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Dear Workforce Why Do Employees Leave?
- Lack of recognition
- Inequities in salary
- Long-term sense of purpose and mission are missing
- Insufficient opportunities for professional and career development (promises may not match reality).
The Six Benchmarking Steps You Need
Benchmarking, step-by-step:
Step One: Select the process and build support
Step Two: Determine current performance
Step Three: Determine where performance should be
Step Four: Determine the performance gap
Step Five: Design an action plan
Step Six and Beyond: Continuously improve
The new economyrepresents a transformed business environment brought about by changes relatedto technology, people, culture and process; a marketplace created by significantshifts in business and cultural value dynamics which demand that we place agreater emphasis on non-physical assets, such as organizational structure,customer satisfaction and employee growth. The new economy values one thingabove all else: knowledge – the currency of the new millennium.
Knowledge comes inmany forms. One such form is the knowledge that is distilled from comparing oneorganization’s performance against another’s in order to gather criticalinformation about business processes, risks and controls, and develop metrics bywhich to improve performance. In a word, benchmarking.
Benchmarking is wellsuited to the new economy, an economy which requires that successful companiescreate value in new ways, namely by recognizing that competitiveness now demandsemphasis on both tangible and non-tangible assets. Benchmarking incorporateswhat we know is true about sustained, long-term business success in this neweconomy.
Consider theAmerican Productivity and Quality Center’s definition of benchmarking:”Benchmarking is the practice of being humble enough to admit that someoneelse is better at something and wise enough to try and learn how to match andeven surpass them at it.” Put another way, effective benchmarking requiresthat you are wise enough to realize your organization has weaknesses, whichtranslate into business risks, and determined enough to do something about thoserisks.
True benchmarking isquantitative and qualitative, and it involves both competitor comparison andexploration outside your industry. It is a management process built aroundmotivation, measurement and improvement. It is the perfect tool for new economycompanies.
However,benchmarking is not a silver bullet; it must be managed correctly andmethodically to be successful. It is not simply a venue for collecting data,rather it is a tool for critical insight, which can motivate change and lead youto more efficient, effective and innovative business practices.
Step One: Select theprocess and build support
The first step is to select thebusiness process to benchmark and build support from both upper and middlemanagement in order to gain the appropriate resources and to foster the spiritof participation required in an effective benchmarking initiative. Not targetinga specific process to examine or attaining management support will almostcertainly mean that your benchmarking attempt will fall short of its goals.
For example, a recent Arthur Andersenclient wanted to benchmark many processes, from the purchasing function topost-sales customer relationship management. This client also wanted toaccomplish this goal in less than 30 days and with no formal resources orbudget.
We suggested breaking the largerproject into smaller, more manageable subprojects. Specifically, we encouragedthe client to target the supply-chain function, which could be further dividedinto purchasing, inventory management, logistics and order fulfillment.Purchasing was the natural place to begin because, as a benchmarking project,this process was manageable. The client agreed and focused initial benchmarkingefforts on the purchasing process. As a result, the positive suggestions thatoriginated there were used to fuel additional projects.
Selecting the process means determiningwhich processes or issues are critical to the goals of the organization andwhether benchmarking is the appropriate method to determine the efficacy of theprocess. In this initial step, it is important to gain commitment frommanagement, process owners and staff to participate eagerly on the benchmarkingproject, and then to develop an action plan to focus efforts and keepinformation organized.
Step Two: Determinecurrent performance
In the next step, it is crucial todetermine the state of the current business environment. Too often, companiesembark upon benchmarking efforts because they want to achieve the well-knownresults of such companies as Motorola or General Electric. This is misguidedbecause benchmarking is company- and issue-specific. Without a clearunderstanding of the business environment and the impact of specific businessprocesses on overall business performance, benchmarking will fail to yieldmeaningful results.
Before benchmarking your companyagainst another to discover how they achieve high levels of businessperformance, you must understand your own performance. An initialself-assessment should include questions to determine if the process has beenflowcharted; if the process owners have been correctly identified; where keyhandoffs exist within and outside of the process; if automated and manualactivities have been identified; and finally, if redundancies or inefficiencieshave been targeted.
We have found that an exercise calledprocess mapping will facilitate a thorough understanding of any businessprocess. Interviews, focus groups and charting help process owners understandthe inputs, activities and outputs of the process. If benchmarking is a neweconomy tool, process mapping is also a tool – a vital component of effectivebenchmarking. It raises the level of knowledge before the benchmarking effortbegins ensuring that any information gathered during benchmarking will be highlyrelevant to the issues at hand.
Determining the “as is”requires selecting the appropriate tools to study the business process, such asprocess mapping which involves interviews, focus groups, flowcharts andself-assessment. It is necessary to document the inputs, activities and outputsof the process under study, and finally to identify any key performance measuresfor the process.
Step Three: Determinewhere performance should be
Part of the work of step three isactually accomplished in step two; during the time spent learning more about thebusiness process under examination, you will instinctively develop somesuggestions for improvement. However, this step puts your process to the test asyou will compare it quantitatively and qualitatively to other processes,internally, externally or both.
The first part of step three,determining the “should be,” is choosing potential benchmark partners.Benchmark partners are organizations, including your own, that are successfullyexecuting the process being examined. For example, we recently studied theinventory management process for an office-products company. Their team and oursconducted extensive research and screening to determine which organizations werethe best benchmark partners to avoid wasting time comparing the company againstorganizations that weren’t challenged with similar problems.
However, we did not look at theclient’s industry alone; we knew there were companies in different industriesthat must manage inventory effectively to be successful in their businessenvironment. We benchmarked against companies in several industries to gather avariety of insights for improving inventory management and to provide anopportunity for quantum-leap improvement, instead of merely keeping pace withthe client’s competitors.
