HRCleanUp

Are Your Executives Prepared?

MOST EXECUTIVES ARE NOT PREPARED TO REORGANIZE AND RECOVER FROM THE ECONOMY

Profiles International Reveals Startling Results of Nationwide Survey

Executives face tough personnel decisions in the wake of shrinking revenue but many are unsure of how to make the best decisions should they be forced to lay off employees or restructure their workforce.  Those are the findings released today by Profiles International (www.profilesinternational.com), a global leader in employment evaluation and human resource management assessment tools.

 

The Profiles International Reorganization & Recovery Survey (http://tinyurl.com/dgrwb3) has found that a majority of respondents lack the crucial tools to affect workforce change or to analyze the human assets they have available within their organization. “People are the most valuable asset any organization has, and they’re usually the most expensive line item on any company’s income statement,” said Profiles International co-founder and CEO Jim Sirbasku. “Companies need to make sure they have the right people in the right positions. It starts with hiring, but the importance of job fit continues through promotions, reassignments and even downsizing.”

Among the highlights of the survey:

• 90 percent of respondents say they are uncertain that there is objective evaluation criteria for the top performers within the organization;
• 76 percent say they are uncertain about how each job within the organization supports their company’s key objectives;
• 73 percent say they are unsure if all the key stakeholders are involved in employment decisions

“These decisions are too important to leave to chance,” said Dario Priolo, managing director of the Profiles International Research Institute. “Assessing a worker’s job fit is a continual process that shouldn’t end once they start working. Jobs evolve. People evolve. Organizations evolve. Assessments should be continual to ensure that each aspect of this equation is evolving at a similar pace

 

Nearly 800 business leaders took part in the online survey in February and March of 2009.  Of the respondents, 30% worked in companies with more than 500 employees.  50% held Director, VP or C-level roles within their organizations.  Full survey results can be found at (http://tinyurl.com/dgrwb3).

Friday Fun Facts

Employee Concerns
Percentage of employers reporting level of employees' concerns regarding economic downturn, November, 2008
	Little Concern	Moderate Concern	Significant Concern
Impact on retirment plan investments	16%	29%	54%
Impact on overall organization	8%	56%	37%
Job Security	15%	52%	34%
Merit increases in coming year	16%	53%	32%
Promotions in coming year	31%	54%	15%
Impact on cost of healthcare	42%	45%	14%
Note:  Survey of more than 1,000 organizations Source:  Mercer

OP + NT = EOP

Old Process + New Technology = Expensive Old Process

How often have we tried to apply technology to a problem only to speed up the problem?  I was recently talking with an HR Consultant who shared the above equation with me and I thought it summed up one of our biggest challenges in the industry.  So, how do we beat the odds and apply technology to the problem and improve results?

I have  five key suggestions:

1. Have a clearly defined business purpose for your technology solution.  You must be able to answer the question "As a result of this investment, we will be able to..."

2. Get your IT colleagues involved early and often.  The last thing you want is to find out that the CTO has put the kabash on your project

3. Think about your most resistant people...consider getting them involved in the project early on--if you can get them over to your side, your implementation will be much smoother

4. Invest your time in the groups that need it most.  If you are rolling out an Applicant Tracking System and you're going to have the hiring manager enter the requisition...spend your time with the high volume folks.  If Accounts Payable hasn't had an opening in 2 years, don't bother to train that manager.  She'll forget everything and come to you anyway.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate

And Now Some Good News

The economy isn’t completely dead.  Most people are still getting up in the morning and going to work.  Most companies are still selling goods and services.  We may be a bit more cautious but we’re moving.  Despite all of the grim economic news, good things continue to happen.  The highway is still backed up at 5 p.m.

How can you keep our sanity when we are surrounded by chaos?  Here are some recommendations:

Be selective with your news content.  If you come home from work, select one 30 minute newscast to watch.  Even better, watch your news on the treadmill at the gym.

Listen to yourself.  How many times have you said “Well, in these tough economic times”?  Stop. 

Listen to your friends.  I recommend staying away from people who are wallowing in bad news.  They will bring you down with them.  Sure be supportive, help those who need help.  But preserve your soul in the process 

Eat well.  Now is the time to focus on good quality, colorful food.  When you go to the supermarket, notice how they are selling multi-pack containers of macaroni and cheese and boxes of pasta at five for a dollar.  Buy one and move on.  Spend your hard earned money on foods that nourish your body.  Just because the economy is challenged doesn’t mean you need to gain 20 pounds.

