PHR Online “Study Group”

The tool I’m discussing today isn’t so much a PHR online “study group,” but you’ll see in a minute why I’ve started referring to this group that way.

Back when I released the SPHR &PHR Self Study Course in November, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that it would be a valuable tool and that it would really help people who were looking for something to help them stay motivated and engaged with their studies. There really wasn’t anything on the market that compared to the course other than in-person study groups, and those aren’t always easy to come by.

PHR Online Study groupI’ve had over 25 students go through the course so far. I expected a more junior group of HR pros, but it’s been an amazing cross section that represents the diversity we have in the HR field. A few examples of people who have taken the course:

  • HR Administrator for a realty office in North Carolina
  • HR Manager in hospitality industry from Indiana
  • A secretary trying to break into HR at a Florida university
  • An Organizational Development expert for a hospital in the Southwestern US
  • A talent acquisition pro from Texas

And that’s just the first few names on the list. I’ve been amazed to interact with this great group of people and help them prepare for their exams, and I would love to do the same if you’re interested in taking one of the HR certification exams.

Upcoming test window

Here are the upcoming test registration windows and testing dates for the PHR/SPHR exams from the HRCI website.

  • Test Dates: May 1-June 30
  • Registration Dates: Jan. 22 – Mar. 22

While the registration dates are from January 22 to March 22, the study course runs for 12 weeks, so you’d need to sign up by the end of January to ensure adequate time to complete the course before your actual exam date. If you sign up late, you can still get the lessons (see below).

Common question

I’ve set up the course to be delivered over a 12 week period to allow participants to soak up the information and adequately prepare. However, I had a few people sign up and say they wanted to get the lessons sooner (maybe they signed up late, they changed their test date, etc.). I do have the ability to send all of the lessons at once; however, I wouldn’t encourage everyone to do that unless there’s a specific reason for deviating from the schedule.

What people are saying

I’m always pleasantly surprised when someone lets me know their thoughts. I’ve been doing this long enough to know that most people don’t share their own thoughts and ideas, so the comments have been welcome:

  • Thank you! You definitely hit the nail on the head with this, as I've been really dragging my feet studying for this. Thanks again for creating this! Debbie
  • I attempted the PHR in June and came up short by 20 points. Heartbreaker. I was reluctantly planning my study strategy when I received the info on your study guide. It has been most helpful. Kelly
  • I want to thank you so much for going out of your way in helping me prepare for my PHR. It is so very much appreciated. Sherrie

A special bonus

Anyone who signs up for the upcoming test window will receive a special video I’m working on where I answer the top 7 questions that I receive most often about the HR certification exams. This ranges from “how can I study without breaking the bank” to “how long should I study” and even “what should I do on exam day?” It’s a collection of the most common things people ask, and I’ll be sending that video out as a special bonus to those who join the course.

Questions? Let me know and I’m happy to help!

Human Resources Entrepreneur Lessons For Better Performance

4 Tips from the Life of a Human Resources Entrepreneur

human resources entrepreneur-secret identityShhh. I have a secret identity. When I’m not working on my blog/business as a human resources entrepreneur, I’m wearing a tie and going to a day job. I love the dual hats I am able to wear, and the experiences from both working a day job and working for myself are doubly exciting.

I also think that I get to make mistakes twice as fast. :-)

I’ve learned some great lessons that I think apply to my daily work in HR. Life as a human resources entrepreneur life isn’t always easy, and there are plenty of pitfalls. I’m going to talk about one of them that translates especially well to the HR profession and then I encourage you to check out the video below for the other three human resources entrepreneur lessons.

Working “on” vs. working “in”

I’m guilty of it. Let’s start off with that.

Do you ever get so bogged down in the day to day that you don’t take the time to step back and make sure that you’re seeing the big picture? I know I do. It’s easy, really. We get comfortable, even when project deadlines are bearing down on us and we feel like we’re fighting a forest fire with a wet towel. We lower our heads and plow through instead of taking the time to work on process improvement or how we can make things better by putting systems in place.

It’s easy, even when work is difficult, to work “in” the department. It’s not just in human resources. Entrepreneur life includes the same challenge.

In the revolutionary book The E-Myth, Michael Gerber talks about how small businesses often fail because the leaders fail to work “on” the business. People get into business for themselves because they enjoy doing something specific–making soap, cleaning houses, or even blogging.

So they focus on that (working “in” the business). At some point they run into a problem and they keep trying to solve it by doing what they’ve always done; however, it’s not the answer. If the entrepreneur doesn’t stop, take stock, and decide what the business needs (working “on” the business), then it’s destined to fail at some point. That’s a simple example, but you get the picture.

