by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2007 | Brazen Leader, Human Resources, Kevin Berchelmann
So, you’ve done a great job of negotiating, gnashing, arm-twisting and crying, along with some redesign choices that made the numbers get all dizzy in your head. The results are in: you actually will not see a net increase in cost of medical benefits for the upcoming renewal year.
Don’t laugh, it can happen.
So, do we pass along this miracle event to employees in the form of a zero-contribution increase? Wow, would that be amazing or what!?
Don’t do it. Continue the gradual increasing of employee contributions every single year. The fact that this ONE year prevented the company from realizing additional expenses doesn’t negate the prior 15 years with consistent double-digit trending. In all likelihood, you haven’t passed along all the increases to employees — why, then, would you not afford yourself a modicum of recovery in your one good year?
Manage the communications; speak to your ability to maintain costs better than the public this year, resulting in a nominal increase to employee contributions. Employees expect it, and the business needs to share as many costs as possible regarding healthcare. We can’t afford NOT to.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2007 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
As you probably know by now, Ken Lay (Enron Founder, Chairman) passed away early this morning. There are many who would cheer in the street. I’d like to offer this small group a counter-perspective…
I knew Ken Lay personally. Not intimately, but I met and sat with him a half-dozen times or so at board meetings (not Enron), and he and Linda were at the same table as Traci and I at a couple of not-for-profit gigs in Houston.
I knew him as a good man. He seemed kind, caring, and thoughtful. Personally brilliant, he managed loosely from the start — an employee autonomy that made Enron successful, and was also his undoing. I won’t opine on his guilt or innocence; he was tried and convicted with evidence I could not see. To give you pause for thought, however, just consider (religious or not, consider the meaning):
There, but for the grace of God, go I.
Just think about it for a minute. Can everything you’ve ever done in business withstand that sort of scrutiny? Not simply “doing the right thing,” but can it withstand harsh, hostile scrutiny from an entity with unlimited resources, hell-bent on destroying you??
What if that entity could coerce — threaten — tens of witnesses to either testify against you or spend many more years in jail? Would all your supporters hold up?
What if, those who weren’t convicted via plea deals, all your purported “business friends,” those who could present fact and testimony that could make a difference, were threatened as well. Called “unindicted co-conspirators,” and threatened with indictments if they testified? Would they still rally to your defense and support, knowing it won’t simply cost them their jobs, but their freedom??
What if “I discussed with my attorney” meant nothing to those attacking you?? How about “our auditors approved it,” or “my board voted on it with full knowledge??” What if NONE OF THOSE could stand as a defense… could your entire business life withstand that level of scrutiny and accountability??
I’m not sure… it sure does give one pause, though, doesn’t it?
It’s easy to say “we should be held to a higher standard.” Frankly, I agree. But to how high a standard do we manage?
Whatever level today, it needs to be higher tomorrow. This degree of scrutiny, oversight, and transparency isn’t simply “going away,” or temporary. It’s here to stay, and we should be prepared to manage accordingly. We must. It’s the right thing, and we have clear marching orders.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2007 | Brazen Leader, Human Resources, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
So, what does 2007 hold for the human resources community? More of the same (fortunately and unfortunately), and some new things to consider. Using my Kreskin-like powers (age-check…?), my crystal ball, and reading the Earl Grey leaves in the bottom of my Costa Maya coffee cup…
E-Learning will finally take hold. Content is rich, lower lost productivity costs are necessary and reasonable, podcasts and videoblogs make distribution inexpensive.
The war for talent will get worse. Executive talent is in high demand for the fourth consecutive year; companies must continue to add more incentives, including bigger bonuses, to their compensation packages in an effort to lure top talent from competitors and keep key leaders from walking out the door. Developing existing managers, via succession planning and professional growth initiatives, will be crucial.
