HRCleanUp

HR Student's Point-of-View

By Fatou Diagne

My life as a MSHR student

I am remembering back 18 months, receiving my undergraduate diploma and thinking about starting right away my Master in Human Resources. After pleasant undergraduate studies, I thought that I would be able to graduate quickly taking 5 classes at a time. What a mistake I realized, right into the second week of class, where I had to drop one class already, and struggle to keep up my grades high.

We, coming from undergrad, have a belief that it will be as easy as it was before but I definitely realized that I was now in the big ones stable, not playing around anymore and waiting for last minute to study.

People have been talking about how different graduate studies will be. They were all about case studies, and real life example, but was it really that. What I remember the most from being an MSHR student was passion. I was lucky I loved what I was doing and it makes it easy to go through. Is it difficult? It is definitely. Is it impossible? Oh no!!! I did not like being a student at all, but I like being a MSHR student. It gave me the opportunity to broaden my horizons but also a lot of hope. With a master in hand you feel more ready to go out there and do something meaningful for your company. Today, I am having a lot of hope and ideas. I am hoping that all the knowledge I gained through all those classes, papers and exams, will help me make a difference in an underdeveloped country where we need people knowing what they do and want to do it. 

I may not have had the correct description of what going into the MSHR would mean, and may not have been satisfied with it when I first started the program, but today I realize that it was worth going through. This is more important for us HR professional, as almost no one considers us as being very important for the success of the business. We need to prove that we deserve our chair on the table, and the first stop is getting the diploma that is as valid as any business degree whether in finance, accounting or management.

Two weeks before graduating and the end of my MSHR journey, I do not think it was that easy. Going into graduate study, you have to be on a mind set of making sacrifices, especially in Human Resources where you have so many concepts to learn and master in such a short time. There will be struggles, classes that you will definitely hate, others that you will like so much that you will work your guts off to ace them, but when you are reaching the final point when you know all of it is over, you are starting to build some pride and you realize that all the fears you had were nothing and did not matter at all.

Friday Fun Facts

Long-Term Care 

Percentage of individuals who will need long term care by length of care required, projected for individuals who turned 65 in 2005, 2008:

• 31%, No care
• 17%, 1 year or less
• 12%, 1-2 years
• 20%, 2-5 years
• 20%, 5 years or more

So, what is your plan?  What is your parent's plan?

Source:  Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

I Survived the Holiday Party

Well, the official company holiday party is over.  The decorations are down and the open bar is closed.  It was the official company close to 2008 and you know what, it was a lot of fun!  I have mixed feelings about company holiday parties and in general, I don't like them.  But the one at my company, Profiles International, was a bit different.  Both of our founders, Jim Sirbasku and Bud Haney wanted to celebrate a year of hard work and dedication to the business.  As Jim told me at the party, "Why cancel a party when people need it the most?".  I thought that was great advice.

Another thing that made our holiday party different--people wanted to be there and you could bring a guest.  It is really a lot of fun to meet the boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/partner/husband/ wife of the people you work with.  In addition to that, the food and the music were great.

So, as we begin to wrap up a challenging 2008, I encourage all of you to get all the rest you need.  Why?  Because 2009 is going to be a great year!  Let's all make the decision that a little thing like the economy isn't going to stop us. 

There are humans to be resourced and money to be made. Let's do them both well.

Happy Holidays from HR Clean Up.

The HR CleanUp Blog Story

J. William Tincup is a Human Capital thought leader and recently interviewed me for his blog.

Check it out!

Friday Fun Facts

  Heath Subsidies 

Percentage of employers reporting expected status of their health benefit subsidy in 2012 vs. 2008:

• 15%, Higher than 2008
• 23%, Lower than 2008

• 62%, Same as 2008

Source:  Towers Perrin Survey of 500 large employers

HR Student's Point-of-View

By...Anonymous

My name is… and I am a perfectionist. It is true; I admit it. To others it might seem like a perfect world but for me, it is a struggle. Also, I understand that working with me on a project or in a group might not be so much fun. So I wanted to tell you what goes through a perfectionist’s mind on an everyday basis and then let you know how to deal with us.

There are three major areas that a perfectionist will always be concerned about. At all times, these areas need to be taken care of, because if not, the whole world collapses. First, a perfectionist can not, will not, and should not fail. Failing is failing. No one can say or do anything to fix it. When failure happens the perfectionist’s world is diminished. The thoughts after a failure are devastating and do-over is prayed for. Example… I went back to school to get my Master’s because after getting a job in human resources I needed to make sure I was perfect at what I was doing so I am spending lots of my money to be perfect at my job, and I do not even know if human resources is something I want to do for the rest of my life. 

Second, mistakes are like a horror movie; you either live through it or you do not. There is a state of panic and anxiety that stays with us for a long time. After several sleepless nights, we get through it. I have done it. Third, showing flaws is not acceptable. Perfectionists want to and need to be loved and revealing our flaws will make others look at us differently. Example… I work in an office with five other women, I have seen all of them cry at some point, but not me, I have never cried anywhere near that office. These characteristics about us are never going to change, so it is only fair that I let everyone know how to work with a perfectionist.

