I have spent much time in my HR past obtaining a variety of memberships and participating in various associations and communities to improve business processes as well as grow my knowledge, experience, and network of contacts.  Some have contributed credentials to my resume, some have provided “best” practices to learn from, and others have given [...]
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BusinessWeek Research Services has just published a new study on workforce analytics that looks at how companies are using data to improve how they manage their workforce. Whether implementing a round of cost-reductions or deciding on new investments, workforce analytics gives business leaders greater insights into the impact of those decisions.
Also mentioned is how analytics can be [...]
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It’s benchmarking season at Infohrm – don’t be surprised if you see loads of flying pigs being shot out of the sky (no pun towards swine flu intended).
So why the wingless pigs? During benchmarking season, a lot of the pigs released by our favourite type of journalist – the sensationalist – are shot down by [...]
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Saw a short article in the McKinsey Quarterly this morning that dovetailed nicely with several presentations at last week’s Infohrm Workforce Planning Summit.
The “conversation starter”, titled What Next: Ten Questions for CFOs (registration required), offers guidance for CFOs as they educate their management teams on the risks, costs, and benefits of new opportunities offered by [...]
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Recently the WSJ reported that Apple Inc has actively been recruiting engineers in order to design its own computer chips. Observers suggest this shift in strategy will allow Apple greater protection from competitors and flexibility in design for blockbuster products like the iPhone. While this move may come as no surprise to Apple [...]
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A common theme within the HR world is the ability, or inability to effectively garner executive and line manager buy-in for HR decisions. The sad fact about Human Resources is that it should be the strategic receptacle for driving the job satisfaction and employee productivity, and often is not. It should be communicating troubling trends [...]
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A Business Week article a few weeks back profiled a few organizations making headway with workforce metrics and analytics, giving examples of how they’re getting better at tracking, analyzing and making workforce decisions with data.  Though the article’s subtitle highlighted “valuation” of employees, aka assets, I was thrilled the mainstream publication brought this progress to such [...]
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Bersin and Associates just released the results of their 2009 Workforce Planning Survey. The focus is on the importance of recruiting and staffing’s involvement in the process. While I would agree that integration with recruiting and staffing is essential to successful workforce planning, I disagree with the follow-on logic that this function must [...]
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Last year, I wrote a blog on HR skills for workforce analytics that outlined some of my ideas on what skills and aptitudes are important for success in human capital measurement.
Pushing those ideas a little further, I teamed up with Infohrm’s Duncan Scott to write a short “position paper” (i.e., a discussion of our thoughts [...]
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Demand for increased transparency has never been stronger.  From fraudulent tax returns to federal stimulus spending, the American public is eager for information.  Even the venerable and discreet Swiss banking system has caved to the calls for more transparency.   Now let’s extend this enthusiasm for information and transparency to the private sector.  Now is the time [...]
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Every day we hear of more companies who are retrenching staff across the world. Examples this week include Rio Tinto and RBS. I worry that in this climate of retrenchments that companies will think of workforce planning as a nice to have luxury rather than being what I believe is a critical prerequisite to planning [...]
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I find it fascinating to watch a powerful thunderstorm, but I would rather not be in the midst of it (just ask my wife). Brisbane gets its fair share of light shows – especially in the months of January and February and it would be reasonable to assume that my lightning phobia is explained by [...]
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Earlier this year, I took part in a radio show hosted by HRchitect, an HR systems consulting firm. Several colleagues and I had the chance to discuss how we see the future of workforce planning playing out and what human capital leaders should be focused on in 2009 and beyond.
It was very entertaining, save for the “tell [...]
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When Richard Beatty last week wrote last week that CFOs should not trust HR, my gut reaction to the headline was dismay over yet another splashy-bold, HR-bashing statement. The last thing companies need right now is more internal strife. My next thought was, “wait-how many people actually trust the finance guys in these times of [...]
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Workforce Management’s weekly e-newsletter contained a question and answer regarding getting started with workforce planning. (See article here.) This is a common scenario – the executive team issues a mandate to start workforce planning, and the HR staff is left feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start. Dr. Sullivan had excellent [...]
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