04.

2015
Vol.3 Issue 04

PRESENTED BY

09131518
HR Analytics
The new gold rush

Change Management
Helpful tips

Cultural Change?!
It’s not HR’s job!!!

The HR Giant Within

The time has come!

The New Corporate HR Director

20 tips and 20 key skills
María José Fraile, Bettina Rodríguez and Carolina Reynoso Butron
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 04. 2015 Vol.3 Issue 04

PRESENTED BY

Features

09131518
HR Analytics
The new gold rush

Change Management
Helpful tips

Cultural Change?!
It’s not HR’s job!!!

The New Corporate HR Director

20 tips and 20 key skills The HR Giant Within
The time has come!
The Human Capital manager in a multinational must have different skills, as complex as their
own profession. PG.06

06 The New Corporate HR Director 16 Change Initiatives

20 tips and 20 key skills Why HR should lead
María José Fraile, Bettina Rodríguez and Carolina Carol Anderson
Reynoso Butron
17 Why Great Strategies Fall Short?
09 HR Analytics A few reasons
The new gold rush Charlotte Ntreh
David Green
18 The HR Giant Within
10 Bounce Back The time has come!
Increasing workforce resilience Lisa Milani
Angela Payne
20 Has Your Career Jumped The Shark?
13 Change Management Five obstacles to career advancement
Helpful tips Tom Sims
Bill McElwain
22 Skills Gap
14 People Management Innovation, the key to attracting young workers
How analytics is changing it Tom Turpin
Bernard Marr