Determining the “should be”is where you begin to focus on examining the process from an externalperspective, conducting secondary research to supplement internal exploratoryefforts and discovering which criteria are important. This understanding willlead you to the most appropriate benchmark partners.
Being prepared by gatheringquantitative information in advance of your benchmarking efforts will balancethe odds in your favor so that your benchmarking initiative will be a success. Afew additional tips:
Submit qualitative discussionquestions in advance.
Give something back. Build long-termrelationships by avoiding sensitive areas. Provide a summary of what youlearned during your project.
Look for evidence of superiorperformance. Just as you did when documenting your own process, identifywhere the benchmark partner uses automation to streamline steps, and lookfor handoffs, process owners, performance metrics and measures.
Step Four: Determine theperformance gap
Consider where you should be andsubtract where you are – the difference is the performance gap. The larger thegap, the higher the priority to narrow it. In this step, you must consider ahost of issues and try to analyze them logically. For example, examine a processfrom a cost, quality, time and productivity perspective, with the understandingthat strength in one area does not necessarily indicate strength across theboard.
One of our customers asked us tobenchmark their payroll function, assuming it would be a top quartile performer.We benchmarked this organization against more than 100 organizations using about25 performance measures. We found that they were top quartile performers onmeasures such as payroll cost per paycheck and payroll cost as a percent ofrevenue.
However, looking deeper, we found thatthey were among the worst on measures such as error resolution time and errorrates. According to the payroll manager, his goal was to cut costs as part of ageneral and administrative cost containment initiative. To accomplish this goal,he offered his senior payroll clerk early retirement and hired an inexperienced,poorly trained replacement.
This example illustrates that unlikemost other business tools, benchmarking can help accurately identify and sourceperformance gaps and lead to risk avoidance and process improvement. The payrollmanager achieved his goal of cost optimization but sacrificed quality, time andproductivity. We predicted that those deficiencies would ultimately result inhigher costs in the near future.
For performance gaps to be useful, theymust be logically identified, organized and categorized. This means in part thatthe causal factor behind the gap should be attributed to people, process,technology or cultural influences. In addition, each gap should be ranked basedon a priority indicator.
Step Five: Design anaction plan
Some of our benchmarking initiativesare vast. One in particular spanned four months and four continents and involvedbenchmarking over 20 divisions on more than 70 measures of performance. In thisparticular case, we worked with the teams to create action plans. We felt thatour effort was exhaustive and meaningful. The result? Many of the teams did notimplement their plans, and the upshot of our comprehensive benchmarking effortwas a very expensive binder that collected dust in a manager’s office.
This unfortunate outcome can and shouldbe avoided. There are several ways to ensure that your benchmarking effortsproduce positive results. One way is to use goal-oriented, attainable anddetailed action plans to plot the improvement course. An action plan templateshould include a description of the overall action plan detailing each specificaction step and each problem the actions are targeted to solve. The action planshould also describe the chronological steps to implementation, definingrequirements and specifications, and allotting an appropriate time frame for theimplementation.
Finally, the action plan shouldidentify those accountable for implementation and describe rewards if theirefforts are on time or ahead of schedule. Perhaps most important is to ensurethe action plan has buy-in from all key parties, including management, processowners and those affected by the proposed change.
Step Six and Beyond:Continuously improve
Just as there is no end to learning andjust as there is no such thing as accumulating enough knowledge, benchmarking isnot an activity that you do only once. Rather, it is part of an ongoing,continuous improvement effort that is vital for organizations seeking to achieveand maintain competitive advantage in the new economy. The secret to long-termsuccess is to keep business processes effective and efficient through continuousmonitoring and measuring.
The new economy is nothing if not anopportunity to embrace change. Using benchmarking as a tool for continuousimprovement is one way to determine if your business is doing everything it canto meet the challenges inherent in our global, intensely competitive businessenvironment. There has never been a better time to stop and take a moment to seewhat the other guy is doing.
Think Twice Walk in Her Boots, Mr. President
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush:
Now that you’ve had time to unpack yourbags, toss your Stetsons on the rack, and trash all the leftover Filet-o-Fishwrappers from the Oval Office, I want to make some suggestions to you and LaborSecretary Elaine Chao:
For the first time ever in history, youshould support and sign a federal law making it illegal to fire someone forbeing gay or to reject a candidate because of his or her sexual orientation.
What quicker way to show you’re seriousabout uniting and not dividing America? A similar bill was introduced during thelast Congress – by one of your fellow Republicans, as a matter of fact. I don’tbuy the nonsense that such a law would cause quotas, cripple religiousinstitutions, and require employers to pay domestic-partner benefits. In fact,this Republican bill was carefully written to prevent all three things fromhappening.
Once you’re done with that, take a hardlook at the Family and Medical Leave Act. Now I’m aware of that sugar-n-spicysurvey the Labor Department in the previous administration came out with. Youknow, the one that claimed, “The FMLA is working without the burden tobusiness many have feared. More than 8 out of 10 employers report eitherpositive or no noticeable impact on company productivity, profits, orgrowth.”
Come on now. I’ve been checking out theWorkforce Legal Forum, this online message board we have, every day for threeyears now, and the FMLA generates more confusion than most of the other laborlaws on the books combined. Readers of Workforce magazine spend hours at thatforum, and have learned that if you stick the FMLA, vacation time, sick time,and workers’ comp in a big blender, you get nothing but confusion stew, with anoccasional lawsuit sprinkled on top.
Spending all that time just figuringout the FMLA can’t have a “positive impact on company productivity,profits, or growth.” Simplify and clarify the law, or throw it out.
Next, use the tax code to encourageemployers to hire employees with disabilities.
An expanded tax credit will do a muchbetter job than the ADA has. The ADA is another mandate, and that means thatemployers are getting scared off from hiring disabled employees in the firstplace, fearing – rightly or wrongly – that accommodations will be expensive. Carrots(money) are usually better than sticks (rules).
