Can dogs lie?  No, I don’t mean hanging around on the sofa but actually communicate a falsehood?  Curiosity was killing the cat, so to speak, so I put the question to the Dali Lama of the Internet  to see what I could find out.

Well, I didn’t find much.  Not even my fav Cesar Millan really answered the question on his website.  (I did pose it to him via Twitter @cesarmillan, so we’ll see if he responds.)  What I did find though, were answers from various psychologists who posit that deception is a sign of intelligence, thus the more intelligent an animal is, the more the capability to lie – humans of course, being at top of the brain chain.  A couple of other psychologists explored the idea that a “true lie” is where the liar knows  what he is doing, versus a “behavioral lie,” where the liar is getting the target to behave in a certain way without knowing he (the liar) is doing it.  This point of view suggests that behavioral lying may not require strong cognitive ability.  We do it, but it is not a conscious thing.  Rather it’s something useful that we’ve learned from past experience that gets us what we want.  That’s probably what dogs do, I bet.

True or “real” lying then, may require an understanding that people see the world differently from each other and so have different desires, beliefs and intentions.  To intentionally lie, or manipulate another person’s beliefs, one needs to understand that they have a point of view that can be manipulated.  This is where intelligence comes in.  But behaviorists also tell us that even when a true lie is being verbally expressed, our bodies still give us away.  This is because our brain first has to stop itself from telling the truth, make up the lie and then handle the emotional stress of guilt and fear of getting caught.  Mouths can lie, but bodies can’t.

And thus, the popularity of television shows such as The Mentalist and Lie to Me.

I recently had the experience of observing a panel interview for a client who wanted to be sure the organization was bringing in the right person into its c-suite.  There had been a huge issue with the previous executive who not only demoralized the staff, but caused great stress (financial and otherwise) for the company as a whole.  They asked me to observe each of the five candidates during the interview process to determine any behavioral cues being given that could help indicate whether or not the person was the right person for the position.  The experience was exhausting, (it’s hard to stare at people all day), but one of the most interesting tasks I’ve had the pleasure of working on.

Well, things progressed and after the third interview I was getting pretty good at observation.  I began to notice several things the fourth candidate was doing that led me to believe she was lying through her teeth.  Here’s what I saw:

Hint #1.  Heightened stress response – the candidate sailed through the first set of questions, which were designed to help put candidates at ease.  It’s a similar strategy that police interrogators use with subjects; start with non-threatening questions first and then watch for changes in the nonverbals that indicate deception when the questions get harder.  In candidates who are telling the truth, I find they will start to settle down, rather than ramp up emotionally, as the interview progresses.  But, the longer this interview went on, the more this candidate became agitated and unable to sit still.

Hint #2.  Longer, more direct eye contact – it’s a myth that people avoid direct  eye contact when they are lying.  The opposite is true.  Some people will actually stare you right in the eye as if to dare you to confront them with the fact they are lying.  This was what the candidate was doing with the interview panel.  I was opposite her at the conference table and she picked one person to consistently make eye contact with; and it wasn’t me.  As a matter of fact, she picked the person probably with the least influence on the panel.  That didn’t bode well with the rest of the team.  It made them not like her.

Hint #3.  Shorter response time – when a lie is premeditated, the person will start to respond more quickly to a question than someone telling the truth.  But if caught off guard, the opposite will be true; the person will take longer to frame a response as creating a lie takes some brain time.  You guessed right; this candidate was taking a tad too long to respond, and coupled with the other cues I was getting, was leading me to believe she was not telling the truth.

Hint #4.  Different verbal cues – this one was easy to spot.  When lying, a person’s voice will change pitch and get higher.  Think of a little kid who shouts out, “But I didn’t do it, Mom!” with that little squeak at the  end.  The other verbal cues I was getting from this candidate included a lot of rambling (went all around the questions, but didn’t really answer many of them), stammering (uttering the phrase, “you know?” way too much), and qualifying (using phrases such as “well, to the best of my knowledge”) in answering questions.  I caught this one when responding to the questions regarding company operations, which made me believe she didn’t even read the candidate prep package.  She also kept swallowing and licking her lips.

