Confessions of an HR Professional

Virtual Corporate Office

2010-01-25T09:47:00.000-06:00

Since 2001, I have run my company Mahogane Management with a virtual corporate office. It is interesting as in 2001, not too many company's were using this platform to run their day to day. It was a new concept then and even now a majority of the businesses today are still brick and mortar and that probably makes sense for what they are doing. However, I have always been about efficiency, streamlining and cost effectiveness. The big 3 foundation builders of my company.

Now, you may be wondering how one runs a successful company virtually. Well, it all starts with the systems. Now, I have to say that over the years, I have become tech savvy. I started to look at all of the systems I used in Corporate America and really saw that everything was so one sided. I looked for alternatives systems, cutting edge technology, active communities and platforms that would grow with my company infrastructure and was cost efficient.

Through my research, I started to discover the wonderful world of the 'Open Source'. As I began to investigate the various technology and platforms available, I realized that I could not only save money by operating virtually, but have cutting edge systems to connect my workforce which allowed me to not have limitation on on my staff talent as borders were non-existent.

I know for many it is a stretch or may seem overwhelming in setting a virtual corporate office, but I can tell you one thing. Over the years, I have been able to perfect our operations and how we work. I have been able to show over 85% cost savings in operations costs, as I am not limited by traditional business infrastructure.

Today, I continue to explore various open-source technology to stay cutting-edge not only for my company, but with our Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Human Resource consulting services and how our solutions can best be deployed in non-traditional (virtual) and traditional (on-site) settings to our customers. I believe Virtual HR is going to increase and having functional HR leaders who can deploy these infrastructure models can add insight to their business leaders, but also make a positive impact on how to deploy virtual/remote systems cost-effectively and with growing technology.

Candidate Presentation...Is the resume becoming obsolete?

2010-01-08T10:48:00.004-06:00

Today candidates have many opportunities to present themselves to employers. The resume is the calling card that still presents the basic information on candidates. However, with the emergence of social networking, many recruiters can find opportunities to learn more about potential candidates whether they are active or passive candidates. Today, recruiters can generate list of passive candidates and then do searches for them via various social networking sites to get a better insight on these prospects.

On the flip side, candidates can use their social networks to present information about themselves that would never be able to be conveyed via the resume. Now, I am not saying that social networks alone will replace the resume, but company's today can do themselves a great service to incorporate additional search strategies to get insight on who they are hiring.

Resume dissatisfaction has increased with employers and candidates alike even in this economy. Recruiters are having to wade through more unqualified resumes to get to some possible qualified or highly qualified candidates. Candidates are having to present their resume in multiple formats based on the job requirements instead of being able to have a good recruiter infer about competence or ksa's instead of looking for "exact phrases" or key words matches in a resume.

How can we address some of this dissatisfaction? Start by standardizing training for recruiters to assist them in becoming better researchers that are skilled in the art of competency and identifying transferable skills will do employers a greater service. It is not enough to sit behind a desk and post a job, recruiters should hold their hiring managers accountable to be clear about the realistic job requirements, what type of situational judgment, behavioral questions, verifications and technical requirements are in play to assist the recruiter in identifying the right candidates.

Now you have the baseline to start, the resume comes in and you leverage additional resources such as social networks to gain better insight and just maybe you will find that best match. Candidates should prepare a resume that is focused on results and use their social networks to better convey not just their personal side but professional achievements and motivation.

Employer Mandates?

2009-07-01T14:49:00.009-05:00

Health care reform has become one of if not the biggest issue for employers today. On June 30, 2009 we witnessed one of the biggest retailers in the United States Walmart endorse an employer mandate that gives the employer an opportunity to pay towards some coverage of benefits for their employees. I think this was a very instrumental step as it forced the hands of many organizations to say "Yes" some coverage is necessary and "Yes" we should contribute something.

Now I will tell you that conceding to this employer mandate is probably in the best interest of a company like Walmart as the introduction of the free-rider proposal proposed by those in the Senate Finance committee would have had them stuck with a law that would have been very costly to businesses with low-wage workers. And we know that Walmart has plenty of them.

Health care coverage should be a right for every American. However, we do not want laws and legislation passed into place by our government that could adversely affect a specific population or group of people such as low wage earners. To think of solutions is not only to think of providing catastrophic and limited medical liability plans, but creating incentives for insurance providers to write groups of small business owners or businesses in general without penalizing them.