One more thing. Take a day and spend itwith a human resources professional. You’ll see that she wants to help thecompany recruit top employees and create a culture that fosters innovation andcreativity. Instead, she’s having to comply with a numbing array of state andfederal laws, many of which are duplicative and contradictory.
It’s hard to be in the boardroomtalking with the CEO about how to become an “employer of choice” whenyou’re spending your time figuring out whether the dishwasher detergent in thebreak room is grounds for a government fine.
These HR people wear a lot of differentStetsons, Mr. President, and it would help to walk a mile in their boots.
Other columns by Todd Raphael:
Discovering Relocation Home Loans
Employee relocation can be a painful and overwhelming process for everyone,especially when there are mortgages involved. Securing a home loan, selling ahouse, and finding another one — in a new community within a short time and on alimited budget — can make even the most ambitious employee wonder why he or sheever agreed to move in the first place.
To ease the process and the financial burden, most companies will agree topay closing costs. But the turnaround on getting the money to employees beforethe closing takes place can leave frantic home buyers scrambling at the lastminute to secure a check or back it up from their own accounts. Clever HRadministrators, however, can circumvent the chaos. They can channel theemployees’ home loans through a national bank offering relocation loan programs.
Benefits of Special Loans
Relocation loan programs were designed specifically for companies that movemany employees and need a quick and painless process for getting them settled intheir new homes. Like typical home loans, the programs provide money to buyhouses based on employees’ incomes. They also include additional perks that makeclosing on a house easier and, in some cases, will help the employee secure moremoney for a bigger house.
Most national banks offer the same benefits in their programs, says BobLevenstien, executive vice president of Forward Mobility, a Bernardsville, NewJersey-based relocation firm for small and mid-sized companies. When shoppingaround, you can expect to find the following:
Direct billing. The gem of the relocation loan is direct billing. Thismeans that the bank will advance all the money for the closing costs on a housethat the company is willing to cover. This usually includes title search costs,title insurance, inspection, appraisal, and loan application fees, whichtypically come to 2 or 3 percent of the purchase price of the home. The bankthen bills the company for that cost. “This is the single most importantfeature of a relocation loan, because it means the buyer only has to bring thedown payment to the closing table,” says Steve Stein, executive vicepresident of national sales at CitiMortgage in St. Louis. It also eliminates thelast-minute scrambling by the employee for a check from the corporation to coverthese costs.
Credit for trailing spouses. Even if the employee’s spouse has not yetgotten a new job, the lender will include the spouse’s full income from the oldjob as part of the approved home loan.
Waiver of the application fee. “This is a marketing tool for banks tolure clients,” Levenstien says. It cuts the closing fees by about $200.
Quick pre-approval. When home shopping in the new area, employees can callthe bank and within hours have an idea of the loan amount they will qualify for.In some cases, they can get quick pre-approval before they start shopping.
Preferred rates. Most banks advertise that they will give a percentagerate that is lower than the industry standard through their relocation loanprograms, Levenstien says. It’s typically 1/8 to 1/2 percentage points, he says,but notes that those rates often can be secured through other loan programs.
Fast paperwork. “The buyer doesn’t have to spend as much time talkingto the lender, documents are transferred more quickly, and there is less redtape,” says Leo Foley, president of Horizon Relocation, a firm inNaperville, Illinois.
Consulting service on choosing the right kind of mortgage. Many lenderswill help the employee select the best mortgage based on the anticipated lengthof the stay in the new city and on the person’s targeted career path, Steinsays.
Regardless of which provider you use, secure the relationship andthe loan program before you start relocating people.
Relocators Rarely Default
Why would banks bother to provide better interest rates and quicker approvalto relocating employees? They’re a better risk than theaverage home buyer, Foley says. “The relocating customer is seen in abetter light than the typical buyer who wants to upgrade, so the loan packagehas more bells and whistles.” Employees who relocate are typically gettinga raise, their employers obviously see them as a goodrisk, and they’ve got job security and a high salary. “The employers arewilling to invest in the employee, so banks are willing to invest in them aswell,” he says.
Statistics show that the default rate among relocating customers is virtuallyzero, Stein adds. A percentage of the interest rate on every loan is a creditexpense for defaults, and in the case of people who are relocating, thatpercentage is zero.
Picking the Right Program
Since most major lending institutions offer relocation loan programs,choosing from among them isn’t difficult. The place to start is at your own bankif it’s national, Levenstien says. You have a relationship with the bank and caneasily add the relocation package to your existing services. Larger companieswill often sign on with several large loan institutions but give employees theoption of choosing among them, he adds. Stein warns people not to spreadthemselves too thin. If you use four or five or more lenders, no one institutionhas an advantage with your employee population. This can be a disincentive forthe lenders to give the best deal to transferees.
Foley advises HR managers to choose a relocation loanprogram on the basis of customer service. “It’s a very competitive industry,”he says. “If you are only relocating one or two employees a year, theymight not get very excited about your business.” He encourages his clientsto go to the bank that returns phone calls, that iswilling to streamline the process, and that will give them a specific accountrep who will handle every part of the relocation process for employees fromstart to finish.
“Some banks have great programs but no single rep for all nationalmoves,” he says. This means you have to deal with a different person inevery city and there is less consistency in the service provided.
Stein suggests exploring the additional products that lenders are willing toprovide to those who are relocating and to other employees as a result of therelationship, including home-owner insurance, credit cards, andlow-interest-rate mortgage programs for non-relocating employees.
Regardless of which provider you use, secure the relationship and the loanprogram before you start relocating people. “When people are ready torelocate, they are in hurry-up mode,” Foley says. “It takes time tobuild a relationship with a lender.”
Make the program optional for relocators. “A mortgage is personal,”Levenstien says. “Some people don’t want to share that with theiremployers.”