Hint #5.  Self-comforting behaviors – when lying many people will try to calm themselves by various tics and twitches.  They’ll shuffle their feet, root around in their chair, and stretch to get rid of tension.  Some of the best cues regarding self-calming behaviors though, are when people start to touch their face.  This was the big red flag for me.  Our candidate was constantly rubbing her nose (did you know that when you lie you get a rush of adrenaline which opens the capillaries in your nose and makes it itch?).  She kept crossing and uncrossing her arms.  Playing with her hair.  Rubbing her knees.  Shrugging her shoulders.  Hunching over and then sitting up straight.  Covering her eyes of and on with her hands.  And the biggie:  not mirroring the behavior of the rest of the panel members.  Snag.  Caught her.

Of course there are pathological liars who can outsmart even the most experienced human lie detectors.  If the person truly believes the falsehood there pretty much is almost no way to detect the lie.

Needless to say, this candidate didn’t make the cut.  And I bet she knows the truth why.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire is a post from: The HR Whisperer

I received this gem of a poem from one of my clients.  We’ve been working together on an intervention to help his department and collective organization get employees more engaged.  Tough thing to do, given folks don’t get recognition or even raises, really and job satisfaction is very high.  Just the fact that he sent this to me though, screams volumes in where his head is at, what he’s all about, and what he wants to do.  I’m proud and excited to be helping this fine organization; they’ve got leaders, positional and personal, who want to do the right thing.  Bravo.

I’ve since found out that these “rules to lead by” are called The Paradoxical Commandments.   Written by Kent Keith in 1968 when he was a sophomore at Harvard College, the commandments were part of The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, his first booklet for high school student leaders.

Kent was 19 when he wrote this.  A babe.  What a great way to think – and act – when living a life.  I’m inspired and I hope you are, too.

So, here they are in the spirit of our forefathers who also wanted to do the right thing – and succeeded.  My best to you and Happy 4th of July, everyone!

The Commandments of Leadership

If you do good, people will accuse you of ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

Honesty will make you vulnerable.
Be honest anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down
by the smallest people with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.      
Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you help them.    
Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you’ve got, knowing you may get kicked in the teeth.        
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Leadership Commandments…Personal or Otherwise is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Why are Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees required for jobs?  That was the question I was asked the other night by one of the students in my graduate class on human resources management.  At first blush I thought it had to do with cognitive ability (and I was right), but when I don’t know something to be empirically true, my nerd hat comes on and I have to go look it up.

You’d think it would be easy to find – nope.  I spent over an hour on the web searching for any kind of information regarding the relationship between holding a college degree and job performance.  I must tell you that the Internet and I are great friends and have been since forever.  The firm I worked for at the time was a tech company and supported all employees in becoming early adopters of any kind of technology – and I thank them for that to this day.

But I digress.

Anyway, I ended up at the Department of Labor website.  In its Uniform Guidelines for Selection, the DOL says:

The degree of relationship between selection procedure scores and criterion measures should be examined and computed, using professionally acceptable statistical procedures. Generally, a selection procedure is considered related to the criterion, for the purposes of these guidelines, when the relationship between performance on the procedure and performance on the criterion measure is statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance, which means that it is sufficiently high as to have a probability of no more than one (1) in twenty (20) to have occurred by chance….

In plain terms, what the DOL is stating is that if you want to use any kind of criteria, such as need for a college degree to determine whether or not a person is qualified for a job, that criteria must have some statistically significant positive relationship between it and successful performance on the job. 

This really didn’t tell me why a college degree is required, but it was a start.  So, I did more research and ended up finding two articles that provided my answer.

The first article from The American Economic Review  entitled, “Academic Achievement and Job Performance,” reports research conducted in the early 1970s by Harvard University assistant professor David Wise on whether or not students who get good grades in college increase their earning potential over the course of their career.  They do.  But he also stated that:

The relation[ship] between college quality and grades on the one hand and job performance on the other is not only statistically significant, but is quantitatively important…it appears that the criteria used for selection [into college] is positively associated with an individual’s ability to perform job-related tasks.  The findings of the study suggest that this relationship is not simply due to non-cognitive attributes such as motivation or IQ, which may underlie academic success, but that academic achievement is an important determinant of job performance.