First, thank you for understanding. If you think you can handle a perfectionist, then do it. Be the support and guidance. Know when to say stop to correcting and updating that presentation or paper. But if you can not work with a perfectionist and decide to switch teams, do it delicately so we do not know it was because of us, because to us, it represents failure. The simplest advice I can give is to let us be. Give us a part of the project and we will work on it day and night until it is perfect in our eyes. The rest is yours. A perfectionist will never change so thank you for understanding and working with us.

My name is… and I am a perfectionist.  

Strategic Communication

I just got an email from the Senior Vice President of Coffee at Starbucks inviting me to try the Christmas Blend. 

I want that job.

God knows I've had enough practice.

Emily Post

On Sunday mornings, I can often be found watching CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood.  There is something about the cadence and in-depth nature of the show that I find relaxing and interesting at the same time.  This morning, they did an in-depth story on Emily Post.  When is the last time you actually thought about Emily Post?

Perhaps it is time for many of us to revisit Emily Post.  As Generation Y moves firmly into the workplace, many of us have noticed their sheer lack of anything  that looks or feels like etiquette.  For us Gen X'ers, we've taken our cues from the Boomers before us.  And while I think the Gen Y'ers have the most to learn, I think that almost all of us could use a refresher.

We're all so busy and it often just doesn't seem to matter.  Why bother to write a thank you note?  Why even bother to wrap the gift?  I recently read a blog post by a recruiter who was telling people that is showed desperation if you sent a Thank You note after an interview. 

Geez...what is this world coming to?

As you whirl through this holiday season, meeting and greeting, think about the "Thank You".  Stop by the store and buy some cards.   And pick up some stamps, too.   It will only take you a few minutes to write up a three sentence expression of thanks.  Keep the cards (and the stamps!), not at home, but right there in your desk drawer.  Use them throughout the year whenever you feel moved. 

You'll be surprised at how "Thank You" will become a part of your regular routine.

Friday Fun Facts

HR Efficiency:

Full-time equivalents per HR department FTE, 2002-2006

Country	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
U.K.	105	95	96	82	90
Central and Eastern Europe	99	95	91	99	93
Western Europe	96	90	92	87	90
All	96	90	92	88	99
U.S.	NA	88	88	90	89

I wonder what the U.K. is doing differently?

Source:  Workforce Magazin, May 19, 2008

HR Student's Point-of-View

By Anonymous

What do you do with the abrasive, awkward, and out of control Boss: 

As Christmas time approaches and I am on the committee to plan this years Holiday party I am reminded of a previous holiday party before I was in HR that turned out to be a disaster.
 
The classic HR nightmare.  You have to answer to Captain Inappropriate or Queen of Social Awkwardness, and there's not on thing you can do about it.  Or can you?  We've all seen it before, the big boss that doesn't have a filter, a moral gage or this little thing called tact.  They offend employees left and right, speak well before they even formed a thought, and walk about the office, humming, without a care in the world.  President Train wreck, a human resource nightmare.  Here's a story about an old boss that will capture a truly inappropriate and oblivious employer. 
 
At an office Holiday party a few years ago, all of the employees voted to play a boisterous, interactive game called "Two truths and a lie."  Each employee comes up with three facts about themselves--one lie and two truths.  When it's your turn, you stand up and tell your coworkers all three "facts".  Everyone guesses the lie, laughter erupts, people learn little known facts, and the party is a success....that is unless you have Mr. Closet Racist as your boss. 
 
The game was moving along delightfully and the room was filled with laughter and holiday cheer when Mr. Closet Racist stood up to recite his three personal "facts".  Here is what we all heard him boast joyfully over wine and cheese and angels singing Christmas carols in the background.
 
1.  In college, my clocked time in competitive swimming was good enough to make the Olympic Trials in 1974.
2.  My secret passion is baking.
3.  My father was an important part of Hitler's youth in Germany. 
 
Ummmmm....WHAT?  All of the angelic Christmas carols in the background went silent.  Someone dropped their glass. I wanted to stand up and pick everyone's mouth off the floor.  The two Jewish women in the corner who had been comparing the Yankee swap gifts shot him a look of death.  My African American coworker calmly said, “No, he didn't”, and slowly stood up to walk at him, and I assume she was going to physically assault him.  I didn't know whether to sit back and watch this tragic event, call the cops before the fight broke out, file a HR report, or yell "Who needs a refill?" so I just jumped in as fast as I could with,
 
"Um, number three.  Your Dad is soooo nice.  YOU FIBBER."  Then I laughed like a hyena, praying to some higher power, please, please don't make him the craziest, most insensitive, most awkward and inappropriate person on the face of this earth.  And then it happened. 
 
"No, number TWO.  I haaaaaaaate baking!  You lose!  You lose!  Who wins the prize.  Me, me?" He was a giddy as a kid in the candy store.   My boss was crazy and if I knew what was good for me, I'd sue now and find myself a new gig on Craigslist.

Everyone in the room did what they thought was the best thing to do, which was to just ignore it and pretend it never happened.  What do you do about that?  How does one handle someone who is inappropriate without even realizing they are being inappropriate?  How do you reprimand the President of your company?