Write Your Own HR Manifesto

man·i·fes·to (noun) 1. a public declaration of policy and aims

What if I gave you a sheet of paper and asked you to write the manifesto for what matters in your world. What would you say?

hr manifestoRemember…

It doesn’t have to be long.

It doesn’t have to be complex.

It doesn’t have to be difficult.

It needs to be a vision of what drives your actions at the very core of your belief system.

What would be the title of your manifesto on talent management? What would you say? Can you even articulate your thoughts on the topic off the cuff? Why or why not?

If you think you don’t have any manifesto-worthy ideas relating to the business of people, why do you think that is? Is it a personal constraint or something else?

I think we all should have some core beliefs about what it means to lead people in the workplace. Take some time today to consider yours and, if necessary, put them to paper to ensure the ideas don’t get away from you. They’re worth holding onto.

Building Your HR Department (Free Guide)

Nearly a year ago I put together a post about starting or working in a new and/or small HR department. It’s a different world, and I quickly learned that this community works to share resources, pool knowledge, and generally help each other with facing the daily HR challenges.

building hr departmentThat post was very helpful to the HR community, and I wanted to give it a little more staying power, so I formatted it into an eBook in order to help share it with others more easily. Without further ado, click the link below to download the guide.

Building Your HR Department: Establishing a foundation for success

This short guide includes:

  • tips on what to focus on for long-term success
  • how I got started as a solo practitioner
  • advice from others in the trenches
  • additional resources to consider

If you find the guide helpful, please share it with other professionals in the space. That’s all I ask. My goal is to help as many of us as possible, and with your help, that range will be extended greatly. Thanks, and enjoy!

Avoiding the “Spam” Filter with Employee Communication

One thing I know (not think–KNOW) about HR is that it’s full of people who never get out of their cave.

You need to get out of your comfort zone. Read and do things outside of the specific HR body of knowledge to be better. That’s how I found myself reading a manual by Mailchimp on how to avoid spam filters. I want to be sure that the messages I craft are not being caught by email providers and firewalls, so I spent some time checking out the guide.

But then I started thinking about our daily lives. There’s a significant amount of noise around us daily. In my role as the communications guy at work, I might be able to get around any technology-related filters, but there are plenty of verbal/human filters that will prevent my messages from arriving at their destinations with the full intent and purpose with which I sent them.

Let’s look at a few concepts on this topic and how to avoid the human filters that prevent communication from taking place. Here are some of the most common email spam issues you would see (hint: don’t include these in ANY of your communications):

  • Using spammy phrases, like “Click here!” or “Once in a lifetime opportunity!”
  • Going crazy with exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • USING ALL CAPS, WHICH IS LIKE SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS VIA EMAIL (especially in the subject line)
  • Coloring fonts bright red or green, adding lots of italics, underlined text, or bold fonts

That covers a few of the glaring problems in the written world, but what about the verbal/nonverbal conversations we have on a daily basis? Here are some ideas to consider.

  • Don’t look at your phone when you’re talking with someone. Super rude.
  • Do make eye contact. Know how much is appropriate based on what local culture dictates.
  • Do ensure nonverbal cues (posture, hand gestures, facial expressions) convey that you’re interested in the other person.
  • Don’t assume that everyone understands and processes information in the same way you do.
  • Assume the other person is competent, and even if proven otherwise, treat them kindly.

Just doing a few of these will help to avoid problems or confusion when it comes to communication. And when it comes to critical items like overall corporate communications, a little help can go a long way.

What other ways do you see people messing up verbal/nonverbal cues? What advice do you have?

How to Find a Talent Pool

I can find admin staff easily enough. However, hiring a person for xyz skilled trade takes forever! I need to find a talent pool to tap into, but so far nothing!!!!!! Rebecca

The comment above was a piece of a recent conversation with a friend and reader up in Canada. We chat back and forth occasionally about recruiting topics, and I told her I would discuss the concept of finding/developing/building a talent pool for a skilled individual. I don’t know it all, but here’s how I have been able to develop a talent pool in an area that most would say is pretty tough to break into.

