I am in the process of reading “Principle-Centred Leadership by Stephen R. Covey – his follow up to “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. I was expecting a bit more of leadership manual or map, but instead the focus of the book is on building yourself from the inside out – working on what you have inside you before working on what is around you.

There is one quote a little ways into the book that stuck out to me. Stephen quotes Johann Wolfgang Goethe, “Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is; treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.”

This got me thinking about how we mentor, develop and manage talent internally in organizations. I have been very fortunate over the years to work for managers that see the value in developing talent. Managers that have allowed me to grow and pursue my goals. At the same time, this has also meant a lot of effort on my part growing skills outside of my functional arena. In some cases, I have been able to lead projects and initiatives that leveraged the skills and expertise of others to achieve a common goal and share that knowledge. Other times it was involvement, determination, will and self-learning through perseverance that helped me to grow.

I think the quote emphasizes what great companies must focus on to remain great and competitive. That is, recognizing the potential of people and growing the talent of high potential individuals – or, at least providing a corporate ecosystem that does not hinder or hold back those seeking to grow from the inside out. Call it talent management or succession planning, Goethe nailed it many many years ago, Covey has harnessed the idea and many organizations have leveraged those learnings. Have you?

Well, I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – the protection of not only private customer data, but also private employee data is paramount. Companies need to have policies, programs AND practices (yes, practices – the policies and programs need to work) in place to govern the use of employee data.

By use, I mean what can and should be stored on a laptop or a desktop. If on a local hard drive, there should be backup and encryption software in place. Your IT people might be doing this, but are your HR and Finance people or consultants and auditors doing this?

Here’s a cut and past of yet another MAJOR security breach of employee data this week. This is the second one in a year for Boeing. You’d think they would have done something after the first one to prevent it from happening again. Here, read for yourself:

Personal information of thousands of Boeing workers stolen

WICHITA, Kansas, Dec. 12, 2006 – The identities of hundreds of thousands of Boeing workers might be at risk. Someone stole a laptop containing their personal information.

KSN talked with a Boeing spokesperson Tuesday night who said this does affect workers in Wichita and across the country. Everyone who is at risk will be notified by Wednesday through e-mail.

Boeing officials say they will do everything possible to protect their employees. The company has confirmed the computer had the names of 382,000 past and present Boeing workers.

Former employees will receive letters in the mail if their names were on the laptop.

Company officials say they do know exactly what was on the computer, and that it did contain personal information. That laptop was stolen from an employee’s car during the first week of December, but Boeing won’t say in what state that crime took place.

Meanwhile, credit reports and background information is being compiled and employees will be able to sign up for a free 3-year credit monitoring program through Boeing.

Boeing officials say no one has used this information to commit any crimes like identity theft yet.

Now this isn’t the first time this has happened to Boeing workers. Last November, someone stole a laptop containing the names and personal information of 161,000 current and former employees.

Boeing officials said they’re not aware of any identity-theft problems from last year’s theft.

We’ll bring you the latest information as it becomes available.

Boeing has set up an Employee Emergency Information website where you can get more information about this case.

Story Created: Dec 12, 2006 at 7:48 PM CST
Story Updated: Dec 13, 2006 at 10:48 AM CST

Article courtesy of KSN news and original article should be available HERE.

I’ve been quite intrigued lately by the thought of comparing a startup HR role (in a startup company or business unit) vs that of one in an established HR department at an established company. Now, I will make the assumption here that in doing a comparison, that the established HR function for comparative purposes is one of few or a sole HR practitioner. The other differential that pops into my head as I write this is that of an existing company or business unit that has been outsourcing HR and decides to bring it in house – or one that is integrating or amalgamating HR or an entire business. My interest for the purposes of this self discussion, maybe even monologue, will be in that primarily of the former two – in what it takes to “start up” an HR function, but will focus also on the later as well. I may mix in any number of additional ingredients or elements as I muddle my way through this recipe.

I’m a seasoned HR professional, talented in any number of functional areas of HR. As I’ve been job hunting recently, it has occurred to me to look internally at my own skill sets as well. My strengths and passions lie in business problem solving with an HR twist (that sounds like it might make a tasty cocktail). That is to say, taking employee or staffing problems or dilemmas that face a business or business unit and applying HR expertise through troubleshooting, problem solving and the application of logical and lateral thinking. I think some of my stronger traits that shine through here are creativity, persistence, planning, organization and of course many of the functional HR skills I have learned such as organizational development, recruitment, career development, etc. I’m still working on mapping each of these to one environment versus another. Let’s bring it down one more level.

