Like meat and potatoes on the dinner table, a shift schedule template is considered one of the basic tools of workforce management.
Indeed, shift schedules are crucial to the smooth operation of workforce management. A single, uniform system allows employers to manage their workforce and standardize operations more easily and save money through simplified, consistent administration that allows the organization to focus on its core business.
Rather than managing schedules on paper, which can be inefficient and potentially risky when trying to balance overtime, paid time off and compliance regulations, viewtime and attendance and scheduling through a strategic lens.
A template for all needs
Finding a shift schedule template that fits an organization’s needs may not be as daunting as it seems. Most exist in Microsoft Word and Excel formats as well as in Google docs and Google sheets.
Some are detailed to include the week, day and times of day while others are largely blank. The templates are adaptable to adjust the days of the week among other details.
There are varying styles of shift schedule templates. Among the most-used, according tolabor management company 7shifts, include:
Fixed shift schedule — Fixed shifts consist of staff working the same number of hours and days each week.
Split shift schedule — Employees agree to fill their work hours over two shifts or time slots in a day. Work with HR or legal counsel to maintain federal labor law compliance.
Overtime shift schedules — These can be costly but are often necessary during emergencies and busy times. Again, recognize labor law compliance.
On-call shifts — An employee is available to work on demand, at any time. For example, if someone misses a fixed shift due to a family emergency, the employee in waiting will be contacted to take this shift.
Benefits of flexible shift options
It’s compulsory for organizations with hourly staffing needs to use shift scheduling tools. But with work from home becoming the norm, more companies are engaging employees through flexible shift schedules.
Implement a plan, keep in constant communication with those who are remote, and then evaluate its success.
A shift scheduling template keeps all employees — in person or remote — on the same page. A work schedule calendar also assures that no shifts will be missed.
Why innovate what already works?
Some people are perfectly fine with meat and potatoes every night for dinner. By the same token, some organizations are content with pen and paper to schedule employees.
Technology-based employee scheduling software not only offers the steak and spuds, it provides a tantalizing appetizer, a warm loaf of bread, a scrumptious side of veggies and to-die-for dessert, too.
Rather than spending hours slaving over a hot stove — er, spreadsheet — managers can build schedules on the go and immediately post for all employees to access.
Managers also understand that employee schedules can no longer be based solely on business demand. Schedules need to reflect employee preferences. Intuitive software can inform the organization when an employee is available and how many hours that person wants to work each week.
This also empowers employees to communicate with managers regarding time off orco-workers who may want to swap shifts. There is shared value for both sides. And if employee engagement is a goal, employers can build schedules that are more predictable, consistent and adequate so employees can better plan their lives and budgets and reduce use of sick days and shift trading.
If you have a large hourly workforce, Workforce.com is here to help. Its comprehensivetime-keeping andscheduling softwarecan handle complex business demands and allow the organization to view the big picture while empowering employees and maintaining compliance.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which is as good a time as any to bring up an issue that has been weighing heavily on my mind — the looming mental health crisis that our employees are facing and will continue to face in a world and workplace changed by coronavirus.
Coronavirus has altered all of our lives, and all employees are dealing with stress, anxiety, and isolation.
Social distance has robbed us of the human contact we need from our family and friends, and work-from-home of the connections with our co-workers.
Some have fallen ill with coronavirus. Most of us know someone who has. And sadly there are those of us who have dealt with the loss, unable to properly grieve because of social distancing rules.
We’ve all missed celebrating milestones such as graduations, birthdays and weddings.
Many of us have dealt with the stress of layoffs, furloughs, lost income or closed businesses, and the stress that flows from figuring out how to pay the bills and feed our families.
Parents are balancing the new job of homeschooling (or at least assistant homeschooling) their kids with the old job of their actual paying job.
We’ve all lived with the everyday stress of just stepping out into the world. The simple task of grocery shopping has transformed into a life-and-death game of six-foot distance, anti-bacterial wipes and face coverings. Even the simplest of daily tasks such as walking the dog has transformed into a game of social distancing chicken — who is going to move off the sidewalk first.
And when society starts to return to some semblance of normal, some of your employees will return to work with mental health issues of varying degrees caused by all of this stress, change and loss. Some will be dealing with the exacerbation of pre-existing mental health issues, and some will have what I am calling coronavirus PTSD.
The easy part is understanding that coronavirus has caused these mental health issues. The harder part is figuring out what we as employers can do and should do to help employees identify and manage these serious issues.
For starters, Ohio has created a free COVID Careline for people to talk to someone about their concerns. It’s available 24/7 at 1-800-720-9616.
Other than letting employees know about this state-provided resource, what else can employers do to help ensure that employees have the support and resources they need now and in the future? I have five suggestions.
1. Check the benefits available to your employees. Do you have an Employee Assistance Plan and are its mental health and counseling services are up to date? Are your health insurance plan’s mental health benefits easy to access and affordable?
2. Revisit paid-time-off policies and consider providing employees the time they need to take care of themselves and their families. And understand that everyone’s situation at home is different. Some only have themselves to worry about, while others have children to tend to during the workday. None of this is ideal, but for some, it’s less ideal than for others, depending on how much non-work responsibilities are on one’s plate.
3. Consider holding town hall or all-employee meetings that focus on mental health awareness. If senior leadership encourages education and communication around mental health issues, your employees will be more likely to access care if and when they need it.
