May 2012

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Here’s what you can learn from Dwane Lay

May 30, 2012 in Business, HR Advice, SHRM, Uncategorized by newresource | No comments

Who’s that, some of you may ask? Well, let me take you back to my first experiences with the guy and then I’ll give you the “What’s In It for you” payout. In 2011, I was a new rookie blogger dying to get the attention of any HR…hell, anyone really.  One sweet day, I came across the Twitter profile for this HR guy in St. Louis, named Dwane Lay. Immediately, I gravitated to him because his name is Dwane and my middle name is Dewanne, and he’s from the South so he’s got to be alright.

I monitored his social activity; read his blog, followed his followers and instantly I could tell he’s funny and engaging.  What I quickly learned was that he is also extremely intelligent and savvy.

I’ll spend it up a bit; I connected with and asked him for a few minutes of his time to talk for a bit. He accepted.  Dwane’s personality came shining through in our phone call, he was funny, smart and helpful. I liked him straight away, most people do.

Recently Dwane took a position with a HR software company, Dovetail Software, out of Texas. When I read about the career move, I wondered why. I was curious because Dwane had a nice cushy corporate executive level position in a stable traditional environment.  When most people gain that type of position they never leave it. In fact the employer has to set the place on fire before they’d leave.

I called him up to talk about it and in true Dwane form he broke it down to me in simple SIX SIGMA Lean fashion. See it’s all about challenging yourself and looking for the best opportunity to match his bubbly character. Dwane is not a traditional guy, he’s confident and believes in his ability to be successful. He’s not your average guy. He loves numbers (who in HR loves numbers) and he wants to be excited. And check this out, he has a wife and kids too but he does not use them as an excuse.

When the Dovetail Software opportunity presented itself, I’m betting he was excited about the chance of doing something more aligned with his own creativity. Something a bit more challenging and that out-weighed the conservative approach.

Tuning into “WIIFY”

In life there is no reward without risk; push yourself. As they say in the casinos “Scared money doesn’t make money” you can’t be afraid to bet on yourself with your career.  Sure you do your due diligence and mitigate your risk but you don’t let fear enter your decision making. Always look for new and exciting challenges. Don’t settle.

Who wants a passive career? Nobody that’s who. Playing it safe harms you and your career, makes you look lame. And that’s what I’ve learned from Dwane Lay.

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You Is Important, too {SIC}

May 28, 2012 in HR Advice by newresource | No comments

Okay you got me; I definitely stole that from the hit movie and book, ‘The Help.’ Watching that movie the other night really inspired me to write this blog post because I sometimes find myself mired in disappointment at the HR profession. One of the reason I go hard on HR basic principles or what I like to call “HR fundamentals” is because many of the problems we see and read about comes down to HR fundamentals; basic-in-the-trenches human resources principles.

The HR professional is in a tough position. We are part lawyer, counselor, teacher, mentor, ombudsman, judge and executioner (it happens). All day you’re working on stuff that you’d rather not have to worry about. You’re putting out fires and counseling people on their personal issues while neglecting your own. You’re trying to show your worth, and by ‘your worth’ I mean HR’s value to the organization.

It’s a thankless job.

I stopped by today to remind you that your work is important, you ARE making a difference. Think about this, you have the ability right now to pick up your phone and make someone’s day, hell you can make someone’s year. All you have to do is call them and offer them a job. A job is a powerful thing. And the job you do is a very powerful thing. So listen up, burnt out HR professionals, YOU MATTER. You is smart, You is kind and You is Important. Now go out there represent HR to the best of your ability AND THANK YOU!

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Lies, Statistics, and Resumes

May 16, 2012 in Business, HR Advice, hr fundamentals, HR principles, SHRM by newresource | 2 comments

“A lie doesn’t care who tells it.” That makes me laugh and think. We all have been told cute little memorable lines about lies. And the thing about a lie is that they always come to light sooner or later. Another thing about a lie, we all tell them!

Recently in the news the CEO of Yahoo had to step down because he committed resume fraud. He padded his resume, embellished…Oh hell, who are we kidding? He lied on his resume and cover letter. You can read about it here. He then said that he didn’t knowingly lie, but the recruitment firm he hired to find him a job lied and he never corrected the situation, really? I’ve heard of recruiters asking candidates to dumb down their resumes to secure a position, so it’s possible but don’t play the victim role now buddy.

They say that most of us lie a little or “bend the truth” a smidge on our resumes, and by most of us I mean over 50% one article claims.  All for a job.  What bothers me is the lack of due diligence in performing back ground checks and those poor over looked candidates that lose out on opportunities they have earned because someone fails to perform the background check.

Now when many people read this story they were shocked and disgusted, but not me. It still makes you wonder who missed it? And what effects does the lie have on Yahoo’s employee relations? I’m willing to bet some employees are pretty upset that this man was able to make all that money based on a web of resume lies.

