Trish MacFarlane
My Million Dollar Compensation Package
Occasionally I come across something that is written that just grabs my attention. Last week I had one of those moments. I was reading The HR Technologist blog and the author, Bryon Abramowitz, posted about having a million dollar compensation package. Let me repeat that because it’s 100% true….he has a MILLION dollar compensation package.
Since what he said seemed so important to me, I asked him if I could share some, or most, of the post here on my site. He approved, so here is my interpretation of his post:
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How are you selling the true value of the non-cash aspects of your compensation package to your workforce? Are you showing numbers or are you using the numbers to help tell a story? Using myself as an example, if someone had told me that my compensation package was worth more than $1m in a single years time, I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t experienced what I did. Having a story to use to highlight the point helps to provide context and drive home the true value of your offering. It humanizes the numbers. So, what’s my story?
Three Ways To Focus Your Project Plan Vision
How often do you go to training? If you’re like most people, you attend a couple courses each year. Now, out of all the training you attend, how often do you take away tools that you actually put into use? I’m betting the percentage of participants that walk away with tangible tools they then use in their day-to-day job is fairly low. I have been in that boat many time in my career. But, not today.
I attended a training course on change management a couple months ago and it was actually outstanding. Not only did I learn a great deal through exercises and role playing, I walked away with a handful of tools that I now use in my job. I want to share one I’ve found helpful in focusing the vision of a project.
Why is this important?
Because without a focused vision that clearly gives the reasoning as to why the new approach is significantly better, people will not be motivated to buy into the idea. Steve Boese recently wrote a post and shared the theory that a new idea needs to be at least nine times better than the current state in order for people to make the change willingly. I believe that directionally, that is true. So, how do you begin to focus the vision of the project so that it becomes actionable by the target audience?
Raises and Safety Nets Will Not Prevent Suicide
I spent some time on Sunday morning catching up on reading articles in my GoogleReader and came across a disturbing story. So disturbing that I read several stories about the situation in order to learn more. The story was about a tech company in China called Foxconn Technology Group. This is the largest electronic contractor of products like the iPhone and other electronic gadgets by Apple, HP, Dell, and Nokia, to name a few. The article on MSNBC.com told about the rash of suicides they have experienced this year at the company. Ten employees successfully committed suicide and three were attempts. They had another handful at some of their factories in other parts of China.
Oddly, many of the suicides were employees who have been with the company six months or less. And, while they almost certainly had other problems, the work environment is being cited as the leading factor that led to the suicides, all of which took place at work. Foxconn is reported to be a work environment that appears to be good (company swimming pool, tree lined paths inside the compound, etc.), however, the manufacturing lines move too fast and the goals are almost unreachable. The employees work at least 12 hours a day and bring home the equivalent of about $130 per week. It’s deplorable.
New Hire Orientation- The Musical
If you’ve had a job in your lifetime then you’ve been subjected to new hire orientation of some kind. Whether that was someone putting a paper hat on your head and telling you to up-sell with fries on each order or if it was a more formal orientation program in a large organization, you’ve been through it. And, from most accounts, it is typically the most boring time you’ll spend in your working career.
I have to admit that my current organization does a great job orientating new employees. The experience was factual, yet very personal. It kicks off with over an hour with the President. It includes lunch with your new supervisor, receiving a surprise delivery of your favorite candy or snack, and acting out policies with skits. It not only made me feel immediately like part of the team, but showed me that fun is allowed and encouraged in the hospital. But what about all the companies that are still using a model of sign these papers, watch these boring Power Point presentations, etc?
Referrals- The Blind Dating of Recruiting
Blind dates.
We’ve all had them, right? You know, when you’re in a slump in between relationships and you just can’t seem to meet the “right” person. Suddenly, your mom, sister, or friend knows of someone who “would be perfect for you”. You mind begins racing with images of the worst possible people to be paired up with. Are they smart, funny, or friendly? Are they desperate? Are you? You agree and proceed to spend the 6- 8 most miserable hours of your life staring at someone who picks their teeth or has strong views on everything from politics to breakfast cereal.
Then, there are the blind dates that really work out. When you have a matchmaker that really knows both people and realizes there are many commonalities. This matchmaker takes into account that in addition to the commonalities, there are also some interesting differences that may lead to a great relationship. Maybe they know that you have always wanted to spend more time outdoors hiking, rock climbing, and skiiing. They match you with someone who already loves those hobbies. Perfect. The matchmaker also is willing to tell you why they think you’re a match. They give details. They give you the dirt.
Who Owns Culture?
Do you ever get your mind stuck on a topic and then every thing you hear, see, or read seems to be about that topic? I’ve been like that lately on the topic of culture. I go to Barnes and Noble or Borders and pour through books about it. I read articles and posts online about it. I am a sponge when it comes to learning about different perspectives on culture. I am especially interested since I am working in a new organization and still learning about and adapting to the culture.How important is culture fit in retaining your employees? I don’t think I’m going out on a limb by saying it is a critical component.
An organization’s culture is a mixture of many things:
- Culture is based on the core values that define the way the company does business.
