Social Media and HR
Ready or Not, It Is Here
Are you using Social Media for recruiting or are you thinking that you should be using it but feel overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information in cyberspace and being touted at various conferences and seminars? If you are somewhat tentatively using it for recruiting purposes or made some attempt to learn more, you are in good company and it is understandable if you have merely dipped your toe in the waters not quite sure what to do with it all.
Social Media is simply a series of tools that uses technology to build communities that share information, ask and answer questions, educate, collaborate, and connect. Why do we want to build internal and external communities that use Social Media tools and what does this have to do with HR? Let’s start with asking the same question about HR – what does HR do? Share information, ask and answer questions, educate, collaborate and connect. Social Media tools create the ability to start, monitor, and participate in discussions about your organization both among the employee base and with everyone outside of the organization. HR professionals can use Social Media tools to monitor and participate in discussions within the organization but also gain knowledge about what is being said about their organization on various Social Media sites and develop cost effective and wide ranging recruitment programs.
Change and Shifting Frames
This weekend, Chris Brogan, http://www.chrisbrogan.com/ posted an interesting article on frames. The content isn’t new to me as it is an important component in change management that often doesn’t receive enough attention by business leaders when their organizations take on significant change projects or experience change from external forces. However, the timing was perfect as I have been struggling to fully shift from my old frame to my new frame for several months now.
While my personality is one that often seeks out change and enjoys the benefits that can come with it, this change requires a shift that means adopting core competencies that I have previously felt were not well suited to my abilities.
It also means that some of my core strengths are not as applicable going forward as they used to be. It felt a bit like putting one foot over the edge of that proverbial cliff and a bit like leaving behind some old friends-those competencies that I was so comfortable with. This weekend I realized that it was time to take both feet off the cliff. The option is to fly or drop, the choice is mine.
Considering the idea of frames and change is an important concept for HR practitioners to consider as they are often in a position to help others with the change process.
Are you in a position of having to choose a frame and shift fully into it? What is helping you do this? Where do you seek help as you work your way through the process?
The Role of HR and Intra-Organizational Social Media Use
I have conducted extensive research into the use of Social Media in organizations over the past several months. It started out as a bewildering and massive array of information while I sorted out which ‘experts’ really are experts. I quickly came to realize that the world of Social Media is like many other professions (such as HR) in that one must learn as much as they can in a ‘generalist’ sense, then choose an area of specialty.
Are Organizations Made Up of Talent, Capital or People?
Over the past 8 years there has been a growing trend to using new buzz words in HR. We no longer refer to employees as people, now we call them ‘talent’ or ‘capital’; we refer to executives as the ‘C-Suite’ and attempt to apply a financially oriented return on investment (ROI) to literally everything related to Human Resources.
Is it any wonder that managers, candidates and employees feel disengaged and frustrated with their experience with the people that work in HR? If the people of HR continue this trend of referring to people in this manner the concern is that we move further and further away from what our purported roles are. Whatever happened to facilitating the ability of the management team [people] to attract, retain and develop people? Remember the right people, in the right place, at the right time? I have yet to speak to a non-HR CEO or Manager that refers to the people that work for them as talent or capital-they call them people if referring to groups, or by name if referring to individuals.
Talent, in the form of competencies, skills and abilities come as a complete package, they are attached to people. We can not afford to forget this and by replacing the words people and human with talent and capital what message is being sent? People are far more complex that the set of skills they bring to the workplace and people who work in HR must be conversant with this complexity and understand how it affects the culture of the organization, the engagement of the people who work for the organization, and the future of the organization.
Instead of focusing on catchy new ways to describe what we do, why not focus on simply doing it better?
Will HR Become More Effective?
HR has the unfortunate tendency to be inward focused; rather than collaboratively engaging cross functional colleagues in HR project design and implementation, they garner sources of information from other HR practitioners to inform their project process. Successful HR projects that drive business goals require the expertise, input and engagement of the rest of the organization. Therefore the CHRP should include a significant requirement to develop a high level of competency in cross functional collaboration, project management and systems thinking. Business acumen is all well and good but of little value if you are unable to discern the need to engage others appropriately.
Of all members of an organization, the HR practitioner should be the role model of collaborative effort and show leadership in the practice of engaging others in business oriented projects. Yet too often, HR is seen as a department that is somewhat isolated and out of touch from the rest of the organization.
