Subscribe
Follow Us
Archive for December, 2008
Top 10 Events of 2008 That Will Shape HR in 2009
Dec 31Thinking about the important things that happened in 2008, I think it’s appropriate to invoke James Carville. “It’s the economy, stupid.” Pretty much everyone knows we’re in a recession. A recession that’s changed everything.
With that in mind, here are the Top 10 Events of 2008 That Will Shape HR in 2009.
- U.S. Presidential Election
We elected Barack Obama, an African American, president. Hillary Clinton, a woman, ran against him for the Democratic nomination. Sarah Palin, another woman, was on the Republican slate as the Vice Presidential candidate.
DIVERSITY, TALENT MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP. - AIG Bailout
The U.S. Government provided AIG with about $150 Billion to rescue it from collapsing. The reasons for AIG’s decline are complex. There were allegations of wrong-doing. Our economy had survived Enron. Large companies had failed before. This was different. It triggered a wide-spread loss of consumer, investor, and employee confidence.
ETHICS & SUSTAINABILITY, BENEFITS, STAFFING, TALENT MANAGEMENT, BUSINESS PARTNER - Votes on Gay Marriage
Californians began performing same sex marriages in June then voted to outlaw it in November. Connecticut legalized gay marriage.
DIVERSITY, BENEFITS - Smartphone Sales Skyrocket
2008 U.S. Sales of smartphones grew at a rate of more than 70% each quarter over the corresponding quarter in 2007. Comparable global growth rates were in the range of 10-20% – still huge in a stagnant economy. More people are more connected than ever.
HR TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS PARTNER, ORGANIZATIONAL & EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT - Tina Fey!
The uber-talented Tina Fey parlayed her Sarah Palin likeness and her considerable imitation skills into huge fame, a multi-million dollar book deal and a second stint on SNL. Oh, and she also won and Emmy for 30 Rock. In case anyone missed it, she capitalized on a golden opportunity.
TALENT MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP, COMPENSATION, BUSINESS PARTNER - Something Rotten in Albany, Springfield, and…
NY Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after admitting being involved with a prostitute. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was accused of selling Barack Obama’s senate seat. Detroit’s mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was indicted on eight felony charges, including perjury, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and misconduct in office because of an affair. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Alphonso Jackson, resigned as federal investigators looked into accusations that he steered housing contracts to friends.
ETHICS, ETHICS, ETHICS (and LEADERSHIP) - Housing Bubble Bursts
Unprecedented rise in housing prices. Unqualified borrowers. Subprime mortgages. Credit crunch. Foreclosures. Economic crisis. Pop.
BENEFITS, ETHICS & SUSTAINABILITY - In With Marijuana, Out With Trans Fats
Michigan legalizes medicinal marijuana. Massachusetts decriminalizes marijuana. And, liberal California bans trans fats. I won’t even try to figure this one out.
BENEFITS (CDHP) - Wall Street Bonuses
Executive pay was all over the news. All of a sudden, everyone is a comp. designer. Now that we’re using our tax money to save some of these companies, the government is taking an interest too.
COMPENSATION, STAFFING, TALENT MANAGEMENT, ETHICS - Unemployment Rate Highest in 26 Years
The unemployment rate is above 6.7 percent and it’s rising steadily. It’s higher than it’s been since 1982. The scary thing –- people don’t like to RIF people before Christmas. Beware the Ides of January.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS, LABOR RELATIONS, TALENT MANAGEMENT, BENEFITS, COMPENSATION, STAFFING, BUSINESS PARTNER, LEADERSHIP, ETHICS & SUSTAINABILITY
HR will be front and center in 2009. We’ve been begging for a seat at the table. Here it is –- the hot seat. I recommend taking a page from Tina Fey’s book and making the most of it. James Carville is great at cutting straight to the chase… “You have to have sharp elbows if you want to change something.”
Do You Run Red Lights? An Interview Question
Dec 30Here’s an interview question that I think would tell you a lot: Do you run red lights? If so, why?
The Chasm Between "Done" and "It's Working"
Dec 23I had to replace the electronic igniter on our Weber Grill. In a few days we’re going to have 31 of my wife’s family staying at our house for a week. (Don’t ask.) And we need the grill to work. Of course, I knew the igniter was going out for a few weeks. In fact, I bought a replacement part for it in September. Good old September, when it was warm outside and it would have been so convenient to just go out there and replace the igniter. You know the saying: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I put another brick in the walkway.
Fast forward to this morning. My deck and everything on it is covered in an inch of ice. It’s a Dr. Zhivago scene come to life in my back yard. It’s 26F here in Philly this morning; and the sun isn’t shining on the north side of my house. All totaled: It’s cold. And I wished that I had installed that igniter earlier in the season.
I had to make 15 trips in and out of the house to get various tools — and at one point to read the instructions. (Men…ugh, that Y-chromosome is not our friend.) My mother-in-law, who is in town from Arizona, sat at the kitchen table and saw all the to-and-fro that I did. Finally, I came in for the last time.
“Done?” asked my mother-in-law.
“Yeah, I’m done,” I said.
“Does it work?”
I laughed for two minutes. “That’s a good question to ask,” I said. “When it comes to doing a project like that, there’s a big difference between being done and it working.”
And isn’t that how it always goes? Being done in HR — or in business in general — isn’t the same thing as it working. There’s a chasm between the two. Checking the check boxes that says a project is complete is not the same thing as a project doing what it was intended to do.
The igniter on my grill works now, by the way. It would have been a lot easier to do in September. But it works.
The Benefits of Benefits and Some Thoughts on What Total Compensation Statements Should Say in this Bad Economy
Dec 22Benefits have always been important, but now they’re taking on added importance in this down economy. Total comp statements are going to have to be retooled to decrease emphasis on wealth creation and pump up the volume on the value of benefits. Never before has having medical insurance looked so sweet.
Now’s the time for HR to rethink how they present the value of employment. Sure, you want to tout what you’re providing, but that’s a little like trying to make a person feel good about a purchase after they’ve made it. I’d recommend a two-part strategy:
- For Current Employees. The people who work for you now need to hear about employment stability as much as they do about C&B facts and figures. If you want to get the most out of your total comp statement this year, tell them a few stories about what your company is doing to make it in this economy. Let employees know that you’re working for them and that you’re planning to be in the race for the long run.
- For Prospective Employees. Employees are nervous. Petrified. And when they’re not frozen in place, they’re jumpy. The best employees have lots of options — the job market hasn’t dried up for great talent. And the good ones are paying attention to what’s going on in the market. Telling your total compensation message to them is more important now than ever. They want to hear that you’re going to be doing great tings — and that you’re standing firm while lesser companies quake.
I’ve been around long enough to see lots of things come and go. We’ll get through this. In fact, if HR is clever, it will recognize this as a time to redefine what’s important at their company and emphasize those things that will sustain them. Touting the benefit of benefits and using the total compensation statement as a real communication device is the way to go in early 2009.
Getting There Early
Dec 16I am a believer in punctuality though it makes me very lonely.
- E. V. Lucas
I’m an early riser. There’s nothing to be proud about that. Some people get up early; some people like to work late.
I’m also early. I don’t get to appointments late. Never have; never will. And to me, it’s a distinction for me when I’m looking for good people to work with. Being punctual is about caring about what others think and how the business runs. I value it. Although, as E.V. Lucas says, it can sometimes be a lonely pursuit. (But not at our shop. We are bright an chipper all day.)
Featured Product
Social Media
Flickr