Cheryl Sawicki-Ritchie, HR associate for Ford Motor Company in Dearborn,Michigan, says, “we offer our employees relocation loan services, but wedon’t promote them or insist they use them.” If Ford employees opt not touse the program, they get reimbursed for closing costs after they purchase theirhomes. But Sawicki-Ritchie thinks the loan program is a great idea. “Peopledon’t realize how expensive closing costs are.”
A Costly Loophole
When a company relocates an employee, not only does it typically pick upclosing costs on the purchase of the new home, but it also will pay realtor feesand extra closing costs on the sale of the old home. That comes to about 7percent of the home sale price. So, if an employee sells a $200,000 home, thecompany will pay $14,000, most of which goes to the real estate agent.
The IRS considers that $14,000 to be additional income and will tax theemployee for it at the end of the year, Levenstien says. To eliminate this taxburden to the employee, most companies will make additional payments to the IRSout of their own pockets through withholdings in the employee’s name.
“It’s an unnecessary cost,” Levenstien says. “Companies wastea tremendous amount of money on relocation.” The solution, he says, is tosell the house to a relocation firm. Most relocation companies provide home-sale programs to people who are relocating so thatthe employee doesn’t realize any additional income, and the company isn’t stuckwith the tax costs.
In this case, instead of selling the home directly to a buyer, the employeesells it to the relocation firm. This allows the seller to avoid the realtor feeand extra closing costs. The firm then sells the house to the buyer and pays thereal estate agent and additional costs, which it bills back to the employee’scompany. Because the employee officially realizes no income from the sale of thehouse through funds provided by the company for these fees, the employee can’tbe taxed for it.
Relocation firms typically charge corporations $1,000 to $2,500 for thisservice, Levenstien says. “Compare that to the average tax cost tocompanies of $7,500 to $15,000, depending on the cost of the house, and it’s nota bad deal.”
Workforce, April 2001, pp. 44-48SubscribeNow!
Dear Workforce How Do You Accrue Vacation Time?
HRMS and Related Terms
From scalability to stand-alone system,here are the definitions that you were afraid to ask about.
| 1. ASP | 20. Opendesign/architecture |
| 2. Batch Processing | 21. Operating system |
| 3. Boolean Search | 22. PAF |
| 4. Client/Server | 23. Passive EventProcessing |
| 5. Data warehousing | 24. Perpetual/Rental license |
| 6. DistributedWorkforce | 25. Proprietarydesign/architecture |
| 7. E-mail client | 26. PTO |
| 8. Enterprise systems | 27. Real-time |
| 9. Firewall | 28. Requisition |
| 10. FoxPro | 29. RFP/RFB |
| 11. HRMS | 30. Scalability |
| 12. Import/Export | 31. Scanning |
| 13. Intelligent Search | 32. Stand-alone system |
| 14. IVR | 33. UNIX |
| 15. Intranet | 34. User Interface |
| 16. Kiosk | 35. Utility |
| 17. MIME | 36. Wizard |
| 18. Modules | 37. WorkforceAnalytics |
| 19. OCR | 38. WorkforceManagement |
- Application ServiceProvider (ASP)
- Term given to companies that designand manage software-based services for companies from a central locationrather than provide software of other solutions for the company to manage ontheir own.
- Batch Processing
- Executing a series ofnon-interactive jobs all at once. Usually, jobs are stored up during workinghours and then processed at a set time, normally during the night. This ishow many older HRMS systems processed information, and it is being replacedby systems that provide real-time processing.
- Boolean Search
- Boolean searching is based on asystem of symbolic logic developed by George Boole, a 19th-century Englishmathematician. Most keyword-searchable computer databases support Booleansearches. Boolean search techniques can be used to perform accurate searcheswithout producing many irrelevant documents.
When you perform a Boolean search,you search the computer database for the keywords that best describe yourtopic. The power of Boolean searching is based on combinations of keywordswith connecting terms called operators. The three basic operators are theterms AND, OR, and NOT.
- Client/Server
- A type of network setup that iscomposed of 1) main computers (servers) that control file storage (fileserver), printer control (print server), and network traffic and 2)individual computers or work stations (clients) that allow users to runprograms that use the server’s resources. A client/server setup is generallyvisualized as a computer in the center, with individual PCs branching off itin wagon-wheel fashion.
- Data warehousing
- The process of collecting andstoring data in an organized manner so that it can be accessed for analyzingat a later time. Companies will often collect vast amounts of data onbusiness operations and then design flexible database programs to access thedata in any form required. This is often used by finance anddecision-support departments to model the impact of organizationalinitiatives.
- Distributed Workforce
- A buzzword used to describe anorganization that has employees spread among many geographic or divisionallocations.
- E-mail client
- A software application that allowsusers to send, receive, and organize e-mails from either an individual PC ora network work station. Some popular e-mail clients are Lotus Notes,Microsoft Outlook, and Group Wise.
- Enterprise systems
- Large computer applications thathandle multiple operations for a company or business unit. An example islarge human resource information systems, such as PeopleSoft, that have theability to handle general human resources information, payroll processing,and corporate financial and accounting management.
- Firewall
- A type of system, either hardware-or software-based, that prevents unauthorized access to a computer network,usually a corporate intranet.
- FoxPro
- A database program developed byMicrosoft that many professional software developers use to build programs.Its counterpart, Microsoft Access, is considered the “everydayuser’s” database application.
- Human ResourceManagement Systems (HRMS)
- Also known as Human ResourceInformation Systems (HRIS). Software-based systems that manageall or part of the human resource function for an organization. Typicalparts include employment demographics, benefits/compensation management,training, payroll, and reporting.
- Import/Export
- The function within a softwareprogram that allows it to read and use data from another system orapplication (import) or format its own data for use by another applicationor system (export). For example, an applicant tracking system may produce areport that shows applicants and their itemized hiring costs. This reportcould be exported to a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, forfurther analysis that would not be possible in the applicant trackingsystem. Likewise, résumés can be scanned, and the information importedinto the applicant tracking system.