If HR associations took a different approach to the surveys they send out regarding the value of services offered by association to practitioners, they would gather radically different input. Send out a survey regarding the effectiveness of HR in their organization, to the non-HR employees and you will gather a very different perception of what needs to be done if HR is ever to begin to garner the respect they claim to want. To get the ‘seat at the table’, a stated desire that gets tossed out there so often will be attained by radical change. Is HR up to that challenge?
Competency Development: Collaboration
Perhaps the most important competency HR professionals can develop is the ability to show leadership in collaboration. Collaboration is often defined as a problem solving competency, another way to look at it is for goal accomplishment.
Rather than viewing collaboration as a means to only solve problems, consider it as a way to develop a business case for a program that you see as innovative and important to the future success of the business. Working collaboratively means access to greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources.
Does Your Succession Plan Work?
This example shows how a leader that the succession planning process missed turned out to be the best choice for the job. The organizations’ succession plan identified specific people who were thought by their managers to have the potential to fill leadership positions. The development plan included coaching, support for ongoing education, leadership development programs, and opportunities to work in cross functional areas to gain tactical experience.
For employees that were not included in the succession plan, the opportunities available to them for promotion to leadership positions were support for continuing education, the opportunity to volunteer for various organization wide committees, and the ability to apply for leadership positions posted internally. The internal hiring process mirrored the external process.
In one such competition there were several candidates for a management position, but only two of these candidates are noted in this post.
Some Resources: Employment Status and Severance Packages in Canada
To determine how to approach the question of severance compensation when you are laid off you must first determine whether your role was regulated by the federal or provincial employment standards. You can check the following three links to determine, first which applies, then to access the standards.(**Please note that the following information is not intended to convey any form of legal advice, it is simply resources that you can find on the internet to guide you in your decision making.)
Link to determine if your workplace is regulated federally or provincially: http://www.rhdcc-hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/employment_standards/regulated.shtml
There is a link on this page that will take you to the Canada Labour Code should you determine that your organization was federally regulated:
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/L-2
If your organization is provincially regulated the following link will take you to the Employment Standards Act for your province:
http://www.rhdcc-hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/labour/employment_standards/ministries.shtml
If your position is covered by a collective agreement, the provisions of the collective agreement shall prevail, except in the circumstance that the collective agreement provision does not meet the minimum applicable labour/employment standards.
Severance packages only need meet the standards; however, in most cases they will go beyond the basic standards. Courts will generally consider the following: age, level of responsibility (entry through to senior executive level), length of service with the organization and the availability of similar work and compensation in the market place.
Outplacement Counseling and Your Job Search
If you are laid off you must mitigate your circumstance by conducting a serious search for new employment, or develop a feasible plan for your own business.
Your ex-employer may offer outplacement counseling as part of your severance package. Before accepting this first consider whether or not you really need this service. There are many resources available on the internet to help you in your search for a new position, so if you have access to a computer and internet service you may not need the outplacement counseling.
Once you research appropriate job search and resume/cover letter writing information via the internet you should discuss your approach with a few people to help ensure that you have the best resume and cover letter possible and to help you practice interview skills. Ask people you trust that have experience in management, human resources, and recruiting to review your resume and cover letter and to help you practice interview skills. Join Social Networking groups such as those found on LinkedIn as you will find further resources and networking opportunities available to you there.
A few online resources for writing resumes and cover letters and tips for developing interview skills can be found at:
http://www.workopolis.com/work.aspx?action=Transfer&View=Content/Common/WorkLoginView&lang=EN
http://www.monster.com/
http://seekers.jobbank.gc.ca/common-commun/login-connection.aspx?redirect=true&target=1&lang=en-CA
http://www.resume-resource.com/examples.html
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm
Check out the free resources available to you before opting for outplacement counseling as those packages can cost several thousand dollars and you may be better off negotiating that amount into your package. If you haven’t conducted a job search in a long time or do not feel confident that you can access the needed resources on your own, then the outplacement counseling may be appropriate for your situation.
Should You Obtain Legal Counsel?
If you have long service with your organization, perhaps in the ten year range, and you are in the 45+ age category, you may consider at least consulting with an experienced employment lawyer if the severance package offered to you either just meets or barely exceeds the appropriate employment standards requirements.
An experienced lawyer will be able to advise you as to whether your compensation package is appropriate or not within about 30-45 minutes. Many firms post their hourly rates on their websites, if not, simply ask when you call for an appointment. Ask around for references as you want a lawyer that will negotiate a reasonable package in a manner that maintains a respectful relationship with your ex-employer.