The creation of associations to create volume based buying power and creating modular based insurance that would allow an individual to pay for what they want such as 3-5 doctors visits a year, pay towards a predefined a la carte list of services similar to putting away money in a flexible spending account but allowing the individual to use those dollars towards a predefinted a la carte list of services. If this money was not used up at the end of the year, it could continue to roll over, so the individual could use it as the need arises. This type of creative solution would on some level address the issue of those who do not have insurance and the uninsured.

I always say flexibility is often times easier to get people to buy into instead of mandates. So, why not think outside of the box. One thing we do know is that we can take the best practices of what some countries are doing right and run fast from the practices that do not work. This in turn would provide us with a framework to brainstorm and really think about the needs of the American people and not just the wants of the big business insurance providers.

Is the Customer Right 100% of the time?

2009-05-06T08:57:00.012-05:00

Ok, so many of us have had to deal with this question sometime or another. Is the customer right 100% of the time? In my dealings, I have to say that is an expression or rule of thumb that is taken to a length of degree that sometimes can be to the detriment of ones self or the company. It may even undermine the work that you have to deliver as an HR practitioner when it comes to providing services to your internal customer.

The rule of thumb that I abide by is the customer is right 90% of the time. Let me explain why. There are some HR practitioners who will manage to the needs of their business regardless of if it is the "right" or "ethical" thing to do. Should we support our business leaders, hiring managers, management, or business owners when we know that their practices are not in compliance with federal, state and local laws? I have to say that again, I have seen many HR professionals fail as they often want to be viewed as going along with the program or not being against the needs of the business, but again I ask, is the customer always right?

Over the years, I have seen a difference in how this question plays out with the size of the organization. Small business owners want you to have flexibility and willingness to work with the customer’s needs and some owners say that should trump any agreement, policies or procedures that are put in place. Larger organizations often have many polices or procedures in place, but some organizations do not do a great job of enforcing these policies and procedures with their executives, managers and employees. Many times these policies and procedures are viewed as a hindrance to the business instead of being seen as a value add.

For example, there was a manager who was upset with a HR practitioner about not "working with them on their terms." I have to say that the HR practitioner was correct in this case as the manager had instituted practices and exhibited behavior that violated federal, state and local laws. This is where my 10% rule comes in. If this HR practitioner had followed the direction of the manager, the organization would be in violation of several laws and would have exposed the company to possible costly employment practice liability lawsuits.

Even in this economic climate, we see companies being involved in activities that could trigger an employment practice liability lawsuit. So, how can you, we manage to this important issue? Let’s first start by managing the expectations of our customers. Sometimes they will not like what you have to say or what you have to do. However, if the policies and procedures are put into place, let's enforce them. It really is that simple. Next, adopt the 10% rule. If you are the expert, be the expert! Smaller companies should understand that with their limited resources they are particularly vulnerable to the costs associated with employment practice liability lawsuits.

So, my thoughts would be: To all executives, managers, employees and HR practitioners----Do not position yourself or your organization to have to address these employment practice concerns in the first place. Even in 2009, many companies may be insured and many of our small to mid size businesses may find themselves under-insured to deal with the costly litigation that often results, when we support a 100% of the behavior and practices of our customers. With the tight credit market, many companies may find it difficult to obtain credit to pay for such a loss or to continue their business operations. So, let’s not even position your company to have to address these issues in the first place. Start by implementing the 10% rule, so you can mitigate the issues that often result from going along with the 100% rule.

Made You Smile

2009-04-20T13:24:00.009-05:00

It came to me the other day, that there are so many more people actively looking for employment that would not normally be in the market. You have people who have been employed in their jobs for over 20 + years with the government and school systems that are actively looking. You have people who are recently graduated from college or graduate school that are in the job market for the first time. All of this leads me to my story that I hope makes you smile.

I recently was speaking to a group of professionals of all ages at a recent event. I was speaking to this group on how people can take control back over their job search, stand out in the process and do it in a manner that would be encouraging to them and not isolate them with the gate keepers. That is the hiring manager, recruiter or anyone who is managing that job search. I have to say that I thought the speech went very well and the feedback from the audience was very positive.

Once the event was over, I stayed to answer questions and speak with the attendees. There was one baby boomer who asked me a question about following up with someone after receiving their business card. The question went something like this. What is the protocol for following up with someone if they give you their business card? I want to call this person, however it seems from their card that they are only in the office on Tuesday, Monday and Friday.