I hate doing a task for the sake of doing it. It has to mean something to me, have a purpose, make an impact and promote a change for the better. However, these are usually the tasks that require creativity in thinking, additional planning and strong change management processes. As long as the right ingredients are in play, then I’ll roll up my sleeves and jump in head first as quickly as the next guy. I’ll get things done, regardless of how menial or how strategic – I just need to know why. These are traits that I feel are just inherent or are not – maybe coachable, rarely teachable. Where might some of these types of skills come in to play?

The challenge I see for any company looking to start up an HR department either as a new function or part of the initial start up, is in finding talent that thinks innovatively and from the ground up in the early stages, but can either grow or adapt the skills and approach to think more strategically in the long term. It’s not that one replaces the other, but rather a sliding scale with slight trade-offs where the “in the trenches” and split second decision making approach moves along the scale to broader sharing of tasks and expertise, perhaps across a bigger team, and more complex decision making. Adaptability and flexibility remain key through the entire lifespan of this type of employee.

I see one of the biggest challenges as the assessment of what to tackle first and how to best implement short and long term visions. There is a pairing of business strategy and HR strategy that needs to occur early on and be monitored closely and reviewed regularly as time progresses. HR needs to focus on priorities – which of course are subject to the nature and needs of the business. Some priorities might include staffing, payroll and benefits functions, ensuring legislative compliance and creating some documentation. Secondary priorities might include developing a performance management system, communicating values and building a learning and development framework. From there, and as time passes, there may be a need to begin looking at job descriptions, compensation structures, RRSP and/or retirement programs and other employee programs (ie. Fitness, education allowance, computer purchase).

On a small HR team in a small company or business unit, perhaps even being one HR person in the early days, it is even more imperative that the business model is understood by the HR person. There is little time to learn the business with “all hands on deck” and HR needs to effectively partner with Finance, Sales, Marketing, IT, and so on. HR needs to fit in and be able to speak at par with the CFO and the CEO. Once again, making this a key person to find – one who has the motivation, knowledge and desire in start up days to act like an entrepreneur, but the foresight, skill and potential to see through the longevity of growth. Especially where this person needs to be self-mentoring, self-starting and self-motivated in many cases.

By comparison, an established HR function or role can be one that has parameters set by the company or past incumbents. It can be of a generalist or business partner nature, or may be a specialist or functionally specific. Quite often, the size of the client group is well established and changes little over time. Challenges in these situations are often quite different that than of a start up opportunity. Some challenges may be the same. Often more resources are available in established departments and there are greater opportunities for formal learning and development partnerships. Creativity is welcome, but expertise and past precedent is often sought after. Knowledge is king and respect is garnered through delivery of specific results.

While industry, scope and aspects of a role will change, invariably, the role of the HR professional is to adapt to the environment. Appropriate selection of an individual by a company and company by an individual will play a role in success, but it is the flexibility and adaptability of a great key player that will drive success in any role. I strongly believe that great talent will not be confined by an industry, by a title or by any preconceived set of parameters, but will define his or her own parameters that suit the occasion. No organization should limit the scope of any role to a pre-defined box, rather, it should seek out the potential in an individual with the motivation, drive and performance to rise to the occasion – a mix of talent, past success and opportunity for stretch.

Here’s something I found quite some time ago. So long ago, that I cannot find the original source or an electronic copy of it anywhere in my records or out there on the web. I had to take a scan of the only paper copy I had.

This one is for the recruiters out there. It’s titled, “Resumes of the Stars”.

I’ve had some people ask me in the past how to identify top talent. How to select the right people for a job. How to motivate people long term. How to retain top performers.

Asking some of those questions is like trying to shoot an apple of someone’s head with a crossbow. There are some basic guiding principles that need to be in place with a certain degree of skill, knowledge and discipline to perfect, but the rest is dependent on the distance from the “target”, the direction and speed of the wind, the tension of the cable and foremost, the person doing the shooting. Likewise, motivating or retaining an employee relies on the intrinsic values of the employee, existing knowledge and skill sets, willingness to learn, development/career opportunities available at your company and foremost, the ability of the employee to “shoot” for the target.

From a general perspective, here are some of the basics you will want to ensure are in place:

1. Effective performance management – Not just a system here to go through the motions, but one that truly ties performance to compensation, that ties feedback and competencies to learning and development and one that clearly ties the value of accountability to both the manager and the employee. Effective performance management should also tie in to a career planning framework that may also dovetail into talent management or succession planning.

2. Employee relations – Get this right. Have effective partnering with employees, managers and leaders in the business. Ensure a model is in place that allows three way dialogue and fosters trust along any one of those branches – employee and HR, employee and manager, HR and manager. The model should also be clear on role expectations, escalation and provide for adequate training and guidance.

