Category Archives: General

Employee Productivity Management

Employee productivity management is normally seen as a manager’s job, and that might be a good thing. Recent research has shown that some managers can achieve up to 10% increases in productivity among their staff.

In the video below I discuss this phenomenon and what it means for HR professionals and business leaders. I also talk about a book that has some crossover between the research on employee productivity management and how it actually played out in another study of manager impact on employee engagement, performance, etc. The third piece I discuss is a philosophy of author/speaker that HR’s last great unexplored frontier is employee productivity and how to get more from our staff. I think that’s a key piece of why engagement has become the hot buzzword in recent years (it sounds cooler than employee productivity management), but they both mean basically the same thing: how can we get more work out of our people for the same amount of money?

If it was an easy answer, we’d have answered it already. The book that I talk about in the video covers some amazing concepts for how to develop a culture of belief that is so strong that it drives employee engagement and profits. I highly encourage you to check it out if that’s something you are interested in.

Check out the video and let me know what you think!

Employee productivity management show notes


So, what do you think? How can HR professionals best impact employee productivity?

Want more? Check out the free employee performance management guide!

2012 Review and 2013 Plans

Another year gone by and an amazing one ahead. Today I just want to take a few minutes to talk about some of the things I’m planning for in 2013, including events, travel, new tools, and more. And for the fans who keep coming back for the content that I create, I truly appreciate you. It’s an honor to serve the HR community in this role!

Personal

Despite the fact that I talk about HR, recruiting, leadership, etc. for 99% of the time, that makes up just a piece of my world. Like the rest of you I have social, family, volunteer, and other commitments. Here are the highlights for the year ahead:

  • I’m stepping down from my volunteer role with NASHRM, my local chapter. After 4 years of working with them I want to take some time to focus on other priorities and this is my best chance. The only sad part is that RocketHR, the site that I built from the ground up starting in August 2009, is going to stop being updated. I expect it to shut down at some point, and I have copied all of the content over to this website so it will not be lost.
  • I’m setting another goal to read 25 business books in 2013. I know I’ve been doing a lot of book reviews lately (and I have several more in the works). I realized that if I’m reading them, the least I can do is share the content highlights with you guys so you get the benefit of learning from industry experts without having to invest the time to read 25+ books. That’s why I do book reviews, so bear with me as I roll out more in the future. I hope they’re helpful for you!

Work

Again, I spend plenty of time writing about this HR stuff, but I only do that after I’ve spent 8+ hours that day working in my full time HR generalist role. Since my promotion a few months ago I’ve had the opportunity to do great things. I’ve made a few missteps, but I’ve also helped us grow in some key areas. Really excited about what is coming in the next 12 months.

  • Nothing is solid right now, but I’m really hoping that we grow enough to bring on an HR assistant next year. We are pushing the limit with our high-touch HR/leadership style, and we’re going to have to grow or reduce the level of service in the coming year. It’s not an easy choice, but it’s a necessary one.
  • I’m planning a major HR audit in January now that the end of year performance/salary changes are out of the way. I’m going to build in about 40 hours during the month to take care of dozens of actions (big and small) that have been on a growing list for a while. I’m really excited to get that accomplished and think there will be some valuable lessons that I plan to share here once I’m done.

upstartHR

Finally, this is the area of my life that I get a massive amount of enjoyment from, but it takes up a relatively small portion of my time. Some of you know this, but I ride to and from work every day (~40 minute commute each way) and I listen to… Nothing! I just love sitting and thinking about ideas to write about and share with others. Yeah, kinda nerdy, but it’s working for me. :-) Here is a list of the big things on my roadmap for 2013:

  • SHRM 2013 in Chicago. ‘Nuf said.
  • HRevolution 2013 in Las Vegas. Heck yeah.
  • Currently developing a tool for entry level HR pros to help them get a job and get promoted. Really excited about that and can’t wait for it to debut. It’s in the middle stages of development, and I’m currently working with an “inner circle” of testers to get that sharpened up for the rest of you who might be interested.
  • I have plans for 3-4 other products, including a GPHR tool, an 8 week version of the PHR/SPHR study course, and more. So many ideas, so little time!
  • I’m putting some time and effort into developing more video content. I spent about 3 hours today doing an actual setup (not just me in front of the webcam) and I think the quality’s much better than in the past. I am still fine tuning, but expect more of that medium in the coming year.
  • I’m working to do a few speaking proposals for state SHRM conferences and other events.
  • Plus a few surprises. Can’t let all the cats out of the bag!