But, Wise also goes on to say that nonacademic attributes are just as important as academic achievement in determining job performance.

The other article I found was from 2009, published in Applied Psychology and entitled,  “Ability and Trait Complex Predictors of Academic and Job Performance: A Person–Situation Approach.”  Kanfer, Wolf and company from Georgia Institute of Technology did a study of 105 college students enrolled in a cooperative school-work program, using a bunch of different cognitive ability, knowledge, and non-ability (personality, motivation, thinking styles, decision making strategies, etc.) tests.

They found that:

Both ability and non-ability trait composites were significant predictors of academic performance, but only the non-ability trait composites predicted job performance…Specifically, non-ability trait composite measures provided incremental predictive validities for all measures of job performance, beyond that of cognitive abilities, knowledge, and grade point average.

The end result is that Wise as well as Kanfer and company say that nonacademic is just as important as academic in determining job performance.  You shouldn’t use the one without the other.

So my friends, requiring a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree for a job is only half of the picture – it demonstrates that the job needs a high level of ability in cognition – thinking, learning and processing information.

Now, what would you use to determine the other half?  Yep, you guessed it.  Once again, it’s all about behavior.

Bachelors – And No, Not The Reality Show is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Just finished reading Ben Eubanks’ blog on men in HR for his “National Geographic Exclusive” and it struck me enough to stop what I was doing and start writing.  Not that I don’t LIKE writing a session description for a total rewards seminar, but…

Good question to explore – why is it that men have traditionally shied away from human resources?  Is it because back in the day “personnel” was purely administrative and considered a short step away from being a secretary, which was typically a woman due to the organizational power structures in the ‘50s?  Is it because, as Ben said, that the compliance part of the job tends to attract more females than males?

Now, I know that Ben is not trying to stereotype and he states that in his remarks.

But, it gets me thinking. 

Personally, I think a lot of women gravitate to HR because of the “friend factor,” meaning that HR folks have to do a lot of listening and dispensing of advice, which is some of what friends do for each other.  Friends also take the good with the bad and roll with the punches and will put up with most things, just as HR does.  Could possibly be a girl thing….could possibly be not; research has found that women’s focus on relationships is what leadership truly needs today to get ahead.

Ben says,

“I don’t want to lay any blanket statements on the ladies out there, but my little experience seems to point to most of them focusing on compliance and how to keep things “safe.” More of the males, however, seem to be focused on how to keep the goals moving forward and holding onto the strategic focus…”

Rather than this being a “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” issue, could the fact that women dominate the HR landscape be because of:

(a) the lasting legacy of administrative work in HR, which has chased away a lot of men,

(b) because women like the relationship part and so gravitate towards HR as it fulfills a need, or

(c) because the work itself has evolved into a compliance-centric model and needs a burning platform.

I’m kinda of going with (a), (b) and (c) here. 

Think about how HR has changed–or not changed–in the past 20 or 30 years.  Big, big focus on compliance.  Big, big, focus on protecting the organization from employee litigation.  Big, big focus on cost control.  Lots of administration. Lots of paperwork.  Lots of women in mid-level roles looking for balance.

To me, it really has to do with society’s view of women and their roles.  It’s not necessarily because HR tends to be compliance-bound.  A great article I found on www.referenceforbusiness.com regarding gender and leadership says,

“Other reasons women ascend to leadership positions less frequently than men are that women most frequently inhabit managerial positions with little power , little advancement opportunity, or where other women are so rare that their presence is attributed to their sexuality or affirmative action…outside their paid jobs, women usually have significant responsibility for the care of their families and home, thereby depleting the energy they might otherwise devote to the pursuit of leadership positions of consequence…”

Now, granted this article is several years old, but I don’t believe a whole lot has changed in society quite yet, athough I do believe the sea change will be hitting hard come 2018-2020 when over 50% of the workforce will be women.  

It’s interesting that men are in the minority in HR, but yet may be perceived as the go-getters and strategic focusers.  It’s probably because of the unconscious bias of society toward working women.  Or, it could be the function of HR.  Or, it could be simply one thing…

We women are tired from all that multitasking.  Coffee, anyone?