First, find one

It’s a much easier proposition if you have one to start from. Preferably a current employee or friend, because you’re going to be asking them a lot of (seemingly simple) questions. Occasionally we need to find a “provisioner” for our technical publications team. I’m still not 100% sure what these people do, but I know enough generally to understand if someone has what it takes or not. When I started my first search for one of these openings, I realized how little I knew. So I decided to remedy that situation.

I grabbed one of our current guys with a solid provisioning background and asked him a list of questions:

  • What do provisioners do?
  • What background makes someone good at provisioning?
  • What sort of companies hire provisioners?
  • What are some keywords I could use to find a provisioner’s resume?
  • Do any schools have provisioning-like degree or certification programs?
  • What sort of questions would you ask a provisioner to determine if they are proficient?

Those are a few, but they hit the highlights. I’m building a profile for what a provisioner looks like. Just like the police build a profile for someone in a criminal case based on what they know about the crime combined with statistical data, I do the same thing (minus handcuffs).

Expand that network

As long as you’re asking questions of your existing person, you might as well ask one more: who is the best you’ve ever seen at this job? That’s your #1 target. They won’t always be accessible, but it’s a good place to start. If it doesn’t pan out, leverage that connection into the person’s network. Here’s an example:

Hey, Bob! Glad to hear you’re enjoying your current work. Brian said you were great at what you do, and I’m always glad to see people excelling at what they love. If you ever change your mind or want to talk more, feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to discuss a position with you. In the meantime, is there anyone else you know who might be qualified/interested in a position like this?

That serves two purposes. First, it leaves the door open to future opportunities. People hate to shut doors, and I always leave it open, even if just barely, so they always feel comfortable reaching out. It swings both ways, too. If I ever have another opening in their field of expertise, you better believe I’ll be reaching out to find out if they are still happy at work. There have been plenty of times where that conversation turned into a job offer itself.

Always be looking

If you wrap up a hiring action and make an offer to a candidate, hang onto the next few if they are still qualified. You never know when the next batch of candidates might not be as strong as your second best pick this time around. And for everyone who turns you down, they are a potential “in” with a new networking chain.

Get a few champions

I have a few “champions” that I turn to fairly often. These people have great networks and are phenomenal about helping to find new staff, even when there isn’t a bonus or other incentive on the line. Recently I had a guy contact me, and I looked back through the email chain. There were seven connections between our “champion” and this guy. If any one of those people had stopped the chain, the guy would have never found the job. However, because of the credibility of the first guy in the chain, it kept rolling until the right guy saw the email.

As I said earlier, this isn’t the end, it’s just a beginning. Every position, company, and market is different. However, with the right attention to detail and persistence, you can create your own talent pool and rev up your recruiting for months to come.

HRevolution 2013 Closing Thoughts and Comments

I’ll keep this as brief as I can. It’s been a long few days and I’m still trying to catch my breath.

I’m always floored by people who say they read this blog. I see the stats–there’s a lot of you out there. However, it’s always interesting to meet someone face to face. Jane, you know who you are. Thanks for reading.

The session I led with Matt Charney was a success. We wanted to cover specific topics with regard to generations in the workplace, and although we didn’t prepare heavily (you normally don’t for an unconference-like event like HRevolution anyway), it went exactly as we had hoped. We helped the audience to open their eyes to the idea that maybe everything they “know” about Gen Y isn’t really as solid as they once thought.

The HR improv session was, by all accounts, pretty freaking hilarious. My only regret? I was running the A/V and wasn’t able to do videos again this year of all the presentations. Darn. Next year…

The session on “anything but HR” was a blast. I left there with some new ideas and am still trying to decide what it all means to me. Thanks to Jennifer McClure for asking some big questions.

We’re already discussing the next HRevolution. This year we had about 50% new participants. That’s amazing. And so many that I spoke with were itching to come back again. It’s tough to measure the effectiveness or success of the event quickly, or from year-to-year, but this year’s event was above par, even for our high standards.