- Intelligent Search
- Also known as intelligent agents. Automated searches of programs or,more recently, the Internet that are established under certain parameters bythe user. For example, a person can tell the intelligent search program tolook for all instances of the word “programmer” at a certain Website and to perform this search every eight hours. This relieves the personof doing this search manually each time.
- Interactive Voice Response(IVR)
- A type of service, usuallyassociated with a telephone, that allows a user to listen to a menu ofchoices regarding some type of process, and then perform an action bypressing the keys on the phone keypad. A common example is a voice messagesystem; however, in the human resource arena, IVR is used widely forcollecting benefits enrollments.
- Intranet
- Also known as a company network. A private network inside a companyor organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find onthe public Internet, but that is only for internal use. As the Internet hasbecome more popular, many of the tools used there are also being used inprivate networks; for example, many companies have Web servers that areavailable only to employees.
- Kiosk
- A booth or independent structurethat performs a computer-related function. The most common type of kiosk isan automated teller machine (ATM). However, many companies are turning tokiosks to be able to communicate with their employees and collectinformation from them from remote locations. In applicant tracking, kiosksare being used to collect online applications for jobs.
- MultipurposeInternet Mail Extensions (MIME)
- A specification for formatting non-ASCIImessages (messages containing special formatting, such as italics or textcolor) so that they can be accurately sent over the Internet. Many e-mailclients now support MIME, which enables them to send and receive graphics,audio, and video files via the Internet mail system.
- Module
- Any subset of functions within anapplication that pertains to a specific objective. In the HRMS environment,many applications are module based, meaning that along with the basedemographic module, you can also purchase other modules that you may need(e.g., benefits module, training module, attendance module). This allowsmaximum flexibility in building the system for your needs.
- Optical CharacterRecognition (OCR)
- Relatively new technology that canread paper text and manipulate it for viewing and editing in aword-processing program. It saves extraordinary amounts of time in retypingdata into other formats, such as databases.
- Open design/architecture
- Software or hardware that has theability to be modified by any user, including the programmer. This hasbecome a more popular design for today’s software in that it allows thirdparties to develop companion software (i.e., add-ons) to improve theoriginal product. This allows maximum flexibility for buyers to tailorproducts to their specific needs.
- Operating System
- The “engine” that drivesthe personal computer and provides the basic framework on which the computeroperates and software programs can be run. Popular examples in business areMicrosoft Windows, OS/2, Linux, and UNIX.
- Personnel ActionForm (PAF)
- A type of form associated with olderHRMS applications that shows summary data information on an employee (e.g.,address, pay, emergency contact). Users make manual edits to the form andsubmit it to the HR department for processing.
- Passive Event Processing
- A type of processing thatautomatically executes once a predetermined event or set of events (i.e.,rules) occurs. For example, an HRMS sends out an e-mail to a manager on anemployee’s anniversary date to request that a performance evaluation becompleted. This requires up-front programming but no ongoing interaction bya system administrator.
- Perpetual license/Rental license
- An alternative way of purchasingsoftware or a service. Under a perpetual agreement, a buyer would pay alarger amount at the setup of the system, with a fixed monthly”lease” amount over a long period, say five years.
Under a rental license, the buyerpays less at setup and a higher monthly fee, generally for a shorter amountof time, say 24 months.
These purchase agreements areanalogous to buying versus leasing a car and provide additional options forfinancing.
- Proprietary design/architecture
- Generally refers to a software orhardware design that can be modified only by the original designer orprogrammer. Many vendors develop proprietary designs so that outside partiescannot copy or duplicate them. It also allows them full control, andpricing, over modifications made to the product.
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- A common type of paid-leave programthat combines all types of paid days off (vacation, sick, holiday) into onebank of time. This approach allows flexibility for the employee in how daysare used and better budgeting control for the employer, who only has tomonitor one bank of time.
- Real-time
- Input into a system that affectsexisting data immediately, as opposed to a batch-processed system thatcollects all data inputs and then processes them at a later time. Forexample, if an HR person wants to change an employee’s address, then theentry is made into the system and the address is changed immediately. Thisis a common buzzword that indicates that data can be accessed or editedimmediately.
- Requisition
- A formal request by a hiring managerto fill an open position in the company. Generally, a requisition willinclude the title of the position, the required knowledge, skills, andabilities, salary information, and any other information that is pertinentto the performance of the job (e.g., location, restrictions).
- Request forProposal/Request for Bid (RFP/RFB)
- A document that is normally preparedby a buyer of a system or service that provides necessary information for aseller/vendor to make a formal bid or proposal for product/service. Thedocument normally includes an overview of the company, the specific needsthat should be met by the system or service, technical information regardingthe company’s current environment, and the time line for the seller torespond.
- Scalability
- The ability of a software program orpiece of hardware to adapt to an increased amount of demands. For example,if you have only one location but think you might expand to other locationsin the future, you will want to purchase an applicant tracking system thatcan handle your one location now and then expand to handle your multiplelocations later.
- Scanning
- Computer industry buzzword thatrefers to taking a paper format and putting it directly into a format forviewing and/or editing on a computer. This usually is used in connectionwith optical character recognition (OCR).
- Stand-alone system
- Any machine or system that does notrequire another system to operate. The term is most frequently used inreference to a personal computer that is not part of a network and has itsown file storage, printer control, and e-mail/Internet connection (i.e.,modem). When comparing certain software products, vendors will price theproduct for a “stand-alone” version and a “network”version.
- UNIX (pronouncedyoo-niks)
- One of the leading operating systemsfor companies with networks and work stations rather than separate personalcomputers.