Is It Really A Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus Thing? is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Photo courtesy of Emma's Teashop for Old Ladies

Didn’t get to go to the SHRM annual conference in San Diego this year (or any year for that matter), so I took it upon myself to try to read as much as I could about all the conference doings and such.  After my bazillionth blog, it hit me.  A LOT of these fine folks are saying similar things. 

 And I kinda got pissed off.

 You know, I’m going to go out on a limb here and respond to all the Bloggers, Tweeters, SHRMers, etc. that are saying that, for HR to be effective, it must hear from its practitioners in the field – not from the consultants, academics, etc. who have been populating the national, state and local HR and related conferences around the country and probably around the world.  Such as from:

 Tim Sackett from Fistful of Talent, “When I was preparing to go to SHRM and deciding on what sessions to attend – my very first impression was “seems like I’ve been here and done this before”  – my next impression was “why does 90% of presenters have either consultant or speaker as their title?  Where have all the real HR Pros gone?”

 Ben Eubanks from Upstart HR, “Some of the sessions I went to were wonderful, and I took a lot of notes (and even wrote about some, too). Others didn’t turn out so well. I went to two or three sessions where the speaker read off of slides or just didn’t hit the topic the session was supposed to be about. That’s fine, when that happened I just left or started talking to someone in the crowd. I did my best not to waste any time during the event…”

 Another comment from Ben, “One of the most profound statements I’ve ever heard from Eric was this: move up, not out. So many amazing HR pros eventually take off and leave the profession instead of continually climbing to be Directors, VPs, and Chief HR Officers. We need more great people to ascend to those positions instead of leaving them to the people with seniority by default (even if they don’t have the skills or passion to be great at it)…”.

 Michael VanDervort from The Human Race Horses, “My big learning was really just a verification of what is an old discussion – HR needs to reinvent itself, and it is the practitioners who need to make that happen through aggressively transforming the way we think and work…”

 Mark Stelzner from Inflexion Point, “Second, I was sadly disappointed by the attendee reaction to a keynote featuring a panel of HR leaders, including Google, Northrop Grumman, Kaiser Permanente and Deutsche Bank. SHRM’s membership is generally not comprised of the senior-most HR professionals from the world’s largest firms, so when they actually take the time to show up, share best practices and offer advice, you damn well better pay attention. Attendees swarmed from the session, first in 2’s and 3’s and then by the dozens. Are you there to listen to Steve Forbes and Al Gore or should you perhaps learn from those who have theoretically arrived at your career destination? And if you did walk out early, you missed a gem from Deutsche Bank’s Conrad Venter when he predicated that HR will be obsolete in ten years if we stay on our current course…”.

Kathy Rapp from Fistful of Talent, “When people ponder the future of HR or ask, “What’s wrong with HR?!” it’s my belief we don’t have enough HR pros who possess the attitude of “Give ME the ball or I want to win the game.”  If there were, we’d have more HR practitioners teaching at SHRM conferences and sharing their own personal stories of achievement and beating the odds.  We’d have more HR folks who move into top leadership roles in their companies outside of HR vs. those non-HR executives who “land” in HR to finish out their careers.  Frankly, we’d have more students coming out of college wanting a job in HR because of the opportunity to build successful business careers and make a better than average living…”

 And, Charlie Judy from HR Fishbowl, “Much of what I see today seems oriented too much toward developing pansy HR subject matter experts and not focused enough on injecting the HR professional pipeline with people who are Ninjas in navigating workplace complexities, sorting through emotional dynamics, acting with agility, and thinking critically.  Without that stuff, you’re just a commodity; after all, anyone can learn to manage a benefit plan…sorry.  If as a profession we are really committed to making HR more crucial to an organization’s value stream, I think we should see stuff like this in the syllabus…”

 What’s the common thread here, people? 

What I interpret is that HR has to change.  No ands, ifs or buts about it.  And I am totally up and down with that.  But change is NOT going to come from the folks who have been doing the same things year after year after year – the HR generalists and practitioners slogging along, waiting until retirement. 

You know, the ones who run to the conference expo hall for all the free swag. 

The ones who leave when senior HR leaders do participate and try to help start the transformation.

Makes me mad as hell.