In 2012, I launched a Resume Makeover Crusade to offer resume writing services at reseasonable prices because quite frankly what’s out there is not very good or affordable.  This may surprise many of you reading this (especially my HR brothers and sisters) but there are millions of “JOBSEEKERS” who do not have a basic resumes, let alone Linkedin profiles, QR codes and websites.

Sorry I got off topic for a second, I brought the Resume Crusade up to illustrate that I see lies all the time, and honestly I advised my clients that we (HR) can sniff out most lies right away. (Comes with the job)

So over 50% lie on their resumes but those same people are less likely to lie on their LinkedIn profile! Interesting huh? Maybe because LinkedIn is a social network and your co-workers can look you up and bust you out if you tell a whopper regarding your accomplishments.

Following your best practices may help to identify lies but really I have no advice for you other than to perform the background checks and ask questions. And the higher the position, the more checking you should perform. You don’t want the embarrassment or your workers to think, it’s okay to lie because you can’t catch them. Come on you’re better than that!

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Complacency Kills

May 14, 2012 in HR Advice, hr fundamentals, SHRM, unemployment by newresource | No comments

Complacency can be a killer. Often times when we think of complacency we associate it with laziness. It’s taken on a new definition today, in our elevated sensitivity to the economy. There is a sentiment of unemployment discrimination in this country; many people feel that joblessness is a form of complacency.  I want to examine the question of complacency especially as it relates to those that are in the workforce.

My granny was a caterer; she used to tell me “Son, you work harder for yourself than for someone else.”

I’ll be honest here and admit that in the past I had allowed myself to become complacent. But guess what? I was working at the time. That’s right kids; I was at my most complacent in life when I was working in corporate America. Working was easy. It was like a pair of sweat pants; comfortable and forgiving.

I decided to stop making excuses, honestly examine myself and address my failures and make changes immediately. I was not engaged, involved, active or productive which was not fair to the company or myself.

I understand that you may not like HR and only work in the field to make ends meet. You may go to work every day but privately, you absolutely hate it and wish you were doing something more rewarding. You hate your job, and from time to time you take it for granted. You think that there is no way this company can operate without you and you feel that they are never going to replace your position, so you get comfortable with the status quo.

Never again.

If you really explore it, complacency is quite diabolical. It can cause you to be hateful, resentful and even violent. It’s a dream killer and if you allow it to consume your life without taking responsibility for your actions, you’ll never know what you are capable of.

I’ve seen people come to work in tears because they hate their jobs so much but they can’t leave, because they were trapped by bad decisions and life’s unexpected pitfalls.

Ultimately I don’t see at it as an employed versus unemployed trait; complacency occurs when you are mailing it in, lacking passion and direction in whatever you do or don’t do. No Excuses folks, stop being complacent.  To quote a line from the movie Shawshank Redemption “Get busy living or get busy dying.”

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The Biggest Workplace Bully of All

May 9, 2012 in Business, HR Advice, hr fundamentals, SHRM, Talent Management by newresource | No comments

When I was kid, getting teased was just a norm. Not saying it was right or wrong but sometimes you got teased and sometimes you did the teasing. Now-a-days we label that bullying. People are more cruel and sensitive at the same time. Things that we used to brush off and ignore now become front page news. Bullying in its true form is terrible and the reaction to that bullying is often times tragic. I don’t want to focus only on the kids because this is not a parenting blog it’s an HR blog. Do you know what I see, all the time? I see workplace bullying.

Employee A. is an exempt supervisor.  They get to work at 8:01am. They are called into the office and reprimanded for 60seconds tardiness. That could have been a brief greeting in the hallway; fumbling to find the security badge. They are told too many of these 1 minute occurrences could result in disciplinary action up to termination.

I feel like Allen Iverson with his rant on practice…”A minute, a minute, a minute. We are talking 1 minute. Not an hour, not an hour, a minute.”

Employee B. decides to return to college and get some certifications. All they need is one hour off early 2 days a week and they would be willing to make up the time. Employer says no way; if you decide to return to college you will be fired.

What kind of hell whole won’t allow an employee a chance at higher education?

Employee C. and their co-workers are told time and time again that they should be happy to have a job, and they can be fired at any moment without cause since it’s an at-will state.

Just because you can do something, does not mean you should. If an employee claims discrimination, you’d have no defense.

The constant beating downing of employees and trying to break their spirit instead of building them up is nothing more the workplace bullying. Many times HR enables this behavior, turns a blind eye to it or is bullied into compliance. Look at that poor HR lady at the University of Arkansas; when Petrino hired his mistress, the HR manager questioned it in one email, but then in her next email she was promoting the decision. Don’t you think, scratch that, you know that in between the 1st and 2nd email, someone went over to her and said something like “Just push this through.”

Bullying is not only happening to our children in school, it’s happening to our employees in the workplace, by the biggest, most powerful bully of them all; the organization!

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