Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The New Guy at the NLRB

Well, the typical situation with government appointees strikes again. A former SEIU and AFL-CIO leader was just added to the National Labor Relations Board. It took 60 years to get the existing NLRA rules and processes under control and operational, though slanted toward letting the union say anything they want in private to employees. I highly recommend watching closely what happens with this addition to a board responsible for managing employee/union/management disputes. No predictions from me at this time. I want to believe that the new guy will put the letter of the law and protecting employees over the intersts of both the union and management. We'll see how far faith takes me.

Monday, March 29, 2010

New or Not HR is Not a Power Base

The best thing for those new to the HR profession is a clear understanding of what makes someone a great advisor. This is not easy for action-oriented operations professionals, so the transition can sometimes be hard for internal candidates coming out of operations management. Remember that even the Chief People Officer is a specialist in HR for the CEO, just like the CFO is the specialist in Finance. Great, so now we are ready to make a positive impact on the companies where we work, right? Maybe. This might surprise you, but not every company believes in the support functions they put in place. Don't feel special, Accountants, IT Professionals, and Marketers run into the same resistance, disinterest, and frustration in companies that like the idea of the function but not the reality of the hard choices that come with additional information and advice. Support functions have the unenviable position of telling the managers or owners that their plans are missing the mark. Growing a tough skin, learning to swear and kick thing where you won't be seen, and being able to know when it is time to seek a new leader to advise are all handy skills.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Have You Looked in the Mirror Lately -or- The Friday Rant

No, this isn't one of those existential questions intended to send people into hours of introspective thought. This is a legit question about whether or not you pay attention to how you present yourself. One would think that this would be a no-brainer. Wrong again. I have had the privelege (yeah right) of explaining the importance of personal appearance to folks making upwards of six figures. It used be poor ironing habits or sizing issues, now there is a whole new Gen-Y style vibe to it. Yes, I am indicating that the fact no can find pants that make it to their waist has something to do with Gen-Y. However, get a clue and cover the gap. Unless you work on Fisherman's Wharf as a skating bikini waitress, odds are that your belly button ring and thong strap are a violation of dress code, not to mention good taste. Show that you are a sharp person by dressing purposefully. Look in the mirror and make sure that body parts aren't sticking out and no one can tell what you ate the last time you wore that outfit. This goes for everyone with visual apathy that thinks the rest of us should have to look at their mess out of some form of freedom of expression. If that is how you want to express yourself, be prepared that it is likely a career limiting move that no one will have the guts to tell you about.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Good, The Bad and The burnt out bulb

Well, today I had two appointments for networking. The first one was great. I really felt like I was able to help a local entrepreneur understand how to market her products to HR professionals. That was the good. The bad was a business friend that keeps cancelling lunch and cancelled again at almost 11 pm last night for today. It was going to be nice to catch up and get a refresher on new Organizational Development practices. I don't blame her; work waits for no woman. Then I came home after filling that lunch meeting by finding great bargains on new blouses and the light in my office flashed and died. Upon further inspection, I found that it and I have something in common. We are underutilized. The fixture had only one bulb, when it takes two, and the bulb was incandescent. At least my fixture is now optimized with two money saving compact flourescent bulbs. Time to go find ways to optimize me.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Shame on the Managers

Shame on the managers or businesses that waste company resources and time by creating positions for the sake of having them. What makes them continue to pay salaries to support partners they do not value or utilize to maximum effectiveness. This behavior also causes smart folks to leave and the company will fail to attract and retain smart people to help them. Please take note, if you are a HR Professional responsible for recruiting, you will work very hard for the folks that don't value roles within their organizations. Monarchs, Heads of State, and CEOs know to surround themselves with talented advisors, specialists in affairs of state, trade, and outside competition, but some chose them for prestige or tradition instead of to help them make decisions that allow everyone to succeed. Once you know whether or not your HR role or other support roles you have to fill are advisor's or window dressing, decide whether or not that works for you and vote with your feet, as needed.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Two Glasses of Red Wine

My husband made a beautiful dinner that would have been spoiled without red wine. The second glass was a gratuitous indulgence to celebrate finally starting a blog on the thing I am most passionate about. Managing people well is essential to business success and my passion is putting the practical back in the process. This is actually fun and I look forward to hearing from you.
 
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People Platform HR by Marti Nelson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.