Author Archives: Ben

Termination for Bad Manners?

bad mannersI was flipping through an HR newsletter that our VP shares with the department, and one interesting piece caught my eye. The article talked about swearing at work, other “bad manners” offenses, and it cited a study by TheLadders.com.

The top five reasons for termination due to office etiquette offenses:

  • Bad language (38%)
  • Excessive workplace gossip (36%)
  • Drinking on the job (35%)
  • Leaving office without saying so (33%)
  • Too many personal calls (28%)

    Hold up a second… Am I the only one that sees #3 sticking out like a sore thumb? I think drinking on the job goes beyond bad manners and into “Hey, I’m an idiot. Please terminate me!” territory. The other items are (unfortunately) all too common for most of us. I’ve written before about office gossip, and I completely agree that it’s a toxic problem for most companies, but it really surprised me to see swearing at the top of this list.

    Sometimes we can laugh, though

    I wrote a funny top ten list of office etiquette violations a while back. Check it out and feel free to share it with your friends and coworkers. :-)

    10 Commandments of Office Etiquette

    So, you’ve seen my thoughts (both serious and not). What’s your biggest problem with office etiquette?

    Social Media Mentoring

    social media networksI’m sure by now you’ve heard about that “social media” thing. Maybe you’ve wondered how to go from people saying, “Hey, you should use Twitter!” to actually being able to jump in and build connections, start learning, and get a lot of value from the experience. Or maybe you’ve thought about starting a blog and sharing your ideas, but you just don’t know the little technical aspects that you need to make it work.

    If that sounds like you, then I have some good news.

    A few days ago, Victorio Milian of the ever-interesting Creative Chaos Consultant blog reached out to me about helping to start a project where we help mentor people on social media and blogging. I was instantly in. Interested?

    How it’s going to work

    We’re going to help facilitate connections between those of you who are looking for some help and those who have reached out to offer to mentor someone.

    If you have anything you’d like to suggest or share, please leave a comment below and we’ll take it into consideration. Above all else, please share this with people you know. Just think, if everyone who is involved in the online HR social community agreed to mentor just one person, then that would double the size of our community. We talk about getting out of our little “echo chamber” and reaching others; this is an excellent way to make that happen.

    Basically, we’re going to be providing a way for those “in the know” with social tools to connect with those who would like some one-on-one help with getting involved. Neither Victorio nor I have the time to do stuff with each and every person who would like to learn more, so we’re recruiting those with the knowledge and desire to help us with our mission. If you’re interested in mentoring someone, feel free to leave a comment below with your intentions.

    The bottom line

    This is a work in progress. We’re working on a few ways to help us get organized and help you connect with the right people. We’re open to feedback and would

    If you missed it, Victorio has his own post up today explaining the concept behind this whole project. Check it out to fill in anything I might have left out.

    SPHR Questions

    Exam Brain ExplosionI love helping people with their questions. Recently I received one about the SPHR that I wanted to share, because I thought some of the responses might help the larger audience out there.

    Which countries is the SPHR valid for?

    The SPHR designation is granted by a US-based organization (HRCI), but it’s recognized in many countries. I’ve had people from Bermuda, Egypt, and Brazil email me before telling me about how they were attempting to pass the SPHR exam. It’s going to be country-specific as to how much people value the certification, and the GPHR might be a better option if you’re doing global work, but hopefully you already know whether or not the people around you will appreciate (and compensate!) you for your certification. The HRCI website says that there are over 100,000 professionals certified in over 70 countries.

    When does it expire?

    The SPHR is good for three years. During that time, most people take classes, go to seminars, and use work-related experience to gather credits for recertification. You can also retake the exam to recertify, but most people prefer not to.

    Is there any annual fee afterwards and if yes, how much is it?

    The recertification fee is $100 every three years, but the big investment is the ongoing training. I’ve spent more than $100 on local seminars and events this year alone. However, there are great free events to help you get credits, too.

    What are the benefits of SPHR compared to Master’s Degree in Management and development of HR?