Here’s the thing – I have consultant and speaker in my title – and guess what?  I was still am an HR practitioner and OD specialist.  As a consultant I get to go into a lot of different organizations and see what’s happening at the macro and micro levels.  As a speaker, I get to share ideas –in an interesting and engaging way – that hopefully serve to inspire and get people to start thinking and doing things a bit differently. 

That is what a teacher is,  you know.  Someone who is focusing on the future and hopefully opening new minds to new ideas.

So, that is what I take from all these comments.  We don’t just need practitioners to share their thinking; we need new minds, new ideas, and new ways of doing things – no matter where they may be.  And that is going to take some serious shaking up and shaping of up of HR.   It’s time.

That’s why I love reading the comments and blogs – new minds, new thinking, new ways.

Makes me aim to misbehave.

Going Out on a Limb, Here is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Read a great article in the February 2010 edition of FAST COMPANY magazine about Volkswagen’s “drive to succeed in America.” 

1968 VW ad photo courtesy of www.thinkingouttabox.com

Tough stuff.  America that is. 

By the way, how many beans do you think are in that car? (The answer is at the end of this post…) 

Anyway, the article caught my eye as I grew up in a Volkswagen household, so nicknamed “King Gee” for our old 1968 VW bus noise which made a “king-gee, king-gee” sound as the engine turned over (which was great to fall asleep to as kids laying on top of the engine, which was in the back of the vehicle in those days) and subsequently turned into an adult user with three VWs to my name before I jumped the Autobahn to Honda. 

Why Honda, you ask?  

Because it met my needs. 

More from the FAST COMPANY article: 

“Volkswagen, originally a beloved, albeit quirky, counterculture brand, has never seemed to fully grasp the American market. When Jacoby took over the U.S. operation in 2007, Volkswagen (including Audi) was clinging to a 2% share of the U.S. market, down from 7% during its Beetle heyday in the 1970s. (VW is now at nearly 2.9% — a significant increase, but slightly less than Hyundai’s market-share jump from 2.9% to 4.3% during the same period.) The dealer network was in disrepair, fatigued by shipment delays, product complaints, and a confusing and occasionally short-lived parade of brands. The German reputation for design and engineering excellence sometimes came across to distributors as arrogance: You will accept the perfect cars we give you, not the rolling living rooms you ask for. Except the cars weren’t always perfect, especially for Americans…” 

Guess when I switched brands – you got it, 2007. 

What I take from this article is that in order to get Americans to drink the VW bug juice (yes, pun intended!), Volkswagen automakers have to recognize and meet their needs.  I don’t know about you, but I spend a TON of time in my car and so my car needs to (a) have a place for my diet Coke, (b) have a trunk big enough to load four deck chairs, six backpacks, 20 towels, two 20-packs of Gatorade and enough protein bars to feed a swarm of hungry swimmers, (c) have a decent air conditioning system so my drive is cool and comfortable, and (d) be sturdy enough to not have to be in the shop every other month.  Oh, and I forgot – be AFFORDABLE.

But I digress – those are my needs, not all Americans. 

Back to the story.  I’m reading this article and it got me thinking about recognition and meeting needs.  And making the leap – doesn’t recognition need to meet employee’s needs for it to be effective?  You bet. 

Various motivational theories tell us that all people have different degrees of need for acceptance, approval, and appreciation.  It’s up to the supervisor to figure out what those degrees of need are and craft a individual recognition plan that will compliment recognition provided from an organizational perspective.  For example, a 2007 survey conducted by  Accountemps found that a simple thank you wins over most employees.  They also found that 35% of workers and 30% chief financial officers cited frequent recognition of accomplishments as the most effective nonmonetary reward, followed by regular communication (20% for employees and 36% for CFOs).  

Now, notice the difference in the statistics – CFOs appear to have less need for frequent recognition of accomplishments, but a higher need for regular communication.  So, would a CFO care to be told everyday that the he/she is doing a great job?  Maybe….or maybe not.  It depends on the individual. 

