Tag Archives: Video

HR Competition or Cooperation?

Today I want to talk about HR competition. And cooperation. It’s something that I stop to consider every so often, and I am curious if I’m the only one who really thinks about it. Here’s my thought process in a nutshell:

We as HR professionals are very collaborative. We’re cooperative. But we’re also competitive. Whether we want to admit it or not, the companies we work for are often competing for the same customers and the same dollars. In the short video below I look at the collaboration vs competition mindset we hold as HR professionals.

Subscribers click here to view the video.

While I think there’s plenty of competition to go around, I also know that there’s a collaborative aspect that we all can leverage as well. This comment by Brad Lomenick says it very well.

Question: How do you become Collaborative without Competitive?

Answer: Collaboration has to flow from a place of generosity, truly believing that a higher tide lifts all boats. Be more concerned with others. Listen instead of talk. Be interested over interesting. To be collaborative we must understand that it's not about me. It's not about your organization, your non profit, or your project. It's about connecting people, not competing. Collaborators are okay sharing their wisdom, their knowledge, their connections, and their networks, because collaboration means working together alongside others. Co-laboring. Building bridges instead of constructing walls… When you have an abundance mindset you are more likely to collaborate instead of compete. Avoid the scarcity mentality – the idea that there is only so much to go around.

I know some amazing HR pros who embody the cooperative spirit. Who do you know that fits that mold? Do you have a more collaborative or competitive mindset? Why?

How to Give Critical Feedback at Work (Video)

Learning how to give critical feedback isn’t difficult, but actually doing it can be! Check out the video (and notes) below for some recent research on how to put this communication tool to use in your organization.

Video on why and how to give critical feedback

Email subscribers click here to view the video

Video notes

  • Positive feedback is valuable at the beginning of a project or movement to get traction.
  • Positive feedback has decreasing returns as the recipient becomes more proficient.
  • Learning how to give critical feedback the right way can actually help people learn from their mistakes and do better work.
  • Economics is a really cool topic, even if it takes a handful of nerds to decipher the data. :-)

Most of us know how to give critical feedback, but something inside still holds us back. As the smart guys at Freakonomics tell us, negative or critical feedback can be a positive thing!

Have you seen this scenario play out in your organization? How do you identify the tipping point between delivering positive or critical feedback? 

Three Things that (Actually) Motivate People

Today we have an entertaining, yet educational video that focuses on the topics in Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, a book by Dan Pink. It’s a neat little video that tells a visual story about motivation-based research.

That’s the easy part.

The hard part is checking out the items below the video and actually doing something with the information you learn. Look forward to seeing who takes the lesson to heart!

Video source link (subscribers click through)

Video Notes

If you can’t watch the video, the key point is that for knowledge-based work (white collar), just offering more money to someone doesn’t necessarily translate to better performance (it can actually cause just the opposite in some testing!). The three keys to motivating people are autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

  • Autonomy-how much control do I have over my job, the tools I use, and how I work?
  • Mastery-am I becoming better at what I do? How do I compare to others? Are my skills and knowledge  growing?
  • Purpose-is this job bigger than the paycheck? Do I have something that I can believe in and stand behind?

The challenge

After reading/watching this information, pick at least one question below and answer it in the comments section. Then share it with a manager in your organization who might find it helpful (we all know someone who is struggling with motivating their staff!).

  • How many of the three keys (autonomy, mastery, purpose) are present in your own job? Is that enough for you?
  • How many of these three items do you actually, honestly offer your employees?
  • How many employees take advantage of any of these three opportunities (if available) within your organization?
  • What management roadblocks may exist that prevent these three motivational tools from being a reality?
  • If you had to pick one that was most important to you today, which would it be? Would your answer be the same in three years? Why or why not?
  • How can you use these concepts to coach managers or employees with regard to professional development?

I’m really excited to hear some thoughts on these questions, and I highly encourage you to share this with a manager within your organization. It might be just what they need to see today!

JC Penney-Color Coding Employees is a Smart Practice

Recent news about JC Penney color cording their employees has garnered some interesting commentary. Here’s a snippet:

JCPenney has split up its associates into categories based on their performance and abilities, according to sources inside the company.

The move has employees worried.

Sources told us that on a broadcast to supervisors and managers in January, JCPenney VP and transformational talent leader Michelle Steitz said they were to categorize their associates into one of three categories:

  • Red — Remove from company
  • Yellow — Coach up or out
  • Green — Go forward

They were also told to “be prepared to make decisions” in the months ahead, according to a JCPenney executive.

“Not only were we supposed to do this with our team members, but as a Store Leader I had to categorize my entire team,” explained a JCPenney store manager.

Many associates don’t know that they’ve been graded and placed into these color categories — m ultiple JCPenney associates we corresponded with were still in the dark about the red/yellow/green system. source

Hint: this is not new

We hear this sort of discussion often, but the terminology usually refers to “A” players, “B” players, and “C” players. The tendency is to see this as a negative practice, but it’s really a way for companies to determine where to spend their limited training and development budgets. The practice also plays a role in succession planning.

Do you spend additional money on a “C” player who is disengaged and actively looking for another job? Would it be better spent on an “A” player who is a superstar performer? Making that determination in itself is another discussion entirely, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with differentiating performance.

