Category Archives: General

Our accidental wellness program

Pinnacle PoundersA quick decision at work last fall has led to untold hours of friendship and fun, and it was entirely unplanned. This is the story of our accidental wellness program.

August 2011

One of our engineers decided to start training for a local marathon. She was already running some, and a few of us at work decided to start going out once a week for a run just to support each other and have some company. What started as one person’s athletic goal has blossomed in so many ways.

Fast forward to March 2012

For three of us, today will be our final training run before this Saturday’s Andrew Jackson Marathon in Jackson, TN. I always said that I wasn’t interested in running a marathon, but after working and running with these amazing people, I just couldn’t resist joining them for the 4 month long training period. It’s been a lot of fun, I’ve learned a lot about healthy eating choices, and we’ve definitely become better friends in that time as well.

The numbers

We’ve estimated that the group as a whole has covered over 2,000 miles just in the past 8 months! A sizable portion of that falls on us training for the upcoming marathon, but the rest is spread among half a dozen others who join us for a few miles whenever schedules allow. The average runner burns 100 calories per mile, so that pushes the group total calories burned to 200,000! In order for a person to drop a pound, they’d need to cut approximately 3,500 calories from their diet over time. Using those numbers, the group has burned enough calories to shed just over 57 pounds. Continue reading →

4 Things Great HR Pros Know

In an effort to try and keep a handle on the products and services my company provides (hint: great HR pros have a solid understanding of the business side of the organization), I picked up a defense industry magazine the other day. The main article focused on what great program managers know about product support. However, it was an easy leap of the imagination to see how the points in the article could apply to my profession as well.

  1. I’m the life cycle manager: the product support buck stops with me-I translated this to “I’m the people manager; the employee support buck stops with me.” Sometimes organizations lose sight of how easy routine, noncritical tasks should be for employees. Changing an address or asking a benefits question shouldn’t take a dozen steps or an unwieldy process. If your company is doing this, put your foot down. Support your people however you can (use an employee HR portal if you have to) and help remove the obstacles that are keeping them from doing their best work.
  2. Everything that really matters can be summed up in a single page-good luck shrinking that 957 page employee handbook; you know, the one that people have to sign on day 1 saying they’ve read and understand? Get what really matters on a page and use it extensively. One of my favorite quotes is “your values statement should be the most tattered piece of paper in your organization.” Use it so often that you memorize it word for word, and then start living it. Continue reading →

Employee Financial Wellness

employee financial stressIf employee financial wellness is not on your radar, it should be. The level of employee stress and the resulting business impact caused by this widespread issue can’t be ignored. Some studies indicate that up to 1/4 of your employee population is dealing with serious financial issues.

In fact, Financial Finesse\’s most recent research on the trends of employee financial issues indicated that nearly 21 percent of employees reported “high” or “overwhelming” levels of financial stress. With financial problems being cited as one of the leading causes of stress in America, today\’s workplace is greatly affected by employees who are experiencing financial problems.

The hidden victims

One issue that many don’t realize is that this affects people like our military pretty heavily. Having recurring or serious financial difficulties makes it more difficult for soldiers to maintain a security clearance (financial problems make you a target for foreign government intelligence). In fact, soldiers can be declared unfit for duty if they are unable to resolve the financial issues they have. Imagine losing your job due to a few poor financial mistakes, and you realize how serious this is.

What you can do about it Continue reading →

HRCP-Guaranteed to Pass or your Money Back

With a background of working for numerous small companies, I am a strong supporter of those people and organizations that take a step of risk and try to fill a need in the marketplace, no matter who the competition may be. That’s how I found HRCP a few years ago, and I’ve been a big fan of theirs ever since.

For the HR pro searching for a cost effective way to pass the exam for less than half the price of the SHRM product, this is what you’ve been looking for. (Be sure to use the discount code to get a $20 discount on the HRCP study tools! Plus, read on for information on the money back guarantee!

UPSTART18P is for the Complete HRCP Program: Print Edition
UPSTART18E is for the Complete HRCP Program: Print AND Online Edition!)

I sometimes talk about the PHR and SPHR exams, because I think it’s a powerful way for people to show commitment to the HR profession. With a pass rate hovering around 50%, it’s not an exam to take lightly. With the numbers of people who are unemployed or are on the verge of it, it just doesn’t make sense for many of them to take the risk involved with attempting the exam. The great folks over at HRCP are doing something revolutionary in the HR certification space to help minimize that risk and instill confidence in PHR/SPHR test takers everywhere.