4. Just because many are working remotely does not mean that employees have to be separated. You can use technology to foster togetherness and a sense of community. Virtual get-togethers, mindfulness breaks and online team-building events all help ease the sense of aloneness and isolation that many are feeling.
5. Small gestures of kindness can go a long way. An extra day paid day off, a gift certificate for takeout meals or grocery deliveries, or a surprise delivery of a midday snack can help employees feel appreciated and connected instead of overwhelmed and stressed.
A business is only as strong (or as weak) as its employees. Those that are considerate, flexible and kind will be in the best position to come out of this on the other side with as vibrant a workforce as possible.
LAZ Parking has a corporate history straight out of a Netflix mini-series. And it’s shaped the company’s culture and values ever since.
In the summer of 1981, Alan Lazowski was an aspiring college student trying to earn a little cash before his senior year at the University of Connecticut. Instead of looking for a job, he borrowed money from his grandfather and started a parking valet service for a local restaurant in Hartford, Connecticut. By summer’s end, he and two of his friends were managing five parking locations and had 30 employees.
Nearly 40 years later, Lazowski and his co-founders, Jeffrey Karp and Michael Harth, have grown that summer business into the second largest parking company in the country. LAZ Parking now has more than 13,000 employees and $1.4 billion in annual managed revenues, and operates more than a million parking spaces.
The founders attribute their success story in large part to their long standing goal: “Create opportunities for employees and value for clients.”
Luis Henriques, general manager, LAZ Parking
That mission isn’t just a sign on the wall. Leaders across the company genuinely care about everyone on the team, from part-time valets to senior executives. They treat hourly workers like they will be with the company forever, said Luis Henriques, general manager for LAZ in Hartford. “Creating opportunities for employees is our secret sauce.”
Henriques knows from experience. He started at LAZ in 1989 as a teen-ager parking cars on weekends. His vice president recognized his dedication, and when Henriques completed his associate’s degree the company offered him a night management position overseeing 100 employees. Today he is responsible for 20 managers and more than 850 employees.
“I grew up in this company,” he said. “It is my family.”
LAZ leaders know that valet and parking attendant jobs aren’t glamorous, and that most employees see these jobs as a temporary measure to earn some quick cash. But the company is doing everything it can to encourage them to stick around, said Andi Campbell, senior vice president of people and culture.
Campbell was hired in 2012 as director of talent with the primary goal to “fill the talent pipeline.” Soon after she moved into the people and culture role because LAZ leaders recognized that finding and keeping talent is all about the company culture.
Everyone Deserves a Second Chance
The emphasis on creating opportunities for employees is seen everywhere at LAZ, beginning with recruiting.
“We are laser-focused on using data and KPIs to be sure we are getting people where we need them, and getting them into development,” Campbell said. “To grow as fast as we are growing, we have to find really good people, which isn’t always easy.”
The company hosts national job fairs in 20 cities twice a year and actively recruits everyone from college students to recent parolees.
“We are very big on second chances here,” said Henriques. He noted that while many companies won’t give previously incarcerated people an opportunity, LAZ believes these candidates can be great assets to the company. “They paid the price for what they did, and our experiences with them have all been positive.”
Once hired, employees are immersed in company culture from day one, so people know right away that the job can be more than just a temporary gig.
The LAZ onboarding process includes a variety of events, including Get Connected, a lunch and learn where employees meet with local, regional and national managers to talk about the company and opportunities beyond the front line.
“Our CEO always says that leaders are the ambassadors of the company,” Henriques said. “You have to take time every day to listen to your people. That’s what makes us different.”
Andi Campbell, SVP People & Culture, LAZ Parking
The company is also quick to celebrate its employees. Managers hand out Rave Cards that acknowledge employees who do excellent work, and the company throws elaborate end of the year parties for front line workers.
“Recognition is a big part of motivation,” Henriques said. “It’s how we say thank you to our staff.”
It Starts With Management
Campbell also makes sure that managers have the training and guidance to promote the company’s values in every employee interaction. This is key to the company’s engagement strategy.
“If you want to improve employee well-being, or safety, or engagement, it all comes down to how managers manage their people,” Campbell said. “Front-line workers don’t know the VPs, but they do know and trust their managers, so the key to change is at that mid-level.”
Whenever the company wants to address a corporate issue or encourage a certain behavior, it starts with manager training. Campbell has launched a series of learning programs over the years that align with corporate strategy, including how to meet the needs of front-line workers, how to prevent safety issues, and how to identify and promote high performers. Along with core workshops or live training events, she also provides frequent communications with management tips, access to coaching clinics, and a catalog of online training that managers can access any time. “When you teach people how to lead teams on the ground, that’s how you move the needle.”
One of the most successful efforts has been around teaching managers to be effective coaches, mentors and advocates for their people. Managers like Henriques are taught to always be on the lookout for passionate employees who might be LAZ management material.
When they identify these high performers, they can nominate them to attend LAZ University, an 10-week business management program that prepares aspiring hourly workers for management roles. Attending the training is considered an honor, and it draws attention to the company’s commitment to growth — both for employees selected for training, and those who see them move up the ranks, Henriques said.
Local and regional managers are also encouraged to suggest employees for management roles where positions open up. Henriques has promoted five people in the last nine years. “Their co-workers see that and recognize the opportunities are there.”
