete for top talents by tracking candidates' use of social media and their online popularity (Meister, 2013).

Meister (2013) maintains that as companies continue to seek job applicants with higher Klout (online influence) than IQ, the pressure will be on all, including employers, workers and job applicants, to work on developing their personal brands. Through cloud based services, recruiters will find job applicants before they know they are looking for jobs.

In response to employees increased demands for a more integrated digital experience, Rafter (2012) gives an idea of some of the trends in applications that have been developed as well as the ones that are being created to provide access to payroll, attendance, time management, in addition to improvement made to recruiting apps.

Kutik (2011) shares some of the hottest trends in HR technology. One such trend is work management software which help employees manage their assignment and give leaders insight into the employees' work so they know when to intervene. This tool help provides for efficient management.

 

 

References:

Meister, J., (2013, January 3). 2013: the year of social HR. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2013/01/03/2013-the-year-of-social-hr/

Rafter, M. (2012). Mobile HR apps picking up steam. Workforce. Retrieved from: 

http://www.workforce.com/articles/mobile-hr-apps-picking-up-steam

Kutic, B., (2011, September 16). The hottest trends in HR technology. HRE. Retrieved from http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=533341158

 

 

Employee retention

9/08/13

As we continue to explore HR's roles as change champion and innovator and integrator, I am curious to find out more information on some of the best ideas for employee retention strategies from the SHRM communities. In the meantime, here are some useful ones I came upon in my research this week, besides the stay interview which I addressed in my previous blog.

1) Any comprehensive strategy should focus on, performance (employee needs to feel that her talent is linked to business performance), communication (if effective, provides insight on employee morale), loyalty (employee responds to trust , respect and appreciation), and competitive advantage (employee wants to work for a winner; be sure to share the uniqueness of your company with employee to create the signature experience) (Entrepreneur, n.d.).

2) Recruit the right people in the first place. That includes, ensure accurate match between role and candidate, shorten list of qualified applicants by using an automated skills-based system, secure top candidates quickly, coordinate all onboarding activity to ensure that new hires are productive ASAP, as the decision to stay with a company are usually made within the first 6 months (Oracle, 2012).

3) Invest in your line managers. It is estimated that 80% of turnover is a result of employee dissatisfaction with manager (Lagunas, 2012). This statement reminds me of one of my classmates' stories this week. She nearly transferred out of her current department due to her manager's inability to connect with the workers. The manager had the technical skills but lacked the ability to relate to people to get the work done. The environment was one of frustration. It is crucial that line managers be trained on how to empower employees to succeed. The company must ensure that they are able to deliver on established HR initiatives (Lagunas, 2012).


References:

Entrepreneur, (n.d.). How to create a winning employee retention strategy. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/76456

Lagunas, K., (2012, July 17). 5 Employee retention strategies for a high performance environment. Talent Management. Retrieved from http://www.tlnt.com/2012/07/17/5-employee-retention-strategies-for-a-high-performance-environment/

Oracle, (2012, June). Talent retention: six technology-enabled best practices. Retrieved from http://www.oracle.com/us/media1/talent-retention-6-best-practices-1676595.pdf

HR as the change agent

9/07/13

As we continue to explore the topic of HR, the change agent, it is important to note that in some cases, change initiatives fail due to HR's failure to be the credible activist. The one who's called to implement and sustain change through reliable and consistent practices. In such cases, the change is treated as an event rather than the sustained pattern of events that would lead to a successful change process. The failure can also be due to a lack of accountability. To lead change effectively, leaders must hold themselves accountable as well as holding employees accountable. HR leaders must work with management to address training issues and develop the necessary tools to equip employees and leaders to support the change. HR must also be sure to develop communication practices that will facilitate the sharing of information between the various teams involved in the change process (Ulrich et al, 2012, ch. 6).

 At work, a few years ago the implementation of an automated system changed our team's function. In the initial phases of the implementation, HR was not too effective at addressing people's concerns and fears about the change. Although it was involved in monitoring the communication between the teams and stakeholders, perhaps due to a lack of understanding or knowledge of the context for the change, it did not do a good job at articulating the anticipating business changes that would result from the implementation. As a result, initially the change did not obtain the employee buy-in that would lead to a seamless process. As this began to affect daily business operations, eventually HR's role became that of the much needed credible activist and change champion. As it gained more knowledge on the business context it was able share details about the process with the employees and get the much needed buy-in. HR's roles included addressing training needs, keeping everyone informed of new initiatives and opportunities, including business expansion that would result from this change. HR continues to play a leading role in sustaining efforts for the system to this day.