Now this was a perplexing statement to me as I could not quite understand why the person put that they were only in the office on Tuesday, Monday and Friday. Now that was the order of days given to me the person was available. I asked the gentleman if by chance he had the card on him, so that I may take a look and he said he did. When he handed the card to me, I could not find the persons availability as he mentioned. I then told the gentleman that I did not see the persons days of availability on their card. He then pointed out to me that it was there. There was a T: 555-xxx-xxxx for Tuesday, M: 555-xxx-xxxx for Monday, and a F:555-xxx-xxxx for Friday. And in all of my days I have to say that I was frankly bewildered and then it finally clicked. This gentleman could not figure out which number or day to reach this person because there were 3 numbers listed and each one started with a letter. I then told him that these weren't days they were available and their numbers, but that T: was for Telephone, M: was for Mobile and F: was for fax.

Yes, we all started to laugh. It was at that moment I could see a light bulb turn on as the gentleman realized that he was having worries for no reason. He smiled and said thank you. Well, there was a light bulb on moment for me too as I realized that there are so many things, we take for granted that we think people will know.

So my parting thought to you would be this. Take time out to smell the roses. Don't move so fast that the simple things in life don't make you smile. Encourage someone today, they may just need to hear one encouraging word.

Small Business Owners & Campus Recruitment

2009-04-13T12:46:00.001-05:00

Over the years small business owners have struggled at winning talent from some of their larger competitors or just larger firms period. The economy and current business climate lends for great opportunities for the smaller business owner (SBO) to hire business school students who would have not been normally in the marketplace. This is taking what some may say is a negative business climate to a win-win opportunity for the small business.

As a SBO, the recession should cause you to think about the talent you currently have in your organization and where some of the gaps in talent may exist. As students start to expand their job searches, this is a prime opportunity to recruit students into your company as you can offer them opportunities to be more than just a number, allow them to cross train to use their skills and knowledge in more than one area and provide them with purpose. In turn, many of them will bring to you new and diverse thoughts, updated knowledge and abilities with technology and the ability to hit the ground running as you can often time see an immediate impact.

Now you may be thinking who has the money or the budget to develop a campus recruitment program or you do not know where to start. Well, my company Mahogane Management is a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider that works with start-ups, small and mid-size businesses to create solutions for recruitment as part of our On Demand RPO solutions. This is a great alternative recruitment solution to paying a staffing agency fee to find your next employee which often time takes a percentage of 20%-30% of your new hire salary. This is often a very expensive hiring solution to the business owner. Now ask your self, who isn't looking for an alternative way to save without compromising service, that is cost efficient and deploys best in class practices? Our On Demand RPO solution partners with you to design a customized recruitment solution to address your needs and if designing campus recruitment program is part of that solution, we can provide you with an alternative to traditional staffing services.

Mahogane not only provides flexible intake methods for candidates to capture their information from applying via PDA, IVR, and Web to just name a few to creating a video to add to your company site to share with candidates about your company and/or the job itself. Our creativity and technology is endless and we partner with you to simply connect the pieces. Now that my shameless company plug has been included, think about whether developing a campus recruiting program is something that is right for your organization. Here are a couple of points to keep in mind.

1. Are you an Employer of Choice?
This will help you think about how your organization is viewed not just internal but external out in the market. Are you committed to meeting the varying needs of your workforce both in and out of work?

2. Do you offer a Competitive Compensation/Benefits Package?
Is your compensation and benefits program in line with the market? If you offer salaries below market, do you offer other rewards or benefits such as flex time, more vacation, company perks?
You can still be competitive as most grads are looking beyond compensation to more of a quality of life package that focuses on the mind, body, and career first then pay. Quality of life and enjoying what they do is more important than the quantity of the pay.

3. Do you offer a formal Training & Development program?
Effectively communicating a company's training and development opportunities are part of the campus recruiting process. As graduates look for opportunities that will allow them to continuously broaden their expertise through extensive training whether functional, being cross trained or offering professional development courses, you too can compete with larger companies if you can address one or more of these needs.

Quick tips: You can identify an e-learning provider to assist you in implementing e-learning courses to train and develop your workforce online. You can provide professional training opportunities through various associations and organizations. Create a network with local consultants, providers or other businesses to sponsor monthly or quarterly workforce trainings.