Author Archives: Ben

Influencing people at work

how to influence othersAKA: All Knowing but not All Powerful

There’s much to be said about influencing people at work. It’s part art, part science, and part random chance.

HR is like that. Our role is more subtle. We offer support to managers but never take over their roles (even if they ask you to). They are paid to manage people. Let them earn it. :-)

With great power comes great (responsibility) headaches

It can be frustrating to see the big picture and have no power to directly influence the outcome.

  • Bad employee? You can’t fire them yourself.
  • Poor manager? Good luck putting them on a corrective action plan.

But that doesn’t mean you are completely out of luck. A little influence can go a long way. And coupled with training, reinforcement, and good communication, you can overcome many of the problems that would otherwise be untouchable.

I talked with someone new to the profession recently and she was going through a tough time trying to define her role. She wanted to be in the thick of things, working closely with the managers she supported. While I understand and support the “in the trenches” viewpoint, I had to help remind her that she wasn’t the one responsible for doing the heavy lifting (performance feedback, discipline, terminations, etc.). That honor goes to the managers and leaders within the organization.

I’m not saying we don’t take a stand and fight for what needs to be done. I’m just saying that we might not always do that in a direct, observable manner. For those of you just getting started, don’t let that escape you. I was frustrated for a while until I realized that there were alternative routes to get to the results I was seeking.

One book I read and continue to reread is How to Win Friends and Influence People. If you haven’t read it, then you should grab a copy and take notes. It’s good stuff.

Do you have a way you like to secretly influence others at work? Any particular situations you wish you could change but don’t see a way how?

Communicating layoffs

Communicating layoffs has to be hard work. I’ve never done it, but even having conversations that affect the livelihood of employees one-on-one is tough enough. Recently I ran across this great article titled “The Speech I Wish CEOs Would Give [for Layoffs]” by Dale Dauten. Link to the original post is at the bottom, but this was too good not to share. After you read it you’ll see that it’s less about how to communicate layoffs and more about alternative solutions, but trust me, it’s worth your time.

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Sure, there are situations where layoffs are inevitable, but I believe many could be avoided. Here\’s how I wish executives would think about layoffs, expressed as The Speech I Wish CEOs Would Give…

[Speaking to all employees] As you know, our sales revenues are down. I know that you must be worried – fear is a rational response when the media are full of images from the Great Depression. Indeed, everyone is expecting me to announce layoffs – stockholders and other investors want me to do something – anything — to help keep profits from declining, and layoffs are tangible evidence that a CEO is responding. However, I am announcing today that we will NOT be having layoffs anytime soon.

When companies proclaim that they are going to cut staff, here\’s what usually happens. Some of those “cuts” are merely positions that were put in the budget and have yet to be filled, so eliminating them doesn\’t actually reduce current spending, just future budgets. Next, and more importantly, the cuts tend to be among the least expensive employees, especially entry-level employees. Thus, should you succeed in reducing the headcount by 10%, you\’ve actually cut the spending on personnel by less than 5%, perhaps only two or three percent.

Further, total spending on salaries is just a fraction of overall costs; in our case, one-quarter of total expenses. So if you announce a ten percent lay-off, you reduce one-quarter of expenses by a few percentage points, meaning that you succeeded in cutting costs by one or two percent.

And what is the cost of that cost savings? You have fearful employees, hunkering down, devoting much of the internal conversation organization to worry. That\’s not what we hired you to think about.

So today, instead of announcing staff cuts, I am asking you to do join with me in doing the cutting – cutting waste out of our system. My goal is that we find ways to reduce costs by 10%. This will have a financial impact five times greater than cutting the staff by 10%. Further, I want you to find new efficiencies that allow us to take out expenses while better serving our customers. In other words, I\’m asking you to be creative, and for that I need confident, bold employees.

If we do this right, and do this together, we will become a better, faster organization. Together we can go without layoffs. Instead of worrying about who will stay and go, I invite you to join me in worrying about how we will become even more useful to each other and to our customers. Instead of getting rid of some of you, I\’m counting on all of you – now go out and prove me right.

Originally posted on Dale Dauten’s blog.