If we as HR pros don’t stop and take stock once in a while, then we’re going to be left in the dust. Marketing, finance, IT, etc. all take the time to plan for the future. They look at how they fit into the organization and plan ahead so they are leading the charge, not trying to play catch up. If you’re not making time to work on your HR team (maybe a “state of the HR union address” would be in order?), then you’re going to be left behind.

It might not be today, and it might not be this year, but there will come a time that you are going to wish that you’d taken the time to rise above the daily shuffle to plan ahead and ensure that your work was congruent with the organization’s goals.

I think I’ve made my point on that one. Check out the video for three other lessons learned as a human resources entrepreneur. This life has taught me much (mainly through making plenty of mistakes and learning from them!).

Video: Human resources/entrepreneur lessons

Subscribers click here to view.

(There’s a little bit of echo and the cam shifted to chop my head off after I set it up, but it’s still pretty darn good compared to the early days. I’ve since fixed the echo and head chopping, so there’s a great example of process improvement right there!) :-)

So, what do you think of the human resources entrepreneur lessons I’ve shared? Are you guilty of any of these? Did you learn any lessons that you can take with you into your day job to do it better? Any plans to work “on” the HR function instead of just “in” it?

The Customer Rules (Book Review)

The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service by Lee Cockerell

As an HR professional, I don’t often interact with the end-customers for our business. However, I learned early in my career that HR’s internal customers (managers and staff) are to be treated as well as, if not better than, we actually treat our customers who purchase our products and services. It’s the opportunity for an HR/recruiting professional to serve others well.

I’m always looking for ideas on how to better serve our people here, and when I saw this I knew I had to check it out. Read on for a few ideas that I picked up from this handy book.

The Customer Rules Lee CockerellWhat I liked

  • You hear stories every day about great service, poor service, and everything in between. This simple statement hit me pretty hard: Great service does not cost any more than average or poor service. When it costs nothing to offer a smile and a kind word, why isn’t it the norm instead of the exception?
  • Your service statement should inspire your staff to new heights of delivering world-class service to customers. This quote from the book is a perfect example: It has been our responsibility to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality. Wow. It doesn’t say, “Be nice” or “Help customers quickly.” It says “fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality.” If that doesn’t inspire you I don’t know what will.
  • In the chapter on hiring the best people, Cockerell talks about the time he learned to stop asking leading questions in interviews. We all know that behavioral interviewing can bring great results, but when the question sets the person up to sound like a rockstar (whether they truly are or not), it reduces the value of the responses provided. An example he gave is “Tell me about a time you went above and beyond to satisfy a customer.” A better question might simply be “Tell me about a time you served a customer,” and then you judge if it’s truly an above and beyond type of experience.

Wrap up

I would recommend this book for anyone looking for ideas to serve customers (internal or external) better. I think we can all learn a few lessons (or be reminded of the tried-and-true principles of service, at the very least) from this book. If you are interested in checking it out, click here to get your copy of the book.

Click here for other book reviews.

The Crown Publishing Group provided this review copy.

The New HR Department-Ultimate Guide

One of my older, popular posts is from 2010 and talks about how to run a one-person or new HR department. I wrote it after attending a conference session on the topic, but at the time I had never been in a small or new HR department before. Now I have that experience and would like to share. I also realized that a very close tie-in is the group of HR professionals who have had to start the HR function from scratch (whether in a new company or an existing one), and I think this article is going to be very helpful for both of those groups.

In addition, there are amazing ideas included here for HR pros who feel like there’s just not enough time in the day to get everything accomplished (who out there can’t claim that one?). You’ll learn how to juggle multiple competing priorities and make the biggest impact with the fewest actions. You’ll learn how to balance the needs of an executive team with those of your staff, and I’m willing to bet you’ll take away a heck of a lot more.

Note: I have included more information in this article than some of the eBooks I’ve published(!). I plan to combine this information into a free PDF guide to share on the blog if there is any interest in that. There was just too much great content to cut any out, and I don’t want to shortchange those who took the time to share their ideas with us. Enjoy!

The New HR Department Ultimate Guide

Table of Contents

  1. Small/New HR Department Survey Data
  2. My Experience in a Small and/or New HR Department
  3. The Highlights Reel-Starting a New HR Department
  4. New HR Department Advice from the Trenches
  5. Additional Resources

Small/New HR Department Survey Data

In preparation for this article, I sent out a request for help to several hundred subscribers. The results below are for a question that asked the respondent to rank the following according to priority:

  • Developing a long-term HR strategic plan
  • Building HR’s credibility within the organization
  • Taking charge of your own professional development
  • Staying on top of legislative developments and requirements
  • Developing alliances/partnerships to fill any skill gaps

Check out the chart below. Click the image to make it larger.