I’d also point out that not differentiating employees based on performance is how you create a culture that supports and encourages poor performance. If you don’t treat the “green” employees differently from the “red” employees, the good ones will naturally trend lower with regard to performance. It’s not rocket science.

Check out the video below for more on the topic. I’d love to hear some ideas on how they might have handled this differently or if you think it was the right way to go. Subscribers click through to view.

Check out the video

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

SHRM 2013 Conference in Chicago, IL

So the SHRM 2013 Conference is in Chicago. I’ll be there, will you?

shrm 2013 conference chicagoThis will be my third SHRM conference to attend, and my hope is that it will be the best one yet. 60+ other HR and recruiting bloggers will be there.

Who else is going? What sessions are you looking forward to?

I know it’s a few months away, but is anyone interested in a quick, informal meetup? Maybe for breakfast or something? I’d love to have the opportunity to chat with some of the smart people that follow the blog.

Hashtag #shrm13 for those following on Twitter.

Tips for SHRM 2013 conference first timers

Here’s a short video where I talk about my tips for the first-time attendees for the SHRM 2013 conference. Subscribers click here to view. The video notes are below if you don’t have time or can’t watch it now.

Video notes

Here’s what I wish I had known ahead of time for my first SHRM conference events.

  • Plan to talk with 2-3 vendors who might be valuable partners for your company. Maybe not today, but six months or a year from now you might be looking for an applicant tracking system, a rewards supplier, etc. Take this time to talk with them face to face in the expo.
  • Look for the “parties” or after-hours events. I’m not a party kind of guy, but those events are great in that you can develop friendships and lasting connections. Bottom line: leave some space open for unscheduled networking and learning. Some of the best experiences you’ll ever have!
  • Start connecting with people before the event. That way you’ll have connections there on site that you can meet with and those connections can greatly enhance your enjoyment of the event.
  • Definitely plan to learn, take notes, and take things back with you. But those three areas are some that I wish I’d known about when I attended my first SHRM conference.

So, anyone else planning to attend? Do you have any tips for the first-timers out there? 

New Business Concepts (How to Implement a ROWE)

If you like keeping up with new business concepts, I have one for you: the ROWE.

I’ve talked about the idea of a Results Only Work Environment before, but the latest book by Cali Ressler and Jodi Thompson (Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It) is the handbook for organizations and managers looking to put it into place.

why managing sucksLet me start by saying that if I could flip a switch and turn my employer into a ROWE, I would do it. In essence, a ROWE means that staff work when they want, where they want, and as long as they are getting the results, the rest doesn’t really matter.

The issue is that I work for a government contractor, and we are required to track each hour worked for every employee (exempt or non) for billing purposes. I’m not 100% sure, but I’m betting the government isn’t about to change the way they do business to align with greater efficiency and effectiveness based on their track record.

The Appeal of a ROWE

Here’s why I love a ROWE. Managers can’t just come to you and say, “Bob isn’t putting in the hours.” They have to come to you and say, “Bob is not achieving the results we agreed upon.” As an HR pro, in which of those situations would you feel most comfortable backing up the manager? Yeah, definitely the second.

It forces managers, employees, and business leaders to ensure that people actually know what they are supposed to be achieving. That’s what really matters. And that, my friends, is a very refreshing thought.

Check out the video below where I talk more about the book. I highly recommend it!

Click here to check out other book reviews.

New Job Orientation for Remote Employees

While we have plenty of resources for how to onboard new hires, there isn’t much info with regard to new job orientation for remote employees. How do you handle off site employee orientation? What do you say? How do you communicate?

Today we’ll look at all that, plus I’ll share a few ideas on how to make it especially valuable for the employee. New job orientation isn’t easy, and it’s even harder when you’re off site! Here’s the message from a reader that got my brain fixed on the topic:

Just read your article about Onboarding. Some really useful stuff there but I was wondering if you have ever written about trying to onboard a new employee in a remote location where there is no team in place yet. I am currently doing this and came across your article in my desperate search for some help. — I'm located in our office and the new employee is located in the remote office which has the awesome advantage of being in a different time zone. We do have employees in the office there but nobody who will be doing anything like his specific job. This is also my first employee ever so I'm having a minor meltdown as you can imagine. There are so many things like taking them to lunch etc that I can't do so I'm trying to figure out ways to substitute these kind of team bonding activities. We are going to be hiring a few more people in the next few weeks but I want to try and get it at least partially right with this first one so that he doesn't run screaming from the building. Any advice would be most gratefully received.

Here’s what I had to say.

Very neat! I definitely agree that you have a challenge on your hands. I would make it a point to use video chat if you have that capability. That’s the most personal, and personable, interaction you can have with someone who’s thousands of miles away. Another neat idea might be to do a quick video tour of your local office, show them who else works for the organization, and let each person wish them a quick “welcome” message. That would take ten minutes to walk around, record, and upload/send, but it would be very valuable for creating a connection among the staff.

If you have the capability, you might also put together a short writeup on your culture, what it’s like working there, and the things your leaders believe in. I’ve attached the one I recently put together as a sample. If there are no standing meetings in place, this is a great opportunity to create one and allow each location to kick in a few ideas about what they are working on, any issues they are facing, etc. over a group conference call.

Let me know how it goes!

How to approach new job orientation for remote employees

Here’s a short video where I discuss this topic.

Additional resources

What about you? How do you handle new job orientation for remote employees?