Fun facts and info

I started upstartHR in April 2009. Since then the site has grown beyond my wildest dreams. It still amazes me to see these kinds of information about who’s reading content on upstartHR:

  • The site gets right at 10,000 visitors every month. Google is my biggest traffic source, but I also have a respectable number of referrals from social sites and email newsletters.
  • I have about 1,500 subscribers who read everything that I write.
  • I expect traffic to double in the coming year. I’ve had amazing growth so far and it’s reaching a critical mass. I might be overshooting but I’d rather stretch than not.

All in all, this is still an amazing journey, and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with each of you. I appreciate the time and effort you put into reading and sharing the things that I write, and I hope you get as much from reading as I do from writing.

One more thing before we call it a day. I read a lot of stuff from Chris Guillebeau, and he talks about the world changing people out there. He says (paraphrasing) that their ability to influence and change the world is not because they have 10,000 interested followers, but because they have 1,000 true fans.

Those true fans are the “small army” carrying forward the ideas and concepts that will truly change the world. I think of you as one of those in my small group of true fans. Together we can change the world of HR, one interaction at a time. Never lose sight of the fact that you have friends out there who believe as you do and truly want you to be successful.

I wish you all a happy, healthy 2013. Go out there and make things happen.

The Titleless Leader (Book Review)

The Titleless Leader: How to Get Things Done When You’re Not in Charge by Nan Russell

I’m in a unique position. Due to the importance of my role (hey, HR is important, right?), I’m a member of the leadership team where I work; however, I don’t have anyone who directly reports to me, which makes some requests a little difficult. I can’t tell or force someone to do something for me, and even if someone did listen, the diminishing returns of playing the boss card are always out there. If anything is going to get done, it will have to be through gentle persuasion and steady leadership. So when I saw this book by Nan Russell, I knew I had to check it out (it’s on my list of leadership reading recommendations). It was a huge hit, and I have some phenomenal tips and ideas to share with you today. Let’s jump in.

the-titleless-leader-nan-russell

What I liked

  • The book starts early with this great quote: “Discretionary efforts are tamed, ideas are shelved in heads, and interest in work has waned at a time when intellectual property and initiative are competitive necessities leaders can’t buy with a paycheck.” Paying for physical effort is vastly different from paying for intellectual effort, though many managers still cling to the ideas that worked 60 years ago when manual labor made up the lionshare of the workforce.
  • Titleless Leadership is common sense, but uncommonly displayed behaviors that, when practiced, create trust, positive influence, exemplary results, and natural followership. For a titleless leader, it’s not rank that gets results, it’s actions. Wow.
  • Leadership is a choice. You don’t become a leader by taking a class or reading a book. You become a leader by making “leader decisions” time and time again.
  • How do you get trust? By giving it first. Assume the best. The trust “calculator” on page 29 is an intriguing idea. It looks at what levels of trust you can delegate to people and when to give more or rein it in based on the results you’re getting.
  • The chapter on teaming with others starts with this phenomenal proverb: If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. A strong team can take the business farther than the sum of its parts.
  • Want to draw people to you? Practice self-accountability, and practice it well. When you hold yourself up to a high standard, others will want to achieve that same standard. Be accountable for keeping your own tasks on target, and others will want to follow that success.
  • Rankism sucks. If you don’t know what rankism is, it’s basically treating others differently based on their rank or status. And it’s a terrible practice. And that leads us to…
  • Don’t look for special treatment. Give it instead. Yeah, you heard me. Instead of expecting someone to treat you with kid gloves or offer you something special, you should be practicing that for others, especially those who wouldn’t expect it.
  • One more for this review since it’s getting pretty long. A little later in the book the author brings up an example of an organization that had some public fallout due to 10% of their staff using the government web servers to view pornography and other illicit content. It’s a quick and easy illustration for how we all too quickly focus on the negative and ignore the fact that 90% of the staff are doing the right things. I see this as especially valuable for HR pros. Too often we get bogged down in the negative and lose focus on the great work the rest of the staff is accomplishing. Don’t let the negativity take over!

