Recession Fallout in HR

Posted on by
Reply

I have a feeling I’m about to preach to the choir.  I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with hiring manager lately – that just don’t get it! (I hear you saying “What do you mean “lately” – did hiring manager “ever” get it!)   The Recession has made our job very hard – Today – especially if you are currently trying to hire anyone with technical skills (engineers, designers, IT professionals, Scientist, etc.).   During the Recession we had candidates coming out of our ears!  Today, it seems like, almost overnight, technical jobs across the country have turned on like a fire hose!  Everywhere companies are trying to find technical talent – in all industries – all at the same time.   Remember that baby boomer Tsunami of retirement we were suppose to see?  This feels like the first waves are hitting the shore in terms of technical hiring!

I’ve spoken to engineering schools that 100% graduation hires, plus companies now paying for engineering seniors, senior year of tuition!   I’ve spoken to companies that have had to double their payroll projections – mid-budget year, just to have enough money to hire the same amount of projected hires at the beginning of the year.  In HR and Recruiting we get this – the market moves, sometimes very quickly, and organizations have to be prepared to adjust and move with it – or risk causing some very bad outcomes to our operations.  But, do our hiring managers get this?

I’m hear to say – not enough have gotten the message!

Over the past few months, it seems like we are having daily “conversations” with hiring managers who are still wanting to see the same 20 candidates they saw during the recession, and turning down candidates for minor things like “he seemed a little shy”, “she was from Tech and I like State grads”, “he’s had 2 jobs in the past 10 years!”   I’ve had hiring managers have interviews, come back and say they like both candidates really well, but would like to see some more – when there aren’t any more!   It all sounds familiar doesn’t it!  The Recession did this to them!  It made the greedy – it made them ultra picky – it made them believe there is a never ending pool of great candidates who only want to come work at your company.   Ugh! I hate the Recession!

So what?

In HR/Recruiting this is where we become marketers – we start selling – and what we are selling is an idea.  An idea that the world is different, they sky is falling and there’s only one person left to hire.  That person – is the stupid candidate I just put in front of your face!!! (wouldn’t that be great if we could say that!?)  Look, I understand you and your hiring managers “only want to hire the best talent” – BTW – so does everyone else.  But times are changing – if you want to hire the best – you better be paying the best – or at least offering the best value proposition as compared to your competitors.  Lines of candidates are out their just waiting for calls any longer.  It’s simple addition – more technical job openings than candidates + baby boomers now beginning to feel like they can retire = our job just got a lot tougher!

 

#14 Rap Lyric That Shaped My Leadership Style

Posted on by
Reply

For the background of this list – see my original post from 2-10-12.

The #14 Rap Lyric that Shaped my Leadership Style comes from an artist making his second appearance on the countdown (feels like Casey Kasem doesn’t it! And now our long distance dedication from Kris in Birmingham to his life partner Lance in Seattle) – but his first where he’s the actual rapper (check out #24 – Eminem and Little Wayne’s No Love).  Eminem probably has the most commercially popular rap song of all time from his movie 8 Mile and the song “Lose Yourself” – 2002 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and 23 week consecutive weeks at #1 (a record for a rap song).

So, here’s the lyric – from the opening of the song:

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

Is there a white person alive that doesn’t have this on their iPod and they play it like 17 times while they are working out!?   The baseline alone from this song single-handedly got people to buy crappy Chrysler cars again!    That’s a very powerful song!

I think we don’t do this enough – live on that edge of making it or not making it – too many of us play it safe.  I can’t tell you how many people I know who stay in corporate jobs because they view them as “safe” – that have had opportunities to truly do something amazing, but they don’t.  I lived this life – so I know what I’m talking about.  We are HR Pros – safe is good – not knowing for sure  is scary and bad.  I get it!

I’m envious of those people who can throw caution to the wind and make that Leap.  I do think we (corporate HR drones) can find our balance to reach out for our opportunities inside of our organizations.  I call these “Must Do Moves!”   Everyday in our organization there are things we “have” to do – which means we really don’t have to do them, the doors will open again tomorrow at the corporate headquarters if we don’t – but if we do, just maybe some fantastic change will happen in our organizations.  We need to do more “Must Dos!” It’s good for your soul.  You’ll won’t lose your house. You might find that satisfaction you’ve been searching for in your job.

Enjoy the listen  – it gets me pumped up every time I hear it!