15 Cultural Change?!
It’s not HR’s job!!!
Donna McGeorge
 Guest Editor’s Note
When I received the articles for the April
issue of HR Strategy and Planning Excellence,
I made a word cloud of all the used words.
The main message that the authors seem to
be sending us is: HR MUST CHANGE! (the
exclamation mark is mine).
The contributions can be divided into three
groups: Change management guidance, the
opportunities of HR analytics and what HR
MUST do, to have more impact in their
organization.
In the first group, change management
guidance, Angela Payne in Bounce Back,
gives six tips on what to do when you want
to ensure your people can adapt and bounce
back after change is announced. Bill McEl-
wain also gives some helpful tips in Change
Management. There is no recipe for effective
and impactful change management. Listing to
your people and making sure they understand
the need for change are important ingredients.
Bernard Marr and David Green are two of
my favourite authors who write about HR
Analytics, and the opportunities Big Data
and HR analytics create for HR. In People
Management (how analytics is changing
it) Bernard touches on an ethical question:
How can you use the power of analytics to
enhance the work of people, without being
too intrusive into the private lives of people?
Clear communication, building a level of
trust and showing the benefits to people and
organization are key. In HR Analytics David
Green states, “it does seem that the stars of
HR analytics have finally aligned and 2015
will prove to be a pivotal year”.
In the last group, ‘What HR MUST do”,
Carol Anderson in Change Initiatives: Why
HR should lead makes the argument that
HR should lead change initiatives. Donna
McGeorge appears to think otherwise, in
Cultural Change?! It’s not HR’s job!!!
The team that wrote The New Corporate HR
Director (María José Fraile, Bettina Rodríguez
and Carolina Reynoso Butron) gives us a list
Vol.3 Issue. 04
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence
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of 20 tips and skills they consider important Editorial Department,
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Having read the articles a couple of thoughts
cross my mind: HR Strategy and Planning Excellence
• Why is it considered to be important Publishing:
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experience in HR Management in multina-
tional companies. From 2006-2014 he was the
global HR Director for ARCADIS. Prior to
ARCADIS he worked in senior HR positions
at Aon, KPMG and Philips Electronics. Tom
has a keen interest in innovative HR and how
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The New Corporate HR Director
20 tips and 20 key skills
By María José Fraile, Bettina Rodríguez and Carolina Reynoso Butron
What makes a good corporate HR director? The answer is
not simple, we could talk about leadership, strategic vision,
flexibility...but in reality it entails a set of many different skills,
being skilled in different contexts and times, having a global and
local vision, knowing what makes an excellent professional. The
Human Capital manager in a multinational must have different
skills, as complex as their own profession. Of course, all of these
can be worked at and developed. In this regard, it is important
that these professionals be vigilant, because your post today is
highly strategic; good talent management marks the difference
between excellent organizations and those that are left behind.
Especially at a moment when it’s commonly known that it’s so
hard to find the right people for each position, and even more
to retain them. In this article, we have collected twenty tips
and skills that we consider very important for a corporate HR
director, to guide him or her through developing and improving
skills, on the day to day job, although we could cite many more,
of course. Let’s take a look at them.
Click here for a high resolution image
Strategy
1.Tip: Manage transformation
Key skill: Adaptability
We live in a changing world; we have gone from local to global,
from the physical to the virtual, from certainty to uncertainty.
A “liquid time,” quoting the words of the sociologist, Zygmut
Bauman. The key competence to work in this context is the
“ability to adapt to change.” If the only certainty these days is
that everything changes; then it’s useless to turn a blind eye to
6 Submit your Articles
COVER Article
the new emerging realities, instead we must grab and embrace
each new scenario fearlessly.
2.Tip: Predict the future
Key skill: Vision
This isn’t about the art of prediction. Forecasting the future is
also about managing change, detecting emerging trends before
they take root, and anticipating any situation. It’s about going
that one step further. There’s no perfect formula on how. Just be
constantly curious, forever alert to the local and global reality,
read different media, study trends, analyze different indicators;
and travel, travel and walk a lot. As Don Quixote said, “He, who
reads a lot and walk a lot, sees a lot and knows a lot.”
3.Tip: Strengthen continual learning and training
Key skill: Constant learning
None of this makes sense if one doesn’t train up competencies,
and promote global learning throughout your organization. In
the current “liquid” context we speak of, a key responsibility
of corporate HR management is to make sure that there is no
gap between the employees’ tasks and their level of training to
perform them. It’s interesting to combine traditional training
styles with new trends (MOOCs, e-learning, webinars, wikis,
etc.) in order to build a “global learning environment,” ideally
on a single platform that is always accessible and nurtures col-
lective intelligence.
4.Tip: Align strategically with management
Key skill: Business vision
Behind are the times when each department worked in isola-
tion. Today, everyone is aware that the HR department works
together with all other departments and with management. Not
only are they aligned, but also their indicators have become
critical to business management. And talent management is
considered one of the top three priorities for CEOs worldwide.
Stay alert, because this is how predictive analytics will play a
key role.
5.Tip: Strengthen HR within the organization
Key skill: Involvement
Good talent management will unquestionably lead to a posi-
tive perception of HR held by the entire organization. This is
the best way to promote our department internally. However,
the corporate HR director must be astute and should know how
to promote his department’s actions, among both employees
and management, to get them to adopt policies as their own
throughout the entire organization. In this case, the analytical
indicators we spoke of earlier may be very useful in demonstrat-
ing ROI internally.
Management
6.Tip: Integrate global with local
Key skill: Flexibility
Today more than ever, “glocal” (global-local) has become
the new panacea of any organization. It’s about having global
HR policies, while integrating local and regional peculiarities.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015
 The New Corporate HR Director
That’s why a good corporate human resources policy must be
the result of efforts to dialogue and share business best practices
internationally, without losing sight of the need to promote a
common and inclusive HR culture.
7.Tip: Manage global complexity
Key skill: International vision
Our world is global, so HR managers must sidestep tactics
based on border differences, and think of their organization as
a whole. International talent management raises very important
and diverse challenges. One is the great challenge of “talent gap”
or the distance between the skills required and those found in
employees today. This requires tools for searching the best talent
worldwide, and also knowing how to train and find the best
internal talent. Another key challenge is talent retention, when
we have very low numbers of truly loyal staff today.
8.Tip: Manage diversity
Key skill: Integration
It then goes to follow that there’s a need to work with very
diverse teams. Different generations — millennials bring in a
new approach to the current labor model, demanding greater
flexibility on the job and greater corporate responsibility. Differ-
ent nationalities and cultural contexts — this calls for a different
approach to the traditional “expat” and how employees should
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015
receive training for international mobility very early on, turning
this into a plus for career development rather than an experience
to be compensated with fat benefit packages.
9.Tip: Count on the best technology
Key skill: Technological innovation
One of the trump cards for achieving integrated HR man-
agement is to have the technological tools that facilitate it. A
