HRCleanUp

To Hyatt or Not to Hyatt

 
That is the question here in Boston.  So, let me tell you a story.  The Hyatt Hotel in its attempt to, I'm sure, save money recently outsourced all of its housekeeping staff.  But that isn't really the story here.  I am all for outsourcing when it makes sense but I'm more familiar with white collar outsourcing than I am with blue collar outsourcing.  This was downright mean outsourcing.

Click here if you want more details

In any event, the management of the hotels told the housekeepers that they were training new workers to fill in for vacations and to reduce overtime.  The staff, of course, was more than happy to train the relief workers and they understood that there would be less overtime.

Then, the hotel fired all of the housekeepers.  Some with over 22 years of tenure.  They had dutifully trained their replacements.  The Hyatt leadership team thought this was a great idea.  Well, it didn't please the Governor of Massachusetts, the Mayor of Boston, or the Cab Drivers.  Yep, all three threatened a boycott of the hotels. 

Yes!

They Hyatt responded.  They offered the housekeepers their jobs back with the new outsourcing company at their current wage and benefit level for one year.  Then, of course, their jobs would be eliminated and the new lower paid, crappy benefits team would rule the school.

And the Hyatt was surprised when many of the housekeepers didn't take the deal.  Why?  Hmmm, it is like a slow death--just waiting for the clock to count down the days until they are finished.  Many other hotels in town were more than happy to pick up the talent.  In fact, the Hyatt housekeepers, fully trained in working in a full service business class hotel were happy to put themselves to work at the Marriott, Hilton, Westin, and the new uber hip W.

I reflect on Ted Kennedy Jr.'s speech at his father's funeral mass.  When young Ted queried his father about why he left money for the maid when she already gets paid his father reflected back to him "Teddy, making beds all day long is back breaking work.  This woman has a family to feed and life isn't easy" (I'm sure I've butchered the quote but you get the idea).  If you want to hear the eulogy.

I think Ted Kennedy said all that needed to be said.

The Sustainable Organization

 Today, I went to a NEHRA seminar title "The Sustainable Organization" that was lead by Robert Kelleher, Chief Human Capital Officer for AECOM. 

I've been to many sessions about the trends that are impacting our organizations including generational challenges, loss of available talent, the power of social networking, the cost of employee disengagement, and the fact that the number of available workers is going to continue to shrink despite our current environment of layoffs.

Bob, however, took all of these seemingly disparate events and brought them all together in his presentation.  For any HR or organizational leader, any of the single events is cause for concern but aggregate them and there is cause for alarm.  Bob's session was food for thought for many in the room.

Bob's 12 trends included:

1. Changing demographics and declining savings
2. Fostering generational harmony
3. The new definition of diversity
4. The World Is Flat (as an aside, required reading for my HR students)
5. Declining ambition
6. The loyalty factor
7. Engagement
8. Are we flexing?
9. Innovate and educate
10. The era of the CFO
11. Corporate social responsibility

I think, however, that rather than thinking about these trends and worrying about them, it is time for HR leaders to step up to the plate and start putting in the policies and programs that are going to effect change.  Not just little bits of change but sweeping change.  Change that will forever impact the way we think about organizations, leadership, and work itself.

Each of these trends, alone, is a project or two.  As an HR professional, which one to tackle first. 

Today I was talking to our department project assistant.  We were talking about something as simple as cleaning up the common file folder.  She told me "it is just such a big task" and I reminded her that "a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.  Let's start by creating a taxonomy and we can go from there".  In fact, let's schedule some time to this this week.

So, HR Leaders...what is your first step?

Inauguration Day

As we turn our thoughts today to the future of the United States, I find that we arrive at this day weary but hopeful.  Americans are, in my opinion, the most optimistic group of people in the world and I can't help but think it is that optimism that will get us through the difficult days that lie ahead.

As HR professionals, we have a special place in our organizations.  It is our job to make sure that the people resources of the company are well managed and well cared for.  If you were to have your own Inauguration Day, what would your speech consist of?  What dreams and policies would you discuss? 

So today, I challenge you to reflect on the future because it starts today.  What do you want to accomplish?  What do you want to challenge?  What do you want to be?

Happy Inauguration.  I'm weary...yet hopeful.

P.S.  The picture is from the Lincoln inauguration.

Experience Matters--Just Ask Circuit City

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the fact that Circuit City was going to begin the liquidation process for its remaining 550 stores--and, it will be putting 30,000 people out of work.  About a year ago, Circuit City actually fired its experienced associates with the goal of replacing them with less expensive less experienced workers--they figured  that the consumer just doesn't care who sells them a $2,500.00 television set.  I wrote about it back in December, 2007.

I hate to say "I told you so" but...

From Friday's WSJ On-Line..."At one point, the company sacked thousands of veteran salespeople and replaced them with lower-paid and less-experienced workers, believing that sales wouldn't suffer as a result. They did, and the damage to revenue – and Circuit City's reputation -- was never undone."

In these lean economic times, letting go of your most important asset...your skilled, seasoned employees, could be a deadly mistake.  The analysis of the benefits that seasoned workers bring to the organization must be a part of of your overall staffing strategy.  See, people chose Circuit City because of the knowledgeable workforce and because many of us don't want to buy from teenagers.  HR, this is where your partnership and knowledge of the line business is so critical--helping organizations understand the dire ramifications of their people decisions is our responsibility.

The cost--30,000 jobs and a great retailer. 

Overheard at LaPaloma in Quincy, Mass

Last night, I went LaPalmoa to have dinner.  We don't have very many Mexican food restaurants here in the Boston area and LaPaloma is considered one of the few good ones.  It was--but they put carrots in their salsa.  Oh wait, this is an HR Blog...