For those of you who wanted to come but couldn’t make it, I urge you to make it happen next time. Tickets are cheap. The experience and deep questions you leave with are anything but.

Thanks again to my great teammates and to the volunteers who jumped in last minute to help this event be as successful as possible. I appreciate all of you, and I’m honored to know you.

4 Necessities for High Performing Teams

Great teams can propel organizations to new levels of success. Today we're looking at how to improve team performance with an approach that has proven results across a spectrum of cultural, geographic, and generational challenges. A few years ago The Orange Revolution was written by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. The book focuses on great teams and where they come from. According to the authors, there are four things that skilled leaders do in order to develop great teams.

  1. Ensure the right people join
  2. Translate corporate goals into team goals
  3. Facilitate great team conduct
  4. Promote a culture of appreciation

great team blue angelsWhen looking at teambuilding through that list of requirements, it's easy to see how each of these elements can tie into the plan. Let's break it down to each individual component and discuss each in turn.

Ensure the right people join

This is the crucial first step. Especially when looking at cross-cultural teams that might involve language barriers, geographical distance, or other difficult pieces, it's important to select the correct individuals that will “mesh” with each other and be able to collaborate effectively.

Translate corporate goals into team goals

This is often one of the more difficult pieces for team members to understand. Many are familiar with individual goals, but translating those up into top level team goals and overarching corporate goals can be more challenging. The essential power of a good team comes when each member understands the unified purpose and works toward a common goal.

Facilitate great team conduct

The majority of people have worked with a team that didn't get along well. The variety of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in the workplace virtually guarantees that there will be occasional friction; however, a good team lead will help to reduce that friction and enable each person to contribute to their fullest abilities.

Want to learn more about leading a team? Check out How to Manage a Team.

Promote a culture of appreciation

Sometimes, a difficult piece of working with a team could be a lack of individual appreciation for a job well done. Helping each team member understand how they can provide appreciation and recognition to their peers will increase overall satisfaction within and among the group.

These four key elements to building great teams are a great reminder that there is substantial potential for great performance in a well-built team.

How to be Excellent at Work

Earlier this month I was promoted to become the HR Manager at Pinnacle, which is a lot of fun. I’m doing work I love with people I enjoy being around, so I couldn’t ask for more. This week I was talking with one of our managers and discussing what makes people successful at Pinnacle. I think it’s probably the same as most companies, but sometimes it’s hard to tell with the significant differences between large and small organizations. I wanted to share some of those thoughts here, and maybe this will help with some coaching discussions as we head into the performance appraisal season…

How to be successful

As fast as I can rattle them off:

  1. There’s no job too small. You’re never too good to do anything.
  1. Treat everyone with respect. There’s always time to help people who ask to some degree.
  2. Become known as the expert in something (or multiple things). People will want your advice, and there’s a chance they will actually take it if they solicit it up front.
  3. Do your work with excellence, but also know a little about a lot of other areas. Otherwise you’re in a vacuum and relatively ineffective.
  4. Build others up whenever you get the chance, even if they don’t reciprocate.
  5. Learn to love things that others hate. More below on this one.

Loving what others hate

The easiest non-work example I have of this is running. I absolutely love running hills. Why? Because everyone else hates them. If I practice enough, I can easily be better than others in that area, and it ultimately serves my needs of wanting to run faster/stronger.

It applies at work as well. Have a software package that everyone uses but nobody likes? Take an hour to learn the ins and outs (at least at a basic level) and next time people grumble, ask if they’ve tried x or y solution.

Learn about the biggest challenges people face and try to determine how to solve them. Even if you don’t, you’ll still learn more about the tool and how it works.

In the end, the goal isn’t to make others love it. It’s to become an indispensable piece of the workforce.

Additional reading

If any of this struck a chord with you, then I highly recommend that you check out “How to Be the Smartest Person in the Room” and “How to Become the Go To Person at Work“