Here’s three things to consider when giving recognition to individual employees: 

1. Recognition it must be respectful, timely and attached to a specific goal achievement or outcome. Not everyone likes goofiness and sometimes goofiness can overpower the intent of the recognition. Reminds me of when my sister-in-law hired a singing gorilla to sing to my brother at their wedding reception. Totally true story.  Goal? Check.  Timely?  Check. Respectful?   No check. The guy was thrilled mortified.
2. Keep recognition as a mix between public and private.  Some people just love, love, love jumping on a stage to receive their kudos.  Others don’t.  The occasional recognition in the boss’s office can pack just as much punch as an announcement in the company newsletter.  Find out from the employee what they prefer.  One of my favorites is a hand written thank you note.  I still have one note from an employee of mine who told me I was the best supervisor she ever had.  I treasure that thing.
3. Ensure you have a balance between formal and informal recognition.  Not only is it good practice, but it helps to meet a broad range of needs.  Cost can be an issue for formal programs, but there are many inexpensive ways to recognize service anniversaries, employee of the month, etc.  Check out the cool ideas, here, here, and here.

So, how did I get from Volkswagens to recognition?  Oh yes, it’s all about recognizing and meeting needs.  Once I’m done hauling Gatorade and towels, I think my next car is going to be a VW Bug!

And how many beans did you say?   There are 1,612,462 beans in the bus – gotta love their advertising!

Volkswagen and the Leap to Recognition is a post from: The HR Whisperer

So, you’ve been laid off, downsized, right-sized, middle-sized, whatever, and now have to start looking for work.  It’s been a tough couple of years since this damn recession started and that’s not making things any easier.  I know.  I’ve been writing resumes left and right for folks who have been blindsided by the economy and the fact that there just doesn’t seem to be any jobs out there.

There are so many people with really strong resumes that are not even getting a call, never mind an interview.  Breaks my heart.

But, there ARE jobs out there.  You just have to find them – and they may not be in a place where you’ve traditionally been looking.

Instead of trying to find a job in your present field, have you thought about the idea of “reinventing” your career?  Many skill sets are transferable to different jobs, different fields and different industries.  Maybe it’s the time to start thinking about moving into a new, perhaps more realistic direction.

Reinvention is about finding your true calling; your passion.  One of the greatest feelings is doing what you love, all day, every day.

I’m fortunate to be one of those people.  Rehabilitating organizations and developing talent is my game and that gives me the opportunity to do pretty much anything I set my heart on.  I had to reinvent myself in the late 90s after leaving a long-term career in a very large organization.  I had a job, but decided to chuck it and start fresh in another state.  Scared?  Heck yea.  But I took the plunge, survived and thrived.  Trust me; you can, too.

While you’re waiting on that call from the recruiter, try doing some of these things.  You never know; you may just reinvent yourself and when that call comes say, “No thanks, I’ve got my dream job.”

Listen to your heart.  Think about all of the things you’ve always dreamed of doing, especially those things that you would do even if you weren’t paid to do them.  Tory Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire calls this “heartstorming.” If your passion is organization and you find that you like keeping things in order, why not think about using that skill set to start a new career or self-owned business, such as managing Medicare or health records for the retiring boomers.  The key here, according to Johnson, is to ask yourself, “What’s standing in my way?” and then developing a plan to get around those barriers.

Start brainstorming.  Think back through your last few jobs. Make a list of the skills and tasks you do daily.  Think about how these skills could used in industries or jobs outside of what you currently do.  Many skills, such as sales, are easily transferable. As you begin to look at opportunities are available in other fields, search for similarities in the job descriptions and the skills on your list.  One of my clients wanted to follow her dream by moving from the retail corporate world to the child development nonprofit arena.  Highlighting her sales skills were what helped her make the transition because the new organization needed someone who could positively influence others to make donations.

Go back to school.  There’s no time like the present to get additional knowledge and skills.  As a matter of fact, tons of people are flocking to undergrad and grad schools alike to pick up that degree they never started or finished.  While you’re in school, check out different courses and curricula related to your interests.  Heck, take a cooking class just for fun.  Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next top chef! 

Check out the local free career center or one-stop.  If funds are limited, check out the local library, career center or one-stop to see if there are any free classes available.  Career centers also offer information on new positions and job openings, resume writing services, interview help or specific job training.  Many local nonprofit organizations also offer free career planning and development services or courses on entrepreneurship.  They may also be able to hook you up with an internship in your area of interest.  Yes, even 40-somethings can do internships; they’re not just for college kids anymore.  Boston.com has some great ideas for folks in the career change mode.