    The biggest benefit is that it’s cheaper and faster than a Master’s degree. Here’s a post I wrote on the SPHR vs the MBA.

    How many people are certified under SPHR so far?

    As of August 2010, there are just over 46,000 SPHR certified individuals across the globe.

    When has this certification begun?

    HRCI has been certifying people for 33 years now.

    Do you need to finish PHR first to have the right to go to SPHR, or they are independent?

    They are independent, so you can go straight for the one that fits your needs.

    Of course, this is all my random knowledge, so feel free to check out the HRCI site to see if they have additional information. Oh, and don’t forget that HRCI is changing their requirements in 2011!

    By the way, if you’re looking for a PHR study guide, feel free to check this one out. :-)

    CAREEREALISM Club and Getting a Job

    I’m running a series on some of  the companies I’ve interacted with that I think are worth mentioning. It’s not exhaustive, but I’ve been meaning to share these things for a while now. With that, let’s roll…

    careerealismCAREEREALISM

    Who they are

    CAREEREALISM is a company that was founded by the career coach J.T. O’Donnell. J.T. is a fantastic person who I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with, and I’ll never forget the first thing she said to me that showed me her true character. I asked her who the “head honcho” was at her company, and she replied with this great quote:

    “I’m the founder… So, while I may be technically ‘in charge.’ the company is actually governed via the team’s efforts.”

    I knew right away that she was going to be a great person to interact with. The company as a whole is made up of a small team of people working on their website and other programs.

    What they do

    So, they obviously have a website, but what else is there? Well, for a long time, there was a cool program called “TAP” where a few trusted people (somehow I weaseled my way onto that list) would give advice via Twitter on different career questions. Eventually that played itself out (after we ended up answering over 500 questions!), and they moved onto other way cooler programs like the CAREEREALISM Club.

    This thing is amazing. There are hours and hours of videos, recorded webinars, and other resources to help job seekers find their dream career. Plus, the free eBooks, personalized career coaching, and interaction/support from other job seekers are nothing to laugh about. Every week there are live chats on the private network where you can ask questions, share war stories, and learn more about getting a job than you could ever use.

    In short, check it out.

    Why you need it

    If the features above don’t sell it for you, let’s look at a few more. If you are looking for a job, there are so many things that you don’t know. It’s not like you spend your time finding out the best ways to apply for jobs or where to go for networking tips that are more than “here’s a resume/business card/something to throw in the trash.” The CAREEREALISM Club is described by J.T. as a “Career HMO.”

    Another neat benefit is that it takes it further than just getting a job. It gives you help with what to do once you start the job like managing your boss, setting expectations, and making a great impression on your new coworkers.

    If you are looking for the career resource to help you find and get that next job, then I highly recommend that you check out CAREEREALISM Club today.

    Stay tuned, because I’ll be bringing you more recommended resources in the coming weeks!

    HR Metrics-Two ways to make them rock

    Rock starI’ve recently come across two great ways to make your HR metrics more powerful. It doesn’t require that you really do more of anything if you already collect and report on the numbers, so that’s what makes it so easy.

    Stop collecting fuzzy stuff.

    Just stop. Please. We really don’t need an exact number telling us how “happy” employees are. Stop collecting data on fuzzy stuff. Instead, consider average cost/time to hire, aggregate turnover costs,  or something else that’s easy to grasp and understand its impact on the overall financial standing of the organization.

    Report alongside other business data.

    When it’s time to share those cold, hard facts, make sure the information is embedded in or grouped with other key financial indicators. Your numbers will instantly be more credible, and there’s a good chance they’ll be looked at (as opposed to dropping a separate “HR only” report at another time, which might signify the data isn’t important enough to be shared with other critical information).

    Really simple to do. Surprisingly effective from the stories I’ve been told. What do you think?

    Photo by crsan.

    Men in HR-A National Geographic Exclusive

    Men in Human ResourcesIf you peel back the foliage, you can get a glimpse of the elusive “male HR professional.” This is a rare find indeed, and we don’t want to spook him, so we’ll just stand back and watch him awkwardly navigate the waters of his career as the only male in a hundred mile radius…

    Has it always been this way?

