One of the most critical, if not the most crucial need, for business success: access to information. Over the past few years, MSEC has been expanding the delivery mechanisms for disseminating information which have included audio conferences, webinars, podcasts and most recently we have been exploring internet broadcasting. I located a resource that can provide a cost effective method to disseminate the information you need. ProfitabilityChannel.com

ProfitabilityChannel.com delivers live programs via the internet to give you instant access to faculty hosts and experts (including Human Resource experts). Prerecorded programs are easily searchable to find the answers and information you are looking for. All live and pre-recorded programs are in their library so you can watch them whenever you get a few minutes, anytime of the day or night. They address current issues facing the Human Resources departments for companies just like yours.

I am interested in finding out if our members would be interested in this kind of programming and resource and invite you to watch a show I recently taped on workplace bullying. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to watch a show we created at the ProfitabilityChannel.com studio last month. This will give you an idea of the quality programming available.
Profitability Channel has the largest Internet video library of business programs in all areas of business. And, they add about 30 new programs each month. In addition to my help, you are sure to find the information you need, when you need it. If you would like to learn more about the offerings at the Profitability Channel you may access their website directly or contact me for additional information.

MSEC is continuing to look for ways to deliver training and education programs to members in a cost-effective and efficient way, and this is proving to be another option.

Click here to watch: Workplace Bullying

I should say, HR on Cable - I saw the AMC Channel's highly acclaimed show "Madmen" for the first time last night - I hear it is nominated for some 16 Emmies. But what a great illustration as to how much the workplace has changed - and stayed the same since the 1960's. The show depicts an Advertising Agency in the 1960's. What is so striking is how the office looks and the characters behave. For example, there are no computers on any of the desks, typewriters on the "secretaries" desks however or rather in the secretarial pool. They reference the "Personnel" department, in meetings glasses of scotch are poured while planning a new ad campaign. Office doors are closed - the men are in full suits, women in dresses - there is no casual dress codes allowed for sure. Smoking is rampant, and office romance abounds (okay not all has changed).

But it is striking how societies changing values change the workplace for example our concern for health and wellness programs, no smoking allowed in any workplaces in many states and cities, more casual attitudes toward professional dress or simply to casual attire in general - as these things change the role of HR and the policies it manages, change as well and will.

When you get a chance, check out the show -

Hi,
I have been out of pocket as I was backpacking last week - another story - but good. I was talking too much HR around the fire and my kids, Jordyn and Sam rightly told me...well...to talk about other stuff. So there I am today in Colorado Springs for MSEC's 6th Annual Benefit Update. This is the first of four venues, it will also be held in Denver this Friday, Fort Collins next Wednesday in Fort Collins, and finally in Grand Junction, our first trip with this Conference in August on the 14th. Judging by today's numbers and response, benefits is a hot, challenging issue for HR leaders out there.

We are lucky to have Dave Smith, Esq., also CEBS and GPHR to kick off our legislative update, and a cool thing he did was with every court case analysis, or law change (FMLA), offer his "Practical Application" pointers, helped bring it real to the audience. Afterall, ERISA---well what exactly do I have to do? Dave told you. There are a lot of issues with respect to ERISA Preemption, i.e., who rules the state or ERISA. You need to be aware of this. Other highlights included the new Regulations under 403( Plan Regulations. Non-Profits...pay attention...all the rules have changed and going into effect.

Bill Lindsey, President, Benefit Group-Denver discussed the latest in the Evolution of Cost Containment, this is something you should hear. He is a brilliant speaker, but most of all a brilliant tactician and thought leader with health benefit issues. The tactician part is that he makes it real and practical as to what you should do and makes it interesting to listen to...

Couple more, more to come, Sandy Alexander from MSEC discussed how to work with Brokers, so they work with you. Imagine that! She gave great tips as to how to get what you need when negotiating new contracts. She knows, as she has worked both sides. She is one to listen to.

Okay, if you go to the next venues, check out the relationship between Disco and Required Notices....Who would have thought?

Fundamentals...Fundamentals...Fundamentals...It seems every famous and successful, coach at any level in sports, from Super Bowl Champions to my kids' coaches stress one thing above all. FUNDAMENTALS. Get those right, and pretty much everything you attempt to do in life is going to be geared toward success. This is every bit the truth for successful HR practitioners and departments.

While we work to gain increased business acumen, a good thing, let us not forget the fundamental work of HR with respect to doing the work of HR well, which is just as important as any strategic thought or action.

A judge ruled against Wal-Mart in a class-action lawsuit saying the discount retailer violated Minnesota state labor laws more than 2 million times, including cutting worker break time and "willfully" allowing employees to work off the clock. Wal-Mart was ordered to pay $6.5 million in compensatory damages, buy could end up paying more than, get this, $2 Billion in civil penalties and punitive damages. That will be decided this fall.

The point is this, these are fundamental violations that HR has to be on top of - where was/is HR. These are basic violations of state wage law, and mirror the requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA). With the slowing economy, employee fear, and rising EEOC claims, organizations are at risk for more charges and lawsuits. So now is the time for a quick, but critical check of your basic HR processes and systems.