Common Forms of Severance Packages
The most likely form of severance package that you may be offered is a continuing salary for a specific amount of time. There will be a caveat that should you obtain new employment or become self-employed prior to the end of that period, the balance of the severance will be paid out as a lump sum at 50% only. You may also be offered certain benefits coverage to be continued for a specified period of time, although some benefits require that you be actively at work and may not apply. Other items that are often offered are outplacement packages as discussed above and a reference letter.
Often an option to accept a severance package in a lump sum may be available if you ask. This may come with a caveat, such as a discounted rate. You should consult with a lawyer prior to making a decision.
.(**Please note that the above information is not intended to convey any form of legal advice, it is simply resources that you can find on the internet to guide you in your decision making.)
Recruitment and Succession Plans
One of the hottest topics in the business sections of various Medias three years ago was the skills/competencies shortage experienced by companies in Canada, and the prediction that this would become a larger issue over the next ten years. It seemed that not only was there a skills shortage, defined as not enough people with specific skill sets and experience, but that there was a perceived shortage of people to fulfill roles, skills or no skills. Given the current global economic downturn and massive layoffs, is the skills/competencies shortage still a critical factor? If you talk to business leaders about their organizations succession plans it appears that the shortage of skills/competencies still exists.
The shortage is to some degree related to ineffective or non existent development plans, and the failure to include the competency commitment to learning in the hiring process, rather than the size of the available labour pool. Is your organization developing short-lived strategies to lure skilled workers to your business? Alternatively, are companies looking to the future and developing solid succession plans?
Does Your Performance Management Program Work?
Performance Management is of value to organizations in that it provides employees with a road map of what they will do to contribute to driving business results. It consists of goals/objectives specific to organizational business plans, regular communication that provides coaching where needed and lets the employee know how they are doing, and development goals that ensure employees are able to develop skills and knowledge required to meet changing business needs.
Cannell (2009) states: “So performance management is about establishing a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions. It is about sharing expectations. Managers can clarify what they expect individual and teams to do; likewise individuals and teams can communicate their expectations of how they should be managed and what they need to do their jobs. It follows that performance management is about interrelationships and about improving the quality of relationships – between managers and individuals, between managers and teams, between members of teams and so on, and is therefore a joint process. It is also about planning – defining expectations expressed as objectives and in business plans – and about measurement; the old dictum is ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it’. It should apply to all employees, not just managers, and to teams as much as individuals. It is a continuous process, not a one-off event. Last but not least, it is holistic and should pervade every aspect of running an organisation.”
HR and Coaching
Over the past ten years the practice of hiring coaches to work with the leaders and those identified as future leaders has grown rapidly. Some organizations choose to send their leaders to coaches training; others hire external coaches, or a combination of both internal and external coaches. The question for organizations is whether or not to provide coaching training for leaders and whether to hire internal or external coaches. I have worked with many leaders in my career that are exceptional coaches, yet have not had any specific training as a coach. HR must develop a way to assess whether or not coaching training or providing a coach to a (potential) leader is the right choice, or if some other type of intervention would be more effective. In some organizations, the culture may not be suited to the structured form of coaching being taught in coaching programs today. HR must be able to determine what type of coaching, informal or formal is most appropriate in the organization and within specific work teams.
HR Vision
Challenging assumptions means questioning the everyday things you take for granted and getting away from old ideas. This may be one of the most effective things that those in the HR Profession can do to improve their performance in the workplace. The concept of Paradigm Shift was popular in management literature about eight years ago. It was adapted from the theory developed for science by Thomas Kuhn (1962), The Structure of Scientific Revolution, into a broader social context. “Think of a paradigm shift as a change from one way of thinking to another. It is a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It does not just happen, but is driven by agents of change. We all look at the world around us in accordance with a certain paradigm. The paradigm we use depends on what we believe is reliable and true.” (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shift)
What Some People Say
Where Does HR Stand Now?
I recently read a blog which discussed the ability of HR Professionals to be viewed as respected contributors to their organizations. If I understood the posting accurately the blogger, Ian Cook, Director, Research and Learning, BCHRMA, suggested that HR Professionals understand the components and expected results of their roles but that they are still not considered deserving of respect in the way that they need to be. Ian suggested that perhaps a name change would help change mindsets; He said that “We have most of the answers when it comes to structure, value proposition and strategic drive – so what do we call ourselves….. any ideas?”
My experience over the past 5 years in particular (but similar to my experience over the past 18 years in HR) is that HR Professionals may still have a ways to go on the impressing front. They may understand that they need to be able to drive business results and what those results are, to be able to strategize, provide leadership etc. The question is, have they developed the skills and motivation to actually provide results or is this simply academic?