Hugs Not Handshakes
All of these values have been part of LAZ from the beginning, and are constantly reinforced by Lazowski himself. “He really cares about people,” said Tina Cyr, accounts payable director. Lazowski takes the time to learn everyone’s name, and is always available for a chat or a hug. “We are big huggers around here,” Cyr said.
Tina Cyr, accounts payable manager, LAZ Parking
Cyr was initially surprised by the warmth she felt after coming to LAZ from a much more corporate environment, but she quickly embraced it. “There is something really special about a genuine family culture,” she said. “It really feels like they put people before profits.”
While the company may have a touchy-feely approach to engagement, they also keep a close eye on results. Campbell tracks data on every program she initiates, and sets key performance indicators to measure success.
That helps her prove the impact of her programs, and to tie culture investments to bottom-line results. Most recently, efforts to improve safety and wellness have helped the company reduce its per employee per month healthcare claim costs, despite being in a rapid hiring phase.
“We see wellness as a huge opportunity for LAZ,” she said. It lowers costs, reduces absenteeism, and reinforces the company’s commitment to employee wellbeing.
The company has also seen engagement numbers steadily rise, and its turnover has dropped below 17 percent for salaried employees, and 70 percent for hourly workers.
“For the hospitality industry, those numbers are amazing,” Campbell said.
LAZ may have a unique culture and history, but Campbell believes that it can be replicated. The key is to make culture part of everyone’s responsibility, she said. Whether a company is trying to figure out how to improve retention, promote wellness, or drive bottom line results, when leaders factor employee needs into their business decisions, they make choices that allow a positive corporate culture to blossom.
“It sounds simple,” she said, “but that’s how we connect culture to everything we do.”
We recognize that scheduling employees in an uncertain economic environment presents many challenges. See the big picture and make more accurate, data-driven scheduling decisions in just a few clicks with our comprehensive scheduling software. Check it out and our Workforce Success team will provide a personal, online walkthrough of our scheduling platform.
From establishing clear expectations, setting a bigger purpose, building company culture down to fostering accountability, communication will always be at the core . Clearly messaged, trusted communication can either make or break operations and enhance employee engagement.
A study by The Economist Intelligence Unit shows how poor workplace communication is detrimental to an organization. Survey respondents say that communication barriers result in delay or failure to complete projects (44 percent), low morale (31 percent), missed performance goals (25 percent), and lost sales (18 percent). And it can be worse when a crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic hits.
Clear communication is crucial to stability
Effective communication becomes even more critical during times of crisis and uncertainty.
Workforces globally are facing a massive challenge to their business operations with the COVID-19 pandemic. It has prompted businesses to take drastic measures to ensure the safety of staff and customers alike. Depending on the nature of the business, some have ceased operations or function under a skeleton workforce and limited hours, while other organizations have implemented work from home arrangements.
Effective communication can still bind your team together.
Given the shifting workplace situation, effective workforce communications are more critical than ever. A crisis, whether a natural disaster, a corporate meltdown or the outbreak of a disease affects employee morale. Effective communication can still bind your team together even during times of uncertainty. Leaders need to do their part to address issues promptly and clearly.
It’s also important to note that social media and online platforms can turn employees into de facto spokespeople for your organization. Whatever they share on their platforms about working for your company will reflect how you communicate with them. Those communications — or lack of a clear, consistent message — can result in a better brand image or sprout into a new crisis.
So how can leaders effectively address their staff during a challenging time?
Act fast
When a crisis strikes, it’s essential to address employees as soon as possible.
Leaders might not have answers to some of their questions right away. In the case of rapidly developing situations, like the COVID-19 pandemic, this is understandable. But it’s crucial to let employees know that you are looking into the issue and finding solutions to their concerns. What matters is to give them the assurance that the organization is aware of the situation and that the welfare of staff is a priority.
Solidify the message
Consistent messaging is key. While different roles have different concerns, it’s essential to keep the overall message continuous and consistent.
Address all of their concerns and frequently asked questions. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the questions will revolve around remote work, schedule changes, payment arrangements, leave management and other operational issues.
How you relay the message is equally important as how it is crafted.
Empathy is important during a crisis, but what if face-to-face communication is no longer possible?
Video conferencing or a recorded video message are viable options, but how do you let staff know about it? Email is a common communication channel for organizations, but it’s best to diversify delivery channels when the situation is urgent. In a 2019 survey by text-messaging platform SlickText of over 1,000 employees across the United States, 43 percent of respondents say that timely notifications and emergency alerts are best sent through SMS and not email. Chat platforms also are useful in this case as they can quickly disseminate information and concisely. Employees are likely to open chat platforms frequently, too.
Keep the feedback loop open
Effective communication to staff goes beyond issuing announcements or bulletins. It’s about keeping communication lines open and soliciting feedback.
During a crisis, it’s imperative to open channels for discussions and to raise questions. Chat applications are suitable not just for discussing in groups but in one-on-one correspondence as well. It’s more immediate than email too and helps pass information more quickly.
A good communication process is vital for any organization. It’s important to equip a workforce with different ways to stay connected.
Thanks to technology, employers and staff can still stay connected. But a more effective approach is to keep all necessary communication in one place. A workforce management system provides crucial features to stay on top of operations and team communications.
For Workforce.com users there are features on our platform available to keep communication lines open during this difficult time. Chat with your staff, schedule according to operational changes, manage leave, clock in and out remotely, and communicate changes through custom events, among other things.