global HR solution — with one unique record per employee
worldwide for global management throughout the working
lives of employees, from the recruitment process to full-blown
development within the organization — will greatly facilitate
this undertaking. A solution, which also allows for the different
local needs and integrates these so that we can find out what
is happening in our organization worldwide in real time and
obtain the analytical indicators required to improve our day to
day activities.
10.Tip: Boost company-wide engagement
Key skill: Employee experience manager
One of the things to bear in mind today is the importance of
the “experience” gained both at the internal and external levels.
It’s no longer just about selling a product, but also the engaging
experience that comes with it. It’s no longer about only reward-
ing employees, but also making their days in the company a
pleasurable activity, satisfying and motivating them. Good steps
towards work life balance, strengthening initiative, innovation
and creativity in employees and work flexibility, among others,
will help to create this state of well-being.
Communication
11.Tip: Be a global information and communication source
Key skill: Communication
The HR department must not be isolated. It must also be a
source of information for the entire company and the central
hub of communication. This way, the organization becomes
open with information flowing freely and boosting communica-
tion between employees. Internal social networks, communities
and shared knowledge centers are essential, and also help us to
reinforce the improvement of internal skills, the search for the
best talent or mutual support networks.
12.Tip: Keep a marketing focus
Key skill: Brand management
Nowadays marketing has to be developed globally across the
entire company. A corporate brand strategy involves the entire
organization at all levels. To a large extent, this requires a much
more multi-functional collaboration than ever. Setting up close
links between the marketing and HR departments amplifies com-
munication towards the (respective) customers. A corporate HR
director can play a key role in helping to develop this chain of
brand enhancement that starts with the organization’s internal
values and culminates with the perception of the values the
company wants customers to experience. This way marketing
techniques also help foster the development of the strategies of
the HR department itself.
13.Tip: Transmit the corporate identity
Key skill: Value broadcaster
Since one of the fundamental tasks of the corporate HR direc-
tor is to transmit corporate values, this person must reflect these
and be an example of trustworthiness for the entire organization.
Submit your Articles 7
 The New Corporate HR Director
Personal skills are covered in the next point, but with regards
to communication, this especially involves improving corporate
channels, and give voice to the varied differences from a global
and inclusive perspective.
14.Tip: Prioritize the search for the best talent
Key skill: Employer branding ambassador
There is still a long way to go in creating a compelling brand
and a strong company culture. As mentioned earlier, marketing
and HR collaboration is again evident in employer branding.
Collaborating as a whole on brand strategy, while ensuring
the company meets its commitment, together with how the
company culture breathes daily will enhance talent recruitment
and retention—one of the top priorities of HR leaders today. It
is therefore important to develop a strategy for selecting global
talent with all the tools for innovation at our disposal (social
recruiting, big data, predictive analytics, etc...).
15.Tip: Manage change in communication
Key skill: Social focus
In our era we have lived through the last major change in com-
munication, we have moved from mass media to interactive com-
munication through internet. Communication is a facet added
to every area of our lives through mobile devices. We cannot
just talk of social networks, but rather a social, multi channel,
multimedia and constant communication. Our organization
must not stay stuck in the old one-way communication and it
should enhance interaction in all directions and senses. This is
especially critical in a multinational organization: The corporate
HR department must work to break down the physical barriers
that block these communication modes from taking place, and
enhancing access for all employees to the same organization-wide
resources for engagement.
Personal Skills
16.Tip: Exemplify integrity
Key skill: Integrity
As we said earlier, the corporate HR leader must be an example
of the kind of corporate management he wants to promote.
Such that his actions and decisions must be aligned with this
management without contradictions. This implies cultivating an
upright and determined personality. That’s not to say that one
cannot make mistakes, but one must be capable of rectifying
and returning to the right path when it happens.
17.Tip: Inspire the entire organization
Key skill: Leadership
There’s been much talk about the most important qualities
of a good leader, but it is important to stress here the relevance
of this quality in a multinational company. Leading all parts
of the organization towards a common goal; managing diver-
sity and integrating the differences require a high degree of
commitment and charisma. Inspiring the entire organization,
regardless of geography or cultural circumstances is no easy task
and will require a combination of what we talked about earlier:
Stronger communication, the right technology tools and good
management.
18.Tip: Be influential
Key skill: Persuasion
These days it is not enough to be a strategist or manager, the
HR leader at the corporate level has to be an agent of global
8 Submit your Articles
change. We are living in late post modernity, in which the only
constant is endless change, although this sounds contradictory.
In this context, the HR leader must be able to influence stra-
tegic decisions in the company for human capital management
to advance in the right direction, and not miss the boat for
transformation. In turn, he must persuasively sell the need for
change across to all departmental levels of the company.
19.Tip: Inspire trust
Key skill: Trustworthiness
More than ever in uncertain times, it is crucial for the cor-
porate HR leader to build trust throughout the organization.
This is achieved with a set of different skills, such as coherence,
responsibility, dedication and strong leadership. It is not easy
to manage uncertainty. Not knowing what will happen in times
of constant change can cause stress, anxiety or fear in many
employees. That’s why trust in the company must be above all
reinforced at the corporate level.
20.Tip: Be flexible and reconcile
Key skill: Open minded
Today it is vital to be open to change, because as we have been
saying, the remedy is uncertainty. This forces us to improvise,
adapt to new situations, and always seek to improve on the current
state. All this is impossible if the HR leader is not open to new
ideas, flexible in the face of circumstances for transformation,
and willing to reconcile all aspects of diversity that we have been
discussing from the start. And as we mentioned, the keys to this
open mind are insatiable curiosity and constant learning.S&P
María José Fraile is the Meta4 Corporate HR Director with extensive
experience in the people management field, adjusting the HR function to
the different developmental stages of a company: hyper-growth, mergers and
acquisitions, restructuring, crisis management, among others. She has also
had the opportunity to work directly in the product line, supporting software
application design, consulting and pre-sales solutions for HR management
and knowledge management.
Connect: María José Fraile
Follow @MariaJoseFraile
Bettina Rodríguez graduated in Foreign Trade and Marketing, and holds an
MBA from the Instituto de Empresa. She has held various positions in train-
ing, pre-sales and marketing. Her professional career has always developed
in the international environment of B2B companies in the HR technology
sector. She currently manages the Meta4 Corporate Marketing department.
Connect Bettina Rodríguez Flick
Follow @bettinarflick
Carolina Reynoso Butron develops the Meta4 social media strategy and mar-
keting content for each of the different markets in which the company oper-
ates: Global, France, Latin America, and Spain, among others. Her interest in
continuous learning has led her to train in different disciplines at universities
in Madrid, Paris and Salamanca. She holds a BA in History, Communication,
MA in Multimedia Journalism, and her latest research work focused on the
phenomena of “gamification”.
Connect Carolina Reynoso Butron
Follow @CarolReynoso
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015
 FEATURE