New HR Department Priority FocusI had no preconceived notions about which area was the most critical, so I was surprised to see that developing alliances/partnerships made the top of the list of priorities. I’ve emphasized that in my roles for several years now, and I believe it has helped to shore up areas of weakness and provided invaluable networking opportunities as well.

I think legislative/legal updates fell to the bottom due to the “fun factor” (or lack thereof). It’s still going to get done, but we don’t have to like it. :-) To be honest, this felt like an unfair survey, because all of these are key areas to focus on; however, I was interested in finding out what others thought about which one made it to the top of the list.

Any surprises here for the rest of you?

My Experience in a Small HR Department

I’m a relative newbie to this world, but I know it’s where I was meant to be. What makes a small or new HR department different from other companies?

  • We don’t pick up the phone and call our corporate HR team. We ARE the corporate HR team.
  • We are comfortable with research and making judgement calls.
  • We constantly seek out opportunities for professional development–if you’re not growing you’re dying.

There are certainly more, but those three quickly jumped to mind.

Starting an HR dept in an existing organization? You should be able to answer these key questions if you plan to be successful:

  • What was the purpose for creating this new department?
  • Who made the decision? Who is going to support you as you learn about the organization and its key players?
  • What HR activities were being done previously and who was doing them?
  • What sort of culture exists? Do the leaders and staff have the same view of the culture?

managing an hr department of one

I had an amazing mentor, but like I said, I feel like I’m wired for this kind of stuff. I love the challenge and bouncing around to the different areas of HR on an hourly basis. There’s no substitute!

After doing a little research, I read this book last year and it had some great ideas and advice. It’s been around for a while and still makes the bestseller lists in the SHRM bookstore regularly. I admit that it’s pricey if you look at it only as a book; however, it’s much cheaper than a 6 hour study course plus travel costs to get the same content, so keep that in mind.

The Highlights Reel

I posted this short slidedeck on Slideshare as a way to share some of the ideas beyond the blog. It’s a “highlights reel” of the content and I hope it helps some people who otherwise would not find this article. If you’re waiting for the good stuff, skip down to the next section and you can get some tips and advice from people who do this stuff on a daily basis!

New HR Department Advice from the Trenches

I reached out to a few people I trust and also opened up a short survey for a handful of people who are (or have been) in this scenario before. Below you’ll see how real HR pros have confronted and overcome the obstacles facing someone in a new or small HR department.

Note: I want to apologize to anyone who submitted comments that were not included here. I had an overwhelming number of responses and had to limit myself to sharing the first few people who responded. As I said above, I plan to put this together into a free PDF so that anyone can read, print, or share the information. Look for that coming soon!

———-

Richard wrote a monster of a contribution. I had to pull out some of the content for space reasons, but I have his entire piece linked here if you want to check that out. It’s phenomenal and worth your time to read if you truly want the advice of a guy who’s “been there, done that.” Here’s the extremely shortened version. Be sure to read the full piece or you’ll miss the good stuff.

  • If you are setting up a brand-new HR department, or you are taking on one all on your own, build your plans for immediate impact projects, short-term (within the quarter) projects, and long-term projects. HR project management is serious stuff.
  • Your plans WILL be disrupted. Constantly. Build that into your timeline.
  • Don’t underestimate how much information your employees want.
  • If you are a soloist, and especially if you are relatively new to employment laws, make yourself a binder (electronic or hard-copy) of the most up-to-date info on the basics (FMLA, FLSA, ADA, and if you handle benefits, COBRA).
  • Do your best to not become the “office cop” – the hardest role you have is to watch out for things that can get the company (and people) in trouble without being the person that everyone avoids.
  • And finally, the top three skills you should use on a daily basis: talk, listen, and learn. Again, (I’ll say it one more time) check out the full content if you haven’t already so you don’t miss any of the details on how to implement this yourself.

Thanks again to Richard Sherman for pitching in and offering some great advice!

———-

Brian shared some very intriguing ideas for outsourcing the majority of the “HR” work to allow a small team to handle the critical roles of the HR function. I don’t know that I agree with all of Brian’s comments, but then again I’ve never been in a crunch tight enough to have to seriously evaluate something like this. It’s an interesting proposition if nothing else!

I would try to “outsource” process driven activities to as many internal partners as possible.  Payroll is likely already housed within Finance; perhaps open enrollment and qualifying life events could be something they tackle as well (the counseling portion still resides with HR).  Recruitment, orientation and onboarding? Give it to Marketing who can polish what you are selling to potential candidates and new employees.  Compensation is driven by numbers and spreadsheets; pull in someone from Accounting.  Training may be best handled by line supervisors and tenured employees.  Employee Relations can be farmed out to Legal.

