HRCleanUp

The Magic of Technology

I purchased the URL for my blog about six months ago and knew that somehow there was a way to simplify the web address.  Well, today I finally got around to calling the nice people at GoDaddy and asked how it is done.

Of course, I assumed that it would be hard to do.

However, Jake my help desk consultant made is really easy.  So beginning today, you can find me at either:

http://www.HRCleanUp.com

or

http://HRCleanUp.typepad.com

Don't forget that it is a lot easier to just subscribe to the blog feed. 

Thanks GoDaddy!

Workforce Development -- A Good Investment

My friend Jim Kissane writes a great blog called Workforce Development--A Good Investment.  He recently commented on my Telecommuting post from last week.  You can read Jim's Blog here.

Jim brings up some great points about telecommuting that I haven't addressed:

An article "Telecommuting not so great for those left in office" that was published in January 2008 by Kristina Cooke over at Reuters looks at how those that telecommute have less stress and a higher morale compared to those that are left to come into an office everyday. She mentions that “their co-workers tend to find the workplace less enjoyable, have fewer emotional ties to co-workers and generally feel less obligated to the organization.

The beginning of the article states "Telecommuting may boost morale, and cut stress, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to a new study"

The author cites how telecommuting has been a growing trend in the United States since about 2000. About 37 percent of U.S.-based and international companies now offer flexible work arrangements, with the number of those programs growing at a rate of 11 percent per year, according to the Society of Human Resource Management. but then goes on to explain how

The author cites research of Timothy Golden, a management professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that claims that when a number of their co-workers toil away from the office by using computers, cell-phones or other electronic equipment, those who do not telecommute are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and leave the company.

I'm a bit skeptical about this inference.

In the late 1990's I worked with IBA, an early pioneer in telecommuting, and participated in the establishment of the first "telework" centers around Washington DC.  Others have since sprung up, adding credence to the ideas of telecommuting in various "flavors".  In 2006, The Telework Coalition, conducted a Telework Benchmarking study of 13 large organizations with mature telework programs.

This study asked about the attitudes of those employees who did not telework. Both our study and two previously conducted studies by other organizations in which there were multiple participants showed that the non teleworking coworkers were both enthusiastically supportive and felt teleworking was good for the organization, or at the least, the situation was a non issue.

I believe that this area is ripe for investigation and action by management and HR practitioners.  Since each organizations' DNA is different, it may not be the right solution for every situation, but there are viable telecommuting approaches that will and do help organizations attract and retain talent in todays increasingly complex market.

Posted by Jim Kissane

An article "Telecommuting not so great for those left in office" that was published in January 2008 by Kristina Cooke over at Reuters looks at how those that telecommute have less stress and a higher morale compared to those that are left to come into an office everyday. She mentions that “their co-workers tend to find the workplace less enjoyable, have fewer emotional ties to co-workers and generally feel less obligated to the organization.

The beginning of the article states "Telecommuting may boost morale, and cut stress, but it can have the opposite effect on those left behind in the office, according to a new study"

The author cites how telecommuting has been a growing trend in the United States since about 2000. About 37 percent of U.S.-based and international companies now offer flexible work arrangements, with the number of those programs growing at a rate of 11 percent per year, according to the Society of Human Resource Management. but then goes on to explain how

The author cites research of Timothy Golden, a management professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that claims that when a number of their co-workers toil away from the office by using computers, cell-phones or other electronic equipment, those who do not telecommute are more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and leave the company.

I'm a bit skeptical about this inference.

In the late 1990's I worked with IBA, an early pioneer in telecommuting, and participated in the establishment of the first "telework" centers around Washington DC.  Others have since sprung up, adding credence to the ideas of telecommuting in various "flavors".  In 2006, The Telework Coalition, conducted a Telework Benchmarking study of 13 large organizations with mature telework programs.

This study asked about the attitudes of those employees who did not telework. Both our study and two previously conducted studies by other organizations in which there were multiple participants showed that the non teleworking coworkers were both enthusiastically supportive and felt teleworking was good for the organization, or at the least, the situation was a non issue.

I believe that this area is ripe for investigation and action by management and HR practitioners.  Since each organizations' DNA is different, it may not be the right solution for every situation, but there are viable telecommuting approaches that will and do help organizations attract and retain talent in todays increasingly complex market.

The Revolution Called "The Relationship Economy"

I'm a big fan of Greg Verdino's Marketing Blog.  Today, he referenced another great post called "The Revolution Called 'The Relationship Economy".  From the post, here is the definition of "The Relationship Economy":

This revolution is The Relationship Economy, defined as the people and things we are connected with in our personal networks who or that distribute or consume our capital, which in turn influences our individual production outputs.

And he goes on to say:

As these young early adopters move to the workforce, they will bring their expectations with them, and will demand access to the building blocks used to construct their lives thus far. The companies that employ them can choose to adapt to these needs, or they can try the "old-school" way and require adaptation by their new hires. The former will create an atmosphere of trust and an environment of innovation and collaboration. The latter is likely to result in a quick trip to "the company formerly known as" land.

Is your company ready for these people?  What are you doing about your current processes, structure, and expectations?  If you are like most employers, you're not doing much.  Your new recruits are entering the workforce not with bad or wrong expectations...just different.  And, in many ways, they are many of the things that us older workers have always wanted...access to leadership, training, workplace participation, and a flexible environment.