COVID-19 is rapidly changing how businesses operate. We recognize that organizations need an extra helping hand right now. So we’re offering our platform for free to new sign-ups over the coming months. Sign up today and our Workforce Success team will gladly provide a personal, online walkthrough of our platform to help you get started.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act direction is this guidance:
Pay to Non-Exempt Employees During Business Closures. Under the FLSA, employers are obligated to pay non-exempt employees only for the hours worked, not hours the employee otherwise would have worked if the employer’s business had not closed. If telecommuting or working from home is provided as a reasonable accommodation, the employer must pay non-exempt workers the minimum wage, and at least time and one half the regular rate of pay for overtime hours, for hours telecommuting or working from home. For more information on this topic, please see our previous post on employers’ considerations in response to coronavirus (available here).
Kate Bischoff, a Minneapolis-based employment attorney and HR consultant, suggested that employers first must decide what positions are crucial to maintaining operations.
“Then, there’s really no good way to go about it,” Bischoff said. “Fairness would dictate that you furlough/lay off the part-timers first, then the least senior, but there’s no good way.”
Other considerations include what to do about volunteers, she added, and those who may be in the high-risk groups (over 60 or with pre-existing conditions).
“But make sure there isn’t a disparate impact on any protected group more than others, like married people, minorities and women. We’re in uncharted waters,” Bischoff said.
According to a spokeswoman for Portland, Oregon-based Think HR, employers and managers may offer paid time off to those employees who are unable to work due to a decrease in business, and they may select whom to offer this PTO to based on seniority, full-time status, employee classification, or job type.
“There are no hard and fast rules for deciding what groups to include or where to draw the line on tenure,” she said. “Employers, however, should take care not to violate (or appear to violate) anti-discrimination law, and they may want to consider how their decision will affect employee morale presently and in the future. Employers should also keep in mind that pay requirements may change as new laws are passed in response to the pandemic.”
Insurance and risk-management consultancy Gallagher just released its guidance onCoronavirus Pandemic Preparedness that includes five steps to minimize business disruption and safeguard employees.
“As pandemics spread it is important now, more than ever, to have an actionable business plan in place to help guide your employees and your business through the uncertainty of pandemics,” the report states.
Cleanliness is a given.
If employees must clock in at the workplace,keep thekeyboard or time clock as clean as possible.
Employers working with Chicago-based employment law attorney William R. Pokorny are taking a variety of different approaches.
“Those that have some amount of paid time off or paid sick leave, either employer-based or as required by state and local paid sick leave laws, are for now having people use their available leave,” Pokorny said. “Some are extending additional leave — for example, 14 days — specific to the coronavirus situation. The leave is generally paid out based on the employee’s regularly scheduled work hours, so someone who usually works 20 hours in a week would get 20 hours of sick leave for a week. It varies widely by employer.”
Bischoff added that even employers trying to do the right thing for their hourly workers may not be doing enough.
“Trying to do the right thing is hard at this point,” she said. “Employers need to do what they can for their people.”
Rachel Druckenmiller, founder and chief executive officer of Unmuted, started her HR and leadership journey long before receiving the Game Changer award in 2019. In this Q&A, Druckenmiller tells Workforce what she has learned along the way, and gives advice regarding how to keep pushing forward in the face of change.
Workforce: How have you grown professionally over the course of your career?
Rachel Druckenmiller: I’ve learned how to discover and use my strengths. I have pursued learning and development opportunities every year, whether it’s reading a book, attending a conference or training, taking an assessment, or learning from teachers, coaches and mentors. I’ve pursued what my dad calls “interest-driven work.” I became a health coach in the midst of dealing with my own health challenges. I went back to school to study my field more intensely and earned a master’s degree in health science in my late 20s. I have completed trainings and certifications in the area of workplace culture, well-being and professional speaking. I’ve worked with mindset, performance, improv, writing and vocal coaches who have helped me show up more fully and boldly.
Just over a year ago, I started to more intentionally pursue training that would ultimately give me the confidence to start my own business as a professional speaker and trainer. I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had to grow and learn and will continue to pursue growth by challenging myself and immersing myself in new ways of thinking.
WF: How has your career changed?
Druckenmiller: I started at a small company as an intern in 2003 and transitioned to full-time in 2007. It was there that I had the freedom to become an intrapreneur, someone who has many of the traits of an entrepreneur but does so within a company and with a stable paycheck and benefits. I started primarily as a consultant working for an employee benefits consulting firm. I’ve morphed into a thought leader in the field of well-being and a speaker who is focused on humanizing the workplace. Last year, I made the decision to follow in my parents’ entrepreneurial footsteps and launch my own company as a speaker and trainer. I’ve never felt more fulfilled or free. It’s been wonderful.
WF:What are some of the changes you’ve seen in HR over the past few years?
Druckenmiller: I’ve been encouraged to see the trends toward humanizing the workplace and putting people first. For a while, it seemed that policies, procedures and perks were what mattered most, but much of that was surface-focused. HR was tasked with “fixing” workplace culture, but we’ve now come to realize that it’s not just HR’s responsibility, it’s everyone’s responsibility to shape the culture of their organization. HR recognizes that having a great culture goes beyond the perks like ping pong tables and rock-climbing walls and is really more about how we can make people feel seen, heard and valued.