Susan Heathfield (n.d.) suggests that executing successful change requires minimizing employee dissatisfaction and resistance to change. In today's business environment the HR professional is required to function as a change mentor.

Mind Tools (n.d.) provides some ideas on how to implement change powerfully and successfully. Based on Kotter's 8-step change model, change should be planned carefully, with the proper foundation and patience to improve the chances of success. Successfully implemented changes become part of an organization's culture.


References:

Heathfield, S., (n.d.). The new role s of the human resources professional. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/hrbasicsfaq/a/hr_role.htm

Mind Tools, (n.d.). Kotter's 8-step change model: Implementing change powerfully and successfully. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm

Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, & Ulrich,M . (2012). HR from the outside in: six competencies for the future of human resources. SRHM. ISBN978-0071802666

     

 

HR innovator and integrator

9/06/13

In exploring this topic, we analyze HR's role by focusing on 5 factors as outlined in HR From The Outside In.
1) In optimizing human capital through workforce planning and analytics, HR is required to identify strengths and weaknesses in delivering business strategies and develop the necessary training to address skills deficiencies. 2) In developing talent, HR must assess the organization's level of capability through individual and collective talents in respect to future customer demands. Its role is to work with leaders to develop the roles that will best respond to these anticipated client expectations.  3)In shaping organization and communication practices, HR ensures that teams operate with clear goals and a sense of purpose. Conducting a communication audit can help HR evaluate the quality of the ongoing communication as a measure of organizational effectiveness. Having the right communication practices promote team success. 4) In driving performance, HR innovator and integrator, seeks to link the employees work with the customers' needs and expectations. It is important to set performance goals that are in line with business strategies. 5) in helping leaders build the leadership brand, HR should aim at building a set of leaders with the appropriate skills and attitudes; who are able to lead the organization now and into the future.

One innovative concept for talent retention that I enjoyed learning about was the "why do you stay interview" or, simply known as the stay interview.  In this talent retention approach, HR talks to top performing employees who choose to stay and work for the organization. The goals in conducting such interviews are, to obtain information from the employees about HR practices that work and those that can be improved, developed, in an effort to retain the best talents, and to address potential issues and prevent turnovers (Sullivan, 2012).

My employer would definitely benefit from conducting stay interviews. My role as an HR innovator and integrator in this case would be to set principles in place that would reassure the interviewed employee that information gathered from the interview would be used for research, talent development and retention purposes. The employee would need to be confident that information provided would not be used against her. She would also need to be confident in my ability to provide her with the best career guidance, training and other necessary support that would facilitate her ability to be productive and support business goals. As an HR manager, I would be sure to train the leaders to ask the right questions that would help understand the employee's feelings on company culture growth and recognition (Kalman, 2012). The effectiveness of the technique is not in the question asked but in the framing of the question.

It is important to obtain honest information from such interviews. Because HR and the organization could rely on it to develop effective strategies to build and sustain a workforce that supports the company's goals and objectives.  My employer, like other organizations, has lost talented employees due to failure by management to identify issues such as: lack of purpose and meaning in doing the work, lack of challenge, personal issues, conflicts with co-workers and leaders...

Internationally known HR thought-leader, Dr. John Sullivan (2012) provides some insights on stay interview in an article. In it he states that while an exit interview is useful to determine the reason employees leave, because it occurs after the fact, it does not give the employer an opportunity to prevent turnovers. The stay interview can help fix this problem.

Another article that can help understand the stay interview concept is by Frank Kalman of Talent Management. He cautions that as the concept continues to gain popularity, it is important that HR work with leaders to be trained on framing stay interview questions. after all, the goal is to retain the top performers, not to drive them away. 

Another article that is line with helping employees find meaning in their work in an effort to prevent turnovers, is from Talent Management, authored by Sue Marks (2013). She believes that in order to drive innovation, HR's challenge is to create an environment where employees are encouraged and feel comfortable taking small risks.


