HRCleanUp

35,000 Feet

I'm experiencing Virgin America airlines for the first time.  And, I'm posting this in-flight on my way to San Francisco.  It is about time wi-fi hit the air.  Talk about a great improvement for productivity and entertainment.  My laptop is plugged into a real outlet.  I've ordered a cocktail from my in-flight monitor that is at eye level in my coach seat.  I couldn't be happier.

Here are my observations:

1. The crew actually seems to enjoy their job.  American can take a lesson from VA.
2. When we were boarding, by group number, a woman who was clearly not a frequent flier was confused and looked like she just needed to get on the plane.  So, when she asked what group she was a part of the gate agent said "why don't you board now?, sure it's ok)".
3. I can't help but think that when 40 people order drinks and snacks and pay for them that it doesn't help supplement revenue.
4. Everything is accessible--including the way the counters are set-up (low) and the technology is friendly.
5. Finally, the plane is clean.    

So, let's all hope that they keep it up.  Seems like a great airline.  I'd even put my parents on it.

And everyone else, please get wi-fi.  Thanks.

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?

Employee Disengagement is a Global Challenge

Level of Disengagement by Generation and Region

Country	Baby Boomers (1946-1964)	Generation X (1965-1977)	Generation Y (1978-1990)
Australia and New Zealand	13%	24%	25%
China*	--%	34%	33%
Continental Europe	18%	20%	28%
India	16%	12%	14%
North America	17%	20%	35%
Southeast Asia	16%	20%	35%
United Kingdom and Ireland	18%	22%	30%

*There were too few survey responses for Baby Boomers in China to include

There are some interesting observations that you can draw from the information above.  First, disengagement isn't a problem only in the United States...it is a global problem.  Second, the problem crosses generations. So, those boomers who preach "younger workers didn't have to pay the same dues as I did" are not totally preaching the truth but the numbers do show that younger workers are more disengaged.

What programs are you putting in place to improve engagement from all of your workers?  My company, Profiles International can help.  We focus on employee engagement, pre-hire selection, and leadership development.  We frequently start, however, with engagement.

Do Work and Family Mix?

I just got back from a business trip to our corporate offices in Waco, Texas.  I noticed something...it seems that in a town like Waco, work and family are more intertwined than they are here in the metro northeast.  

For example, one of my co-workers had a baby shower.  I was so impressed with the care and love that went into many of the gifts.  And it wasn't just the co-worker that was involved.  Frequently it was the spouse of the co-worker.  For instance, one spouse grilled ribs for everyone.  Another spouse helped create a wall hanging of the baby's name.  Another spouse and her child helped make a beautiful baby blanket.  And the coordinator of the whole thing make a "cake" out of diapers stuffed with gift cards and other things a new baby will need (the picture here doesn't do Suzanne's "cake" justice!).

In all my years in urban corporate America, I've never seen this level of personal commitment to a co-workers.  And, let me tell you, the mom-to-be was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and affection.

As you go about your business today, I'd like you to think about your co-workers.  Do you really know anything about them?  Have you ever asked?  Have you done something lately for one of them on a personal level?

If the answer is yes, good for you! If not, consider it.  It goes a long way in building a relationship.

And...Lynley, Congratulation...you're going to be a great mom!

Do Your Employees Dream?

People give up their discretionary time for a dream--not a strategy or a spreadsheet.

What have you done to help people fulfill their dreams?

Cap-ability

What are you doing to develop capability within your team?  Within your department?  Within your organization?   It sounds like an daunting task but it is so important for the long term success of you as a manager and your company as a whole.  

What is the formula for developing capability?  I'll share it with you:

Knowledge + Skills x Talent = Capability

Here is what you must do if you are going to develop capability?

• Assignments that exercise talents
• Share your knowledge 
• Train for skills 
• Target critical experiences 
• Have an annual plan 
• Implement quarterly check steps  

In our current marketplace, you may be thinking that you can't afford to develop people right now--just the opposite is true.  You need all of your people operating to their fullest potential.  You can't afford to have anyone who is just along for the ride. 

Trust vs. Harmony

When I was at our CEO Leadership Conference—Managing High Velocity Change—Pam Hernandez of Woodmen of the World Insurance Society spoke about her rise to leadership at her company.  One of her statements “I like harmony but I like trust better” really resonated with me.  How often do we favor everybody getting along v. tackling the tough people issues?

Almost all of us gravitate to harmony.

Why?  Because it is easier.  Conflict isn’t particularly fun (at least for most of us).  Putting someone on a performance plan isn’t fun.  Reassigning or demoting an employee—not fun.  However, through conflict and truth, we can make real differences in our organizations.  I wonder if, in truth, we don’t ask our managers the right questions.

How is it really going?

If you were able to either reassign or remove an employee from your team, who would it be and why?

What stops you from being as successful as you could be?

I know that I for one could be a more effective manager if I got truth.  Truth is not always fun but it almost always provides for actionable information.  Information that you can use to make both small and large adjustments in your organizations.

So, listen to Pam and take her advice.

“I like harmony but I like truth better.”

Retreat? What a treat!

As a manager of people, I have always been a big advocate of the off-site retreat. I would always hear other manager’s (and a few participants) bemoan the off-site retreat. I, however, always found it to be a valuable experience. In this month’s Fast Company Letter from the Editor, Robert Sofian discussed the power of the “off-site” as a tool for innovation.