3. Mentoring and coaching – For both employees and managers. Nothing can stifle the development of a high potential employee more than an ill equipped manager. Ensure that managers have the right “toolbox” and expertise to motivate and develop their employees. If not, train them. Remember that typically employees don’t leave their employers, they leave their managers. At the same time, employees need to feel that they are contributing, being developed and have opportunities within the company.

4. Learning and Development – Consider this like the coaching, but where the manager providing coaching is a process, learning and development are rendering resources to your employees. Make sure that you have materials and learning opportunities available to employees – courses, books, videos, on-line tutorials, external classes or facilitators.

5. Employee Engagement – Make your workplace a compelling place to be. This is a whole topic unto itself (and one that I have already commented on). Find out what makes your workplace fun, unique and a great place to be. Leverage those things. Promote them internally, build them into your referral program and market them externally.

The above 5 points are by no means an exhaustive list to capturing, motivating and retaining top talent. As I mentioned, what works for one workplace, or one generation or one country may not work for the next. The trick is to factor in all relevant inputs so that when you fire that arrow it hits the target. You can only imagine the outcome if you don’t get it right – well, in your workplace, you can only imagine the hard costs as well as lost opportunity, morale and other costs involved in not getting the right hire or in poor retention.

To finish things off, you’re probably wondering about the selection piece, as most of what I have written about has dealt with employees in a post-hire situation. Well, to preface, if you get some of those other things right, finding the right candidate will be a lot easier. If you have a reputation of a great place to work, you will likely attract a higher caliber of applicant. In fact, if you improve retention, you will not need to fill as many positions – think of all the extra time the recruitment team will have to focus on targeted selection strategies and how much time the ER team will have to work with operational parts of the business on workforce solutions when they don’t have to deal with morale issues or terminations.

Let top talent come to you. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Take a good hard look at your recruitment process. Make sure you are not eliminating or missing stellar individuals because your ATS (or recruiters) are keyword searching and ranking resumes. Find a way to assess candidates based on skill, contributions – tap in to your networks, candidate networks to find more information. Google your candidates looking for accomplishments, contributions to companies and non-profit organizations. Do further research on tools like ZoomInfo, Jobster, or Linked In. Look for candidates that are well rounded, have interests and hobbies outside of work. When you do interview those people – focus on those accomplishments, those successes and draw out true personality and intentions. Get the fit right, and the motivation and retention will come easy.

Looks like I’ve come full circle. Recruit great, get good fit, motivate and engage with the right levers, increase retention, build company reputation – recruit less AND attract better quality candidates. Sounds easy? Great. Not quite there yet? The whole process is in fact quite cyclical, so start with the quick wins and build out from there. Don’t be afraid to seek input and answers from your best employees, colleagues, leaders and business partners.

Here is a short laundry list of different metrics you might consider tracking as part of a dashboard or balanced scorecard. You can look at using formal Business Intelligence tools or you may choose to start small with a core set of impactful metrics and grow as you get more comfortable in measuring. The trick is not simply in measuring, but in how the measurements can be used to drive improvements and instill accountability. The experienced HR practitioner can both analyze the data and translate results to business performance improvements – therein lies the magic!

Recruitment
Voluntary Terminations
Involuntary Terminations
# of new positions made available
# of replacement positions made available
# of campus positions made available
Campus offer acceptance rate
# of external hires
# of internal hires (transfers)
Time to fill/hire
Cost per hire
Positions filled through succession planning
Offer acceptance rate

Benefits
EAP utilization
STD claim rates (as a % of population)
LTD claim rates
# Lost time injuries
# Reportable injuries
Amount of lost time (days)
Average benefit cost per employee

Learning
# of learning opportunities offered
% of eligible population who received training
Average # of training hours per eligible employee
Satisfaction of training participants
# of internship/exchange programs offered
Training cost per eligible employee
Training $ as a % of payroll

Performance / OD
% turnover of high performing / high potential employees
Difference in compensation between high and low performers
Average performance ratings
Average salary increases (and/or bonus payouts)
% use of formal development plans

Labour Relations
Grievance rate
Successful CBAs negotiated (with labour disruption or lockout)
# of strike negotiations
# of lockout negotiations
# of strike days
# of lockout days

Various
Employee satisfaction (via key business survey indicators)
Employee satisfaction of HR service (HR client survey)
HR to FTE ratio
HR Cost per employee
HR Budget as a % of total operating budget
HR technology enablement (measured via accessibility, enhancements, Self service, etc)
# of scholarships awarded

Thinking about implementing some formalized metrics or a Balanced Scorecard approach?