References:

Marks, S., (2013, January 18). Seven steps to drive innovation. Talent Management. Retrieved from http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/seven-steps-to-drive-innovation/1

Kalman, F., (2012, June 12). How to measure engagement with a stay interview. Talent Management. Retrieved from http://talentmgt.com/articles/view/how-to-measure-engagement-with-a-stay-interview

Sullivan, J., (2012, August 27). 13 more bold and outrageous HR practices that may indicate your approach is too conservative (part 2 of 2). ERE. Retrieved from http://www.ere.net/2012/08/27/bold-and-outrageous-hr-practices-that-may-indicate-your-approach-is-too-conservative-part-2-of-2/

Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, & Ulrich,M . (2012). HR from the outside in: six competencies for the future of human resources. SRHM. ISBN978-0071802666

HR the change champion

9/5/13

This week in HRM501, one of the class discussion topics has been the role of HR as a change agent. As a strategic business partner, HR has the ability to initiate change as well as sustain it. Regardless of the nature of the change, HR's role is to bring discipline to the process. That includes ensuring that leaders are on board with the change. They understand and accept the need for the change. The world is constantly changing and the consumers' changing needs and demands are a reflection of world trends. Therefore, it is also important for HR to understand the business context, the reason for the change and how it will impact the organization's culture and structure. This background information will enable HR to develop the proper communication strategy to encourage employee buy-in, create engaging activities that promote employee motivation and provide the necessary support to leaders in order to ensure a seamless process (Communication at Work).

Communication at Work (n.d.) article provides some useful tips on how to get started on implementing change successfully. From understanding the business context for the change to ensuring a seamless process, leaders need to identify the best approach for their particular situation. Avoid the one size fits all approach.

Communication at Work, (n.d.). Change strategies that engage employees not simply inform. Retrieved from
http://www.communicationatwork.com/change-management-5-tips-for-implementing-change/

HR and credibility

9/01/13

As we continued to explore HR as a credible activist, one of the valuable lessons that I learned was the importance of establishing a relationship built on trust. Although all 4 factors of credible activist are interrelated, the trust factor is the foundation that allows HR to collaborate with others and be able to influence and relate to them, and to grow as a powerful voice within an organization. Its role as a strategic and trusted business partner is to build strategies that support a company's mission and vision. As a trusted HR manager, leadership must be able to rely on my advice on recruiting tactics as they make plans for new business; because they are aware of my track record of delivering results with integrity and my consistency in building effective business practices.  In the short run, a desired level of trust may not be necessarily established during specific periods of change within an organization, however based on how the initial relationship is built, it will constitute the foundation for establishing long term trust and credibility by HR.

The Balanced Scorecard Institute (n.d.), as a resource, provides some good definitions for strategic processes in support of HR's effort to build trust and credibility. The overall goal of strategic planning is to align all the resources of an organization to create actions in order to adjust its strategic position in response to change.

Establishing trust makes it easier for HR to influence employees. Mind Tools (n.d.) as a resource covers Cialdini's six principles of influence. Among them is commitment (and consistency) which helps to build the trust. The employees can rely on HR's ability and desire to fulfill its obligations towards them.

The constant desire to provide consistent and reliable results, and be trustworthy by an HR professional implies that she is self-aware, and committed to building her profession as a credible activist, according to The RBL Group (2012).

References:

Balance Scorecard Institute, (n.d.) Strategic planning basics. Retrieved from http://www.balancedscorecard.org/BSCResources/StrategicPlanningBasics/tabid/459/Default.aspx

Mind Tools, (n.d.). Cialdini's six principles of influence. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/six-principles-influence.htm

The RBL Group, (2012). The 2012 HR competency model. Michigan Ross School of Business. Retrieved from http://rbl.net/index.php/hrcs/index/overview

 

 

Capability builder & signature experience

8/31/13

This week, we also explored the role of HR as a capability builder.

An organization is defined as a distinct set of capabilities. HR's role as a capability builder is to help define and build such capabilities (The RBL Group, 2012). This action can be fulfilled by conducting a capability audit which provides leaders with a picture of their capabilities and allows them to work on improving these and building new ones according to the company's strategic direction and vision (Ulrich et al, 2012, ch. 5). By conducting a capability audit, HR is also acquiring information that helps it shape the future of the organization, its unique story and define a brand strategy with the purpose of attracting talents that will fit in to it.