Spend a little.  Feel like you can’t afford a $5,000 vacation this year?  Drive to a local resort and check into the spa.  For the cost of a one hour massage or a facial, you generally get access to all of the spa facilities for the day.  Work out, take a steam, sit in the whirlpool, swim in the pool, oh, and don’t forget your one hour massage.  Cost for the day?  About $150.00 plus tip.

All In The MultiFamily

I'm excited about my essay that appeared in today's Boston Globe Sunday Magazine!  The best part of all...it has NOTHING to do with HR!

If you would like to read it:

 All In The Multifamily

Friday Fun Facts

Involuntary Part Time

Number and percentage of workers in involuntary part-time employment by reason, April 2006 and November 2008 (numbers in thousands):

	Apr-06		Total, 3,932 = 100%
	67.4%  (2,455)		Slack work or business conditions
	29.6% (1,163)		Could find only a part-time job
	8% (314)		Other
	Nov-08		Total 7,321 = 100%
	74.1% (5,426)		Slack work or business conditions
	21.5% (1,572)		Could only find a part-time job
	4.4% (323)		Other

Source:  US Bureau of Labor Statistics

OP + NT = EOP

What do you think it stands for?

Less with Less?

I’m hearing it from all over—we have to do more, with less.  My friends are working for organizations that have cut—and not just the bottom 10%.  Many companies have cut 20% of their workforce and these same organizations are reporting a 5-10% drop in revenues. 

Think about that for a minute—20% RIF, 10% drop in sales. 

When this occurs, we ask people to pitch in and give us that extra effort.  And, almost always, people are ready, willing and able to pitch in when times are tough.  They are grateful to have a job, generally like the people that they are working with and they don’t really miss the bottom 5% of performers that got let go.  However, giving that extra effort can become debilitating over a long  period of time.  The missed soccer games, the carpool juggling, the missed doctor’s appointments all start to add up over time.

As HR, what can we do to assist when our employee’s are going all out at 120%?  We can continue to invest in training and development (hey, there are many programs out there that are budget friendly), we can still say “thank you” (which is free), and we can help manager’s with tips and techniques for balancing work amongst a team and we can help manager’s look for signs of stress and burnout. 

Gen-Y Goes to Work

This past weekend, I spent time with good friends in Stowe, Vermont.  While we were having coffee one mornings, my friend Bob was talking about some of his current observations of the entry-level job seekers he recently interviewed. 

First, he talked about the a young woman that he interviewed and extended a subsequent job offer.  This was to be her first job out of college.  When Bob told her the salary, $31,500, the sound of shock was evident—even over the phone.  She wasn’t sure she could afford the job and an apartment and a car.  The truth here is that the young woman had almost no experience, lived at home in a town with easy mass transit to the city.  This woman entered college after experiencing nothing but relatively good economic times.  Now, she’s graduated and, well, the world has changed.  Bob was offering her a full time job, with benefits, in a tough economy.  If she did well, there were opportunities for variable compensation and for promotions.  But, in the end, it “wasn’t good enough” for our job seeker.

That same week, another young woman applied for and interviewed for a job that required visiting people who were considering live-in household help.  A “second level” type job for a recent college graduate.  So, they brought the young woman in for an interview.   As she was in the interview process, the company decided that they were going to do an all out phone blitz to fill the sales pipeline (so, in fact, this woman would actually have people to go visit).  When she found out that she would be required to be a part of the sales effort for eight weeks she actually sent an email to HR letting them know that she felt “duped”.  Yep, “duped”.

I’m recanting these stories because, in fact, the economy has become challenging for everyone—not just recent college graduates.  I’m thinking that it is time to do some expectation realignment.   Does that mean giving up your dreams and ambitions?  Absolutely not!  What it does mean is that we might not have that amazing starting salary that we might have commanded just a few years ago.  What it does mean that we are going to have to be more flexible.  The company needs you on the phone for a period of time?  “No problem!” needs to be your response.  People who refuse to be flexible and have realistic expectations will be successful—even in a down economy.

Friday Fun Facts

The top innovations of the last 30 years, according to judges at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania:

1. Internet, broadband
2. PC and laptop computers
3. Mobile phones
4. E-Mail
5. DNA testing and sequencing
6.  Magnetic resonance imaging
7. Fiber optics
8. Office software
9. Laser/robotic surgery
10. Open-source software
11. Light-emitting diodes
12. Liquid crystal display
13. GPS devices
14. E-commerce and auctions
15. Media file compression
16. Micro-finance
17. Photovoltaic solar energy
18. Large-scale wind turbines
19. Internet social networking

Source:  The New York Times, Sunday, March 9, 2009