I’m seeing more of a focus on creating memorable and meaningful experiences from employees throughout the employee life cycle. Whether they’re using scavenger hunts as part of the onboarding or team building process or incorporating more pulse surveys to gather ongoing feedback, there is more intentionality than ever before. HR is committed to fostering connection, especially among dispersed workforces. Using video conferencing technology allows remote workers to feel more connected and to see their colleagues.
I’m seeing HR become more integrated into the strategic discussions within their organization instead of being viewed as “the people police” in their own little silo. They’re being incorporated into more learning and development conversations and strategies, as companies embrace more customized, micro-learning approaches. They’re often the ones bringing attention to the importance of upskilling in the area of emotional intelligence, something that is lacking among many leaders today. The strategies progressive HR leaders are putting in place are helping organizations brand themselves as best places to work and employers of choice.
In the field of well-being, which has been an increasingly important aspect of HR strategy, there has been a shift. The focus is on the value of investment and genuinely caring for people’s well-being instead of just focusing on the immediate financial return on investment. I’m grateful to see that shift. I’m also encouraged that HR and other business leaders are embracing a whole person approach to well-being, one that incorporates financial, career, social-emotional, community and physical health components. The increasing focus on mental health, humanized parental leave policies, flexible work schedules and sabbaticals is exciting. It’s been a long time coming for us to truly put people first and to make decisions that will benefit all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Employees expect employers to care, and HR realizes that and sees the need to respond.
WF: What advice would you tell yourself five years ago?
Rachel Druckenmiller, founder and CEO of Unmuted
Druckenmiller: Keep showing up. Sometimes we show up and don’t know that anyone is noticing what we’re doing, whether that’s speaking up in a meeting, creating and sharing content or coming up with new ideas. We don’t always see the immediate impact of our contributions, but the key is to be consistent. Keep showing up, even when you don’t feel like it.
Trust yourself and trust the timing of your life. You have committed to years of training and development and honing your skills. You have an important message to share, and if you keep sharing it from a genuine place sharing with the intention of serving others versus serving your ego, it will pay off. Everything will unfold in its proper time. What is meant for you will not miss you.
You will gain confidence as you continue to do your work. Do the inner work, do the relational work, be open to feedback and be open to changing what’s not working. Doing the hard work builds strength and will help you sustain yourself when things are hard.
Spend more time with those you love. Work is important and it will always be there. There is always more work that you can do. But we can’t replace the moments we miss with the people we love. Go on weekend getaways with your husband and your friends. Have more lunches or dinners with your parents. If you are successful at work but depleted at home, then you are not going to be happy. Invest in relationships.
Ask for help when you need it. You’re not a burden. You’re not weak. You’re not going to be seen as incompetent. You are a human being who has limitations. Open up to people and share your struggles. Let other people help you and support you. Whether it’s seeing a therapist or asking for more support at work or at home, speak up for what you need.
WF: What have you learned over the course of your career in HR?
Druckenmiller: Focus on the good in people. So often, HR professionals can become jaded because they’re often dealing with all of the dysfunctional aspects of a workplace. Remembering why we are in this space — to serve and support people and to create workplaces where people can thrive — can encourage us to keep going and to keep showing up.
Reach out to your peers when you’re struggling or need input or insight. You are not a burden and you deserve as much support as anyone else. You are a helper and giver by nature, but if you constantly pour out from your cup and don’t fill it back up, you won’t be good for yourself or for other people.
WF: What are some things that you value most about your career?
Druckenmiller: I have a platform that gives me the ability to use my voice to speak up, speak out and spark transformation at work that carries over to our lives at home. As a speaker and trainer, I’m finding that my messages around humanizing the workplace, igniting intentional leadership and unmuting our voices are resonating with people in all levels of leadership. It’s an exciting time to be in a field that celebrates and elevates the human side of work. As one of the founding members of the Baltimore Chapter of HackingHR and as a member of the online community Humans First, I’m encouraged to see all the good that is happening around the world as HR and well-being continue to evolve.
Nate Thompson, vice president of strategy and innovation at OppenheimerFunds, said that in order to be successful in the HR industry, letting go of traditional approaches and learning how to adapt to change is a must. In this Q&A, Thompson reflects back on his journey through HR while highlighting his accomplishments and the most important lessons that he’s learned along the way.
Workforce: How have you grown professionally over the course of your career?
Nate Thompson: The biggest theme in my career has been reinvention. I pay close attention to disruptive trends, external and internal, and try to stay ahead of the game. This approach naturally helps me expand beyond a single function or discipline, such as HR. By bridging multiple disciplines — in my case tech, HR and transformation work — I dramatically increase my value as the organization inevitably changes. In my view, ultralearning and versatility are essential in a world that is changing faster than ever before. Whatever you are working on now is going to change dramatically very soon, so we all have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
WF: How has your career changed?
Thompson: Over 20 years ago, I started my career in technology and loved it, but quickly figured out that tech is highly perishable and technologists routinely hit a glass ceiling if they don’t build strong soft skills. That realization led me to leave one of the top tech companies in the country, Qualcomm, to voraciously pursue a suite of skills that are essential to being a strong leader today. After spending a decade in HR and learning and development work, I was uniquely prepared to take that work back into technology, most recently strategy and innovation. It really doesn’t matter how good you are at your specialty if you don’t understand the disruptive forces changing your industry and can’t see or influence the bigger picture. This is why I created and speak on a model called the well-rounded professional to help people evolve beyond being a one-trick pony. Again, when the world and industry are in a state of non-linear change, you can’t take a traditional approach and hope to survive as a professional or as an organization.