HR Analytics
The new gold rush

By David Green

Maybe it’s something in the water or perhaps it’s simply the However, before HR joyously exclaims ‘gold’, a note of caution.
advent of a new year and all the hype that accompanies it, but It wasn’t that long ago Bersin (yes, him again) published a fairly
it does seem there has been a visible momentum shift in the damning indictment of HR’s immaturity with analytics. This study
adoption of analytics in HR. (see Figure below) showed that only 4% of companies had achieved
Writing in Forbes, industry sage Josh Bersin boldly proclaims the capability to perform “predictive analytics” on their workforce and
“the geeks have arrived in HR” and that HR departments are only 14% had done any significant “statistical analysis” of employee
finally “getting serious about analytics. And I mean serious”. HR data. This leaves a whopping 86% with fool’s gold rather than the
has been dipping its feet in the analytics ocean for years without genuine article. All the more reason to hope that Taylor’s call to arms
fully taking the plunge, but Bersin asserts that instead of just for HR cross-pollination will be heeded.
“talking about the opportunity to apply data to people decisions,
companies are now stepping up and making the investment.”
From my discussions with HR leaders I sense too that the
accelerator pedal has been pressed to the floor even if many
organisations are still in the embryonic stage of datifying their
HR departments.  On ERE, John Zappe  latched onto Bersin’s
article and cited supporting research from Wanted Analytics that
the number of human resources jobs advertised in Q4 2014
requiring “big data” and analytical skills had risen markedly
year-on-year by 54%.
Could we be on the precipice of the HR equivalent of a gold
rush? CHROs and other CXO have watched with envy as com-
panies as diverse as Unilever, ABN Amro, Shell and Sears have
built HR analytics functions and reaped the benefits of applying
a data driven approach to talent. HR has suddenly become an
interesting career destination for a number of hitherto unlikely
highly skilled ‘geeks’. In the same Forbes article, Bersin talks of Bersin by Deloitte’s Talent Analytics Maturity Model
“PhD statisticians, engineers, and computer scientists together, all Click here for a high resolution image
working on people analytics for their companies”.
Initiatives like the CIPD led ‘Valuing Your Talent’, which aims to
provide employers with a clearer understanding of, and common means

“ Maybe it’s something in the water or perhaps it’s sim-

ply the advent of a new year and all the hype that ac-
companies it, but it does seem there has been a visible
momentum shift in the adoption of analytics in HR.
of describing, the way in which people impact the performance of
their organisation will certainly help HR sort the wood from the trees.
Time will tell if Bersin is right to call it as he has, but it does seem
that the stars of HR analytics have finally aligned and 2015 will prove
to be a pivotal year. Let’s hope so because as to paraphrase Mark Twain’s
character Mulberry Sellers: “There’s gold in them thar data” and “there’s
millions in it”. S&P

David Green is a Director at Cielo, the leading global Recruitment Process

In another excellent recent article (A Quant, Physicist, &
Chemist Walk Into HR), Benjamin Taylor – Chief Data Scientist
(now that’s a job title and a half ) at HireVue and one of the
‘geeks’ highlighted by Bersin explains what attracted him from
Wall Street to HR. Taylor makes an irrefutable case of why HR is
ripe for disruption, has multiple challenging data problems and
Outsourcing and talent acquisition firm. David has helped a number of
organisations design data driven talent acquisition programmes that drive
effectiveness, growth and competitive advantage. He also speaks and writes on
HR Analytics and other key tenets driving the seismic change in the future of
work.
Email david.green@cielotalent.com
Follow @david_green_uk
Connect David Green
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.

demands cross-pollination from other industries. This clarion call

defines why HR presents such a compelling career proposition if
you just happen to be a nuclear physicist, chemist, mechanical
engineer, data scientist or meteorologist.

HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015 Submit your Articles 9
 Bounce Back
Increasing workforce resilience
By Angela Payne
W orking today requires that we be change ready. Markets
shift, needs evolve and the competitive landscape is redrawn.
Organizations need employees who can adapt, recover and remain
productive in the midst of change, transition or uncertainty.
The Current Situation
Once an organization has announced a restructuring, merger
or new line of business, how do you ensure employees can absorb
high levels of ambiguity, cope with change and stay focused on
business? Today, change initiatives are a common fact of organi-
zational life. However, the challenge of successfully implementing
change remains. Change needs to be planned, carefully managed,
monitored and measured.
Why it Matters?
The stakes are hardly inconsequential. From the moment
you announce news of change, you run the risk that workforce
performance will suffer. Employees living with uncertainty for
extended periods of time will at the least, experience confusion
and anxiety that may impede productivity. They may fear for
the future security of their own jobs and may disengage. With
its workforce distracted, the organization as a whole faces a
cascading set of threats. Falling productivity imperils critical
business functions, compromising customer service and satisfac-
tion. Business performance can plummet.
“
Today, change initiatives are a common fact of orga-
nizational life. However, the challenge of successfully
implementing change remains. Change needs to be
planned, carefully managed, monitored and measured.
The sooner your people can adapt and bounce back after change
is announced, the better you can compete.
What to Do About it?
Uncertainty and stress are inevitable parts of change, but a major
disruption in business continuity isn’t. Resiliency is a trait individu-
als can develop and strengthen. Here are six key steps you can take
to ensure that your people survive change and bounce back quickly.
1.Ensure that executive leadership is fully engaged. Major change
requires major leadership. Top management can sponsor change actively
and visibly by impressing upon the entire organization the necessity
for change and the benefits to be realized.
2.Formulate a comprehensive, well-structured change manage-
ment plan. No plan, no quick bounce back. It’s as simple as that. The
proposed changes have to be introduced with forethought, appropriate
10 Submit your Articles
supports have to be marshalled and resiliency has to be cultivated.
3.Communicate clearly and consistently. There’s nothing more
damaging than an unfounded rumor and nothing more inevitable
when the organization’s leadership remains tight lipped about what’s in
store and why. The organization needs to be clear about its messaging
and have mechanisms in place to ensure that everyone in authority
works from the same playbook.
4.Comprehensively engage front-line managers. Front-line man-
agers are at the leading edge of any change event. Give them direction
and training specifically related to the change event. Their role is to
identify team challenges and apply resilience-building key practices
during one-on-one conversations with immediate reports.
5.Provide tools, resources and coaching. Simple, actionable change
management tools and resources can make a profound contribution
to managing change successfully and sustainably. As a follow-up to
reinforce sustainability, coach-facilitated group meetings should be
held to ensure that managers and employees are putting their change
management skills into practice and implementing change effectively.
6.Conduct pulse surveys. What you don’t know can definitely hurt
you. You need to keep abreast of what’s happening on the ground and,
if appropriate, adjust your strategy to ensure that your change event
remains entirely under your control. Pulse surveys targeting employee
morale and productivity will provide you with crucial insight on how
employees are adapting and whether your initiative is still on track.
What are people thinking and feeling? Have you been communicating
with them effectively? Is the training you’re providing working? Are
productivity levels being maintained?
In today’s increasingly fluid business environment, organizations
everywhere are under pressure to adopt significant change with greater
frequency. Those companies that can manage change best enjoy a
clear competitive advantage. The sooner your people can adapt and
bounce back, the better you can compete. The more completely you
can maintain the continuity of your operations, the stronger your
performance and the more secure your competitive position. Taking
an organized, carefully conceived approach to managing change is
more important than ever. S&P
Angela Payne joined Lee Hecht Harrison in 2012 and is the Country
Manager for Canada. Prior to this assignment, she was the company’s senior
sales executive responsible for managing the sales team on a national basis.
Angela has held senior positions within the Canadian subsidiaries of Adecco
SA for over 14 years, including Adecco Canada and most recently with Lee
Hecht Harrison.
Email: Angela.Payne@lhh.com
Visit www.lhh.com
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015
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Change Management
Helpful tips
By Bill McElwain
What is Change Management?
Change management has always been a mild consideration in
traditional businesses, but it has become a more significant concern
in modern business. It has most recently been recognized as a task
– perhaps beyond coaching. Some businesses are now considering
the Change Management task worthy of position assignments and
recruiting efforts are evident that some businesses are hiring Change
Managers, in order to execute change where workplace resistance or
cultural erosion may occur as a result.
While no one truly expects to move through life without change,
most people are naturally apprehensive about change, and for a very
good reason. If one considers what signs of change relating to survival
meant over tens of thousands of years. Noticing rivers drying up, or
game and food supplies diminishing; meant our distant ancestors had
to view change as potentially life threatening. Interestingly enough,
they also became instigators of change in order to protect them-
selves against unforeseen and abrupt changes – events that could be
catastrophic, if not anticipated or planned for. Implementing typical
Change Management processes, or focusing on the creation of Change
Expectant employees as well, is really as simple as deciding which
will best facilitate a fluid and lasting method of business operation.
After all, the most successful societies were change expectant and
implemented change with self-fulfilling enthusiasm in comparison
to coercive regimes, where creative change lagged alongside menial
or antagonistic change.
For obvious reasons, we need to make changes in our business plans,
operational processes, such as safety and environmental functions,
financial, and at times, even our product or branding. The people
that drive these day-to-day operations may need to be expanded,
contracted or re-deployed entirely, depending on the change – and
that change may be so crucial that the very survival of the business
depends on it. Just imagine the changes at Kodak, while the digital
camera was on the rise. If you were a front line employee there, could
you have endured the change? Or, would you have preferred to be an
instigator of the change?
Change Management Tips
Here’s a true story of a local business that had made a management
change in one of their area operations. It was a fairly substantial
change and involved bringing in a new manager from another area
to make some, “Big Changes.” The current management had been
either fired or demoted and the new guy was going to make it all
work well again. Of course, he hit the ground running and with a
box of books titled, “Who Moved My Cheese”, by Spencer Johnson,
M.D. The book tells a short tale of mice and humans living in a maze
and coping with cheese arrangements. While I have read this book
and enjoyed it as a comic and simplistic view of human and animal
behavior, it was certainly was not the right publication or method of
introducing change into that particularly anxious environment. The
feedback from the employees that read the book was very negative.
Not that they resented the impending change, but because they had
felt degraded. Essentially, the expectancy of their ability to work with
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015
FEATURE
or implement change had been reduced to comparing them to mice
in a maze. They thought more of themselves than that and the whole
subsequent Change Management effort failed miserably as talented
people moved away from that particular maze. The book might be
okay to share with a friend, or family member, but Change Manag-
ers and especially New Managers, would do well to avoid issuing this
publication to the mice beneath you. Because that’s exactly how it
will be received.
Instead; use dialog in group or team meetings that promotes the
concept of creative change and employee contribution. This approach
will foster a more cooperative and willing change expectant player,
than a: “Here, read this and brace for impact”, book. People that are
given opportunities and incentives to be the creators of the very change
needed to help the business; can initiate some of the most broadly
accepted changes of all. Although the story of Spence Silver and Art
Fry; the collaborators of the Post-It-Note creation at 3M, is not purely
a change management story, but it does involve creative collaboration
and changes to production and marketing that hadn’t been expected.
Trust the inner spirit of the people within your organization to
become initiators of truly needed change through challenging and
collaborative dialogue. Teams should be guided to create idea lists of
changes needed, or even imagined for their business divisions. These
ideas should address the potential challenges of predesigned concepts
for growth, improvement and market competitiveness. There should
be incentives and bonus programs that serve as key motivational items
for creative and profitable contributions. Change expectant employees
are easy to recognize: They are the ones knocking on your door with
a new idea. Don’t just grin and wish them a good day, spend some
time nurturing that attempt to seed your business. Perhaps the first
idea was a poor one, but think of the passion that drove it.
There are times when change will not be pleasant no matter how
many meetings are held. In my location, the recent drop in oil pricing
has caused some immediate and painful change requirements for some
businesses to ensure survival. But it would be folly to throw in the
towel before trying to create a positive change expectant and change
aggressive work force. Who knows what great new ideas for equipment
deployment, modification and utilization may erupt? S&P
Bill McElwain is President at Ascent Business Consulting Ltd. Bill has worked
extensively in the investment industry, construction, oilfield and transporta-
tion sectors and has over 20-years of Leadership and Operational experience.
Connect Bill McElwain
Visit http://ascentbusinessconsulting.ca/
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
Submit your Articles 13
 People Management
How analytics is changing it
By Bernard Marr
Google has regularly been voted the best company in America carried out a study in 2013 which found a strong link between the
to work for – its staff get free meals, generous paid holidays,
access to “nap pods” for power-napping during the business day,
and are even encouraged to grow their own fruit and vegetables
at work.
And, despite their old “don’t be evil” motto, Google top brass
hasn’t set things up this way simply because they are lovely people.
Like everything they do, their decisions were based squarely on
data – and in this case the data showed that treating their staff
well would increase employee satisfaction.
Employers have been using analytics for some time now to
understand what makes their staff tick – using metrics such as
staff engagement to understand what drives productivity and
innovation in the workplace.
The Big Data revolution has accelerated this practice as well
as taken it in new directions – companies now have more data
than ever on their employees, and more tools and technology
with which to analyze this data.
But can – or should – we monitor people who work for us in
the same way we monitor our machinery and equipment? Can
their behavior be predicted, or even manipulated, in the same
way? Is it even ethical to try?
After all, people are far less predictable, more nuanced in our
reactions to events or situations, and complex in our motiva-
tions. If the productivity of a piece of machinery is consistently
lower than it should be, it’s a safe bet that it’s faulty. If a human
being’s productivity is dwindling there could be a hundred
reasons – illness, coping with stress at home, or beginning to
feel demotivated by the job.
The fact that these questions remain unanswered has certainly
not stopped many with pushing ahead and trying it out anyway!
Hitachi’s Business Microscope service enables companies to
fit their staff with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags
which track their movements around the workplace and even
monitor sound waves to identify how stressed or relaxed they
are when they speak.
In one trial, a retailer was able to increase sales by 15% after they
noticed that the presence of a member of staff in certain areas of the
store had a high impact on products sold, while in other areas, their
presence had very little effect.
The devices aren’t limited in use to businesses whose staff regularly
move around to complete their jobs. In a seated office environment,
they record how long an employee spends at their desk along with
how much time they spend interacting with other staff, who they talk
to, the distance they stand from each other during conversations, and
the enthusiasm with which they contribute to meetings.
It may sound Orwellian, but how well it is received by staff will
probably entirely depend on the way it is used. If it is used as a disci-
plinary tool focused on the behavior of individuals, it is sure to lead
to resentment. But, when used as a way to gain an overview of the
company as a whole, and how it interacts to get the job done, it will
probably generate far less complaints – and far more useful insights.
Retaining staff (or reducing “churn”) is often a key priority for
businesses. Top talent is always in demand, and assuring that it won’t
be poached by competitors is always a challenge. To this end, Forbes
14 Submit your Articles
rate of pay required to keep a member of staff, and their level of
productivity.
Middle-performing staff could be expected to stay loyal even if
their earnings dropped as low as 91% of the average salary for their
job. High-fliers, by contrast, would begin to look around for other
opportunities if their salary is below 120% of the average.
Companies have leveraged these insights to come up with algorithms
which predict when they may be in danger of losing a key member
of staff – allowing them to step in and intervene.
The fact is that in the age of Big Data analysis, measuring the ef-
ficiency of staff, and identifying the factors that may be affecting it,
is a relatively simple process, with the amount of data that employers
are now capable of collecting from their employees, and the advanced
tools which are available for analysis.
The benefits to a company which is able to accurately identify why
one particular customer sales representative outperforms his or her
colleagues are obvious. However, if implemented in a sloppy or dis-
criminatory fashion, they could also lead to serious problems with staff
trust, and the level of intrusion into their private lives that they feel.
With many companies now routinely scanning contents of emails
and monitoring the activities of their staff on social media, it is clear
that some may feel concerned.
Will employees resent this level of analysis of their day-to-day activi-
ties? Some certainly will. But as I said before it will depend entirely
on how it is implemented. In short, there are far more useful, and
less provocative uses for employee data collection and analysis, than
enforcing discipline over who takes the most bathroom breaks.
It is something we are likely to become used to over time – just as
in the consumer sphere, we are getting more used to handing private
companies our personal information in return for a more convenient
service.
And, if the end result is a decision by their employer to double their
paid holiday, provide free food, and encourage them to sleep on the
job – it is unlikely they will get many complaints!
As always, I am keen to hear your thoughts on the topic, please feel
free to comment. S&P
Bernard Marr is a global enterprise performance expert and a best-selling
business author. He helps companies to better manage, measure, report
and analyze performance. His leading-edge work with major companies,
organisations and governments across the globe makes him an acclaimed and
award-winning keynote speaker, researcher, consultant and teacher. Bernard is
acknowledged by the CEO Journal as one of today’s leading business brains.
Email bernard.marr@ap-institute.com
Visit www.ap-institute.com
Follow @BernardMarr
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015