Here are some key challenges to implementation:

~Support & Buy In : Transparency of support and acceptance from senior executives through to HR managers and front-line HR staff
~Change Management : A mind shift from reporting and measuring as an administrative task to that of a strategic tool, at all levels! (Create and communicate some kind of value to participants)
~Data Collection : Having the tools and methodologies in place to collect accurate, up to date and detailed information in a timely and efficient manner
~Training & Resources : People having the knowledge to perform data collection and the allocated time to do so
~Monitoring & Implementation : Follow through on regular reporting of scorecard measures – Ability to realign HR strategies as required to make necessary changes based on results of the scorecard; Maintain link to broader business strategy

Here’s a summary of some key points in building your business case:

~Executive support
~Determine scope in/out (corporate, sites/BU’s, etc)
~Decide on measurements, build report layout
~Link to business & HR strategy
~Ensure mechanisms are in place for strategic change resulting from year over year scorecard findings; including roll down to site/BU and individual level
~Generate training materials, calculation models
~Sell the concept to participants, build support
~Create tools & methodologies for data collection
~Establish baseline measurements – where applicable
~Train site/BU managers and administrators
~Implement and monitor

“People are our most important asset” is a common statement made by many organizations. Yet, many HR managers struggle when trying to partner with operations to implement corporate HR strategies to support the statement (and thus, the business).

The harsh reality is that many operational leaders in businesses still consider HR a necessary operational evil rather than a strategic partner with a shared focus on value generation. I referenced the Fast Company “Why We Hate HR” article in a previous entry, and there is a point in the article where the author references that not only in some organizations does HR not have a “seat at the table”, but is in fact “locked outside the room without a key”.

So, the question is, how can HR managers change this impression and be considered a valued strategic partner by the rest of the organization?

It is said that organizations with “Balanced, structured, performance management” have been shown to be around 25% more profitable than comparable organizations. One method of measuring human capital gains is through the use of a formal Balanced Scorecard approach to measurement that a Watson Wyatt article on the subject says “helps maintain an explicit link between financial value and the intangible drivers such as capabilities, culture, organizational values, and knowledge”. The same can be accomplished perhaps in the beginning even just by focusing on measurements and metrics that can report on vital statistics then expanding as your comfort and need for complexity grows.

However, human capital measurement should be more than just reports and metrics – simply knowing how the business is performing is of limited value compared to the ability of monitoring TRENDS and translating an understanding of measurements and trends into an achievable business strategy. The ability to create and act on that strategy is what separates the great companies from the good ones. For additional reading on turning “Good to Great”, give Jim Collins a read.

The great companies are the one’s whose strategic HR partners understand how to deliver on key drivers, thus engaging employees through strategy development linked to enhancement of those principles that Watson Wyatt outlined – capabilities, culture, organizational values, and knowledge.

Here’s a bit more on measurement from Hewitt: “It is difficult to overstate the power of measurement as a tool for change and strategic impact. As we have all heard before, ‘what gets measured, gets done’. Measuring the contribution of HR to business success is the foundation to its becoming a strategic business partner”.

Imagine a sales force that did not track sales figures. Advertising campaigns that do not target consumer reach. Website banners that could not tracked number of impressions displayed, or even the number of violent crimes in a neighbourhood – the latter perhaps making the case for increased patrolling or hiring of uniformed officers.

HR needs to make sure that we have stepped up to the plate as a true strategic partner to the business. One that understands what it means when the call centre is understaffed with 25 vacant seats in the month of December because recruiting couldn’t keep up, when the Director of Marketing needs a two week extension on the performance appraisal deadline so that her staff can focus on getting the spring catalogue out the door, or the impact to morale when the IT organization does it’s third restructuring in two years to realign with technology changes and demands. Not what it means to HR, but what it means to customers, to employees, to vendors and to revenues!

Increased measurement and accountability is a means to an end, but it is up to HR to understand, to translate and to become the true strategic partner. Talking the talk is not enough – it’s time to pull up our socks and jump in feet first. Not to operate just within the comfortable confines of HR any more, but to learn, grow and ask questions of the business. Development plans for HR employees and managers should not focus solely on HR functions any more, but should include Finance, Sales, IT, Marketing and so on. If you’re already doing this, then great! (But, you’re probably in the minority) Now, HR person, take this knowledge, go forth and prosper!

Here’s a quick little entry with some additional links and resources for HR folks and recruiters. Some are free, while others require paid memebership. Most offer some sort of services with the set up of a free membership.

Enjoy.