Tell Your Critics To Suck It

Posted on by
1

In the corporate world everyone is a critic!  Everyone!  We’ve gotten really good at a learned behavior – no longer can we send out a final product the first time. Why?  Because everyone wants to trash it and change it – so it can be this really nice piece of Vanilla!  Welcome to Corporate America. But you know what – this isn’t new – critics have been around since Jesus – and critics have been wrong since before Jesus!   I wanted to share with you some famous things that critics got wrong:

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1824)

What the critics said in 1825: “We find Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to be precisely one hour and five minutes long; a frightful period indeed, which puts the muscles and lungs of the band, and the patience of the audience to a severe trial…” –The Harmonicon, London, April 1825

Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville (1851)

And the critics response: When Melville died in 1891, Moby-Dickhad moved a grand total of 3,715 copies…in 40 years! The below was typical at the time of the book’s release:

“…an ill-compounded mixture of romance and matter-of-fact. The idea of a connected and collected story has obviously visited and abandoned its writer again and again in the course of composition…Our author must be henceforth numbered in the company of the incorrigibles who occasionally tantalize us with indications of genius, while they constantly summon us to endure monstrosities, carelessnesses, and other such harassing manifestations of bad taste as daring or disordered ingenuity can devise…” -Henry F. Chorley, London Athenaeum, October 25, 1851

Animal Farm, by George Orwell (1945)

What the critics said about the book we all had to read in high school: “It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.” –Publisher’s rejection

Here’s what I know – true creativity in what we do, does not come from running our ideas through everyone and their brother for approval.  If your organization wants your employees to be truly creative and innovative – stop pushing teams.  Teams don’t make masterpieces – they can do some pretty cool stuff – but pure creativity isn’t one of them.  We push “Team” so hard in HR and in most organizations it sometimes makes you think like this the only way everyone in the world must work – but it’s not.  An HR Pro that can determine the proper work structure throughout their organization is truly valuable – “team” isn’t always the answer – and you should have other tools in your toolbox.

 

You hear artist all the time say “I don’t listen to my critics”. This is valuable in that they know listening to a critic will hurt their art.  Unfortunately, in business, we don’t always have the ability/decision to not listen to our critics (who could be bosses, peers, friends, etc.).  In business telling your critics to “Suck It” could be a big career derailer!  So, when do we go all “Suck It – It’s my project” in the workplace?   First, I wouldn’t suggest you approach it, beginning with “Suck It” – although you will get their attention – I think we all have the ability in our work environment to push back appropriately when you truly know you have something that will make a difference.  But, it’s about having the conviction to stand behind it and not let it get changed.  That’s your marker – “am I willing to put my career/credibility/bank of influence on the line for this idea/project/etc.?” If you are – it’s time to pull out the “Suck It” card and push forward.  For most of us, this might never happen in our work lives – maybe once – but it’s rare.

 

I think what we learn over time is that not all of our critics are bad – and some actually might help truly make us better.  The key is to continue to have confidence in what you do – without it – your work critics will make your work life less than artistic.

Look Who Got All Brand New

Posted on by
1

Acting Brand New: (definition via Urban Dictionary):

When a person displays that they are better than their friends, or treats their friends indifferently, especially where there has been a relationship of good standing previously; hence the term ‘new’. i.e. without any history with you. Or,
Using it in a sentence:  “Why Jamie acting brand new like he don’t know nobody? Just be cause he got a car don’t mean shit, we practically grew up in the same house and yesterday he said he couldn’t come over my house because it has a garage. I was like, well what about all those other 1000’s of times.”
I was reminded of the concept of “Acting Brand New” this past week when speaking about a client we use to work with.  We don’t work with them now because the value equation just didn’t work out for the two of us (meaning: we weren’t making enough money for the work they were willing to give us!).   The company was tough to recruit for because they had a super bad reputation and nobody locally wanted to go to work there, on top of that, they willing to be pay leaders to make up for their terrible reputation.  I’m not in the business of providing bad talent – it won’t keep me in business long – they could only afford average talent – and average talent doesn’t want to work for horrible companies, unless you pay a premium – so what you’re left with is bad talent.
The reason this past client came up is because they went through some re-branding – new name, new logo, fresh coat of paint, etc.  They still have the same openings and they are trying to “act brand new” – like somehow the people in a local market will forget who they were and want to come work at the “new” company.  They don’t – still have bad culture, bad leadership and bad wages.  BTW – that’s the triple threat of not getting any talent!   You end up with people who couldn’t get jobs anywhere else.
Which leads to the concept of – how do you get “brand new”? If you’re unfortunately at a company like our previous client mentioned above, how do you turn this around?  You can only become “Brand New” by actually being something new.  Name changes and new logos don’t do the trick – you have to have leadership that actually act different, that model the behaviors you want to become, that are willing to cut out some cancer and not allow it to grow back.  It’s tough!  Too many of us want to change our Name and Logo first – I get that – Signs and Symbols.  But that’s completely backwards when getting all brand new – you do that last.  That way when someone comes back to see if you really are all brand new – your exterior matches the interior.