Cultural Change?!
It’s not HR’s job!!!
By Donna McGeorge
O ver lunch with an HR professional recently, he asked
me if I would be interested in engaging with them around a
cultural change project. By his description, the culture was in
sore need of a boost and perhaps if I came in and offered a few
“motivational” workshops, we might fix it.
I asked who in the leadership team is asking for this? What
does the leadership team want from the culture? Who is your
champion or sponsor for this? I fully expected him to reply “The
CEO”. Instead, he said, “No-one. It’s me.”
He went on to explain that the leadership team is “too busy”
for this and has delegated it to HR, and in turn, it was delegated
to him. I felt very sorry for him as I believed he is either being
set up to fail, or the leadership in the organisation have no idea
what it takes to bring about cultural change.
Click here for a high resolution image
I believe there are three key factors he needs to consider to
get started:
Vision
• Define what you want the culture to be.
• Diagnose where it is now. What do you want to keep and
what are the root causes of some of the less favorable aspects of
the existing culture?
• Design  the future, identifying the key levers to bring
about change.
Leadership
• Do the leaders have confidence in the vision?
• Are they congruent in their behaviors?
• Can they stand in conviction about future?
Change Management
• All aspects of the organisation need to be addressed in the
management of the change.
• Impact on, meaning for, and communication to Individuals,
Teams & Organisation
So, what role DOES HR play? I believe the same role that any
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015
FEATURE
other function or leader would play. The responsibilities that
fall into the function of HR can have a tremendous impact.
• Design of the employee value proposition
• Recruiting for the desired culture,
• Education/training,
• Leadership succession planning... to name a few.
And the role of Finance? Designing systems and processes
that support the culture.
“
It’s only when you have ALIGNMENT between the vision
of the organisation and the vision of the culture, SPON-
SORSHIP at the highest level of the organisation and
support from the senior, or executive leadership team,
and a co-ordinated change management  PLAN  that
you can begin to bring about cultural change.
The role of Sales and/or Marketing? What are the key mes-
sages we want our customers to know about our culture. Or IT?
How do we provide technological infrastructure to support the
culture we want to build.
It’s not one person’s job, it’s everyone’s job.
AND it takes time. Hosting motivational workshops or events,
sending e-mails, and putting posters on a wall will not fix it.
It’s only when you have  ALIGNMENT  between the vision
of the organisation and the vision of the culture, SPONSOR-
SHIP at the highest level of the organisation and support from
the senior, or executive leadership team, and a co-ordinated
change management PLAN that you can begin to bring about
cultural change. S&P
For almost 20 years, Donna McGeorge has worked in HR, L&D and OD
in several global organisations, including Ernst & Young, Ansett Airlines and
Ford Motor Company.  In her private consulting practice she has trained, facil-
itated and consulted to KPMG, Flight Centre, Ford, Bunnings, Nissan Motor
Company, Moet Hennessy Diageo China, ChangAn Ford, NAB and ANZ
Bank. Donna is currently working with a number of global companies on
organizational change, and is the author of two books, The Pen is Mightier than
the Slide (published May 2014) and Get Engaged (published February 2015).
Email d@donnamcgeorge.com
Connect Donna McGeorge
Visit www.donnamcgeorge.com
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
Submit your Articles 15
 Change Initiatives
Why HR should lead
By Carol Anderson
Change management is about people, performance and leader-
ship, ergo, one would think HR should be leading the charge (or at
least playing a major role). Unfortunately, in many cases, HR is not
involved because it does not bring the skill sets that would be useful to
organizational change or is simply not even invited to the party. More
concerning is that CEOs don’t hold their HR leadership accountable for
building the necessary expertise that would facilitate effecting change.
Without the internal expertise, organizations, more often than not,
look to outside consultants to provide the needed assistance to effect
the organizational changes they’re looking for.
What’s striking here, even with the expertise of outside consultants,
change guru John Kotter, (Kotter International) still claims that 70%
of change efforts fail; this is a pretty dismal record. Kotter’s approach
for “change management” is for organizations to “take a consistent,
holistic approach to changing themselves,” and “engaging their work-
force effectively.”
Changing themselves. Engaging their workforce. Sounds like learn-
ing, development and human resources to me so why isn’t HR part
of the solution?
Kotter’s research spans 4 decades and I have almost 4 decades of
HR executive roles in large, multi-unit organizations behind me and
from what I’ve seen, Kotter’s research is dead on. Change may come
in the form of a merger, a shift in technology, the launch of a new
strategy, or a change in organizational leadership. And each change or
combination of changes create anxiety and concern in the workforce,
which requires strong, coordinated leadership that understand the
dynamics of change, foster open channels of candid communication,
and facilitate a careful exploration of organizational culture in the
context of the change.
Leading the leadership in providing the organizational guidance is
where HR can bring tremendous value because HR has, or should have,
a top level view of people, programs and process. They have a unique
vantage point to breach silos and facilitate organizational change.
If HR is going to “lead the change” process, they need the knowledge,
skills and resources to make it happen. Many HR Teams, though, are
missing the critical expertise needed for leading change. For example,
HR needs:
Project Management Skills. I’m not talking about HR being project
managers but they must understand the need for effective  project
management so they can provide good counsel as part of the leader-
ship team, counsel that could include ensuring there is executive
sponsorship with authority and courage to make key decisions, having
a having a clear definition of the purpose, scope and expected results,
and evaluating the results against the expectations.
Learning and Development Skills. With organizational change
comes the need for behavioral change, and the more dramatic the
change, the more intentional the organization must be in defining,
teaching and holding themselves accountable for the behavior change.
Kotter says to “engage the workforce,” but that is not an easy task.
It means that the workforce needs to clearly understand both the
change and the need to change. It means that they need a voice to
share concerns and provide input.
Organizational learning is all about setting clear expectations,
providing knowledge and resources, and evaluating and tweaking the
result, and developing strength in leadership to lead change.
16 Submit your Articles
The programs and processes that are typically owned by HR – train-
ing and performance management – should align to the realities of
the organizational change.
HR needs to lead this effort because “HR is all about people.” HR
leadership that can assess learning needs, create formal and informal
learning opportunities, and evaluate the effectiveness are, in fact,
leading organizational change. If the HR programs do not accomplish
this, they are not relevant.
Systems Thinking Skills. Change in today’s world is complex, and
a change in one process can have unintended consequences that ripple
through the organization. Understanding how systems work, and being
able to facilitate the discovery of interacting systems among diverse
groups of people brings credibility to the change leader.
With organizational complexity often comes silo’d thinking that leads
to decisions being made without effective analysis and risk assessment.
Leaders need to understand the implication of their decisions, and
collaborate effectively across the organization. This is a skill that must
be developed in leadership. It is also a process that begs for oversight,
to maintain the coordinated perspective of the organizational change.
If HR programs are aligned and relevant, they provide good busi-
ness intelligence that illustrates challenges and opportunities with the
organizational change. If these programs are not aligned and relevant,
they are wasting valuable time.
But there is an opportunity here: CEO’s need to challenge their
HR teams to provide the leadership the organization needs to suc-
cessfully effect change and hold them accountable for the skills and
performance. This may mean shifting workload so that HR can truly
be a change partner, coach the organization and through this, drive
successful change.
But only HR has the overall insight into the people, teams and
organizational performance that gives them a vantage point that is
unique within the organization. If HR is up to the challenge and is
aligned and relevant, they are in the best position to lead organizational
change and the whole organization becomes better. If CEO’s need to
bring in outside expertise to do the work HR should be doing, then
the question needs to be asked “Why do I need HR?” S&P
Originally published in http://attheintersectionblog.com/
Carol Anderson is a Principal with Anderson Performance Partners a boutique
consulting firm with the mission of helping the HR profession be as valuable
= to their clients as possible, intersecting performance and learning to actually
drive organizational results. She has held HR leadership roles in health care,
financial services, retail and the military. Most recently she served as Chief
Learning Officer for a large health care system in Central Florida, with respon-
sibility for talent development, leadership, professional and clinical education
and team member engagement.
Email carol@andersonperformancepartners.com
Visit www.andersonperformancepartners.com
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015
Why Great Strategies Fall Short?
A few reasons
By Charlotte Ntreh
Do you ever wonder why great strategies fall short?
Here are a few reasons why great isn’t good enough.
1. Great strategies are a starting point. They are like a fresh
ball of clay formed into its initial shape. Shiny, new, fragrant,
clean. But it’s just that – a starting point for future twist, turns
and ready to be shaped over and over. If left in its current shape,
it will become brittle and useless.
2. Great is relative. Its worth is measured by one’s mind at a
point in time. What’s great today may be mediocre tomorrow.
Strategy is mobile, ever changing, continually seeking the next
addition. Never quite making it to doneness. Given the speed of
change, strategies must be fluid and constantly seeking a greater
level of performance.
3. A great strategy alone doesn’t equal success. Successful
strategies take into account many things including resources,
challenges, execution, decisions and drivers. Forward thinking,
continual planning and future actions will adjust and reshape
your strategy.
4. Great is overrated. How many times a day do you use the
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015
word great? “Have a great day,” “Great, let’s meet at 12:00,”
“Great job, Johnny,” “I had a great time.” The truth is that we’ve
marginalized greatness. Great no longer really means great in
day-to-day vernacular.
So, the next time you’re creating a strategy, don’t create just
a great strategy. Create an effective, efficient, executable, mea-
surable and adjustable strategy that moves and grows with your
business.
Let me know how it goes and have a GREAT day! S&P
This article was originally published in http://www.people-results.com
Charlotte Ntreh is a Partner at PeopleResults where she helps clients build
and sustain high performing, impactful and effective organizations with
measurable results.
Visit cntreh@people-results.com
Follow @cntreh
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
Submit your Articles 17