Boomers to Linksters: Managing Friction Between Generations

This keynote session at ALSHRM led by Meaghan Johnson started out as many of these “generations” speeches do. The speaker asks the audience to start listing things about Gen Y that annoy them and the crowd goes wild ranting about the worst possible example they can think of (completely dismissing the dozens of others in the same demographic without all the flaws). I was sure it was going to be a dud, but then the speaker turned it around on the audience by pointing out that the characteristics were those of a specific age group, not a generation group. Almost everyone acts like a goof when they are 20 years old, whether it’s 1950 or 2011. Don’t blame it on “Gen Y” or something else. :-)

A few other pertinent points

  • Knowledge retention-The knowledge loss of boomers leaving the workforce should be the focus for this generation stuff, not complaining about Gen Y/Gen X/Boomers or how to cope with them at work.
  • Informal knowledge-Boomers know the intricate details of how the business works. They know who to talk to to get a problem solved under the radar. They know who to avoid on Monday mornings before they’ve had their coffee. They know those things that you won’t find in any process manual or employee handbook.
  • Teach ’em tech-Boomers aren’t scared of technology. They want to know how using technology makes work or life easier, not just using technology for its own sake.
  • A touch of nostalgia-Younger generations have something very special to offer the older ones: passion. Remind them why they started working in the job/company/industry in the first place. Renew their spirit. That’s been the success story for my own blog. I started writing to reach out to other people just getting started in their own HR careers, but I was found and followed by people with senior-level experience who enjoyed seeing the profession through my own fresh perspective.

All in all, it was a great session and prompted some interesting thoughts. While I get tired of the same old “generation conversation,” this one gave a few twists that really made it valuable for me.

ALSHRM11-What you missed

Last Wednesday I attended ALSHRM11, also known as the Alabama State SHRM Conference. There were some great sessions, and I have started chronicling the details over at RocketHR. If you’re curious about building a culture of integrity at work, managing the differences between generations, or being innovative in your HR role, then there will be some good content going up on the other blog in the next few weeks.

Feel free to subscribe for email updates over there so you don’t miss anything. I usually only post once a week over there so it’s really easy to keep up with!

HRevolution Blog Carnival

The ones who started it all...

We have about thirty posts here today from some of the people I respect most in this industry. It’s not because they’re the smartest (although many are brilliant). It’s not because they know all the secret tips and tricks (although they could teach us all a thing or two). It’s not even because they are good looking (those avatars don’t show everything) ;-). It’s because they take the time and make the effort to continue pushing this profession and the people in it to be better. Every. Single. Day. We’re all better off for your efforts!

Because we have so many great posts, I’m going to keep my commentary to a minimum and just share the links to these fantastic recaps, takeaways, and nostalgic moments. If you set aside twenty minutes to start digging into the posts below, I can pretty much guarantee that you will find new blogs/people to follow. Fair warning: you’ll also have an insatiable desire to attend the next HRevolution. What can I say? It’s an awesome event. :-)

Speaking of awesome… We are going to be partnering with the HR Technology Conference to offer a special one-day HRevolution event on October 2nd, 2011 in Las Vegas! More details to come, but if you have been wanting to attend the event but you’re out in the western US, this is going to be your big shot! Stay tuned.

The posts

And that’s not all. We have videos from the event coming soon thanks to Maren Hogan and some more great stuff on the horizon. Remember, HRev isn’t your usual conference. We keep the good stuff coming all year long! Thanks again to our sponsors, facilitators, and attendees for making the event as successful as it is. We appreciate you all!

2011 Alabama SHRM Conference

I’m so excited about the upcoming AL SHRM State Conference on May 18, 2011.  We are expecting over 500 attendees.  As usual, we have very informative and timely sessions planned for our attendees this year.  In the past, we have did not have much time available for networking and socializing, this year I’m looking forward to our first pre-conference reception at Saks Fifth Avenue.  As an HR Professional, you cannot afford not to attend the AL SHRM State Conference. –Carmen Douglas, President of the Alabama State SHRM Council

SHRM AlabamaOne of the first blog posts I ever wrote back in 2009 was about ALSHRM. It was the first event I attended as a blogger and Twitter user, and I will never forget it. This year I am going back to cover the event at the request of the ALSHRM state council. I’m excited about content and connections.

Content

This is what I’m looking for as my plan for the day. Pumped!

  • Opening Keynote Session: From Boomsters to Linksters: Managing Friction Between Generations
  • Absolute Honesty: Building a Culture of Straight Talk and Integrity
  • Lunch Keynote Session – Just Like Fine Wine: Cultural Emotional Intelligence
  • The Laughing Warrior: How to Enjoy Killing the Status Quo
  • Closing General Session: How Aflac HR Impacts the Bottom Line

Connections

I have some old friends who will be present (@adowling, @thewitchinghr, @incblot, etc.), and it’s always great to catch up with them. I’m also excited about meeting some new people, including at least one of the speakers. Dale Dauten, author, speaker, and all around great guy is going to be talking about innovation, and I can’t wait to hear what he has to say.

If you’re following on Twitter, I’ll be on the #ALSHRM11 hashtag with some of the other attendees.

In short:

Cheap cost.

Valuable content.

Welcome to the Alabama SHRM State Conference.