- It is the make up of personalities and behaviors of the employees that are hired.
- It is also the framework within which employees must work in order to be successful.
Innovation In A Static World
“Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.” — George Kneller
With the idea that in order to be creative to drive change we need to look at some of the same industry topics that have been discussed previously, I set out to find out how we can change the way we’re looking at the topics. So, leading up to HRevoution, I spent a great deal of time studying change management. I read several articles and book passages in order to better educate myself. I even took a more formal, structured, multi-day course on driving change through innovative methods. For me, HRevolution is a living case study of how change comes about and how our actions can help drive greater adaptation and acceptance. It truly is an EVOLUTION where change is adopted slowly and it adapts to the needs of the individual, the organization, the economy, the barriers, the technology. You get the point.
The Physics of Recruiting- Be a Magnet for Talent
Physics has always fascinated me. (stop laughing)
Really.
I’ve never been labeled a brainiac, but I certainly have enjoyed learning and studying many of the topics that fall into the physics realm. I guess I didn’t have enough interest to major in it in college, but Physics was my favorite class in my undergrad studies and I always made A’s in Physics. One of my favorite studies was magnetism.
Yo Adrian! Lessons From Rocky Balboa
I was talking with someone yesterday about crazy things you can be passionate about. I don’t know if this qualifies as passion but I know it’s probably borderline fanatical for me- I love Rocky movies. I feel like it’s a weird confession, but by sharing my love for Rocky movies with you, you’ll definitely know more about me. So, in that spirit, I’m going to share a post I wrote many months back about my favorite inspirational movie character, Rocky Balboa. I’ve revamped it a bit.
Cue the music…..
Dream Catching: How to Apply Job Skills Creatively
Sometimes, applying the skills you have in a different way can lead to opportunity.
Have you ever bought something at the store thinking it was one thing but learning it’s something different once you got home? Well, I had that happen. My daughter has been having bad dreams occasionally and asked for a dream catcher. I looked online and at several craft stores locally but didn’t find anything appropriate. So, she and I were at Barnes & Noble and happened to see a dream catcher boxed with a journal on the clearance table, so we grabbed it.
The Recruiting Tool I Want- Baggage
Every couple months, DISH network puts a few “free” channels on our service for us to try out for a couple weeks. Channels come and they go. Right now, the Game Show Network (GSN) is one of the free channels in preview. Now, I really haven’t watched game shows since…..well, since I don’t know when. Probably back when that cool British chick was asking REALLY hard questions on that show The Weakest Link. Well, GSN has a great new show I’m loving and I think it would be great to have at work as a recruiting tool. It’s called ‘Baggage’. You can check out a clip here.
Workforce Planning And Analytics: HR Week
Recently in NYC and at the end of one conference, I was granted a press pass into the HR Week ‘Human Resource Executive Forum‘. Many thanks to Eric Winegardner from Monster and Rebecca McKenna from Human Resource Executive Magazine for helping me get there. I’m always amazed when you go to a “real conference” vs. an “un-conference”. The vibe at the real conference is so formal. I was greeted by the very efficient team of people at registration and soon, badge and information in hand, I was rushing down the hall to catch a session.
Social Media Is Not A Silver Bullet
I want to tell you a story about feminine products, specifically, tampons. NOW MEN, do not stop reading this. It’s not going to be a gross post and I can assure you that every time I read posts about how sports compare to HR, I keep reading even though I don’t always feel completely in my comfort zone depending on the sport or the analogy.
Wave Goodbye To HR Owning Talent: 3 Ways To Empower Leaders
Do you ever have those moments where someone says something and immediately you KNOW it is important and will stick with you forever? It doesn’t happen often, but I had one of those moments a few weeks ago. I was listening to a presentation by John P. McMahon, from Aarow Electronics and he said:
“HR does not own talent. HR only owns HR talent. Leaders need to understand that they own the care, feeding, incenting, and development of talent.”
The Relationship Revolution: Social Media Learning From Humana, Inc.
Ok, so who’s ready to hear about the great ideas that came out of last week’s Social Media Meetup by The Conference Board?
Me, me, me!!!
I have to say I was excited to attend because it was outside my HR comfort zone and it allowed me to network with business professionals from many industries. One person I was very excited to meet was Greg Matthews. Greg is the Director of Consumer Innovation for Humana, Inc. He has been in that role for several years but prior to that, was in HR for seventeen years. This guy is the REAL deal. He’s smart, innovative, and puts himself out there. You can follow him on Twitter at @CHImoose, or catch up with him at his site.
Humana, Inc. is a Fortune 100 marketer and administrator of health insurance. So, Humana began by looking at how they could build a deeper social commitment. They determined they couldn‘t because their relationship with their customers was transactional. People only came to them at difficult times in their lives. The challenge was to change that mindset and find innovative ways to do outreach. They began thinking about what they knew about health. Then, they asked themselves the question: what if we got out of the business of sickness management and got into the business of focusing on health and well-being?
This type of thinking is how you transform a business.