In a presentation by Tamara Erickson titled "Signature experience: finding your firm's unique path to employee engagement" (2007), she offers some meaningful insights on how to engage the future workforce. She maintains that although there are no universal practices, the influential pattern is as follows: individual preferences, corporation's values, HR policies and practices and day-to-day work environment.

In class, as we considered the importance for an organization to be clear in defining its brand in order to be the employer of choice for prospective employees, I also realized that for a major corporation whose history and culture are well established , creating a signature experience on a large scale must be a significant challenge. It must require HR creativity. In this context, one my questions to the SHRM communities was:
   
     Would it be more beneficial for a big corporation to define its signature experience on a smaller
     scale? Perhaps broken down into business segments or based on individual roles and 
     responsibilities?

Dobrin (2013) replied that based on her experience with both large and small corporations, the smaller scale provides for a more intimate experience which can be beneficial in the long run. I understand her position on this question because the intimate setting facilitates HR's ability to work closely with management to support the employee throughout her tenure. This interaction helps maintain the signature (employee) experience. Brand strategist and author Brett Minchington (2011) proposes that "Companies that segment and align the employee lifecycle as part of their employer brand strategy will benefit from maintaining high levels of engagement, productivity, customer satisfaction and profit".

The screen shot below is of a brief capability assessment of the audit team at work. Overall, the results show that it is a solid group of committed and talented individuals who work together to deliver accurate and timely information to the clients. We are strong on articulating and sharing strategic point of views and strategic agenda, especially during times of business expansion. Although we have a solid leadership team, we need to develop an effective method that would lead to building leadership depth through the group.

References:

Minchington, B.,  (2011, November 23). Delivering a signature employment experience. Retrieved from http://brettminchington.com/free-resources/strategy/130-delivering-a-signature-employment-experience.html

Erickson, T., (2007, April 26). Signature experiences: finding your firm's unique path to employee engagement. Bright Horizons. Retrieved from 
http://www.brighthorizons.com/conference/PP/Bright%20Horizons_Signature%20Experiences_TJE.pdf

The RBL Group, (2012). The 2012 HR competency model. Michigan Ross School of Business. Retrieved from http://rbl.net/index.php/hrcs/index/overview

Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, & Ulrich,M . (2012). HR from the outside in: six competencies for the future of human resources. SRHM. ISBN978-0071802666

The Factors of HR as a credible activist

8/30/13

This week we continued to focus on HR as a credible activist by analyzing the four competency factors that define it. They are, earning trust through results, influencing and relating to others, improving through self-awareness and shaping the HR profession (Ulrich, Younger & Brockbank, 2012, ch. 4). Our observation was that while the factors seemed to be interrelated, establishing trust through results or work with integrity is the most important factor of being a credible activist. Although there are circumstances where the HR manager may not have the time to establish trust, as during organization restructure, she must still develop some methods for establishing a relationship with the employees in the short run, in order to have some meaningful influence on their ability to remain engaged, maintain productivity and a sense of urgency.

Suppose I were hired as an HR professional to lead an organization through a period of restructure. My short term goal would be to obtain collaboration and maintain productivity. That would require an initial relationship. I would have to schedule activities that would allow leadership to listen to employees. I would conduct surveys, organize employee discussions and focus groups. These steps would involve AARs to include as many employees as possible at various states of the process. Then, I would work with leadership to communicate decisions based on employees feedback. The communication would address their concerns, inform them of the availability of training opportunities that could help them reinvent themselves and grow with the company. I would use such modes of communication as town hall and one-on-one meetings, as well as emails and web casts for reinforcement. Then I would be sure to work with managers to recognize accomplishments, big and small, individual and collective, in public and in private, to motivate all toward success (Czinege, n.d.). These measures might not build trust in the short run but they would help establish an initial relationship with the employees in order to influence them to keep the pace and maintain productivity. They would be the foundation for long term HR credibility.  

Change Communication specialist Aniko Czinege (n.d.) provides some ideas on how to establish relationship and lift employee morale in a world of constant change. The HR leader must, 1) listen to the employees by allowing them to voice their concerns and then by asking for their suggestions and feedback, 2) communicate management solutions to employees' concerns and business issues, then provide consistent, reliable, timely and honest information (in order to build a long term relationship with trust), and 3) recognize individual and group accomplishments to build motivation.