Just as pilots still do walk around visual checks of planes before every flight you should review your organizations compliance and practices around; Wage and Hour (pay practices), selection and staffing (application forms, applicant tracking, interview practices), FMLA management, discipline and termination decisions, AAP reporting and tracking. MSEC can help you under your membership, at no charge.

On our website, under reference tools, we have HR Self-Assessments members can use to review critical HR systems and practices. They are right there, and MSEC staff can work with you to review your results. Don't wait, and I can think of...at least $6.5 million reasons and possibly billions of reasons not to!

One final note from my meetings in Chicago at SHRM's 60th Conference. This one is a bit concerning as the Panels spent a few hours discussing...are you ready...the development of a Senior HR Professional Competency Model. To be honest my Panel and a number of others were less than pleased. This issue has been hammered out by Ulrich and Brockbank over the years and none of us are quite the ulimate goal of such an exercise. But is was illuminating is some respects as to how the job is being perceived and where the profession may be going.

Currently, the parameters of this Senior HR Professional is a person who typically reports to a VP - CSuite Person, has ten plus years experience, eleven plus direct reports, has HR credentials (that one is self-serving), and usually works for firms with in excess of 1,000 employees. You can see even these parameters will most likely change. We reviewed over 56, yes 56 competencies and frankly threw most of them out, needless to say people were annoyed with this much navel gazing going on. But to give an honest go to the exercise we came up with the following key competency areas for Senior HR Staff:

1.) Knowledge (business, global and technical);
2.) Advocacy (both internal and external, we have to sell ideas and stand for what is right);
3.) Thinking (analytical, critical thinking to solve problems);
4.) Issue Identification (being proactive to see issues to alert organization leaders);
5.) Ethics - for sure, and;
6.) Organization Development acumen.

We will see where this goes, but it clear that on-going business acumen, HR technical knowledge and global understanding and perspective is absolutely not going away and only growing. Also, what these items show, however they end up is as we move to higher levels of HR in our organizations and careers, we must continue to get the basics right and do the work of HR well. Along with this take a much broader view of the environment in which our businesses operate (culture, economics, politics, country of operation, social norms) and integrate this intelligence in to our HR initiatives and business planning. More to come I suppose.
6

I actually am not attending the full SHRM Conference this year, but am in for the weekend attending the SHRM Expert Panel Meetings - I am a participant on the Employee Relations Expert Panel - serving my first term. Things have just gotten going but a few updates to share with you.

First the big question, there is a big series going on here in Chicago - Cubs vs. White Sox - Cubs have taken the first 2. The baseball atmosphere is very different than what we have in Colorado. I also checked out Harry Carey's - actually quite good Linquine and Clams, but enough of that. Here is what is going on so far...

There are 15 on the Employee Relations Panel, one from Colorado Springs actually, a nice bloke working for Progressive - not a member yet, but I am working on it. Also we have some people from California, Washington, and Toronto, Canada - which is cool. Couple things I have picked up include the California PHR is growing fast, and will continue to do so. Certification is huge. The makers of the test and prep. materials are very aware of the current weaknesses, and vow that is going to change as they have hit on a potential gold mine, to be honest, overall certification is going to keep growing. Pay attention all you PHR...SPHR....GPHR....PHR-CA...out there.

Also HRCI is re-branding - yes branding is everywhere (Cathy and Kathleen) - they will now be called Human Resource Certification Institute and they are dropping the Initials...not sure more on that.

Finally, the SHRM Governmental Affairs group spoke and a few points of interetst. First, SHRM is a proponent of Federal legislation making discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal. This will come up in the next year. Also SHRM has helped to restructure pending legislation changing the ADA - and they are actively working on the Employee Free Choice Act - huge issue, that will be back after the first of the year. This is about the union election process..HUGE implications for all of us in HR.

Okay, enough, gotta go, catching up with delegate colleagues. Take Care. More soon!

As we continue into an uncertain economy - of course is it ever really certain to begin with - it is a good time to take stock of how your firm is weathering the current state of things. It just feels that at some point things are going to take off again, and when that happens is your firm ready to excel and be in the top of high performing organizations. This is a good time as an HR leader to assess your own firm to be ready to give input as to how you bump up organization performance. As "they" say, now is the time. The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) did a High Performance Organization Survey - commissioned by the American Management Association (AMA) in 2007 to ID characteristics most associated with high performance - and here is what they found (hint some should sound familiar and ring true).

1.) High performing organizations have a consistent strategic approach. They possess a clearly stated vision and
are supported by flexible and achievable strategic plans. To clarify, they "walk the talk". They have clearly
articulated philosophies that set standards for everyone's behavior and focus. For example, if a strategic thrust
is "innovation" all the employees are on the same page and organizational measures reflect that orientation.
Key Question for HR - Do our employees know what is expected of them and how it will be measured?