Increased focus on non-executive staff development. In the face of the growing war for talent all industries, companies are spending more money to develop formalized training programs to ramp up staff more quickly. These programs can also help improve the odds of retaining employees, make companies more attractive to potential recruits, and can help firms get as much productivity as possible from a staff that may not be as large as they would like.
Outsourcing will continue to increase, particulary specific Business Process Outsourcing. Big market, getting bigger. Mid and small markets are underserved (or not served at all) by the big players, yet cost efficiencies are greater there.
Demographic issues will become even more important. Hispanics are our largest minority, immigration non-reform is emotion-laden, boomers are retiring (the workforce is aging), generational issues continue to grow, and work-life balance is becoming more important — all of this in the face of the second prediction above. Medical cost increases will continue at a double-digit clip.
Continued M&A activity will lead to further downsizing/talent shifts, and significant bankruptcies will continue.
Employee productivity must increase. Talent shortages, earnings demands, heavy M&A activity… add to that a growing need for a positive link between pay and performance, a demand for flextime, and idiotic CA laws that potentially mandate additional time off. All point to the need for increasing indiviual employee productivity.
Ethics and social responsibility are replacing “cutthroat” as the official corporate badge of honor. Transparency in dealings, pressure on corporate socialism and philanthropy… ethics are no longer “soft” skills relegated to those who can afford them. They now include CEOs, sales people, and others previously exempt. The world is watching…
HR strategy will become a business unit objective. HR has become too important to be the sole purview of human resources. Strategic-focused HR initiatives — staffing, development, succession, and performance — will become part of general managers’ lexicon. Corporate HR staffs could shrink accordingly, caught between increased strategy ownership in the GM’s office and outsourcing at the transactional levels.
Measurement of all things — including people-focused initiatives — will become a necessity, not simply a differentiator. Someones’ got to explain why we should do this over that, and when I can expect to see a return on my investment of limited capital. Measure or die.
EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW
I interviewed several hundred senior executives — all C-levels, and over 20% were CEOs. In order of significance, their top-5 short-term priorities came in as:
1. Talent management & acquisition.
2. Revenue & earnings enhancement.
3. Performance management, employee productivity.
4. Management/leadership development, performance and motivation.
5. Market pricing, share, and new product/service development.
I don’t offer these things as private or special knowledge of mine; undoubtedly, many of you have arrived at some of these same thinkings. I wanted to put this in writing since that helps me, and maybe offer as help to you as well.
Pay attention to what’s happening around you, your company, the country. It’s not important whether you agree or disagree with my predictions; just arrive at your own thinking by using something other than simple “hope.” As the author said, that’s a lousy business strategy.
Stay alert, focused, and continue to add value.
Happy New Year…!
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Feb 5, 2007 | Brazen Leader, Miscellaneous Business Topics
Penelope Trunk is a freelance writer with a column in the Boston Globe, and calls herself “The Brazen Careerist.” She recently wrote an article that was published on Yahoo!’s personal finance page, entitled Steer Clear of Bad Job-Hunting Advice.
The article lists 8 currently “Bad Rules” for job hunting/hunters, and includes some known HR staples such as resume misspellings, complete disclosure, etc. Then, a littany of comments follow her article, likely many of them from human resources professionals. As Penelope has given me her permission to do so, I’ll list the 8 “Bad Rules” here for convenience:
Bad Rule No. 1: Draw a clear picture of yourself
A résumé is not an autobiography, it’s a marketing document. So the goal is not to tell every single thing about yourself, but rather to get an interview. This is why a résumé should be a tease, not treatise.
Bad Rule No. 2: Don’t be too narrow
If you’re not narrow, then what are you selling? If you want to stand out, you have to stand for something. This is your unique selling proposition…
Bad Rule No. 3: Don’t job-hop
BLS reports that people under 30 switch jobs every 18 months. …who cares about loyalty? You know what it got the baby boomers? Layoffs. Job-hoppers are generally happier in their work. They have more passion for their career because their work changes before it gets boring.