#15 Rap Lyric That Shaped My Leadership Style

Posted on by
1

For the background of this list – see my original post from 2-10-12.

This week’s Rap Lyric comes from Eminem protege Curtis James Jackson III, or as he’s more popularly known – 50 Cent (or do you write that as $.50) off his 2005 album The Massacre.  50 Cent became the first artist in Billboard history to have 3 Singles in the Top 5 at one time with this album – but not one of those 3 gave us this weeks Lyric!   From his song – In My Hood, here is the Lyric:

“Now you can be a victim, or you can lock and load.”

The concept of “being a victim” has shaped my leadership perspective in an enormous way.  If you haven’t got a chance to read the book “The Oz Principle” you need to – it’s a heavy read – but I ensure you will not be a victim ever again, in business, after reading it!

So what does “being a victim” mean in business?

Being stuck in the “victim cycle” or “being a victim” really means you’re stuck in the blame game.  “I’m not successful because my boss doesn’t allow me to me.”  “I can’t finish the project because I don’t have enough resources.”  “I can’t do my work because other people don’t do their work.” Etc.   To rise above this victim cycle means to take control of your destiny – you see it, you own it, you solve it, you do it.  No excuses, no blame, no finger-pointing.

In HR it’s so easy on a daily basis to be a “victim”.   “Well, we don’t control that decision” or “They won’t give us the budget to do it the “right” way.”   We are given so many outs each and every day – to make it not be our fault.  But our organizations and our employees need for us to set an example that is different.  One that says – “It doesn’t matter – we’ll make it work anyway” or “I’ve got your back, we can do this!”  It’s not easy and I’m the first to admit I can’t do it every day, every time – but I sure try.

I surround myself with non-victims – it’s who I want on my team.  I don’t want to here – “I can’t” – I want to hear “I can”.  You can do anything in business when you have people who all support each other, want the best for each other and have a belief that no matter what – we’ll get it done.  That’s my team.

 

5 Things That Demonstrate You’re Not Getting Paid Enough

Posted on by
2

I was reading an article recently, it was one of those “Best Places To Work” type of articles.  Since I run a company, I’m always looking out for good ideas on how to take care of your employees without spending a dime – unfortunately – “Best Places” companies that make these lists usually don’t give you these type 0f ideas!   What you get from “Best Places” articles are all the over the top crap – gourmet cat food for your in cube pet-mate, free liposuction for your spouse and discounted tattoo eyeliner coupons.  I would love for my company to be on the top of every single “Best Places” to work article – but we probably won’t.  I care too much about my employees to make that happen.

What?!?

Yes, you read that right – My greatest weakness is I care too much!

It costs an organization a ton of money to make a “Best Places” list – not in actually applying to make the list (oh yeah, they are chosen randomly – you have to apply – the Top 100 Greatest Places to Work isn’t really the Top 100 Greatest Places to Work – it was the Top of the companies that applied for the award Greatest Places to Work), but in doing all the silly crap they do, so they sound like a great place to work.  Many of the best places to work, will never be on a list, because they are spending their time, money and effort – on their employees!

Here are some things that “Best Places to Work” companies and You Not Getting Paid Enough have in common”

1. If you’re company has unlimited gourmet free breakfast, lunch and dinner provided – you’re not getting paid enough.  Cut that crap out and pay me $10K more per year – I’ll bring in my own Greek Yogurt and granola.

2. If your company pays to have your laundry done and your house clean – you’re not getting paid enough.

3. If your company is taking you on luxury vacations and dinners that cost more than your monthly home mortgage – you’re not getting paid enough.

4. If your company spend more on marketing themselves as a great place to work, than on your employee development – you’re not getting paid enough.