The HR Giant Within
The time has come!
By Lisa Milani
For over 20 years, CFOs have allocated budget dollars to
optimize the material supply chain. The Law of Diminishing
Returns is kicking in. As a result, it’s time to look to other
LOBs to optimize and gain efficiencies. For some organizations,
Human Resource departments are undergoing a change that
will completely transform the professional world. The time has
come for HR to become the giant within the organization and
take its seat at the table.
While the cost of labor differs from industry to industry, it can
account for an average of 20-40% of the organization’s expenses.
Modern HR understands how crucial it is to place the data and
tools in the hands of managers and employees, to greatly reduce
the expense of the organization.
Modern businesses are increasingly moving their data onto
the cloud, while setting up access to it through mobile devices
and streamlining their procedures into their employee’s daily
activities. As they move onto the cloud, they gain a consolidated
view of their workforce from recruitment to retirement. They
have the tools to transform their entire business and find the
best use for every employee.
Companies that are slow to move to modern HR will con-
tinue to address the same challenges every year. To illustrate,
18 Submit your Articles
FEATURE
the average application is twenty years old. Many organizations
are forced to function on technology that was created before
mobile, social media, search engines and the cloud. Moreover,
75% of those applications are fundamentally customized such
that their owners no longer recognize the antiquated technology.
Sadly, the companies that are tethered to these applications are
watching their IT budgets become drained year after year to
maintain them. They throw good money after bad.
CHRO’s must constantly execute and plan initiatives that
support all LOBs. The HR organization plays a vital role in the
success of the enterprises they serve. HR’s role in the company’s
success is more important than ever as the U.S. economy con-
tinues to grow. S&P
Lisa Milani is an HCM Consultant with Oracle. She works directly with
some of world’s most successful organizations to streamline processes and
make critical decisions to promote growth.
Email lisa.milani@oracle.com
Connect Lisa Milani
Follow @lmilani_HCM
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015
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Has Your Career Jumped The Shark?
Five obstacles to career advancement
By Tom Sims
Y ou may be too young to have watched new episodes of careers on track. The five obstacles to career advancement are:
the sitcom Happy Days but you may be familiar with the phrase
“jumped the shark” that emanated from this nostalgic 1970s
series. The program received enthusiastic support from its audi-
ence during its first few years, but over time viewer interest waned
due to a lack of creativity in keeping the series fresh and relevant
with the ever-changing tastes of viewers. Out of desperation,
the writers created the fateful episode featuring “the Fonze” (the
leather jacketed motorcycle riding co-star) jumping a live shark
while water skiing wearing his, you guessed it, leather jacket.
From this point it was all downhill for the series and hence the
phrase which became a metaphor for something that has peaked.
Having known and worked with scores of human resources
professionals over the years I have seen many careers jump the
metaphorical shark. These careers often began with high expec-
tations buoyed by advancement through the various HR chairs
only to end up stalled. The move from individual contributor
to manager, and manager to executive, are frequent career shark
jumpers. So how does one avoid the shark? By mastering the
five occupational obstacles discussed here, HR professionals
(and most professionals), will be better prepared to keep their
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015
• Not understanding the business (whether for-profit, non-
profit, or government)
• Not developing internal champions
• Not having a mentor
• Not embracing lifelong learning
• Not thinking and acting strategically
The Business: HR professionals often portray themselves as
“internal consultants” to the organization. This characterization
of the role often leaves the impression that the human resources
professional is an omniscient outside expert rather than in integral
business partner with “skin in the game.” In order to gain the
trust and credibility of decision-makers, HR professionals must
be perceived as insiders who understand the business, talk its
language, and offer solutions that solve real business problems.
Understanding the business begins with a solid comprehension
of the organization’s critical success factors (CSFs) that, simply
stated, are those organizational attributes and outcomes that are
most vital to overall enterprise success. By understanding these
drivers of success the HR function is able to offer solutions that
are focused on those aspects of the business that create the most
Submit your Articles 20
 Has Your Career Jumped The Shark?
value for stakeholders.
Some examples of CSFs are speed to market, product inno-
vation, lowest cost, best-in-class technology, and others that,
when actuated, help ensure the viability and sustainability of
the organization. So, for example, if the company’s success relies
on high sales volume due to commoditized low margins, the
focus of human resources initiatives should be on programs,
processes, and practices that help build a highly effective sales
and marketing function while keeping fixed overhead as low as
practicable. This might include reinventing the talent acquisition
process for assessing and selecting sales and marketing personnel,
implementing training in strategic selling concepts, designing
compensation systems with more pay at risk, streamlining the
organization to eliminate excess layers of management, etc.
Internal Champions: Developing highly effective working
relationships with the organization’s thought leaders is an es-
sential element in increasing one’s influence and value. Thought
leaders, as used in this context, can be found almost anywhere in
the organization. They can be senior leaders, middle managers,
technical experts, top salespeople, or administrative assistants.
A thought leader is one who has influence within the organiza-
tion due to position, expertise, longevity (e.g. organizational
history), or simply respect by decision-makers.
Forging working alliances with these individuals is important
for two reasons. First, these associations offer valuable insight
into perceived organizational problems and needs thereby allow-
ing the HR professional to develop results-oriented programs
and processes that address these important issues. Second, when
seeking support for new initiatives, having thought leaders in
one’s camp can be the difference between approval and rejec-
tion. Going it alone is rarely successful when substantial change
is required.
Mentors: When you ask most successful HR leaders what was
most important in their career journey you will likely hear about
a revered mentor who made a difference in their vocational tra-
jectory. A mentor serves as a guide for navigating the personal,
professional, and political waters of organizational life. Mentors
are typically found in one of two ways. Some organizations,
unfortunately few, have formal mentorship programs whereby
perceived high potential employees are assigned a mentor. Often,
however, the pairing of mentor and mentee is far less formal
as the relationship simply forms organically with no charter or
rules. These associations are based primarily on mutual respect
between the parties with the tacit understanding that there is
wisdom and knowledge to be imparted/accepted.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the value of mentoring.
So if one’s organization does not have a mentoring program
prospective mentees need to take the initiative to approach
someone whom they believe can be a valuable confidant and
advisor. This can be someone within the organization who has
a track record of success in both producing results and main-
taining effective working relationships with others, or it can be
someone outside the organization with similar attributes. Once
the relationship is established, regardless of who or how, it is
the mentee’s responsibility to be available, open, honest, and
willing – no, desiring - to grow, in order to receive full benefit
from the association.
21 Submit your Articles
Lifelong Learning: The old cliché “The only constant in
business is change” is particularly relevant to shark jumping.
Organizations evolve, leadership changes, customers are fickle,
and technology advances exponentially. All professionals, and
especially human resources professionals, must continually stay
abreast of changes in their organizations, their professions, their
customers (internal and external), and the world around them
to remain relevant and contemporary. Plateaus begin where
learning ends.
Participating (not simply attending meetings) in professional
organizations such as SHRM, HRPS, and others is a minimum.
Certifications such as the PHR, SPHR, CEBS, GMS and others
are good ways to learn and demonstrate one’s commitment to the
profession, but post-graduate courses should also be considered as
these can add greater analytical and strategic depth for thinking
beyond organizational “symptoms” to the examination of root
causes which is where problems are truly solved. Only through
such depth of understanding can appropriate evidence-based
practices be developed for the learner’s organization.
Strategic Thinking: The ability to think strategically is perhaps
the most important of the five career obstacles. Understanding
the business, partnering with thought leaders, having a mentor,
and continual learning provide the foundation for strategic think-
ing. HR careers are advanced when management perceives the
HR professional to be an “engineer” rather than a “mechanic.”
Of course the human resources function must certainly provide
the basic mechanical functions of legal compliance, applicant
tracking, HR policies, accurate and confidential record keeping,
employee processing, benefits administration, etc., but it is the
value-adding programs and processes that afford the human
resources function a “seat at the table.”
Although “alignment” has become an over-used word today,
it remains a critical element of strategy. As examples, com-
pensation programs that are heavy on base or guaranteed pay
versus at-risk remuneration may not be well aligned in start-up
organizations. Training programs focused primarily on techni-
cal skills at the expense of managerial and leadership skills may
not be aligned within traditional organizations having multiple
layers of management. Onboarding programs that spend most
of new employees’ time on “how to” issues versus “why” issues
may not be aligned with organizations that have a strong culture
based upon a history of exceptionalism and success. Again, a
good knowledge of the organization, its CSFs, its history, and
its culture provide a solid underpinning for talent management
strategic alignment.
If the shark is in sight with your career, avoid it by increasing
your influence within the organization by addressing these five
career obstacles. Safe skiing! S&P
Tom Sims, M.S. has over 40 years of experience in senior human resources
and organization development roles in public, private, and government
organizations. He is the author of E-Mails from Dad: A Contemporary Guide to
Managing Today’s Workforce and has written numerous articles on management
and leadership for US and UK publications.
Visit www.YourHRCoach.com
Email tomasims@comcast.net
Connect Tom Sims
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.
HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials presented by HR.com | 04.2015
Skills Gap
Innovation, the key to attracting young workers
By Tom Turpin

