Back at HR Rehab, we all stood up and repeated the words to Step 8: We’re going to make pay-for-performance work. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. So forgive us if we insist that the best people make the most money. It’s not a rule - it’s a fact. Everyone at Rehab had tears in their eyes just thinking of the possibilities of Step 8 becoming a reality. Most of us still have our doubts, especially those of us who have been around a long time in the world of HR.
We were told that Step 7 was, “Rules are for fools. We’re tossing out the rule book. We’re not hall monitors anymore. We’re going to expect grownups to act like grownups or they’re gone. Any questions?”
We all agreed except we were very skeptical on how to make Step 7 happen when we are operating in a very litigious society. One more time, we decided to brainstorm on how we could make it happen:
Okay, my posts about HR Rehab, are somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but I am serious concerning the need for an HR overhaul and calling it Rehab somehow fits to me. It is like going into Recovery. We are recovering from our second-class citizenship status. As Frank Roche would say, “We’re not sitting at the kid’s table anymore.”
Last time we talked a little about HR leading the way after a Reduction in Force (this ties into Step 6 where they will want a seat at our table). This author has been involved in many layoffs in the electronics industry in past decades. These RIF’s led to a decline in loyalty and productivity. Not much good ever came from the layoffs other than immediate economic relief. Most of the companies in the seventies aren’t around anymore except for HP which wouldn’t reduce their employees. They chose many other methods to reduce cost instead. This might account for their longevity.
We all gaped at Step Six: Business is gonna want a seat at our table. The time of putting HR at the kid’s table is over. You said - Our business is about people - Now, with way fewer of them, it’s going to be true. Like scary true. Take a number. [source: Frank Roche of KnowHR]
Meanwhile back at HR Rehab…
“OK, people, raise your right hand and swear after me…We’re not in charge of the holiday party anymore. Yeah, that’s right. We aren’t the social secretaries. We have real jobs to do. See Step #1. Thank-you, you now have taken Step Five.”
Are you Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree? Or, is it a holiday tree? My goodness, I guess we should rewrite all those old songs, like…
Elvis should have sung, “Blue Holidays” instead of “Blue Christmas,” and Bing Crosby should have sung, “White Holiday” instead of “White Christmas,” but, somehow, that just doesn’t sound right. What’s a person to do? What’s an HR person to do? Not sing in the office?
“Tim left!”
“You’re kidding.”
“No, he said that he didn’t need recovery, that HR is fine the way it is.”
“Well, some of us won’t make it. You know that.”
(I’m taking a break from HR Rehab today)…
I’m sorry, but it’s time that the “Big 3″ die a natural death. The Automobilia Rexus Americana has outlived it’s time; it’s extinct as the dinosaurs. Big business, small business, medium size business are not the enemy; Oligopolies are the enemy. The collusion of a small group of sellers in bed with themselves and their unions have milked the American public for over 100 years now and it’s time to let the free market do it’s thing.
Step 4 is: Nothing is sacred. We’re going to critically think about everything we do. And if we hear people saying “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” well… don’t make me come over there.
Meanwhile back at Rehab we started reviewing the Third Step:
“We won’t accept mediocrity in HR. Human Resources cannot be where people go when they can’t find meaningful employment. We’re going to cowboy up our talent. We want - we demand - the best and the brightest.” [source: Frank Roche, KnowHR]
Someone in the group whined, “We can’t implement this step; employees need to know that they can come to us.” Others worried about the tone of the step and how it goes against the good nature of HR people everywhere. Being a fan of Larry Winget (”Shut up, Stop Whining and Get a Life”), I kinda liked the sound of the step myself: “HR isn’t the Complaint Department or your Kindergarten teacher. We’re going to teach people to grow-up and stop wasting our time like they’re 5-year-olds who can’t share their toys.”
Our counselor has told us at HR Rehab that we never complete the steps. Our discussion of Step One was only an introduction and we need to revisit that step continuously. We should know all about the business and participate in every possible avenue to help the business grow and prosper.
“Now, Step Two is going to be a hard one,” she warned us….
Implementing Step One at HR Rehab…. last time I said that we were going to tackle #4 (main issues at “our” company) and prepare a plan per instruction #5. Let’s say that we identified “Poor Customer Service” as a major problem with our company. Now, my experience tells me that usually in organizations, they are in complete denial their problems. For example, I don’t think Home Depot thought that they had a customer service problem years ago or, if they did, they didn’t think it was necessary to do anything about it. Even now when they appear to be more customer-oriented, Lowes still greatly outshines them. I’ve also learned that it takes a lot more than just creating a Customer Service Workshop to fix the problem.
Meanwhile, back at Rehab, we’re still studying the first step. So, what does it mean that…HR has one job: business success? It means that we have to know about business and, specifically about the company we work for and how it runs. We need to know what makes it a success in it’s particular market and how we can be the main drivers to make it successful.
We each received a workbook with these questions/instructions:
At our initial meeting in Rehab, we’re learning about the First Step: HR has one job: business success. Anything else is useless and a waste of air. If it doesn’t have to do with business, we’re not doing it.
Note: I love Frank Roche’s no-nonsense wording of this step. We definitely get the point. In The New HR, we will analyze every thing we do to ensure it is clearly aimed at the success of the business. At Rehab we are told that Talent Acquisition, Talent Engagement and Talent Retention are good examples of how we contribute to the success of the business as Human Resource Professionals.
We HR professionals have just arrived at Rehab and are checking into our Recovery Program. We are full of enthusiasm and thankfulness. We are appreciative how SHRM did such a great job moving us from the old Personnel/Industrial Relations model to the present one. However, we are looking forward to a new paradigm; a New HR. We are excited about the possibilities in front of us. We are confident that if we learn, embrace and practice the Ten Steps (created by Frank Roche of KnowHR), we can become the leaders for tomorrow.
As I told you last time, we need to be in “Recovery.” We partied hard and now it’s time to go to Rehab. The Ten Step Program I’m signing up for was created by Frank Roche over at KnowHR. I’ve said similar things before, but Frank does it so much better than I can. As Frank would do, let me just get to it:
THE TEN STEP PROGRAM FOR HR:
1. HR has but one job: business success.
I sure loved the heady times when things were good…when the stock market was climbing, orders streaming in, production gearing up, new employees were being hired, employee meetings were fun and life was just peachy. But, during those times, we had convenient amnesia. We all silently agree not to talk about the inevitable downturn - we thought that the day of cycles were gone; somehow it was different; we got it right this time; we were in the land of milk and honey; go ahead and buy that house we couldn’t afford; keep spending like there was no tomorrow.
Last reminder: The Employee Free Choice Act is coming in 2009 and a union knocking on your door is not far behind.
Tip Number Four for maintaining a union-free status is: Having an Open and Healthy Culture.
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