    I can still remember the first time I walked into a NASHRM event and looked around. There were about a hundred people in the room. Of that number the six guys (including me) stuck out like sore thumbs. It kind of made me laugh, because I’ve never worked in a job where the men outnumbered the women. It doesn’t really bother me, but I’ve always been a little curious about why the imbalance occurs.

    I don’t want to lay any blanket statements on the ladies out there, but my little experience seems to point to most of them focusing on compliance and how to keep things “safe.” More of the males, however, seem to be focused on how to keep the goals moving forward and holding onto the strategic focus.

    Like I said, I don’t like blanket statements and generalities, because I’ve certainly met dozens of female HR pros with a high strategic focus. However, due to the high percentage of women overall, there certainly are a lot of them who are doing that compliance work…

    Steve Browne brings it

    I saw Steve Browne talking about being in HR on purpose over on the Women of HR site. Here’s a snippet:

    What if you told your amazing wife that the majority of your peers and role models were women, your closest professional friends were women and you go to conferences where over 70% of the attendees were women?

    I remember having that conversation with my own wife. :-) Like I said, it doesn’t bother me, but it has added a few twists to my career thus far. I’ve had a few requests to write on that topic, so the next section will be devoted to that.

    By popular demand

    Recently I let people tell me what they wanted me to write about. Mike Haberman asked me to write on this topic specifically, and I think it’ll fit nicely here. His request:

    I would like you to address the issue of being a young MAN in a profession now dominated by women. How have you been accepted by your employer, by your peers, and by your local HR leadership? Anything special you have had to do to gain credibility?

    Whew! Not only do I have my youth against me, but I’m also a guy. I was hired by a woman (VP of HR) and worked with a solid cast of women before another guy was hired into the department (more on him in a second). One of the big reasons I was hired was for my love of all things technology, because they had just picked up a new HRIS and were working on implementation. Because of my interest in technology (which was noticed by HR Magazine), I quickly established a place for myself within the HR department. I don’t know if it should be a surprise or not, but none of the other ladies in the HR department are even remotely technical.

    As for my peers, I’m not as chatty or inclined to sit down and talk about issues. I think that has had some effect on how I’m perceived at work. While the women in the department think nothing of plopping down in someone’s chair and hashing out an issue, I’d much prefer to figure it out myself or do some research online to see if I can handle it without asking someone else. It’s not that I’m not friendly or professional; I just want to be more independent than the other people in my HR department seem to be.

    The place I’ve excelled the most is my local HR leadership. Our board for NASHRM is about 40% male, I think, so I fit in pretty well. And the females in there don’t treat me any differently for being a young guy trying to get his two cents in. :-)

    My best friend/mentor is a dude

    While I have a lot of friends and influencers who are women out there, the person who I have the most direct contact with and who influences me the most is a guy. I think it’s for multiple reasons, but mainly because we have a lot in common besides our strange fascination with the business of people and all things technological. Funny that out of the tiny percentage of males in the profession, I end up working with one in an HR department of six people. We definitely are well beyond the average male saturation at 33%. :-)

    The imbalance online and in real life

    It’s funny, because by  looking at my list of HR blogs I follow, the mix is much less tipped to the female side of things. Sure, we have plenty of women out there blogging in the HR field, but as Mike Haberman pointed out in his post on men in HR going the way of the dinosaur, there are some brilliant guys out there pushing the envelope.

    There was a fantastic discussion on Drive Thru HR with Bryan Wempen on this topic, and I encourage you to give it a listen. It’s fairly short, but he and Mike have a good time digging into the issue.

    My advice

    If you’re a man (or a young man–two strikes!) looking to make your place in this profession, then I suggest that you find something to specialize in and become the “go to” person for that. It’s how I got my foot in the door with both my SHRM chapter and my employer, and it can certainly work for you.

    What are your thoughts? Are there differences between men and women in the HR field? If so, what are they?