WF: What are some of the changes you’ve seen in HR over the past few years?
Thompson: To put it bluntly, traditional HR and traditional learning and development are dead. Today, we need a dynamic, digital and data-driven HR that is deeply aware of the disruptive trends, rapidly experimenting, learning and stepping up to be a strategic thought leader in organizations. This is scary, hard and requires a lot of courage. This is about helping to co-create a new shared strategic narrative, driving the future of work, culture transformation, experimentation, innovation, enabling alignment, engagement and empowerment, reinventing talent programs to enable autonomy, mastery and purpose, moving to real-time immersive cohort-based learning and ultralearning in future skills. That’s why some business leaders don’t want to work with HR and create backdoors. Future leaders in HR are humble enough to release the old idea of control and establish a growth mindset of dynamic strategic partnership with their various business partners. Future leaders in HR are humble enough to release the old idea of control and establish a growth mindset of dynamic strategic partnerships with their various business partners.
Nate Thompson, vice president of strategy and innovation at OppenheimerFunds
Thompson: HR is fighting irrelevance and the path forward has to be a fundamental transformation. This will be deeply inclusive of the future of work and the new technologies reshaping all industries. Technology is amazing and powerful, the most powerful organizations in the world are technology companies. In fact, almost every company is becoming a tech company because tech is the backbone and universal language of business. The most valuable resource in the world is data. But let me be clear, this is not about the shiny penny of technology. People are still the heart and soul of our world, communities and organizations. Culture is still the operating system of our companies and culture is the output of leadership behaviors. This is still deeply about people, leadership and culture transformation. HR has a remarkable opportunity to step out of the shadows, lead this transformation, help their organizations surf the waves of disruption and thrive in the future.
WF: What are some things that you value most about your career?
Thompson: Making a powerful difference in people’s lives. That’s what matters most. Inspiring people and helping them to achieve their potential while co-creating transformation — especially now. Leaders and employees are scared. The future is uncertain. What is next for me? What is next for us? What does it mean to be human now in an increasingly digital and automated world? We are wrestling with huge challenges and the future is undefined. While it is scary, this new era is such a gift. I openly admit that I don’t have all the answers, but I know that if I deeply care about people and create a space where we can authentically and transparently talk about what’s happening, we can come to a shared understanding and vision of the future, lock arms and navigate this new frontier together.
WF: What advice would you tell yourself five years ago?
Thompson: Nate, people are going to say you are crazy, just know you are years ahead of where everything is heading. Go fast and be courageous because when the third decade in the 21st century hits, it will be glaringly obvious how far behind most are and how vital these years will have been in defining your approach to fundamental transformation.
WF: What have you learned over the course of your career in HR?
Thompson: HR leaders and professionals are good people trying to do good things, but the traditional approach has fallen too far behind. It’s time for a reckoning and revolution. There is no time to waste, this conversation of reinventing the function should dominate the HR conversation for the next five years. Let go of old HR dogmas, cut the old waste and irrelevant programs now, look outside for new ideas and spend your time reinventing in alignment with the disruption reshaping your industry and business. If your current HR leaders can’t lead that, you need to hire some inspiring leaders who can — and they might not come from HR.
That was the overarching message that I took away March 3 as I watched the opening keynote on day one of Ultimate Software’s Breakthrough Connections 2020 user conference in the cavernous Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Resort.
Less than two weeks into Ultimate’s merger with workforce management software provider Kronos Inc., the message of positivity was to be expected. And given Ultimate’s deeply ingrained people-first culture, maybe it wasn’t such a big ask of employees to believe in the process.
Moving forward seems the simplest to accomplish. As I tried to put myself in the shoes of an Ultimate employee, I couldn’t help but think, there isn’t much choice but to push ahead. Because try as they might, things will never be the same as they were pre-merger.
I give credit to Ultimate’s Chief Relationship Officer Bill Hicks for addressing the merger head-on during the opening session because frankly, that’s what most attendees wanted to hear about. Hicks, who has been an “Ultipeep” for 16 years, likened the post-merger atmosphere to that “awkward dating stage” when you are trying to figure out where the relationship is going.
I think that crystallized as Hicks, who in years past would have handed the microphone to former Ultimate CEO Scott Scherr or outgoing CEO Adam Rogers, instead introduced Ultimate’s new boss, longtime Kronos CEO Aron Ain, to the Sister Sledge tune “We Are Family.” It probably was asking too much to play George Michael’s “Faith” or Devo’s “Whip It” (with the lyrics “go forward, move ahead”).
Ain’s initial message to the assembled 4,500 combined Ultimate customers and employees preached the move ahead-faith-trust mantra. Ain, who became Kronos’ CEO in 2005, talked about his background, his philosophies and his legacy. “How I want to be remembered is as a great father, husband and friend, not a CEO,” Ain told the crowd. Touching.
Still, there were a couple of moments during Ain’s 20-minute talk to ease his new customers’ angst that gave me cause to pause.
“Your investment is safe. You made the right choice when you chose Ultimate as your partner,” Ain reassured the assembled Ultimate customers. OK, got it.
Then he asked for one favor. “Don’t listen to people calling you up now,” a clear reference to the inevitable phone calls that come in after a merger or acquisition. Of course there will be concerns on the part of customers after their HR software provider merges. If Ultimate did their jobs properly — and it appears that they have — a request to ignore competitors is unnecessary. It seemed a bit perplexing to me, as if he didn’t have the faith and trust in Ultimate’s sales and service teams.