Nagy & Wolff (n.d.) also maintain that to relate to others the leader must be flexible, respectful of their ideas and decisive. Her degree of influence will be dictated by the strength of the relationship established between HR and the employees.


References:

Czinege, A., (n.d.). The Three-Stage strategy to improving employee morale. Melcrum. Retrieved from https://www.melcrum.com/research/engage-employees-strategy-and-change/three-stage-strategy-improving-employee-morale

Nagy, J., Wolff, R., (n.d.). Influencing people. Community Tool Box – University of Kansas. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1137.aspx

Ulrich, D., Younger, J., Brockbank, & Ulrich,M . (2012). HR from the outside in: six competencies for the future of human resources. SRHM. ISBN978-0071802666

Defining the signature experience

8/29/13

One of the topics covered this week in HRM501 has been the definition of a signature experience for an employee and its importance in supporting the employer brand strategy. A signature experience is the practice of hiring the right people to fit into an organization's culture. It is an overall employee experience that serves as a powerful symbol of that organization's culture (Erickson & Gratton, 2007, p. 1). Through the discussions, we have learned from various examples that a failure by an organization to provide a clear picture of its brand, its history and its culture could lead to hiring the wrong people, which could ultimately result in damaging its reputation. For example, if the nature of a business is fast-paced and requires multi-tasking, a failure to convey that message in recruiting efforts may mislead someone into thinking that he could get by working at the organization with just the proper training. He may not necessarily want to work in or be the right fit for that type of environment but he gets recruited due to a failure by the recruiting team to clarify its culture. He did not obtain the full picture. As a result, his inability to fit into the culture and help meet and exceed clients' expectations could lead to significant negative impact on the organization relationship with its clients.

An article by strategist and author Brett Minchington (2011) provides some clear insights on the importance of looking at the entire employee life cycle in order to provide an efficient signature (employee) experience. He stresses that by paying attention to the changes in employees' needs and motivators throughout their tenure, the organization would be able to create measures to address these changes in order to maintain employee engagement, productivity and profit.

Erickson and Gratton (2007) define the signature (employee) experience as a powerful symbol of an organization. It is created by a bundle of everyday routines that are unique to a company's culture and reflect its heritage.

Also on SHRM, my position on the signature experience has been that HR's role, as a capability builder, is to help employees find meaning and a sense of purpose from the work that they do. This sense of accomplishment can be a motivator that leads to increased productivity. It creates a signature experience that has the potential of attracting the right talent pool, according to Kibam Wilson's (SHRM) views. He also added that this right talent pool can help the company attain higher performance, which may ultimately lead to business expansion.


References:

Erickson, T., Gratton, L., (2007, March). What it means to work here. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/2007/03/what-it-means-to-work-here/ar/2

Minchington, B., (2011, November 23). Delivering a signature employment experience. Retrieved from 
http://brettminchington.com/free-resources/strategy/130-delivering-a-signature-employment-experience.html

Strategic role of HR in an organization (part 2)

According to the 2012 HRCS research findings, to be an effective HR manager, I must display 6 domains of competencies.
1) As a strategic positioner I must adopt the outside-in concept. As an HR professional working for a custodian bank, I need to be aware for example that the role of sub-custodians will change once the new method of trade settlement is implemented in the near future. The custodian will have to adjust some existing functions and develop strategies to protect clients' interests. My role is to help leadership make strategic choices (including hiring, training, retaining talents) that lead to strong business results.
An SHRM article by Jennifer Schramm (2012) supports this concept. She reports that some companies are adding the value of their staff to their balance sheet as they continue to recognize the impact of effective HR practices on business results when they are strategically linked. Lawler & Boudreau (2009) also maintain that as a strategic business partner, the HR leader is required to make strategic decisions for an organization.

2) As a credible activist and HR manager, I must be able to focus on financial performance while providing support to the workforce behind the performance (The RBL Group, 2012). I must be trustworthy, reliable, efficient and influential in building a cultural environment that promotes productivity. To continue with the above example, one of my roles as a credible activist is to provide clear and reliable information that motivates employee to support company initiatives.
A Harvard Business Review article by Craig Mundy (2012) provides some ideas on this concept. As a credible activist, the HR professional must take actions that create flow in the business; which implies "removing barriers and promoting better performance".