5. If your CEO flies to work on a daily or weekly basis – you’re not getting paid enough.

So, how do I show my employees that I care and that we have a great place to work?  I don’t waste money on things that ultimately become a negative when I need to take them away because we aren’t making the money for our shareholders.  All great places to work, eventually become average or crappy places to work – because sustaining luxury programs that you put in place when your doing well – become negatives to engagement when you tighten your boot straps.

Pay your people fairly. Meet their needs as adults. Treat them professionally and with respect.  That’s a great place to work.

#16 Rap Lyric That Shaped My Leadership Style

Posted on by
1

For the background of this list – see my original post from 2-10-12.

The #16 Rap Lyric That Shaped my Leadership Style comes from Coolio off the 1995 Dangerous Minds soundtrack, from his song Gangsta’s Paradise.  This might be the one song every 40 year old white guy can still sing word-for-word at the local Holiday Inn bar karaoke night – but that still doesn’t take away how great of a song this is.  Ranked #38 in VH1’s 100 all time Hip Hop songs, it was by far Coolio’s biggest hit.  They Lyric:

“They say I need to learn, but nobody’s here to teach me. If they don’t understand, how can they reach me?”

I guess they can’t; I guess they won’t. I guess they front.  That’s why I know my life is outta luck – Fool! (see 42 – still got it!)

I’ll give you some extra time with this one, because I know you all had to listen to the full version – besides Eminem’s Lose Yourself – is there a better song associated with a movie? You know a song is good when it’s better than the movie!

This lyric reminds of how we onboard in our organizations.  In HR, this is something I think we can always get better at, and we tend to just try and process this down so that onboarding takes as little time as possible.  When in truth – onboarding should be an ongoing process that takes weeks or months, and HR ensures the great talent we bring into our organizations actually gets everything – I mean EVERYTHING – they need to be successful.  We owe it to them – and to often we throw them a set of keys, a laptop and a phone and say “Go!”

Somehow we feel like – “hey, we’re paying you a salary – you should know what to do”, but they don’t  – we need to teach them.  Raw talent doesn’t mean you’ll be successful in our unique organizational dynamics and culture.  I’ve seen way to much great talent leave organizations – where the organization feels like the person was a failure – even though they came in as a Rock Star, and they go on to their next position and they are a Rock Star.  You didn’t reach them – in fact, you probably didn’t even put in the effort to reach them.

Remember – we don’t hire idiot, worthless people.  Every person we hire – comes in with the highest expectations. They have good experience, good energy, good background – we ensured that.  If they fail – it’s on us – not them (mostly).

Recruiting is Worthless

Posted on by
4

Paul DeBettignies recently had an article over at ERE – Where Have All the Recruiters Gone – which gave me the idea for this post.  In Paul’s post he wonders why recruiters are networking face-to-face anymore. I think many of us in the recruiting field who have been in the field pre-internet, probably wonder this and many more things as we look at how the industry has totally transformed over the past 20 years.  A person today can get into recruiting, sit at a desk, have great internet skills, marginal phone skills and make a decent living.  They probably won’t be a great recruiter – they probably won’t make great money – but they’ll survive – they’ll be average or slightly above.  It’s why the recruiting function in most organizations gets a bad rap!  In corporate circles I’ve heard it called “worthless” many times – and for some this is their reality.

Recruiting is Worthless, if…

…you’re a hiring manager and you never have face-to-face conversations with your recruiter when you have an opening, and when you don’t have an opening.

…you’re recruiters believe it isn’t there job to find talent, talent will find them.

…your organization believes it’s the recruiting departments job to find talent.  It’s not, it’s the hiring managers job to ensure they have the talent they need for their department, recruiting is the tool that will help them.  This “ownership responsibility” is very important for organizational success in ensuring you have the talent you need.

…your recruiting department acts like they are HR – they aren’t – they are sales and marketing.  Too many Recruiters, in corporate settings, don’t want to recruit, they want to be HR – which makes them worthless as recruiters.

…if your recruiters have more incoming calls then outgoing calls.

…if your recruiters believe their job begins Monday thru Friday at 8am and ends at 5pm. The best talent is working during those times and most likely won’t talk to you while they are at work.  That’s not a slam on you or your company – they are great employees, it’s what we expect from a great employee.

…your senior leadership team feels they have to use an “executive search” company to fill their higher level openings, because our recruiting department “can’t handle it”.

…if they are victims – “it’s not my job”, “we can’t do that because…”, “marketing won’t allow us to do…”, “our policy won’t allow us…” etc.

…if they just send hiring managers resumes of candidates that have come to them, without first determining if the person is a fit for the organization and a fit for the hiring managers position – before sending them on.