And if we are being honest here, isn’t that what any competitor worth its salt is going to do? I mean, this is business.
Why not put forth your faith in your new team and trust that the relationships built over Ultimate’s 30-year history will endure?
Then Ain took aim at pundits. First, who is a pundit in HR technology? Was he lumping analysts, the HR influencer community, bloggers and business writers into one big melting pot of pundits?
I personally did not see blowback written after the merger’s announcement. Most of the experts and analysts I followed were taking the “wait and see” approach in their comments.
Yet Ain opted to tell us, “Pundits, give me my strategy. … They are not telling you the truth. They have another agenda, and look out for their best interests,” and added, “We will communicate honestly, we will tell you what’s going on. Trust is everything and makes everything else easier.”
He then curiously added, “Don’t read all the propaganda about Kronos.” In the story I wrote about the merger on the day it was announced, I stated, “Considering this is a merger of like organizations, the dreaded ‘duplication of efforts’ specter hangs heavy. Are layoffs, buyouts, rightsizing or downsizing in the future of this new marriage?”
I also pointed out, “With the meshing of cultures, perhaps no department or staff member will be downsized. Maybe they’ll reskill portions of their workforce. … For those of us who have been through a merger or acquisition, the reality is people leave. Some leave voluntarily because it’s not a good fit anymore, or they’re simply laid off. … I hope and pray that the people will retain their jobs and blend into one big, happy, 12,000-employee company with room to grow.”
I still stand by those statements.
The point was a bewildering dig at the media — sorry, the pundits — that we see all too often coming from this country’s overly emboldened leadership.
Merging Kronites and Ultipeeps: A few uncomfortable chuckles broke out when Ain referenced what post-merger employees might be called. Ultimate’s employees are known as Ultipeeps, while Kronos workers are Kronites. He said he received a suggestion: “Kronites and Ultipeeps … Kreeps. I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
Coronavirus concerns: Before introducing Ain, Hicks immediately addressed another pressing concern of attendees — the growing threat of coronavirus. He noted that hand sanitizers would be placed throughout the conference — which they indeed were. Hicks also said that even a traditional handshake is under the microscope now, so to speak. How did he plan to greet people? “Some people are huggers, some are fist bumpers. I’ll do whatever you want.”
Clearly the coronavirus is having a huge effect on travel and is taking a toll what is typically a busy time during conference season. SXSW shut down. Oracle took its conference online.
My Monday afternoon flight to Las Vegas was barely half full. I don’t ever recall a flight where my row on both sides of the aisle was empty, as was the row in front of me.
And, word came during the conference that SAP Fieldglass canceled its mid-March user conference. This announcement came March 3 via Twitter:
“The health of our employees, customers, partners and communities is our top priority. Due to concerns surrounding COVID-19, we are cancelling #SAPAribaLive Las Vegas 2020 and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming Ariba Live virtual experience.”
What’s in a name: A bit of a surprise that the merged organizations have yet to settle on a new name for the company. Attendees were informed that the new name will be revealed in the next three to six months.
One observer pointed out to me that it could come sooner, possibly during the annual Unleash conference in early May. It is beneficial to have an assembled audience that will include a bevy of analysts and influencers for such an announcement.
Just a guess here that the new name won’t be Kreeps.
Bakersfield Beat: In a week of ups and downs, country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam’s performance March 4 was a high point. Yoakam performed for over three hours straight without so much as a sip of water. His show at the Wynn Theater in the Wynn Hotel-Encore complex was not affiliated with the Ultimate conference and came as a welcome diversion as Yoakam took the full house on a 70-plus-year musical journey laced with plenty of anecdotes across Southern California’s rich musical landscape.
Yoakam focused primarily on the legendary Bakersfield Sound that influenced so much of his own music. But his finale was a nod to Las Vegas (no, not a Brandon Flowers tune, although that would have been pretty sweet). “You can’t play Las Vegas and not play this one,” he said as he launched into Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.”
Thanks, Josh Cameron. I really, really enjoyed the show.
Tiffani Murray was one of the first recipients of the Game Changer award when the program launched 10 years ago in 2011. In this Q&A, Murray discusses her journey through HR, what she has learned and how the industry has changed over the years.
Workforce: How have you grown professionally over the course of your career?
Tiffani Murray: I was about 10 years into my career when I was nominated for the inaugural Workforce Game Changer award. I had established myself in human resources and HRIS about five years prior, and had taken my background in computer science and industrial engineering into a crash course of a career change from that of a pure IT project manager. There was so much to learn about employment processes from talent acquisition to sourcing candidates and compensation, benefits, diversity, performance management and succession planning. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to work for the most recognized brand in the world, Coca-Cola, and to learn from some of the best.
Over the next 10 years I’ve continued to grow in my career, expanding from my initial specialty area of applicant tracking and recruiting systems to now include everything under the sun when it comes to HRIS. I’ve implemented learning management systems, rolled out performance management programs and technology, upgraded total rewards tools to allow HR to provide new benefit offerings and allow for precise compensation management. To round things out, I’m currently working on a new payroll implementation. I’ve also been afforded new responsibilities and scope, moving from a new manager to a senior management position and landing in a director role reporting to the chief human resources officer.