Wrap up

I would highly recommend this book as a resource for anyone who wants to have more influence within their organization.  Just a word of warning: you will be ready to take over the world when you pick up some of these contagious ideas. Some of the concepts are very “common sense,” but even those are presented in a way that is fresh and invigorating. I’m going to be recommending this to friends and coworkers, and I wholeheartedly recommend it for you as well. Click here to get your copy of the book.

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The Titleless Leader
Reviewed by Ben Eubanks on
.
Leadership from the bottom up!
This book focuses on leadership and how to do it when you don’t have a fancy title or manager responsibilities. Highly recommended for those looking to advance their career and grow their leadership influence.
Rating: 5

5 IFTTT Recipes for Recruiters

There are new tools released every day that make our lives more complex, but I’ve been looking at IFTTT lately, and it’s all about making life simpler.

IFTTT stands for “if this, then that.” It’s an online tool that looks for an “if” and then takes a “then” action. The most common examples you might be familiar with are Outlook inbox rules. For example, IF that creepy coworker sends an email to you, THEN it gets marked as “trash.” Or IF your boss sends you an email, THEN your rule marks it with a flag to follow up.

IFTTT does that on a bigger scale. For instance, it can monitor your email account. If you receive an email with an attachment, it can automatically download the attachment to your Dropbox folder to save it.

Or even simpler-you can set it to monitor the weather and send you a text message if it is raining/snowing so you don’t forget your umbrella. Or maybe you get an email from your best friend, and it sends you a text message alert as a heads up. There are hundreds of ideas for rules (or “recipes,” as they like to call them), and the only limit is your imagination.

iftttHere are 5 IFTTT recipes I think recruiters could use

  1. share relevant blog feeds on Linkedin using a Feedly category (link)
  2. send yourself an email whenever someone posts a job or resume on Craigslist (link)
  3. dictate a voice memo and email transcription and mp3 file to yourself (link)
  4. use Google calendar to schedule content for your recruiting/careers page on Facebook (link)
  5. send a text message that calls your phone (for those times when you’re stuck with that candidate who just won’t stop talking despite all of your nonverbal cues) (link)

More ideas for IFTTT recipes from around the Web

My Hope

Christmas isn’t something that should upset or anger people. It isn’t something that should make a person feel uncomfortable. Yet that’s what it has become in many respects. I have no issues with diversity and inclusion, but that also means we shouldn’t be excluding others’ beliefs in hopes that we won’t offend anyone.

If someone doesn’t celebrate a specific holiday due to personal or religious beliefs, then that is their choice. However, I would never feel uncomfortable or uneasy about wishing anyone and everyone Merry Christmas, since that’s the event I celebrate this time of year.

When I wish you a Merry Christmas, it is my hope that you’ll take it in the spirit that it is offered. It’s my hope that you will join me in a celebration that is meaningful to me. I’m not trying to convert anyone or make them feel uncomfortable, and I’ve only met a few people with enough of a chip on their shoulder to respond negatively to my well-wishes.

But why respond that way? It’s my attempt to include you in an annual event that has shaped my life for the better.

I’ve learned to be a selfless giver to those in need.

I’ve learned to have more patience, especially with those close to me.

I’ve learned to hold onto those precious moments with family.

Yes, Christmas holds more significance for me as a Christian, but on the surface, those are the ways that others will benefit from me taking part in this celebration year after year. When I wish you or someone else a Merry Christmas, I hope for those same powerful changes in your own life. Who among us couldn’t stand to have a more generous spirit, a patient soul, and a loving heart?

I wish you a very Merry Christmas, and I look forward to another great year ahead, my friends.

My New Phone-A Love Story

I’m sure the rest of you are just biding your time until you’re off for Christmas, so I’m going laid back today and tackling the age-old question: What does an HR person carry in their purse/pocket for a cell phone? 

