“HR is representing the people at your organization that deliver the results of whatever mission you have… There is no greater voice for the people than HR.”

We hear so much about large employers and enterprise firms in the news. These organizations are a key part of the global economy, but did you know that over 99% of employers in the US have fewer than 1,000 employees? Yes, really! This market of smaller organizations employs more than half of the US workforce and creates incredible value not just globally but in millions of communities where these firms create jobs and opportunities in their respective areas. 

In this episode, Ben interviews Tom Hammond from Paychex to talk about this critical SMB (small and mid-sized business) market and how these firms operate. Last year Lighthouse Research ran an analysis of 1,000 employers to understand how they buy technology, hire HR staff, and outsource HR activities. This study offers critical insights as Ben and Tom talk about how many of these firms have HR technology, what drives decisions about hiring HR staff, and more.

To see the research Ben and Tom discuss, check out https://lighthouseresearch.lpages.co/hr-adoption-curve/
To learn more about Paychex, visit Paychex.com
To connect with Tom, reach out on Twitter: @thammondhr

Employee paid leave is often overlooked because it has been around for what seems like forever. It’s fairly standard, and the biggest advancement in recent history has been moving from a split vacation/sick model to a paid time off or “PTO” model, where employees can use the leave flexibly for illness, vacation, or other personal needs as they see fit. 

The problem, though, is that people still don’t use that time as they should. They carry heavy leave balances, which creates liability for their employers. They don’t take the time off because they feel like they can’t be away from the office. Whatever the case, it’s not serving the purpose that it should. Research shows that people return from time away from work with better mental health and reduced anxiety (even when they have an overflowing inbox), so how can we solve this? 

In today’s discussion, Ben talks with Rob Whalen of PTO Exchange. Rob shares some sobering statistics on PTO usage by employees and how much is forfeited annually, failing to serve the employee population it was designed to help. Rob also explains how PTO Exchange is helping employers to help employees by converting PTO into retirement savings, emergency funds, charitable donations, and more. It’s time to start thinking strategically about paid leave benefits to help employees with a diverse set of needs. 

Contact Rob or PTO Exchange: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-whalen-1287077/ 

https://ptoexchange.com/contact  

Resource: 4 ways to get employees to use more vacation time 

Today, more workers than ever are in roles that do not provide them with an office, a desk, or even a computer or email address. Forbes says that more than 2 billion workers work in a deskless environment. So how can employers communicate with those staff, engage them with learning content, and keep them informed? 

In today’s episode, Ben interviews Jon Thurmond, an HR leader with Team Fishel, to explore this challenging issue. Thurmond has led the charge at Team Fishel to create an internal podcast to share content both for communications and training purposes, and it is already receiving positive support from the rest of the organization. 

In the conversation, Jon explains how to get started, what it takes to build a business case, and a few ideas for the kinds of content he is targeting with the new communication channel. 

Connect with Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jon_Thurmond

Check out Jon’s podcast: https://hrsocialhourpodcast.podbean.com/

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Take the one-question Talent Acquisition Priorities survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VGKB7LH

HR and Talent Trends webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mRX4LkNSTzSz90OjZOP1NQ

Are you a senior HR pro thinking about getting a certification, and you’re selecting between the SHRM-SCP and the SPHR? Have you wondered if the SHRM senior professional certification or the HRCI senior professional in human resources certification is right for you? Or maybe you’re one of those thinking about getting both of these credentials? Then this post is for you!

One of the most popular posts I’ve written in the last few years continues to be a piece on HR certifications SHRM-CP and PHR. It is a very common question, and before SHRM and HRCI broke up, it wasn’t an issue. However, I’m now seeing more people who are moving up in their careers that want to explore the senior HR certifications like the SHRM-SCP and the SPHR. As someone who holds both certifications, I am an advocate of them for a few reasons:

• They quantify, to some degree, the person’s understanding of HR and how it ties into the business.
• They have more situational questions than the basic PHR/CP exams that are much harder to study for, requiring you to really know and have hands-on experience. That adds credibility when you do pass.

You will run across people who do not believe in them or care about certification. You will find Chief Human Resources Officers, VPs, and Directors that have no certification. Does that mean you shouldn’t pursue one? Absolutely not. If it’s on your mind and you are seriously considering it, then don’t let someone else’s career choices derail you from getting the certification you think you want. There’s also the financial aspects of earning more money with an HR certification.

To be transparent, I didn’t have to take the SHRM-SCP exam. SHRM was very smart during the split away from HRCI and allowed any practitioner to answer a few questions and in five minutes transfer our SPHR over to the SHRM-SCP certification. Many of the people you find with both have had both since the split, though there are some that have taken the additional time and expense to get them the “old fashioned” way by studying and taking two separate tests. I have great respect for those people and highly recommend that you reach out to a few friends or colleagues in the industry that you respect to ask them how they got the certification and for any advice they might offer for you.

I will offer my normal disclaimer here before I go any further: Continue reading →

In our study on Disruption and Reskilling, we found that one of the top ways employees want to learn new and different skill sets is through coaching and mentoring. However, mentoring is one of those concepts that is often oversimplified in the workplace. It’s more than a casual conversation or one-way relationship. As today’s guest on We’re Only Human puts it, there’s a level of “needed nervousness” to create positive tension and a supportive relationship. In other words, if you’re always comfortable, you are overlooking growth opportunities and you’re not developing at the rate you could be.

In an intriguing conversation with Major Chaveso “Chevy” Cook, an active duty officer and expert on mentoring and human interaction, Ben works with Chevy to dig into what it takes to create powerful, positive mentoring relationships that drive impact and value for the participants.

Learn more about Military Mentors: MilitaryMentors.org

Connect with Chevy: chevy@militarymentors.org or visit him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chaveso-chevy-cook