WF: How has your career changed?
Murray: My career has changed overtime because I’ve been afforded unique and challenging opportunities. I have gone from a consumer products company to contracting at a fast-casual restaurant chain known for customer service and a great chicken sandwich. I have been able to work for one of America’s top homebuilders and
took a turn as a consultant for one of the world’s beloved luxury sports car names. I’m now working for a hometown furniture retailer with 135 years of history behind it that has taken the stance of making HR technology a priority for the business and its employees.
WF: What are some of the changes or trends you have seen in HR over the past few years?
Murray: Technology, technology, technology. Since being named a Game Changer, the shake-ups in the HR tech world in terms of mergers, acquisitions and IPOs were plentiful. They have slowed down and we are left with major HCM solution providers and niche players. Organizations will continue to swap out one for another and other organizations, believe it or not, are still making the move from manual disparate systems to one or two core solutions. There are still companies doing basic HR work, including recruitment processes, on paper, but this has decreased over the last 10 years. Many companies are still not on top of their HR technology strategies. Vendor selection, implementation and core HRIS strategy will be discussion points at the HR executive level and you’ll see more partnership between HR and IT here.
HR processes, including performance management, training, recruitment and assessments are all moving away from desktops and laptops and are essential needs for organizations to have accessible on their tablets, phones and devices. There is also a push for more employee engagement through workforce social channels that allow for informal mentor-mentee relationships, provide an opportunity for formal and informal feedback.
Tiffani Murray, 2011 Game Changer recipient
Artificial intelligence has also been emerging on the scene over the past several years. How HR can use AI most effectively still remains to be seen, but companies are starting to explore this most readily in recruiting and also learning technology.
HR organizations have to now deal with a dispersed workforce that has three or four different generations represented in it. How do you cater to the needs of your outgoing employees who are close to retirement while still attracting the talent of tomorrow to take the lead? You’ll see HR organizations taking a look at benefits plans and programs, specifically vacation and paid time off, including parental and adoption leave and paid volunteer time. Companies that may have once had more of an “in-the-office” culture will need to assess how to roll out telecommute and work from home policies that are fair. You will see more HR teams scrambling to make life easier by adopting what many west coast companies already have.
WF: What are some things that you value most about your career?
Murray: I love my career as I truly think I have a job that fuses the best of both worlds — working with a company’s most valuable asset, the employee population and also having the opportunity to implement and leverage some cutting edge technology to make processes simpler. Adding this type of value does have a bottom line impact for a business, whether it’s decreasing cost per hire or identifying ways to train employees real time, thus making them more productive to sell or provide services to customers more effectively and efficiently while increasing revenue.
WF: What have you learned over the course of your career in HR?
Murray: I have learned that HR is almost always looked at as the least valuable part of the business. Despite working across a myriad of industries, this has been the same. In every HR department, we have had to work hard to prove our value and worth to the business. I almost expect this now in any new role. I do think that over the past decade the climb has become less steep, but it’s still a climb.
As I search the online archives of Workforce.com for “Jack Welch” in the wake of his death today at age 84, I have come across literally seven pages worth of stories (about 20 stories on each page) that reference the business titan and former head of General Electric.
That’s not surprising, given his strong connection to championing the cause of human resources. In 2009, Welch, who in 2000 was named “Manager of the Century” by Fortune, was the opening keynote speaker at the annual Society for Human Resource Management conference in New Orleans. Before the conference opened, my former boss here at Workforce, John Hollon, summarized Jack Welch’s influence on theHR profession in a blog post.
To recognize Welch’s passing today, I wanted to share a portion of John’s thoughts on Jack Welch from 2009.
Here’s a question you may want to ponder: How important is Sunday’s SHRM conference general session speaker, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch
Answer: He’s probably the most relevant and topical HR thinker to address the conference in at least the last five years — maybe the most relevant one ever.
Here’s just one example, from the BusinessWeek column he writes along with his wife, Suzy Welch: “HR should be every company’s ‘killer app.’ What could possibly be more important than who gets hired, developed, promoted, or moved out the door? Business is a game, and as with all games, the team that puts the best people on the field and gets them playing together wins. It’s that simple.”
Or this, also from a recent BusinessWeek column: “Look, we’ve written before about HR and the game-changing role we believe it can — and should — play as the engine of an organization’s hiring, appraisal, and development processes. We’ve asserted that too many companies relegate HR to the mundane busy-work of newsletters, picnics, and benefits, and we’ve made the case that every CEO should elevate his head of HR to the same stature as the CFO. HR matters enormously in good times. It defines you in the bad. … If there was ever a time to underscore the importance of HR, it has arrived.”
A 2005 “Last Word” column in Workforce Management put it this way, and it’s still true today: “In Jack Welch’s world, HR is not only a key part of the business, but HR people in the organization need to have special qualities to help the managers throughout the organization build leaders and careers.”
Some might disagree with this assessment, because Welch is also known for creating the infamous 20-70-10 employee assessment plan (known by its critics as “rank and yank”), where the top 20 percent of GE’s workforce each year got big raises, while the bottom 10 percent were shown the door.
But as critical as he can be, Welch also appreciates what HR means to a high-performing organization. Welch has said that HR leaders should not be “kingmakers or cops, but big-leaguers, men and women with real stature and credibility.”
He will undoubtedly have a message on Sunday that SHRM conference attendees really need to hear.
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