Not only does HRCP offer a great study product, they have recently started offering a money back guarantee with their learning system. If you purchase their study tools, take the practice exams they offer, and still don’t pass the exam, they will give you your money back. Wow!

This is a good time to note that the HRCP tools would be a great fit for the self study course that has helped dozens of HR pros pass the exam.

Continue reading →

Does HR Really Care?

This snippet appeared in a post on the Ask a Manager blog a few months back. Thought it was a good topic to jump start a post as well as a great reminder from Alison on the dual roles of HR.

Sometimes when I read an article advising a reader to go to their HR department for help, I wonder if this is really a solution that will benefit the worker. I\’ve been privy to situations where it seemed that HR became involved not to mediate–but to fast-track an employee to the exit door. I\’m looking for perspective. It seems as if HR works to shield management, and is rarely a real resource to resolve issues workers may have with folks in a manager\’s role or higher. What does your experience say? 

HR is there to serve the needs of the employer. In some cases, that means helping out employees — because it\’s in the best interests of the employer to retain great employees, hear about and address bad managers, stop legal problems before they explode, and so forth. But plenty of other times, what\’s best for the employer is not what\’s best for the employee. It varies by situation. In general, though, when I read advice suggesting that an employee take a problem to HR, about 75% of the time it strikes me as an inappropriate thing to do; HR people aren\’t therapists or priests or mediators. Unless something is a legal issue or truly egregious, you should deal with your manager directly. (And a good HR department will tell you to do that.)

First off, I think this is a great summary of what HR does from a manager’s point of view. Most of them don’t have this concept down just yet, and it shows in how they interact both with the HR team and with their staff. I have a unique perspective because unlike a lot of HR pros, I work right next to the people I get to serve. I’m always willing to help with the routine questions, but I really enjoy when people ask for those more in-depth things like how a mutual fund in their 401(k) works or how a manager can use incentives to reach one of his team members.

The not so fun side

In my daily work, I run into people who assume it’s their job to tell me every little detail that’s going on with them. Sometimes it’s an obvious attempt to try and excuse poor performance. Other times it’s clearly a call for help, though the person is trying to keep it hidden. Working in small office makes those random complaints of inappropriate behavior much tougher to handle.

And when we truly have a performance issue, we bend over backwards to give the offender plenty of opportunities to get it right. Why? Because while we do “serve the needs of the employer,” we also realize that we’re dealing with people. We’re fallible. Acknowledging it doesn’t mean we have to accept it as the answer to the problem. It just means we are more willing to offer innovative solutions to the problems facing our people.

The key to success Continue reading →

Unplugging, focus, and perspective

Yesterday I returned from a short getaway and jumped straight back into work. However, I had some interesting thoughts and definitely wanted to share them since when I talk to you guys about issues you’re facing, they’re usually issues I’m facing as well.

The importance of unplugging

Last Saturday I ran in a relay race with the Pinnacle Pounders (the running group I work with, or the working group I run with, whichever way you want to look at it). I think we ended up covering about 27-28 miles each, and it was just a fun, exciting experience. Afterward Melanie and I took off for a few days for some much-needed R&R. It felt wonderful to just kick back, relax, and forget everything for a while. We took our phones to keep in contact for emergencies, but otherwise we just used them to snap photos of the wildlife as we enjoyed the scenic hikes around Little River Canyon.

I came back refreshed and energized, and it sometimes takes a total removal from the normal routine to get that spark back that you’ve been missing.

Paring down your life Continue reading →

What are your “big” ideas?

big ideasOne of our core values at work is “provide innovative solutions that exceed expectations.” That might seem like a standard/blah kind of idea, but it plays out in a way that I haven’t encountered anywhere else I’ve worked. We have a “big ideas” database that allows employees to share ideas on anything they think might be valuable to the organization. We’ve had everything possible posted, from lucrative new product lines to a request for larger garbage bags in the kitchen (seriously!).

Recently the Operations team set up our own database to capture ideas that we might like to implement for our workforce. A few things in our database right now:

  • Paid volunteer time-Employees at some large companies get paid for volunteer time. I pitched the idea that we could pay for as little as 4 hours for someone to go out, volunteer in some capacity, and do good in the world without breaking the bank on an expensive program.
  • Adding core values to informal peer recognition-while we already rate people within our formal performance management system based on how they uphold our core values on a daily basis, this would allow the day-to-day recognition on a peer level to also reflect on the handful of tenets that we operate the business by. It’s the little things that matter! Continue reading →