- User Interface
- The part of a software program orWeb-based application that the user actually sees and uses. This is normallydesigned to be easy to use and aesthetically pleasing.
- Utility
- A program that performs a very specifictask on a computer. For example, antivirus software is considered a utilitybecause its sole function is to monitor for computer viruses.
- Wizard
- A utility or sub-program within alarger software program that helps to perform a certain task. For example, in anapplicant tracking system, a “requisition wizard” would lead a personthrough each of the steps of producing a requisition.
- Workforce Analytics
- A newer function within HRMSapplications that evaluates organizational data and uses it to make humanresource-related decisions. Common analytics are cost-per-hire, turnover rate,and total compensation costs.
- Workforce Management
- Also known as Workforce Planning. The organizational objective ofaligning the right people with the right job at the right time. Manyorganizations have sophisticated models that manage recruitment, training,performance evaluation, and career planning in a way that maximizesproductivity.
HR’s Role Must Be Expanded in the Boardroom
No one can ignore the trend of organizations willing to outsource a good partof what was traditionally within the HR department’s domain.
Health and welfare benefit administration, payroll and EAPs are commonlymanaged outside of the company. And, many organizations have delegated employeerelations, interviewing and hiring, compensation design and retention programsto department managers’ responsibilities.
HR professionals may never be able to shed the label many of us have foughthard to cast off: administrators.
Knowledge is power. And so is networking with the right people. To grow, theHR professional will need to work on both.
So how do we become an indispensable resource in the organization? The answeris to look upstairs in your company, not downstairs. An HR presence is lackingin the most fundamental of all business rooms – the Boardroom. And anexperienced HR skill set can, indeed, make a contribution there. You can addvalue to your company while broadening your perspective with a new, moreinfluential and strategic role.
On a primal level, HR expertise is helpful to the Board when large-scaledecisions can affect the workforce – or vice versa. There are fiscal and legalcorporate responsibilities that cannot be left unattended. Then, there is thecapable involvement and expertise that HR professionals can bring towards thecomposition and recruitment of Board members. Finally, there are the expandedskill sets your own senior executives can mature with placement onto outsideBoards.
With the right training you will be the only one in the organization with theexperience, sensitivity and knowledge. But how can you gain that experience? Ittakes time, but there is an effective development path.
When you’re about ready to start, get buy-in from your company. Typically,it’s a welcomed request, because it reveals to the company that you’re not onlyinterested in issues solely relating to HR, but to the success of the companyand the CEO as well. If you report to the CEO, a perfect time to chart out aplan is during your performance review. The initiative will reinforce yourdesire to become more educated in scope. It will also open the doors forfinancial assistance, such as association memberships.
Do your homework
First, it’s important to learn the fundamentals of a Board. Pick up BoardroomBasics: A Pocket Guide for Directors, by Roger H. Ford, Ph.D. It’s a greatreference for those who need to understand what a Board is. Beyond defining aBoard, it also differentiates the various kinds of Boards; for example,illustrating family, non-profit, advisory, private, and public boards (one ofthe significant distinctions is corporate liability exposure).
That leads us to understanding the roles and responsibilities of a Boardmember. There is a small, but very helpful book, Your Roles and Responsibilitiesas a Board Member, by John Carver and Miriam Mayhew Carver, which clearlydelineates what is expected from Board members and how a Board acts. Thepublication provides many of the basics: job descriptions, how to approach yourrole as a Board member, and defining hands on versus hands off Boards.
It teaches Board governance and defines the various committees that exist,such as audit and governance. Most important, it enlightens the reader with thesense that the Board does not exist for each director’s personal hidden agendas;with membership comes the global and fiscal responsibilities of theorganization.
Next, take a more active understanding of how your company’s Board works. Isit an active or passive Board? Who serves on your Board? What are each person’scredentials? What makes him/her valuable? What skill set does each member bring(i.e., legal, accounting, global policy, marketing)?
Next, determine the dynamics within your Board. What is each person’spersonality profile? How does each member work with each other? Or, in somecases, you may have to find the source of conflict. Unfortunately, some Boardscan be divided to the point that passive aggressive behavior is frequentlyencountered.
Get involved
A great way to actively learn about Boards is to become a member of theNational Association for Corporate Directors. TheNACD is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the governance andperformance of business entities. Founded in 1977, it is an authoritative voiceand vital forum on matters of policy and practice. NACD promotes highprofessional board standards, creates forums for peer interaction, enhancesdirector effectiveness, asserts the policy interests of directors, conductsresearch, and educates boards and directors concerning traditional andcutting-edge issues.
Now, become a Board member. It’s easier than you think if you broaden yourperspective. There are many non-profit organizations that could use yourexpertise. Investigate opportunities to join the Board of your local hospital,humane society or housing organization. Even your PTA has a structure thatfollows basic Board procedure and behavior. And they could all use yourexperience in HR management.
With this newfound expertise, now would be the time to return to the CEO toask to become an observer at your organization’s Board meetings. Odds are, therewill be many meetings where advice on topics that relate to HR strategic issueswill be needed and solicited. Make sure you do your homework before eachmeeting. Know the agenda and develop notes to help you refer to HR issues as youare asked.
Share your expertise
Strategically, your role will take on greater purpose in two ways: helping toassess Board needs, ultimately leading to an intimate involvement in the searchfor new directors; and by developing a Board Education and Training Program forsenior management.
Experienced HR executives are singularly capable of understanding theircompany’s cultures and skill requirements. If you have done your homework, noone outside your company will know more about your Board make-up than you.
When there is a vacancy, your Board will approach you – not an outsideorganization – for advice on how to fill that seat. You will be sought forcounsel about how to balance and structure your Board, how to shape Boardcompensation – even how to provide Board development programs. You can be awonderful asset in the recruitment process for a new Board member.