With 1-3 bodies, you may only be able to effectively handle 2-4 areas even with the best time management skill set.  Pick the one thing each person can be an expert in and allow them to spend time in other areas that interest them.  Solve what you can afford through technology to avoid getting bogged down by process-driven activities; the rest needs to be shared responsibility where it makes sense.  Find that executive champion who understands HR and can go to bat when 3 bodies can no longer manage the workload. Brian Deming

———-

Make sure to visit with each manager and ask them what HR can do for them to help make their job easier. Learn everything you can about the business and ask to be included instead of waiting around to be asked to do something (you end up being a paper pusher or sheriff if you don’t).

Linda Haft

———-

In a small to non-existent HR department, strategy, talent, etc. isn’t important.  Most of the company is flying by the seat of its pants.  What is needed is benefits, knowledge of applicable laws, processes and procedures (performance reviews, requesting vacation time, requesting sick time, etc.), and guts.

The HR person has to have the guts to go to the company president and say “You can’t do that,” and be prepared to hear, “Sure I can; I own the company.”  Then you have to dig your heels in and insist.  Then you go back to your office, hold your breath and hope you didn’t just sign your own termination.

Donna Caissie, the ExtraOrdinary Assistant

———-

  1. Expand your network of HR professionals. These are the people you can call on to bounce ideas around, vent, etc.
  2. Smile before you pick up the phone to say hello. You will be the point person for many questions such as insurance, retirement, pay, etc. We all have had the one employee who has gotten on our last nerve, but always remember that without the employees you would not be needed. Smile before you pick up the phone and you will automatically position yourself to be in a better mood to deal with the annoying employee.
  3. Enjoy what you do. If you don’t, move on.

Bobbi Wilson

Additional Resources

Below you’ll find a few links to other helpful resources. I went through several dozen and discarded the ones I felt would not be value-add to this discussion on working in a new HR department.

Your Turn

Okay, do you have anything to add? What has (or hasn’t) worked for you? What advice would you give someone starting out in a small or new HR department for the first time? Let’s make this thing even better!

 

Recruiting Process-How to Share Job Openings with SmartRecruiters and MailChimp

Recruiting process improvement, at its finest.

That’s the thought that whipped through my brain earlier this week when I was able to conquer a problem with our recruiting process that has plagued me on and off for approximately 20 months. Here’s the gist of it:

I signed us up for SmartRecruiters back in April 2010. I really like the service (the basic tool is free!), and it was a drastic improvement over our previous system of collecting emailed resumes from interested applicants. Blah.

So I’m cruising along and suddenly have an epiphany. At the time I was using MailChimp to deliver my email newsletter for the blog, and I thought to myself, “What if I could tie our job opening feed from SmartRecruiters into MailChimp? Then people who come to our careers page and don’t see a job they are interested in can submit their email address to be notified of our new job openings automatically.”

The basic principle behind the technology (reading a feed of jobs and pushing out an email about new additions to the list) was sound, and I’d seen it work well for the website.

The key purpose: building engagement in our recruiting process

I wanted to increase engagement in our recruiting process and help candidates learn more about us at the same time. There’s a neat tool within applications like MailChimp that allow you to send automatic emails to someone at regular intervals (autoresponders). In my mind, here’s what that meant:

  • Person submits email and gets a warm welcome response immediately.
  • 2-3 days later, the person gets an email that goes over our basic hiring process and how it works if they should ever move into that phase with us.
  • 2-3 days later, the person gets an email that delves deep into our culture, what we believe, and how that plays a part in the hiring process. It gives them a chance to opt out if they see that we aren’t a place they would like working (on the flip side, it also can turn them into an even bigger fan if they turn out to be a great fit for our culture).
  • 2-3 days later, the person gets some general tips on how to prepare for an interview, what to wear, etc.
  • Et cetera. The only limit is your creativity, though you wouldn’t want to schedule so many that you’re becoming annoying.

Starting to get my drift? With a tool like this, I could get a lukewarm person very interested in working with us in under a week and without having any hands-on work after the setup. I’m building our brand and keeping our recruiting process lean at the same time.

Disclaimer: I’m all about a high-touch recruiting process, but when you’re the only HR person around, you have to get creative with how to manage the workload of recruiting. I can’t personally talk with every candidate who applies, and I think this is the greatest gift I can offer to someone, since it is valuable information and could help them in the event we have something open that fits their skills/interests. 