Bad Rule No. 4: Don’t have gaps in your résumé
This is a good piece of advice if you’re going to make work the only thing in your life.
Bad Rule No. 5: Don’t have typos in your résumé
I’m not recommending that you misspell words on purpose, but I am recommending that you chill out about the typos. How can you possibly send out perfect résumés every time?
Bad Rule No. 6: Honesty is most important
Résumés are marketing documents, so write yours that way. Give an employer exactly what they want without saying something false. The bottom line about honesty: Don’t be more forthcoming in your own marketing materials than the marketing manager for Pop-Tarts would be in hers.
Bad Rule No. 7: Clean up your online identity
Stop stressing about the stupid stuff you posted when you were drunk (or worse, not drunk). It’s out of your control.
Bad Rule No. 8: Treat a job hunt like a project and be a project manager
That’s great advice if you look for a job four times in your whole life. But today, job hunting is so frequent that often there’s no downtime — not even while you start a new job.
I share these with you as a warning — agree, disagree as a matter of personal choice. But please, please don’t be the HR professional today who actually makes hiring decisions in this labor-shortage world we live in by excluding otherwise viable candidates for simple transgressions.
A misspelling is poor form, perhaps. But it isn’t the end of the world. Short timeline gaps, common exaggerations that don’t misstate a technical requirement, a short job tenure or two… these should not be forever auto-exclusionary. Consider the entire candidate first. Grill mercilessly, if you must, to ascertain the details you feel could be problematic. But do not simply screen out — at the resume stage — a candidate who seems otherwise qualified.
Just don’t be a total, narrow-minded schmuck who excludes potentially qualified candidates from hiring manager review merely because of a personal quirk. Get past it, get over it, or simply ignore it. Your organziation deserves that from you.
Look to screen in during the resume phase, not out. Start with the biggest possible pool of apparently-qualified candidates before winnowing; you may find out you were about to toss out a keeper…
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 14, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
Real leaders “lead.” No, I’m not just stating a simpleton observation. I mean they truly “lead.” You know, from the front… not the middle or the rear.
Good employees want to be led. Great employees need to be led. Both need a leader in front for them to follow, not to be drug along as if a lead weight, nor pushed and prodded like a reluctant mule.
To lead, there’s no option – you must be out front.
I once worked with a Chairman/CEO who appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be a collaborative and participative leader with his senior staff. He would get them together frequently, solicit and facilitate their ideas, then act only on their consensus.
That’s not leading, it’s managing. Worse, it’s managing by committee, and we all know the perils there.
Let’s be clear; soliciting input, direction, and advice is critical for successful leaders to make decisions . But when all is said and done, the leader needs to make the decision, and then hold him or herself accountable for the results. Yes, we hold other managers and professionals accountable for their pieces of the decision’s outcome, but “group” accountability is tantamount to no accountability at all.
Don’t forget to really lead.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Sep 10, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
Success is usually pretty simple, really. Particularly in executive leadership. Note, I did not say success was “easy,” merely that it’s simple.
As in, “not complex.”
The secret? Make more “right” decisions than “wrong” ones. That’s it – the answer you’ve been waiting for all these years.
See, I told you it was simple.
Now, pulling this off may take some work. Work that, by the way, explains why you’re paid what you’re paid, and why your business card reads “leader,” or some variation thereof.
In my military leadership days, I worked under a Colonel, Scott Atkins, who would frequently tell me that, “If 25% of your decisions aren’t wrong, it’s just because you’re not making enough decisions.”
That same Colonel would also tell me that most decisions aren’t really “right” or “wrong,” or “good” or “bad;” they’re just decisions. Sometimes, after making a particular decision, we must immediately make another one, seemingly contrary to the first. This doesn’t necessarily imply that the first decision was incorrect; merely that, when making the second decision, we did so with new, superior knowledge.
They key, usually, is to make enough well-thought, educated decisions so that the 25% that are less than perfect go nearly unnoticed because of the 75% that are driving your success.
Make enough decisions.