We’ve all heard about the skills gap across Canada – boomers port & Logistics sector, followed by Engineering, Construction
are retiring and there aren’t enough qualified workers to fill their and Manufacturing.
roles. It all paints a pretty dismal picture for Canada’s economy. In-demand sectors as identified by job seekers:
According to a recent Randstad study though, it seems that 1. Transport & Logistics (44%)
young Canadians are getting the message. There is a wealth of 2. Engineering & Construction (41%)
opportunity for career building within the various skilled trade 3. High Tech Manufacturing (39%)
sectors across the country, and people are taking notice. 4. Industry & Manufacturing (36%)
5. Raw Materials (36%)
6. Motor Vehicle & Parts (34%)

“ Companies like Pratt & Whitney, IBM Canada Limited, and

Bombardier that have built reputations around the newest,
7. Energy (32%)
These numbers may seem surprising, but they point to good
news when it comes to shrinking the skills gap and strengthening
Canada’s economy. There’s still work to be done at the founda-
best or most efficient technologies get a ringing endorse- tional level, though. When it comes to skilled trades, a shift in
ment from Canadian employees, who this year rank these thinking needs to be made in schools and at home that the blue
collar jobs of today are the while collar jobs of tomorrow. The
and other innovators in the top 20 companies Canadians appetite is there among our youth – let’s feed it.
want to work for. A new generation of workers requires a new approach to re-
cruiting. The recent Randstad study reveal that Facebook has
topped LinkedIn as the preferred social channel for Canadian
What’s drawing them in could be the opportunity for explora- job seekers. Are you ready? S&P
tion, creation and experimentation within so-called traditional
fields. Many of today’s job seekers have grown up in a high-tech,
dynamic era where the first and fastest to market are rewarded.
We believe that innovation – and the chance to work within
a team of innovators – is appealing to Canadian workers. Job
seekers who responded to our Employer Branding Study say they
are increasingly attracted to companies who require engineers,
computer scientists, data architects and other highly skilled,
technical professionals.
Companies like Pratt & Whitney, IBM Canada Limited, and
Bombardier that have built reputations around the newest, best
or most efficient technologies get a ringing endorsement from
Canadian employees, who this year rank these and other in-

Click here for a high resolution image

“ When it comes to skilled trades, a shift in thinking needs to

Tom Turpin is President of Randstad Canada, the country’s largest staffing,
recruitment and HR services provider.
Connect Tom Turpin
be made in schools and at home that the blue collar jobs of Visit http://www.randstad.ca/

today are the while collar jobs of tomorrow. The appetite is

there among our youth – let’s feed it.
Would like to Comment? Please Click Here.

novators in the top 20 companies Canadians want to work for.

A positive sign for the skills gap
This is an important consideration in terms of addressing
Canada’s looming skills gap. The survey numbers show that
nearly 44% of Generation Y are seeking out jobs in the Trans-

HR Strategy and Planning Excellence presented by HR.com | 04.2015 Submit your Articles 22
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