The problem

So that all sounds very positive and encouraging, right? However, when I started trying to test it out, I couldn’t make it work. I’m nerdy, but I’m not a full-blown geek, and even the tech support guys at SmartRecruiters seemed to be stumped.

So I shelved the idea and vowed to give it a few minutes every so often to see if I can figure out some sort of workaround. Approximately twenty months go by with no progress.

Then I accidentally found the solution. Continue reading →

Business Boot Camp (Book Review)

Business Boot Camp: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career

Most of you know that I transitioned into a more formal leadership-type role last year. That brought about multiple changes that are still affecting me today:

  • I’m more aware of my role as a leader and what it means to our staff/company
  • I’m on the path to becoming a  first-time manager in the next year or so
  • I’m coaching managers on leadership/management skills on a weekly basis

So when I picked up this book, I was really looking for a handful of ideas that would help me with all three of those areas. Read on to find out what I learned.

Business Boot CampWhat I liked

  • Delegation is normally seen as “get something off my plate” for most leaders. However, it’s truly a two-way street. In some cases, it can even be a type of coaching when it allows employees to improve their skills and knowledge through on the job training. And employees with managers who delegate well are more capable and enthusiastic because of their career growth opportunities. Note: this doesn’t mean handing off filing papers or something you hate as a means of delegation. That can be done, but it doesn’t apply to this coaching-type scenario.
  • Speaking of coaching… Coaching isn’t an ad hoc, spur of the moment type meeting. It’s a well-planned interaction with specific goals. Here’s a good quote to support that: “Coaching is about identifying the existing situation and the desired one and then helping the team member plot and travel the path to get from the first to the second.”
  • Strategic thinking is a critical skill for a leader. Actions are not made in a vacuum, and decisions should be made in a way that filters through these four key areas: increased organizational effectiveness, reduced costs, improved customer service, and/or positive contributions to the bottom line. If it doesn’t satisfy any of those requirements, then it might not be worth doing. There’s a quick litmus test for you.
  • One more that hit home with me–Your leadership image. How do people perceive you? No, let me ask the proper question: how do people perceive you when you’re facing a crisis? You don’t always have to know the answer or solve the problem single-handedly; however, you must maintain your integrity, confidence, etc. Over time, you’ll gradually become more confident in your responses to problems, but never forget that your team is watching you and will follow your lead (whether positive or not).

Wrap up

I would recommend this book for new managers/leaders or those looking to brush up on their skills. This book contains solid foundation concepts, and might even be a little basic for those with a more advanced role (though, like I said, I was able to pull a few new ideas to share). If you’re looking to hone your skills as a leader/manager, click here to get your copy of the book.

Click here for other book reviews.

AMACOM provided this review copy.

AMA Business Boot Camp
Reviewed by Ben Eubanks on
Jan 10.
Foundational business and leadership principles
This book focuses on some of the key principles and knowledge that strong managers and leaders need to know in order to be successful in a managerial or leadership role.
Rating: 4

Monkey Management-Don’t Take the Monkey

Don’t. Take. The. Monkey.

Ever had someone stop by your desk, tell you about a problem, and walk away, leaving the mess in your hands? They just gave you a monkey. And what’s worse is that you let them do it.

monkey-managementIf you’re not familiar, there’s a common phrase this relates to, which is “monkey on your back.” It’s a metaphor for an unwanted burden that it’s difficult to get rid of. When you accept someone else’s problems, you’re taking the monkey off their back and putting it onto yours. Don’t do it. Don’t take the monkey.

How to avoid monkeys

  • Take the time to tactfully, yet directly, ask, “What would you like me to do about this?” Often times, the person will back off. At that point it’s no longer a problem to be solved; it’s just an employee blowing off steam.
  • If the problem turns out to be a real issue but isn’t worth dealing with at the current time, simply let the employee know that the other priorities come before the issue at hand. They walk away with the monkey and nobody gets hurt.
  • Push back on the employee to handle the issue. Take a moment to agree with them that the issue exists, but explain why they are better suited to handling the problem and request that they return a solution to you. Again, they walk away with the monkey, leaving you to complete your work without the added stress.

I’m guilty of creating monkeys and also taking them on, so this post is based on pure experience (a surprising number of my posts are just me telling myself to stop being an idiot). I also found a great resource to go along with this if you want to check it out. Click here for a great one-page tool on “monkey management” and how to avoid taking on unwanted monkeys in the course of your day job.

If you’re interested in learning more about the HR side of project management, check out the HR project managment guide.

Okay, let’s be honest. Who else has created monkeys out there? How did you (or your manager) handle it? Do you accept monkeys from your staff?