In addition, many senior executives benefit from serving on Boards ofcompanies in non-competing business sectors. Those executives who are focused onone corporate function will be enriched most from exposure to general managementissues. Those who have had long-service careers in one company will also benefitfrom an external perspective, helping to build strategic agility for actionduring turbulent times.
A Board Education and Training program helps executives think like Boardmembers. They take on a greater appreciation for the corporate good. Exposure toBoard members provides visibility and opportunities to watch behavior models.And, executives usually gain broader perspectives, competencies in other areas,and greater confidence in problem solving skills.
If you are unsure of how to implement a Board Education program in yourcompany, there are many competent outside advisors who can help. They usuallyconcentrate on two or three executives, building skills, networking withextraordinarily competent Board members, introducing them to appropriate CEOsand search consultants, and placing their names on appropriate Board TalentBanks of targeted, relevant, companies.
What is the end benefit of all this work? If you do this job well, CEOs willeventually move from asking about insurance plans, to appealing for a Boardseat, to asking, “let me run some ideas by you.”
It takes a lot of work and research, but the end result is a strategiccorporate role that cannot be replaced – an enabler with a sense of the pulse ofthe senior management team, as well as the Board and the company itself. Youwill have earned it.
A Stress Survival Guide for HR Professionals
In today’s 24/7, merging, consolidating, “do more with less” workenvironment, the letters “HR” could as easily stand for “Hub ofReorganization” as for “Human Resources.” In fact, it’s the intersectionof the two organizational dynamics, human exchange and systemic change, thataccounts for the challenge and performance pressure for the HR manager and otherhuman resources professionals.
A person, over time, is confronted by rapidly changing requirements andresponsibilities especially related to the welfare, safety and rights of others.He or she may lack sufficient control, authority or autonomy to deal with suchdemands. When this happens, the result is chronic stress.
Let’s begin with a list of HR-related stressors:
Availability and Accountability. While HR may be a separatedepartment, it is hardly an island on corporate waters. Company personnelbelieve they should have some representation through HR and that HR should be atthe beck and call of all employees. Beware of HR professionals who establish arescuer role and take every personnel problem home. Burnout is less a sign offailure and more sign of giving yourself away.
Objectivity. The challenge for an effective and widely accepted HRdepartment is to maintain some functional independence. The HR professional mustalso be somewhat detached from yet, also, be an objective and concerned advocatefor management and employees. Problem solving (not just numbers crunching) is animportant force in an organization.
Multiple Roles. The HR manager/professional often plays many roles –from coach and counselor to cop and confessor. And, if that’s not enough, heor she must also be the organizational or interpersonal safety net or back upwhen there are breakdowns. For example, manager-supervisor-employee relations,reorganization such as a downsizing, outdated or illegal policies andprejudicial procedures, etc.
Disgruntled Personnel. As outlined above, there are HR demands andresponsibilities aplenty. The proverbial icing on the cake is negotiatingproblems with people who have grievances about a supervisor, pay, evaluation andpromotion/termination issues. Certainly it can be emotionally and professionallyrewarding to rectify a significant personnel problem. Still, chronicallyproviding service to angry customers can all too easily result in a case of”brain strain.”
Transitional Glue. Especially in times of rapid or volatile change -mergers, downsizing, rapid startup and growth – the HR manager becomes a companycheerleader (or that stress confessor). He or she often helps folks sustainmorale in the face of an uncertain and vulnerable future. The HR goal is to notallow the company’s “esprit de corps” to regress into an”esprit de corpse.”
The HR Manager may become the messenger, helping employees and supervisorsinterpret reorganization pronouncements from the management mountaintop.Sometimes the HR leader must assume the Moses mantle while the employee tribeswander for a period in the transitional desert. Anyone for the training class on”Parting Really Large Bodies of Water?”
Crisis Management. The HR manager must realize that when certaincrises are outside his or her sphere of “hands on” influence, he orshe must resist the “solo savior syndrome” role. Believing you are thecenter of your corporate solar system is a potential danger because allorganizational life depends on your energy source.
When downsizing trauma evokedracial tension and threats in a federal government division – pulling a KKK Website off the Internet and playing a Louis Farrakhan tape in public – HR calledme in. As a critical incident specialist, my role is clear: to stop the viciouscycle before it turns violent and to lay the groundwork for productive conflictresolution and team building.
Privacy Requirements. An ongoing challenge for the HRprofessional interfacing with numerous individuals, departments and seniormanagers is sharing critical information and upholding employees’ privacyrights.
A specific stressor came to my attention recently: confidentiality. Oneparticular incident involved an HR manager who was unsure of how to respond to asupervisor’s breach.
This supervisor unprofessionally, if not illegally, shared with her employeesthat a colleague had been hospitalized for mental health reasons. Such a breachis like a computer virus that can contaminate everyone’s operating system andsecurity. The HR manager’s standing as a leader was on the line, not just thesupervisor’s.
Ever-changing Technology and Policy. Like other corporate entities,the HR department must keep up with new software and data processing systems.Having an internal website to share key information with employees is critical.And invariably, getting started technologically takes longer than anticipated.Glitch happens!
With policy, there are always ever-changing requirements or culturaldiversity/gender issues mandated by the likes of Congress or the EPA. But let’snot overlook the rapidly changing constrictions from the corporate headquartersto field operations. All these systemic forces can undermine a sense of controlfor the everyday HR functioning.
Training Demands. The HR team cannot possibly provide individualemployee handholding for all personnel issues. Depending on company size, HRshould have enough time and staff to provide classroom orientation on HR-relatedmatters. HR managers often need to delegate the training function tosubordinates. Individuals must be encouraged to do reasonable data gathering orresearch or else HR will be enabling inefficient, if not dysfunctional,dependence.
Office Space Time. Finally, the HR manager/department must discoverthe elusive balance between physical access and protected space needed forproductive energy. Feng Shui rules even in Corporate America. Feng Shui(“fung shway” = wind and water) is the study of environmentalbalance. The system studies people’s relationships to their environment inorder to achieve maximum harmony with spiritual forces, which influence allplaces.