Electronic Recruiting Exchange

Canadian Recruiter Networking Group

AIRS Recruitment Solutions

Workforce Management Online

Canadian Management Centre (Newsletter)

Joel Cheesman Blog (HR)

Administaff (HR Newsletter)

Corporate Leadership Council

Sourcers Unleashed (Yahoo sourcing group)

Six Degrees from Dave (Recruitment Blog)

Recruiting Online

Job Machine (Recruiters Resources)

Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario (HRPAO)

Requirements Networking Group (Project Management)

If you have any other good ones, please let me know and I’ll update the list.

Employee engagement is another one of those trendy catch phrases. It’s something you hear when people are speaking about employee workplace surveys, top employers or best places to work. However, if employee engagement were easy to define or had a simple solution to implement then we wouldn’t hear about it as much as we do, nor would there be hundreds of publications and consultants spreading knowledge on the topic.

Although I have a lot of experience, by no means do I profess to be a maven of employee engagement. However, I have had the opportunity over the years to work for a couple of great employers that have either had some practices that I personally found very engaging, or they were working on implementing practices that would make work more engaging for me. The tricky part here is that what may engage me in my work and at my workplace may be different for you – and it could be a value gap, a generational gap, a style and preferences gap or any other number of things.

So, how does someone get it right? Definitely a good first step is to get a pulse check on employees through the use of a regularly administered employee opinion survey, workforce survey or whatever you want to call it. You should have benchmark questions that you can compare year over year, but to keep current you may choose to vary some of the questions as you go along. Another option is to take part in surveys such as the Hewitt Best 50 Employers in Canada Survey. Whether you make their list or not, you will get results and feedback from the process.

Another great source for information and benchmarking is the Corporate Leadership Council (CLC). They have conducted a lot of research on employee engagement and related topics, citing research and statistics from many top brands and top employers in Canada and the US. You do need to be a member to take advantage of their services. OK, commercial over.

I’ve talked a bit now about HOW to measure your engagement. Perhaps the more important question to ask yourself is WHY you want to do it. Is it going to be an exercise to understand what drives employees? Will that data be used to attract new employees? Will it change the way you do assessments when you recruit? Will the data be used for retention initiatives? Would you go as far as to change company values? Or, is it an exercise of internal or external validation against the market and you competitors?

Once you have decided why you are looking at how engaged your employees are and what you want to do with that data – it’s time to think about making an impact. Armed with your results, you can go forward to make a difference and try to address some of the concerns expressed by employees that may be de-motivating or disengaging them. Of course, a new microwave in the lunchroom might be one solution to fix a simple problem, but are you prepared to overhaul your compensation program to lift satisfaction scores?

A study I read by the CLC (referenced above) not too long ago referenced the “Top 50 Most Effective Levers of Effort”. In an attempt not to get sued for copyright infringement, I will not go into too much detail here, but there is something that sticks out in my mind from that list and from the study titled “The Effort Dividend : Driving Employee Performance and Retention Through Engagement”. The thing that sticks out is the number of “manager” related levers towards the top of the list and the absence of compensation from the list.

Let’s quickly talk about the manager levers. This is not news. The saying goes “people leave their manager, they don’t leave their organization”. Although not the case all the time, I think that this statement does have a lot of truth to it. Manager quality is huge in attracting and retaining employees. The biggest pitfall for organizations that I have seen in my career from either experience or from speaking to colleagues is a lack of attention given to new managers – either new to the company or newly promoted to managerial positions. Orientation, training and support is imperative here!

OK, the $$$$$ levers. I believe in a seminar, I once heard “get compensation wrong and nothing else matters, get it right and the employee will focus on other drivers”. I think that what most employees want is to be paid fairly – they want to keep their standard of living year over year as inflation occurs, they want to feed the little mouths at home, and they would like to see a little extra tacked on here and there to know that you value their contributions. If, as an employer, you get that part right – then you can focus on interesting career development, coaching opportunities, knowledge transfer, etc (those 50 other drivers of engagement). If you get the money part wrong, then you’ll likely have an unhappy employee or no employee at all.

That’s just the surface of employee feedback, engagement, performance and motivational drivers and affecting recruitment, retention and the general satisfaction of your workforce. As I mentioned, I’ve not gone into too much detail for fear of infringing on copyrights as well as to keep things brief. If you are reading this and you would like to know more, or would like to discuss some of your workplace practices to see how they compare to what I have experienced as best practice and leading edge, then leave a few comments or send me an e-mail.

I hope this has got you thinking and working towards effective measurement of employee satisfaction and engagement. If you already measure, then think about how you use the results and what sort of year over year impact your initiatives have had. If you have difficulty answering that question, then it’s time to start looking at some different metrics or some more impactful solutions.