Earlier this month I had to break down and get another phone. My Droid2 was my go-to for over two years, and it finally stopped charging altogether. I love technology, but I’m also easy to please, so I’m not switching out every time a new item hits the shelf. I started researching and talking with friends so I could educate myself on the best options available.

droid razr maxxI knew I needed a few key things:

  • The battery life needs to be good. I hate using it at a conference and having to recharge every 3-4 hours of heavy use.
  • Needs to be Android. No Apple for me. And BlackBerry? Don’t make me laugh.
  • It should take good pictures and video so I can fulfill parent law #24-everything your kids do is worth documenting.

So I wandered around the Verizon store and put my hands on the lovely Droid Razr Maxx.

Its  main selling point is that the battery is the largest of pretty much any phone on the market, and boy can you tell it! I can use it for 24 hours of normal talking, texting, surfing, etc. and still have 40-50% of the battery left. Not too shabby.

The pictures are pretty snazzy compared with my old phone as well. I am hoping to shoot more video content for the blog once we get into the new year. I’ve missed the video content and I think it’s a great tool for personalizing the content here for you guys.

Plus it’s an Android phone, which means it syncs seamlessly with my Google account and other services. I liked my previous phone, but I had no idea what I was missing until I moved to the Razr Maxx.

Okay, enough geeky talk from me. What is your weapon phone of choice?

What’s your tool of choice? iPhone? BlackBerry? Android? Something else?

The Temp Factor (Book Review)

The Temp Factor by Cathy Reilly

the temp factor book cathy reilly

Recently I received a copy of The Temp Factor: The Complete Guide to Temporary Employment for Staffing Services, Clients, and Temps from Cathy A. Reilly. I didn’t know what to expect from the book, because I don’t have much experience with temps or staffing companies. I ended up with a well-rounded understanding of the client/temp/agency relationship triangle, and I feel much more comfortable with the possibility of working with a staffing company at some point in the future. Below you’ll see a few tips I learned and also to whom I might recommend this book.

What I liked

  • For the newbies-pages 19/20 have a great checklist of items that will help put new clients at ease. I know if I was hiring a staffing firm that the answers to these questions would be very valuable to help establish a trusting relationship with my new provider. It includes basic info, but the new clients might not know to even ask some of the questions!
  • Culture matters! Thankfully Ms. Reilly covers one of the biggest concerns I would have about hiring temporary workers: culture. How do we explain it to them? How do we find someone who is only temporary but still a fit for what matters most to us? She goes into some detail here on presenting candidates that are “company ready,” meaning not only fully prepared for the operational aspects of the role, but also the cultural considerations that could make or break the staffing company’s reputation if handled poorly.
  • Tip for the agencies: use updated and fresh materials, including timesheets and business cards. Just because the concept of a time card is 80 years old doesn’t mean your forms should be using an 80 year old design. Every time a client signs off on the timesheet, it’s a marketing opportunity to reinforce your brand identity–use it well.
  • Handling problems: the customer service side of the client/agency relationship can be complex, but one piece of advice stands out. The manner in which you handle problems can become the problem itself. Find out about an issue with a temp? Take care of it, or it could hinder the relationship with the client on a larger scale.
  • Top three issues with temps: performance, policy related, and “fit.” Those are the key areas to ensure your temps are performing up to par if you want to remain on contract for your services as a staffing firm.
  • Shopping for a temp agency? Ask these questions… Page 250 has a laundry list of “wants” that a company could desire from a staffing firm. The challenge is to pick the top five or ten and customize the list for your business. For instance, if you are looking for a satisfaction guarantee, a temp that is coachable within their specialty area, and a person that is a strong culture fit, make those the top three items for the agency to agree to. That allows you to differentiate among those providers who might be able to do one or two of those but isn’t quite a fit for what you need overall.
  • Just say “no” to celebutemps. If the agency is pushing someone on you who is “great” and “really nice,” ask for more concrete information. Find out what makes them so “great” and “nice,” because those hard facts are going to be the basis of why you decide to bring them on (or not). This is the equivalent of an employee trying to refer a clueless friend with no marketable skills–if they can’t tell you what makes them a fit, they aren’t going to fit!

Wrap up

Again, I am not extremely experienced with temps and temp agencies, so my take on it is from that perspective. I would recommend this book for temps looking to hone their craft, HR pros looking to partner with a staffing agency, or staffing agencies looking for innovative ways to serve clients and grow the business. This book covers all that and more! Click here to get your copy of the book if you are interested.

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