As we were eating, I had the opportunity to listen to the two guys at the table behind me discuss how difficult it was to deal with the HR department.  I of course tuned right in and between chips, was focused on their conversation.  As one of the guys put it "They offloaded HR to some other company" and "now it is impossible to get anything done".  He went on to lament how he had questions about his vision insurance and couldn't get a straight answer about what was covered and what wasn't.  He talked about being "on hold" for 20 minutes with the outsources and had to call back several times when his claim was denied. 

In the end, he finally just gave up and paid the bill out of pocket.

What went wrong here?  The guy seemed reasonably intelligent--knew the lingo and seemed to have a professional position.  How is it that we make it more difficult to do business with us when, in our heart-of-hearts we want to simplify things? 

Any organization that outsources the administration of human resources had a duty to constantly manage the service delivery vendor.  In fact, I recommend that the organization appoint an ombudsman to advocate for employees who are caught up in proverbial red tape--it is critical for organizations to keep at least one human, within the company, for employees to go to when they don't know where else to go.

Most HR outsourcing organizations are focused on delivering amazing service to their clients.  It is the occasional failure that leads to distrust and misinformation to run rampant throughout a company.  How many people has this guy shared his story with?  If you were his coworker, would you believe the voice on the other end of the phone?

Resolutions

It's that time of year--once again--time to make a resolution or two.  Well, we here at HR Clean Up have a few new resolutions and what better way to make them come true than to share them with all of you.  So, here they are in no particular order:

1.  HR Clean Up is going to get a visual face lift this year.  We're excited about it and my friends over at Click to Client are going to help me!
2. We will continue to be your snarkey HR observer.  We won't stop until we help you become more strategic.  Even if it kills us.
3. Starting the conversation will continue to be our #1 goal.  We'll continue to publish all of your comments and encourage you to make more of them.
4. We are going to figure out how to integrate my blog into Facebook and other social media sights.
5. We'll continue to have fun.  God knows, with off of the despair in the news we need some fun.

So, welcome 2009.  Let the year be full of success, happiness, and opportunity for all of us.  In the spirit of sharing, we would love to know what your resolutions are...so share them!

Then She Went "All HR" on Me!

I have a good friend who sends out "Real Corporate EMail".  So, any time her readership gets one of those emails, they forward them to her, she scrubs them, and then off they go to the readership.  Occasionally with commentary but usually they speak for themselves.  

Recently, she has shared two emails from an HR Executive who is clearly on the edge.  I'll share them with you...

The first one was targeted to the folks who ask questions about health insurance but don't go to the information sessions:

"I'm not doing a sign up sheet this year.  Please just go to a meeting for your group.  We will have an attendance sheet there.  If your Open Enrollment memo's subject has 'tell me what you think' that should have come out.  Please don't tell me what you think, just go to the meetings."

~Your Benefits Manager

 

Then, the HR Executive sent this one out the next day:

"Are you tired of getting these Open Enrollment e-mails? Well I sure am tired of sending them.  If we keep this up you won't know WHAT you're supposed to do.  I hope this ends it."
 
~Your Benefits Manager

 
HRCleanUp has some advice for you Mr./Ms. Benefits Manager--Executives don't talk to employees this way.  Period.  If you are being ignored, then perhaps you need to change your communication strategy.  You're not dealing with children.  In fact, you represent corporate leadership.  You should act like it.  I know it is frustrating.  All jobs are. 

Shaken not Stirred

My friend Amber sent me this quote from the Bartender's Bible:

“…a person who enjoys the company of others, endeavors to solve problems, listens to the woes of the world, sympathizes with the mistreated, laughs with the comedians, cheers up the down at heart, and generally controls the atmosphere…"

I thought that it truly captured one of the main reasons we all get into Human Resources.  My question is...can we live the quote from the Bartender's Bible and still be strategic and have a seat at the leadership table?  How do we balance both?

I think we can do it with ease...just like the bartender.  What we forget is what we don't see...we don't see the bartender ordering supplies, cutting lemons and limes, and discussing wine options with the wine distributor's representative.  We don't see him or her working on the balance sheet to make sure the bar is running at a profit.  What we see is the person serving beverages, holding court, and creating atmosphere.  Just like HR.  While we may not get to serve cocktails all day long, a lot of preparation goes into our daily activities. 

HRCleanUp Author Quoted in Friday's Boston Business Journal

I had a great interview with Lisa Van Der Pool at the Boston Business Journal.  She was writing an article about how to do a layoff the right way.  And there firmly is a right way and a wrong way.  Download BBJ Dec 5 2008 Tact Timing Critical When Layoffs Loom and read the article!

HR Students vs. The Automobile Industry CEOs

Last week in my HRIS course that I teach at Suffolk University, my students had to present a business case to the senior management of  a fictitious company.  The business case had to present the current state of affairs, the desired state of affairs, the cost of doing nothing, a procurement and a high level implementation plan. 

What does this have to do with the Automotive Industry?

As I was listening to these very sharp students discuss the ROI on HR technology solutions it occurredto me that they were better prepared for class than the CEOs of the Big 3 American Automakers were for their Congressional Hearing.  These executives just showed up.  No plan in hand.  No imagination.  No justification.  Did they just plan to "wing it"?  My students, on the other hand,  had done more preparation and funding justification for their in-class presentations than the heads of the Big 3 American Auto Makers did for a presentation to the Congress of the United States.  And most of my students took the Subway to class vs.  a private jet.

We constantly berate HR professionals for their lack of business acumen and avoidance of all things related to the bottom line of a business; however, if my students are any indication of what is to come in the field, I think that the CEOs of the Big 3 can learn a thing or two from them.

First, be professional.  Second, be prepared.  Third, have a plan of action.  Fourth,  when you are asking for a handout, don't take a private jet.  Perhaps the three of you could carpool.