2.) High performing organizations believe they exist mainly to serve their customers. They continually monitor
changes to customer needs and wants and build services/products around those needs. In fact customer data is
the most important source of new opportunities. Here's the kicker - they continually work to exceed customer
expectations. Internal systems are flexible to adapt to changing customer needs.
Key Question for HR - What do know or not know about what our customers will need or want in the next
year ?

3.) High performing organizations immediate supervisors know the strengths of their respective employees and
better yet turn them loose to build on those. Employees believe their actions contribute to organization success
and all are clear about performance expectations.
Key Question for HR - What is the key strength Employee "A", "B", etc., bring to their role and organization?

4.) High performing organizations focus on processes, structure and metrics. Yes, they measure, but only those key
items and processes identified as key to success - see point two above regarding focus on customers.
Key Question for HR - Do our metrics capture the data we need around our key processes and customer
needs ?

5.) High performing organizations are upbeat, ethical and ready for challenges meaning people like to work for
them, and both sides treat each other "fairly" yes I said it and with respect. Shared values exist around
innovation and the focus is external on customers, markets and competitors.
Key Question for HR - What new services/products are our key competitors launching in the next quarter or
have they launched in the last year?

Overall, the themes of success appear to be: "Walking the Talk" on all fronts, focus on customers, shared values and beliefs, and emphasis on internal processes to keep them flexible and measure, measure, and measure. See, I told you you would know some of these.

It sounds like more of Denver's professional sports franchises, but it's not. A Study published by the Human Capital Institute showed employers who recruit from outside their local areas must understand how their community is viewed by the potential population of recruits. In short, how does your city brand itself. Denver tied for fourth place in relocation desirability (or most likely to relocate to) along with Atlanta, Boston, Austin, and Los Angeles. This is pretty cool company I admit. San Francisco and San Diego tied for first place. In cities identified as least likely to relocate to the top spot was held by New York City, followed by Detroit.

There were a total of 34 criteria and the top ones included: Safe streets and neighborhoods, career and professional opportunities, clean and attractive, reasonable commute times, and quality affordable, accessible health care. Interestingly the 34th factor was "close to the mountains".
It did not rank nightlife, or the single scene in case you are wondering.

The key is people are hard to move and the location of the company matters (I know that was an obvious one). Also, negative perceptions seem to outweigh positive ones when making the actual decision. Therefore, when designing your recruiting message for out-of-towners use the local region as much as you can to reinforce your employer brand and message. Local Chambers can be very helpful in providing statistics, and verbiage when you are crafting your message.

I am off to San Francisco! Not really--in case you're wondering.

Okay, how obvious is that? But wait a minute there's more. A month ago at our HR Best Practices Conference sponsored by MSEC, I happened to overhear a few participants comment that they could never do the things the speakers were doing with their HR programs because their organizations were so much smaller than the firms being talked about. Well, that is not really true and frankly a bit defeatest.

However, the role and impact does change with the size of the organization as you would expect because the needs from HR differ, but the role can be just as impactful and "strategic" as in any size organization. For example, in firms with 1 - 99 employees the role of HR is more operational/transactional and does focus on legal compliance. But this is needed since in these size firms many are starting the function and getting systems in place poised for future growth. Surveys show the greatest opportunity for strategic impact is HR's role in training and development programs, or building the capability of the workforce. In comparison to firms with 100 - 499 employees the greatest opportunity for strategic impact is in the recruiting and selection programs.

The bottom line is there is always going to be tactical and strategic needs and contributions from HR - it is simply how those get delivered that may differ. What matters to you from a professional, political and career standpoint is do you know what your leadership wants and needs and do you deliver on it. Oh and complaining about being small or not having any resources to deliver value-adding, strategic and impactful programs does not help any of our causes in HR!

Yeah, I know China is not too popular at the moment, (except with Google, IBM, Microsoft, USOC, numerous MSEC members...) but I digress. Actually, a survey recently published by the three major Chamber of Commerce's in China showed that finding skilled recruits, particularly for the Middle Manager positions was the biggest HR challenge facing global firms doing work in China. Demand for skilled qualified staff continues to grow driving salaries up 8-10% this year (Denver and most of the US expects 3.7% (WOW). The recruiting and retention issue is not new to China, when I was there in late 2006, HR professionals were singing the same tune. But in dealing with a number of MSEC members I have seen the struggle first hand as they open up operations there.

Other top HR challenges in China include training professionals, cost of social benefits, difficulty in terminating employees, lack of clarity as to what benefits firms must provide, pressure to hire more staff than needed (think featherbedding), and sending trained staff and managers to 2nd and 3rd tier cities. Contributing to the problem is rising strength of domestic firms now competing for labor with multi-nationals and China's education approach which focuses on rote memorization, (skills that don't necessarily translate to managerial success). While these HR challenges are well challenges, they are not dragging profits yet. Profits continue to climb for firms in China.

So as I said, if you want a job, I know where you can get one. (oh and in all seriousness, if you have questions about HR and China contact me at MSEC we do have contacts in China that can help).