Monthly Archives: May 2013

2013 Alabama SHRM State Conference

One of the greatest ways to get some great content at an affordable price (with regard to both travel and registration fees) is at a state-level HR conference. I’m attending the 2013 Alabama SHRM State Conference, and I can’t wait to see some phenomenal speakers, meet some fantastic people, and take copious notes on ways to improve the HR function for my employer.

2013 alabama shrm state conferenceIf you’re looking for me on Wednesday, May 15th, I’ll be busy! This will be my 3rd state conference to attend in Alabama, and I am looking forward to yet another well-run event that hums with excitement.

What I’m looking forward to at the 2013 Alabama SHRM State Conference

I’m still in the early stages of evaluating what sessions I’m planning to attend, but here are a few that look appealing to me:

  • Changing People Who Don't Want to Change-Who in the HR industry couldn’t use some tips in this area? Looking for some tips to respond to a few challenges I’m currently facing.
  • Creating a Healthy Employee Marriage by Developing an Engagement Culture-I know the presenter and think this will be an intriguing session. I already work for a phenomenal company with a great culture, but maybe I can pick up some ideas that have worked for other companies as well.
  • The 9 Faces of HR-This sounds like a very interesting session, and I know the speaker here as well. I’m excited to see the illustrious Kris Dunn on stage, no matter what the topic!

I’m also working with our great state council and providing a Twitter 101 session in order to help everyone understand the tool better and how they can use it to spread the word about events, news, and other valuable information.

Anyone else planning to attend the 2013 Alabama SHRM State Conference? It should be fun!

 

3 Tips for When to Hire An Employee

I’ve struggled with this for a long time, but knowing when to hire an employee is a key skill to have. We’ve been growing steadily in recent months, and the pressure has continued to increase. In just a few short weeks, I’ll have my first employee (part time, but better than nothing!) to help keep things moving in the right direction. I can’t wait! Today I want to talk a little about when to make the decision to hire someone else.

I’m going to assume that your company, like mine, is trying to stay lean and competitive, so adding people on a whim is not going to fly in this case. Here are a few of the pieces of the puzzle that had to be in place for me to support the need for more help in building a new HR department.

3 tips for when to hire an employee

  1. You have to be working hard. It might seem silly or simplistic so say that out loud, but many people are just going through the motions and not giving it everything they have. Your manager needs to see you giving it everything you’ve got or there will be no leverage or data to back up your claim for more people. Here’s how that worked for me-In the past two months I’ve been recruiting pretty much nonstop. I’ve been taking care of a minimum amount of HR duties to keep things moving, but some things are just having to fall through the cracks. I’m keeping my manager in the loop to make sure we are targeting the same priorities, and he is very aware of what is and is not getting done. As that list of “not done” items starts reaching critical mass, it becomes an imperative statement on when to hire an employee.
  2. You have to know what you want. This was (and still is) the hardest for me. Do you want a seasoned professional to come in and take over a piece of the HR workload? Do you want an admin to come in, help with the data and paper shuffle, and grow into a specialty area over time? What specific tasks are you willing to give up?For a few weeks now I have been building a profile for the “perfect” candidate. I wanted them to be entry-level, have few preconceived notions about HR, and be a solid culture fit hire. I want them to take over some specific areas of the HR function so I can focus on some other key areas.
  3. Hire what you need and don’t get sidetracked. This one is tough for many people, and the hiring team definitely fell into this trap until we pulled ourselves back out. If you’re hiring for someone to handle benefits, don’t disqualify someone because they aren’t chatty and personable. If you’re hiring someone to take over your recruiting, pay more attention to their physical and verbal cues than you do to their college degree. You’re selecting someone for a specific role, and you will never find the person with 100% of the qualifications, experience, etc. that you want. That’s why you make up a fake profile for the perfect candidate and start bouncing applicants off that standard. It helps you to see which areas are critical and which are just “nice to have.” Hire for what you need, and don’t get sidetracked halfway through the process by a flashy candidate who might be a great hire but a poor fit for the tasks, team, or culture.

You’ll notice I didn’t talk about an HR to employee ratio at all within the context of this article. I know those ratios are all over the map and don’t necessarily measure the right thing anyway. I wanted to focus on what to look for if you are trying to decide when to hire an employee.

For those of you who have had to determine when to hire an employee, what

Phrasing Matters-Inspiration versus Fear

Just a quick post today. I’m reading a book and I ran across a section where the author is discussing the differences between two phrases that seem pretty similar but have very different meanings. 

  • What’s keeping you up at night?
  • What gets you up in the morning?

The idea is that focusing on what keeps you awake at night might seem innocuous, but it focuses on fears. What are you afraid of? What’s scaring you? The question assumes that the recipient has worries and fears that they want to share.

On the other hand, focusing on what gets you up in the morning has a very different connotation. It’s targeting the inspirational, motivational pieces of what you are doing.

The next time you start to ask someone what is keeping them awake at night, flip the mental switch and ask about what gets them up in the morning. I guarantee the discussion will be more positive, and the person on the other end of the question will enjoy the experience more as well.

Subtle change, major difference. Phrasing matters.

While we’re on the topic, what gets you up in the morning? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

How to Reduce Impact from Retiring Employees

One of the topics that sometimes keeps me awake at night is knowledge. The sheer amount of knowledge in the minds of our staff members is staggering. In the past few years we’ve had a few highly competent people attempt to retire, and we’ve had a great strategy in place to reduce the impact.

reducing brain drain

How can you reduce “brain drain?”

Here’s a great piece of information that was passed on to me by John Dooney, a ninja research guru over at SHRM:

From the recent Sloan Award Survey conducted by Families and Work Institute: When the organizations were asked the number of employees at their work site that were allowed to phase into retirement by working reducing their hours over a period of time prior to retirement, the answers were as follows:

All: 42%
Most: 30%
Some: 16%
Just a few: 6%
None: 6%

How we do it

I have a great recent example. We have a staff member who has been working for our customer in some capacity for 20 years. He planned to resign outright, and we asked if he would be interested in working a 20 hour flexible schedule to continue the customer relationship. He was pleasantly surprised at the availability of the option and instantly accepted. He’s still working happily for us, we’re trying to staff up in the event he would like to leave permanently, and our customer is appreciative of the opportunity to transition to a new familiar face.

So why don’t more employers do some version of this?

I think it’s pretty simple.

I think more companies could start by offering the “stay” opportunity to those leaving for voluntary reasons. We do this as a regular practice. It’s not rocket science–you just ask. The worst they can say is “no” and walk out the door. The best option is for them to continue working for some period of time on a reduced schedule. They are invaluable and it makes for an easier transition for them and for the company.

The biggest benefit for us as the person transitions to a part time schedule is us finding out where knowledge gaps are and using them while they are on staff to help close those gaps.

What type of flexibility, if any, does your organization provide?