So, I'm claiming a new term:  The Relationship Employer.  There I said it.  And I'm defining this revolution as:

The Relationship Employer, defined as the employer that is connected with its employees and their professional networks, understands that employees are voluntary contributors of their human capital and they choose to contribute to the organizations bottom line.

What do you think?  Am I on to something?  This is going to be an ongoing topic on the blog.  Let's see where the dialog takes us!

Too Much Information?

Last night, we went to dinner with our friends the Maroney's.  Their daughter Liz is a sophomore in college and is preparing for her semester abroad in London.  I can't wait to see how Liz changes over the next few months.  The opportunity to live in London under the auspices of "school"...how much fun!  In any event, we were talking about her course load for the Fall semester.  She shared that she was taking astronomy one of her science credits.  I told her that I actually enrolled in astronomy but quickly dropped the course once I saw the book and realized that math was involved.  She then responded "well, the course reviews said it was a great class and the professor was amazing!" 

So, college students can now get the course evaluation scores along with course reviews on-line.   I don't know why that surprises me--everything else is on-line. But it does seem to take away some of the mystery of that first day of class (we used to call it syllabus day).  On the other hand, I would have loved that access to information when I was in school.  We did have the informal hallway/dorm network of what classes to take and what to avoid.  But, access to the evals...that we never had!  And, as an adjunct professor at Suffolk University, I'm now wondering if my evals are available on-line as public information (I hope they are good...that seems to add additional pressure to being a professor)....must check on that this week.

Astronomy was never on the good list or the bad list.  I just thought it would be fun.  After all, I was a big Lost in Space fan when I was 10.

I guess the bottom line is this...when you've got access to information...use it to your advantage.  Perhaps that is why I'm such a big fan of assessments.  They give you more information.  Whether you are in recruitment, an astrophysicist, or a college sophomore.  It can help you make better decisions...although, there were some pleasant surprises along the way when we just signed-up without a "review".

People Problems?

My good friend and collegue Shama Hyder invited me to "guest blog" on her brilliant marketing site "After The Launch".  I thought I'd share my post with all of my readers as well.  Enjoy!

January is always a time of reflection and resolve.  Every year we pause and we plan and we always make resolutions---some spoken and some silent.  What will 2008 hold for you and for your business?  If you are like most people, you’re hoping that 2008 will bring you increased revenue, entrée into new markets, and the “deal of a lifetime”.  As you put together your marketing plan I’d also encourage you to put together a solid people plan.

People plan?

What are you doing about people planning in 2008?  If you are going to meet your goals and objectives, do you have the right people on the proverbial bus?  In today’s hypercompetitive business world, having the right people in place is the key to achieving your sales goals and the right people include everyone in your company.  If you are struggling with sales I’ll bet that you are also struggling in other areas.  No two parts of the organization work in a vacuum—everything is interrelated.  So, you must have the right people in all of your positions.

How do I find/hire/coach the right people?

Let’s start by asking three fundamental questions:

1.       Who is doing what and who is doing it really well?

2.       What kinds of people do we need in place in order to get to our 2008 goals?

3.       What are our gaps?

I’m a big fan of information and I specialize in employee assessments.  I think that they are the critical missing piece in most people plans.  By using job matching technology, we can assure that we put the right people in the right jobs.  Imagine going to work and knowing that all of your employees actually “fit” the jobs that they are doing.  Lining up thinking style, behavioral traits, and occupational interests are what turn “average” performers into superior employees.  For new hires, we can benchmark them against our current top performers.  For our incumbents, we can coach them based on specific success factors and traits.   And the best part, this type of assessing is legal, proven, and easy to implement and it doesn’t break the bank.

Let 2008 be your year to get your people plan in order.  You can achieve amazing results when everyone is on the bus and everyone is headed in the right direction—towards success.

Happy New Year!

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is  called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. 

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

New Year's Eve

New Year's eve is like every other night; there is no pause in the march of the universe, no breathless moment of silence among created things that the passage of another twelve months may be noted; and yet no man has quite the same thoughts this evening that come with the coming of darkness on other nights. 

~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Christmas Dinner at the Spears's House

Do you ever fantasize about being a celebrity?  Imagine having all the money you need,  living in Beverly Hills and riding around in a limo....ah!  that must be the life!  Or is it?

What do you think Christmas Dinner was like last night at the Spears's house? 

Britney, in and out of rehab and now lil' Jaime Lynn, baby and all, sitting around the table enjoying the holiday feast.  I just try to imagine what it must have been like.

First, what do you think they had to eat?

Second, what do you think they talked about?

Finally, what did they wear?

At the end of the day, you can only hope that this family derives strength from each other...that each of them takes a minute to think about what they have vs. what they don't.  I hope all of you had a Christmas Day that was filled with Joy vs. Drama!

December 25th

From all of us here at HRCleanUp, Happy Holidays!

 

Measure Twice, Cut Once

My friend Joyce Maroney writes a great blog called Workforce Institute.  It is a blog that is associated with a big company but I've been very impressed with the lack of "corporate spin".  She recently wrote a great post on the power of assessments.  And, being the assessment guy, I read it with great interest.

You can read it here.

BTW, let's here it for Joyce's son, Ted!  Ted just found out he's been admitted to The Tisch Film School at NYU!