How to Be Strategic in Your People Operations
by Emily Chardac Tuesday, June 07, 2011
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I think it’s human nature to make assumptions on employees, candidates, and the general public based on your cultural background, religious practices, moral upbringings, and past life experiences. By no means is this a personality default, but something to be aware of. The challenge with getting in the habit of doing so is putting you at risk of not being able to think outside the box. It’s easy to hire someone who is exactly like you or “Jane was a great employee, she referred Joe, Joe must be a great employee too.” While you might have the animal instinct of a lion and can smell a good employee/candidate 10 miles away, you might not be coming to the most objective conclusions.
General Human Resources
I’ll be the first person to admit I have had some ugly jobs. One summer job I had was cleaning locker rooms and outdoor restrooms at a golf course. Hitting the books in August never felt so good after that summer. Another summer, I was a line cook working 8-10 hour shifts in front of deep fryers, ovens, and no air conditioning at very fast pace. (The only bonus to that job is that I can make a mean cheeseburger, but that’s beside the point.)
In movies and TV series, sometimes individuals working these types of jobs are viewed as second class citizens. I want to challenge all HR Professionals to treat their employees exactly the same – no matter their skill level, wage band, or education background. I’ve read too many times that C-level employees get the red carpet treatment and the rest of the staff is lucky to get 5 minutes of HR’s time. Be better than that. I will admit that sometimes work politics play into this dynamic, but generally speaking, all employees should be treated with the same red carpet treatment. (You, the HR professional, will become a valuable resource to employees and they will return to you for future questions. That’s a huge compliment!)
Benefits
Benefits doesn’t have to be boring, it’s the most valuable topic employees need to understand next to their compensation. Make your benefits materials easy to understand, consistent with company brand, and short-and-sweet. Don’t assume that everyone speaks the benefits language.
“Just call the TPA to submit the HIPAA Certificate. Number is 800-000-0000. Then you’re pre-existing condition clause will be removed and the claim will be reprocessed. Keep in mind that you are still responsible for the applicable copay and deductible.”
Yikes!
Recruiters
It doesn’t help that the job market is flooded with exceptional talent. Data shows that the costs of turnover (employees leaving), can be avoided or reduced if recruitment efforts are handled differently. What does that mean exactly? I think it means being strategic in the way a company is acquiring talent – know who you are hiring, what their expectations are (development, salary), and articulate where the company is going. Yes, recruiters, you too need to understand the business model of your company so you can create a very clear picture to candidates. Not sure where your company is going because you’re growing quickly? Then give some examples to the candidate, “One year ago we were __________ and six months ago we were _____. We’re currently focusing on _______.” This will show the candidate that they will need to be flexible and ready to learn new processes.
From a recruitment perspective, I think it’s easy to make assumptions such as:
-“This person lives in NYC, they won’t move to Houston. Even if we liked them, it will take a couple extra weeks to have them relocate. Speaking of relocation, I bet they want us to pay for the move. Let’s pass and see if we can find someone else who is local.”
-“This person has a Bachelor’s degree, but some really interesting work experience. The job description says Master’s preferred. Let’s filter the search to have a minimum education of Master’s and see what we can find."
-Great candidate, but German education? What does that degree equate to? I wonder what their legal work status is in the US, might be problematic if they need a visa sponsorship.”
I think it’s easy to make generalizations, but what if these three candidates were the best for the job? If you had to jump through a few hoops to ask a few more questions and get clarifications on those hesitation points, would that be better in the long run if that meant they would be a great addition to your company? That’s for you (the recruiter) to decide. I’m just highlighting that it’s better to ask questions than to pass on a great candidate.
General Human Resources
I’ll be the first person to admit I have had some ugly jobs. One summer job I had was cleaning locker rooms and outdoor restrooms at a golf course. Hitting the books in August never felt so good after that summer. Another summer, I was a line cook working 8-10 hour shifts in front of deep fryers, ovens, and no air conditioning at very fast pace. (The only bonus to that job is that I can make a mean cheeseburger, but that’s beside the point.)
In movies and TV series, sometimes individuals working these types of jobs are viewed as second class citizens. I want to challenge all HR Professionals to treat their employees exactly the same – no matter their skill level, wage band, or education background. I’ve read too many times that C-level employees get the red carpet treatment and the rest of the staff is lucky to get 5 minutes of HR’s time. Be better than that. I will admit that sometimes work politics play into this dynamic, but generally speaking, all employees should be treated with the same red carpet treatment. (You, the HR professional, will become a valuable resource to employees and they will return to you for future questions. That’s a huge compliment!)
Benefits
Benefits doesn’t have to be boring, it’s the most valuable topic employees need to understand next to their compensation. Make your benefits materials easy to understand, consistent with company brand, and short-and-sweet. Don’t assume that everyone speaks the benefits language.
“Just call the TPA to submit the HIPAA Certificate. Number is 800-000-0000. Then you’re pre-existing condition clause will be removed and the claim will be reprocessed. Keep in mind that you are still responsible for the applicable copay and deductible.”
Yikes!
Recruiters
It doesn’t help that the job market is flooded with exceptional talent. Data shows that the costs of turnover (employees leaving), can be avoided or reduced if recruitment efforts are handled differently. What does that mean exactly? I think it means being strategic in the way a company is acquiring talent – know who you are hiring, what their expectations are (development, salary), and articulate where the company is going. Yes, recruiters, you too need to understand the business model of your company so you can create a very clear picture to candidates. Not sure where your company is going because you’re growing quickly? Then give some examples to the candidate, “One year ago we were __________ and six months ago we were _____. We’re currently focusing on _______.” This will show the candidate that they will need to be flexible and ready to learn new processes.
From a recruitment perspective, I think it’s easy to make assumptions such as:
-“This person lives in NYC, they won’t move to Houston. Even if we liked them, it will take a couple extra weeks to have them relocate. Speaking of relocation, I bet they want us to pay for the move. Let’s pass and see if we can find someone else who is local.”
-“This person has a Bachelor’s degree, but some really interesting work experience. The job description says Master’s preferred. Let’s filter the search to have a minimum education of Master’s and see what we can find."
-Great candidate, but German education? What does that degree equate to? I wonder what their legal work status is in the US, might be problematic if they need a visa sponsorship.”
I think it’s easy to make generalizations, but what if these three candidates were the best for the job? If you had to jump through a few hoops to ask a few more questions and get clarifications on those hesitation points, would that be better in the long run if that meant they would be a great addition to your company? That’s for you (the recruiter) to decide. I’m just highlighting that it’s better to ask questions than to pass on a great candidate.