HR Services

Though many of us are energy conscious when home, we are less likely to take measures to cut down on wasteful practices as the office unless we are small business owners.

One way to "go green" at the office is to incorporate the services of a company offering applicant management, personnel management, on-boarding, talent management and HR services on-line.    This also cuts cost when an employee is able to multi-task and engage in employee assessments on-line which reduces paper, time and lessens the human footprint we are leaving behind.

Read more ideas of Operating in the Green here.

I presented this morning on Employee Engagement to a great group of HR professionals.  The coffee was fresh, the coffee cake was tasty, and the issues were predictable.

"What metrics really work in today's business environment?"

We worked through what metrics they were using, and got into what metrics they SHOULD be using, and ended on how to measure and project the impact of good employee engagement.  We talked about Lean HR, about applicant tracking, and HR services that are aligned with the organization's vision.  All good.

As I drove away, I reflected on the wish of everyone in the room for a "silver bullet" that would fix tough employee relations issues and solve the talent management problems of the future. 

There is a great first step.  Train all of your managers in the skill of active listening.  If the managers start to listen better to their staff (or at least appear to) and if they can know more about their staff through the use of valid assessment tools, then the staff will feel well-managed and deliver the goods.  Whatever the goods are.

So, there you have it.  As an extrovert who does not like to listen, this is tough advice.  Just listen to it...the answer is out there.

Change is the mother of invention.  In my work on changing how HR Services are delivered and how assessments are used, I have found some secret methods for making change happen.

There are a lot of self-help books out there with all sorts of advice, and more motivational speakers with messages of treating each other nice and getting things done.  I have a better idea.

Move your office.  All of it.  Get some boxes, and take all of the stuff that is in your desk and on your desk and so on and get busy.  Mark the "keep" and "pitch" boxes and start sorting.  If you don't have a different space to move to, just haul everything out into the hall and only move back in that which is useful.

Do the same with your processes.  Find ways to simplify, find ways to use technology better, and even find ways to stop doing things altogether if they are not aligned with your strategic goals.  This, in a real sense, is how you apply Lean Theory to HR, and make Lean HR.  Eliminate Waste, and rethink the processes at the core of your work.

By taking all of the flotsam and jetsam of your office and sifting through it, boxes and boxes of waste will be generated.  This is good - you will be amazed at how liberating it feels to have a new, clean focus.  Now, do the same with your Human Capital Management processes.  All of the talent management ideas, all of the job fit efforts, everything.

If you need some help after you get everything out in the hall - give me a call.  I'm happy to be that ruthless, objective friend that can help clean out the closets...and, also, I have just moved my office, so I'm an expert.

My question is this: if you could change one part of the hiring process, what would it be?

Well, the whole issue of the different generations has just shifted.  As I have presented over the last 5 years, I have predicted that all of the boomers would retire within months of each other when the stock market climbed above some arbitrary point - my guess was 13,500 on the Dow. 

Well, with the economic meltdown, all bets are off.  Talking with several senior HR people today (all of whom were boomers) they both report that retirements are certainly off for their "on the cusp" employees, who have watched their 401k plans divide by half.  That means that all of the generational issues we have been watching are suddenly becoming bigger, with cranky boomers who wanted to retire rubbing up against Gen X'ers who are hoping that the boomer's retirement would create some promotion and growth opportunities.  Space to grow?  Not so much.

In all of this, HR is an important tool.  If you can, build HR Services that use assessments and career personality tests to predict job fit and succession planning.  Recognize that the generations see the economic meltdown differently, as seen in this news story.

We've all got to get along, and good talent management will go a long way...

Harlan is sharply driven by his philosophy that the PEOPLE part of our business is the critical factor in separating our organizations from the competition.  Whether you are talking about customer service, innovation, company growth or profitability...it is PEOPLE that drive it!  To be successful, it takes the best PEOPLE and those individuals are attracted to and stay with companies with the best jobfit and culture. Harlan has proven through the years that he understands how to create organizations with "World Class Culture".

Prior to founding ExactHire, Harlan founded Professional Staff Management, a PEO and HR solutions company that he sold in 2003.  Harlan is a long time, respected expert in the field of HR.

Harlan's expertise in HR Services, Personnel&Talent Management and Employee Assessments can help lead your organization to the "next" practices needed to out perform the competition.