3) As an HR manager who is a capability builder I must work to align individual talents with specific functions; an alignment that ultimately leads to organization success (The RBL Group, 2012)  In regards to changes in the financial services industry, I must find ways to allow people to best use their skills as they work to support the company's strategic efforts in response to the anticipated change in the trade settlement platform. The Hay Group article cited in the prior posting supports this idea in stating that "It's crucial to analyze work if people resources are to be best deployed to deliver on business objectives" (Hay Group, n.d.).

4) As a change champion, I must be able convince people of the need for change and help them adapt to it. In other words, the new automated settlement platform may be viewed by financial services employees as a new process that will lead to job elimination. As an efficient HR manager, I must be able to talk to employees about the opportunities that will be created as a result of this change. I must help build training practices that will enable them to work on reinventing themselves and grow with the company.

5) As an innovator and integrator I must be able to combine administrative roles with strategic skills to solve business problems. The following articles provide some great insights on this concept. Erna Oldenboom, from the University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business, maintains that the current global organizational structure needs strong HR support. As a result, it "cannot afford to have an HR function that fails to contribute to and even lead modern thinking" (How We Made It in Africa, 2013). In an Academy of Management Executive article, Rynes, Brown & Colbert (2002)suggest that HR managers must keep themselves informed of latest HR research findings; they must be aware of latest practices that lead to business results.

6) As a technology proponent, my role as an HR manager is to facilitate access to HR functions (training, benefits, record keeping, other), to information and between people through technology. To continue with financial services example, using the intranet, I can communicate the various phases of the change process to employees. In a recent Forbes article, Galer (2013) suggests that technology plays an important role in HR as a strategic partner. He maintains that with the right software, HR can help determine a company's ability to function through the various business cycles.

In looking for a response to my question regarding financial services HR professional's ability to maintain credibility in the face of constant technological changes (see SHRMConnect links below for detail question), I was able to obtain some video resources which covered the importance of "accountability" in fulfilling the various HR functions. Beverly Kaye, CEO of Career Systems Intl and Pam Benzona of Performance e-Source discuss this key component of credibility. The new hire must be held accountable based on his agreed upon function and organization standards. The production manager or HR manager must be held accountable for taking specific steps to self-improvement and to do what he promises to do (SHRM, 2012). Maintaining a sense of accountability promotes a credible HR that can effectively lead its organization through change.



 http://community.shrm.org/Communities/ViewDiscussions/ViewThread/?GroupId=1303&MID=16921
 http://community.shrm.org/Communities/ViewDiscussions/ViewThread/?GroupId=145&MessageKey=f3590d0d-7493-474a-ab02-a8a6ecb42063

References:

Hay Group, (n.d.). Next generation HR: connecting strategy, people and work. Retrieved from http://www.haygroup.com/ww/press/details.aspx?id=33887

How We Made It in Africa, (2013, July 19). HR as a strategic business partner for success. Retrieved from http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/hr-as-a-strategic-business-partner-for-success/28335/

Galer, S., (2013, August 15). How analytics is transforming HR into a Strategic business partner. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2013/08/15/how-analytics-is-transforming-hr-into-a-strategic-business-partner/

Lawler, E., Boudreau, J., (2009). What makes HR a strategic partner? University of Southern California. Retrieved from
http://ceo.usc.edu/pdf/g09-01.pdf

Mundy, C., (2012, July 5). Why HR still isn't a strategic partner. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from   
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/why_hr_still_isnt_a_strategic_partner.html
 

 Rynes, S., Brown, K., & Colbert, A., (2002). Seven common misconceptions about human resource practices: research findings versus practitioner beliefs. Academy of Management Executive, (16) 3. Retrieved from https://www2.bc.edu/~jonescq/articles/rynes_AME_2002.pdf

 Schramm, J., (2012, July 1). Effective HR practices drive profit. SHRM. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/Publications/hrmagazine/EditorialContent/2012/1112/Pages/1112focus.aspx

SHRM, (2012). SHRM Video. http://www.shrm.org/multimedia/video/vid_archive/Pages/110726_kaye2.aspx

The RBL Group, (2012). The 2012 HR competency model. Michigan Ross School of Business. Retrieved from http://rbl.net/index.php/hrcs/index/overview