…they haven’t developed the organizational influence enough to change a hiring managers, hiring decision.

Recruiting is worthless if in the end they have failed to show the value of their service back to the organization.

Recruiting is the one department in the organization, besides sales, that truly has the ability to show ROI back to the organization, yet so few of us take advantage of the opportunity we have!  There is nothing more important, and have a bigger competitive advantage, than our organizations talent – and oh by the way – THAT IS US! We control that.  Recruiting isn’t worthless, unless you make it worthless.

 

 

Are You Drowning In Your Position

Posted on by
3

You know the crazy thing about drowning?  It doesn’t look like you’re drowning! Read this from Mario Vittone:

  1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech occurs.
  2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
  3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water, permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
  4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
  5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.

Take away the eventually water death – and this seems eerily familiar to some of our employees…

As HR Pros/Hiring Managers/Supervisors we have people who are drowning in their positions right now – but we can’t “see” them drowning.  Employees have natural things they do in terms of self-preservation, much like some one who is truly drowning.  They begin to do: put in extra time at the office, they seem a little to stressed for normal work, they make things bigger than what they are (this gives them an excuse in case of failure), etc. – it gives you an impression “they’re on top of it” – but they aren’t.  They tend not to ask for help – they don’t want anyone to know they’re in trouble – they can handle it on their own.

How do you spot an employee who is going under?

1. Look for employees who are disengaging with key relationships they need to have to get their job done.  Why?  Employees who are drowning – will disconnect from those who will be the first ones to spot them drowning – key hiring managers or peers from other departments – which buys them time from their own supervisors finding out they aren’t staying afloat.

2. They become defensive or blame shift – when this isn’t usually part of their normal behavior.  Another mechanism they use as a life preserver –  “it’s not me – it’s them!”

3. Drowning employees tend to cling to each other.  Rarely will you see a drowning employee hanging with a top performer (that’s one more person who will see they aren’t making it).

How do you save an employee who is drowning?

That’s even tougher than spotting them!  Because it takes you confronting them, and not allowing them to cop-out, most HR Pros/Hiring Managers/Supervisors find this very uncomfortable (hello Performance Management!) It basically takes you jumping into their role – deep – and pulling them out.  Most of us don’t like getting our clothes wet and ruining our iPhone – so we try and throw them things to help instead – additional training, words of encouragement, EAP, discipline…sound familiar?  When what they need is some full life saving – to push them up for air and take them to shore (you’re sick of metaphors at this point! – actually do the job with them for a while, so them how it should be done).  You still might decide when it’s all done to let the person go – they just can’t handle the position – but some will actually learn from the experience and turn out to be really good.

#17 Rap Lyric That Shaped My Leadership Style

Posted on by
1

For the background of this list – see my original post from 2-10-12.

The #17 Rap Lyric That Shaped My Leadership Style comes from the Notorius B.I.G. (Biggie) in the song You’re Nobody from his 1997 album Life after Death, which was released 15 days after he was killed in a drive by shooting.  Talk about living your music!  They Lyric:

“You’re nobody til somebody kills you.”

I don’t take this literally, although Biggie did, to me this was figuratively meant to say – you need to be prepared that you’re going to have haters and you don’t need to take this negatively – it means you’ve made it.   Every organization – yes, every one – has politics.  Usually the larger they are, the more politics are involved.  But one thing you can count on – if you’re trying to make change in an organization, especially within HR, you’re going to have some folks wanting to “kill” you!

A leader needs to assume this, not be surprised by it, and actually embrace it.  It’s alright that someone in your organization wants to “kill” you, it means you’re digging into the right stuff!  People always assume that the opposite of “Love” is “Hate” – but that’s not true.  The opposite of “Love” is “Apathy”, it’s not caring enough to even give that person another thought.  Only when you truly love someone, can you hate them – hate comes from being irritated and you only get irritated when you care about something.

When I know someone in my organization “hates” me and wants to “kill” me – I know they care – I like that person!   I want people around me who care – that feel passionate about what they do – so much so – that they will try to politically “kill” me!  Most people aren’t comfortable under those circumstances – but I am – because I have that belief, that you’re nobody until somebody wants to kill you.   Organizations get better through change, change is hard, change is painful, change will make people want to “kill” you – but change makes us better.  As a leader you need to be comfortable with a target on your back – buy helmet and bullet proof vest and make change happen!