Departments without “closed door” time and closed meeting spacefor the HR team invites both productivity and morale problems, which may lead toprivacy violations and anxieties amongst employees.
Here are five survival strategies:
Balance Interdependence and Autonomy. The HR manager and departmentmust project an image of operational objectivity and privacy defender whileperforming their overall management function. The HR professional must alsodevelop a capacity for “detached involvement,” that is, beingsensitive to personnel issues and individual employee concerns while resistingthe rescuer role. If you’re always taking work home – literally or emotionally- your personal/personnel boundary will start to erode.
Reach Out to Specialists and Consultants. Resist the urge to be Ramboor Rambette. This involves taking things too personally, processing asignificant downsizing or upgrading a computer system by yourself. Reach out forexpert support such as an Employee Assistance Program counselor, especially withseriously disgruntled or dysfunctional employees. For widespread departmenttension consider using a corporate change/critical intervention consultant.
Balance Administrative Work and Human Relating. Beware of becoming asolitary HR number cruncher who’s sequestered in an IT fortress. Don’t losethe human touch. Periodically, walk around your shop and swap stories with folkson the work floor. Bridge the gap between management and employees. Rotatingdifferent hats will also help you follow my maxim, “Fireproof your lifewith variety!”
Encourage Independence by Setting Boundaries. These threeboundary-setting strategies will enable the HR manager to successfully jugglevarious roles and responsibilities:
Delegation. Monitoring (not micromanaging) employee performance isvital. Balance the Triple A, – Authority, Autonomy and Accountability – whichare critical management and stress tools.
Education. Help others not to be so dependent on your indispensableknowledge. Training for employees and supervisors on HR-related procedures, Website information negotiating and self-initiated employee data gathering, etc.,is vital in today’s time- and task-driven environment.
Separation. Generate the space-time dynamics for optimalperformance of HR. Balance accessibility and boundaries with “closeddoor” time; design a form and function office layout that allows for vitalinterdependence between HR and employees. One HR department installed adartboard on a back wall for stress relieving fun and friendly competition.Model the stress management mantra, “Giving of yourself and giving toyourself!”
Maximize Team Meetings. Productive team meetings are essential toshare logistically and emotionally demanding workload for the HR manager and hisor her staff. Meetings should to be more than time and task-driven staffing;build in a 15-minute “wavelength” segment. Use this segment for thegroup to grapple with emotionally tough personnel issues – dealing with pinkslips, reorganization uncertainty, turf battles with other departments, culturaldiversity tensions, etc.
Let a staff member acknowledge sources of work pressure. As a group, assessthe strengths and roadblocks affecting solid team coordination and cooperation.Perhaps even rotate the leadership of these meetings amongst your HR staff.Learn to wear both the team member and manager hats.
Recognizing these ten stressors and five strategic interventions will lightenthe personal load while strengthening leadership hold.
Manager-Employee Talent Inventory
Use this form in your workforce planning to determine the skill levels of employees in various areas.
| A. Learning Ability: Learn quickly, learn by reading/study, grasp concepts, learn byhearing, learn by examples, willingness to seek feedback, learn by doing,willingness to develop self. Other:
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| B. Research/Analysis: Sense/notice/investigate, identify problem/source, research/gatherdata, troubleshoot/test solutions, compare/distinguish, persist to findsolution, question/interview, evaluate/learn from process,organize/classify data. Other:
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| C. Innovation: See new relationships, improvise resourcefully, synthesize data,visualize/design, conceive new ideas, develop new products/processes,invent/create programs, systems, etc. Other:
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| D. Human Relations: Show empathy/sensitivity, show tact/diplomacy, be a team player,cooperate, help/serve others, display warmth/sociability, counsel/guideothers, build trust. Other:
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| E. Spoken Communication: Listen well, keep others informed, express thoughts clearly, contributeto group discussions, express feelings assertively, communicate inpositive ways, give frequent feedback, use language well, make grouppresentations. Other:
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| F. Written Communication: Write clearly and concisely, write persuasively, take good notes,proofread/edit, illustrate graphically. Other:
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| G. Training: Prepare sufficiently, control time/process, train interactively, conveyenthusiasm, speak with authority, illustrate concepts, explain clearly,and maintain interest. Other:
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| H. Influencing Others: Build rapport/trust, promote/advertise, find others’self-interest/needs, recruit, see need to sell others, mediate/arbitrate,overcome discouragement, negotiate. Other:
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| I. Leadership: Take charge, focus on results, build compelling vision, confront toughissues, initiate change/take risks, use power appropriately, buildfollowership for vision, and maintain motivation. Other:
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| J. Planning: Anticipate problems, prioritize tasks, set realistic goals/schedules,develop plan for attainment, establish controls. Other:
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| K. Organizing: Establish logical systems, organize information, people, and tasks,bring order to chaos. Other:
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| L. People Management: Learn quickly, learn by reading/study, grasp concepts, learn byhearing, learn by examples, willingness to seek feedback, learn by doing,willingness to develop self. Other:
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| M. Numerical/Financial: Calculate/figure, operate computers, manage money/budgets, conductaudits, accounting/bookkeeping, handle purchasing, costanalysis/projections, find ways to minimize cost. Other:
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| N. Execution/Follow-Through: Implement decisions, attend to detail arrange/coordinate, deal with theunexpected, expedite, get things done on time, check/monitor, balancedetails with big picture. Other:
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| O. Manual/Physical: Eye/hand/foot coordination, fix/repair machines, hand/finger dexterity,build/assemble, operate/maintain machines, physical agility. Other:
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SOURCE:Keepingthe People Who Keep You in Business, Copyright© 2000 American Management Association International, http://www.amacombooks.org
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