…we were taken “out of our every0day routines because he wanted to encourage open discussion. As Emory University professor Gregory Berns writes in “Rewiring the Creative Mind”, on page 51, our brains are biologically engineered to engage in repetitive thinking. To generate new ideas, we need to force our synapses to behave differently. Unplanned encounters and new environments are the best way s to jolt our neurons into finding novel pathways”.

Well said…and a good argument for the off-site.

What makes for a good off-site? Well, for one, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Some of the most effective off-sites are conducted in someone’s living room or outdoor deck if the weather is nice. One of the most effective off-site meetings I ever attended occurred on my co-worker Anna’s back deck at her home in Palo Alto. It didn’t’ hurt that Anna is an amazing cook and we ate well but it was, truly, one of the most productive days I ever had professionally. The opportunity to get out of the pressure cooker that was our Internet start-up was fuel for the creative brain and a bit of rest from the transactional work of the routine.

I am often amazed at how rarely the off-site is conducted. Think about what the collective brain power of your staff could achieve if only given some time, creative space, and permission to think and talk and dream. Yes, dream. Let them imagine a better way to work. A better way to interact. A better way to balance.

Take your staff on a retreat. If your budget is $0.00 and everyone is local then invite them to your living room and make homemade soup and sandwiches. They will love you for it. And who knows what will happen or transpire and who might be inspired. If your team is distributed, then the off-site becomes a bit more of a logistical challenge but, in my opinion, even a more critical event. Having face-to-face time vs. ear-to-phone time is an important part of relationship building and a part of creating a solid team. It is hard to rely solely on a voice. It is much better if you’ve seen the voice and know a bit about its personal life. Retreats and off-site meetings can go a long way in building collaborative climates.

If your team is new, consider doing some teambuilding exercises. Not the hokey ones that you’ve done a thousand times but something more meaningful. One of my favorites is called “Lifeline”. Each person has 15 minutes to take you from birth to today. Telling about significant (and a few trivial) events that occurred along the way you’ll learn a lot and are bound to have some fun. Other tools, like assessments, can help the team understand each other better and work together with better understanding of the strengths that each person brings to the table.

And, as a manager, if your manager asks you about the documented results from the day, let her know that you don’t know yet. You’ll see what some creative thinking will produce and you’ll get back to her. Or, better yet, invite her to kick back and enjoy the fun and get to know your team better.

High Performance Empowerment, Part 2 of 2

By Guest Blogger Bobby Pruitt

An essential element of leadership success within High Performing Organizations is empowered employees. Empowered employees spring from empowered leaders. Empowering leaders act from positive beliefs about people and situations. Some of the principles here include sharing information widely; letting people know about problems and challenges; having employees participate in substantial decisions, and considering expanding employees' job scope.

Before we get too far into successful leadership behaviors or principles, let's dispel a myth: leadership is a learned skill. Don't feel bad if you were not born with the inherent ability to convince otherwise sane people to charge a hill with bayonets bared. Except for a very few charismatic leaders mentioned in every history book, leadership is a learned skill. And more good news É & it can be taught!

Leadership principles - all of them - have been in use for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The theory is not new. Some of the applications may change over time, but the theory is not new. Consultants occasionally need to sell a book, so they'll take a tried management concept, give it a new name and an interesting "spin," and off we go É fad of the month. And we sometimes get too wrapped up in this whole leadership versus management issue.

Let me offer a compromising look at leadership, since I believe it to be folly to consider an ineffective manager capable of being a successful leader. Leadership is the successful application of sound management practices, effective motivation, and personal credibility. All must exist to be a successful leader.

Another favorite myth is that leading by example is something you should do. Newsflash - you lead by example whether you want to, try to, or not!! Now, are you a positive example? That may be another story. People in your charge, and others around you, will emulate you, good or bad. You always lead by example.

The principles of High Performing Organizations aren't a magical list to tick off, or a series of tables and charts to compare. They can really be summed up as a combination of empowered employees alongside successful empowering leaders. If we can teach both employee and manager to lead É well, we're almost there.

Want to talk to Bobby directly?  Email him here.

Developing a User's Guide-For People

Have you ever wished that your employees came with a User's Guide or, at a minimum, a quick reference card that you could tape to your monitor?  What if we were to really work with each person at our organizations and figure out:

What are our people really good at?

What could they be really good at?

How independent are they?

Are they good decision makers?

When do they run out of gas?

How do we go about creating a User's Guide for our people that give us access to this type of information?  Well, the short answer...ask them.  The longer answer, consider implementing a talent assessment program. 

Do you even know who is on your bench?

Who are your targeted high performers?  What are you doing to keep them, develop them, drive them to success?  Do you have a program in place to work with them?  Do other leaders in your organization know about them?

Hey, Jay, where do I start?

Actually, it isn't all that hard.  Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Pick a department or a position to start with and do an inventory of who is there, what open requisitions currently exist, and what open requisitions are likely to be opened in the next six months. 
2. Examine performance data and see where people's managers are currently scoring them. 
3. Assesses them.  Find out their strengths and growth areas. 

Now, you've got actionable information.  With your new information, you've got a place to start.