Volunteer.  Yes, do something for an organization without payment.  Don’t have a job right now?  Have some spare time?  Volunteer.  Pick a nonprofit or service organization that supports one of your passions.  Many people start out by volunteering and end up with full time paying gigs.  It’s a great way to keep your head in the game and build the resume at the same time.  Who said career listings on a resume all have to be paid work!

Network…and then network some more.  Let’s be honest with ourselves.  Getting out there and talking to people, making contacts is one of the most productive things we can do.  Talk to friends, neighbors, contacts from old jobs.  Let them know you’re interested in a new career.  They may not know of anything at the moment, but that conversation could lead to something positive down the road.  Have that one-minute elevator speech handy.  You never know; that person standing in line in front of you in the grocery store may just be your ticket to a new career!

Finally, 

Have a good attitude.  How you feel about yourself and your search will be directly reflected in your resume and in your interviews.  Think of this as an opportunity to regroup, refresh, re-energize.  When a door closes in one place, a window can open in another.  As I used to say to my kids, “Patience, Iago”  (comes from the Disney movie, Aladdin).  Good things come to those who take the time to seek them out.

Now, go get ’em.  You can do this!

A New Career, Anyone? is a post from: The HR Whisperer

I’ll tell you, I’m a list person.  Can cover a lot of ground with a bulleted list.  Found a great list the other day posted on the fridge at Webster University where I serve as an academic advisor and associate professor entitled, A Passport for Life by Regina Brett.  Thought the idea of it was really cool and of course, went to check it out on web.  Found out that Regina is not 90 years old as the printed article states and her passport has 50 things on it (for turning 50), not 45.

That’s okay.  Still liked the list and thought it would be great to convert it to a passport list for employees.  Employees could use a little direction now and then, don’t cha think?

So here goes for the top 10:

1. Working here isn’t always fair, but it’s still pretty good.
2. Save for your retirement – the 401k won’t do it for you.
3. No one is in charge of your happiness – you are.
4. Everything can change in the blink of an eye; think merger. Have resume ready.
5. If a work relationship has to be secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
6. What other people think of you IS your business; get feedback.
7. Make a friend.
8. When it comes to going after the right things, don’t take no for an answer, but…
9. You don’t have to win every argument; just pick the ones worth fighting for.
10. Show up and make the most of your job!

A Passport for Employees is a post from: The HR Whisperer

I was listening to the radio the other day on my way home from the ever-present swim team car pool drive (an hour and a half round trip, ugh) and heard the radio jockeys talking about Valentine’s Day and an article on they found on the Internet related to “64  Ways to Say I Love You.” 

Of course, I went to check it out and thought it was great fun – and something that would be worth translating into showing the love for employees or volunteers.

You see, we don’t do that enough.  And its been worse lately as folks are stressing over the lack of jobs and the lack of a decent economy.  Recognizing employees (and each other’s) contributions takes work – strengthening the relationship takes work – and retaining employees takes work.

So, in honor of Valentine’s day, here’s my list of 64 ways to let employees know you care. 

64 Ways to Show Employee Love

1. Be courteous.
2. Encourage physical and mental health.
3. Have fun. 
4. Don’t compare employees to each other.
5. Give your full attention. 
6. Trust. 
7. Truly listen to what the employee is saying (no multi-tasking!).
8. Be respectful.
9. Share some humor.
10. Be interested in the employee’s interests.
11. Be a cheerleader. 
12. Highlight the employee’s accomplishments.
13. Bring in pizza.
14. Ask for input.
15. Let bygones be bygones; embrace the present – and the future. 
16. Accept the fact that nobody’s perfect. 
17. Play hooky together. 
18. Show interest in the whole person, not  just the at-work person.
19. Catch more flies with honey than vinegar – be nice.
20. Apologize. 
21. Live by the Golden Rule.
22. Better yet, the Platinum Rule-do unto others as they like…unto them.
23. Tell the employee you appreciate him or her. 
24. Take a group picture and post it in your office.
25. Encourage risk-taking and from that, learning.
26. Talk about the day.
27. Laugh.  Best de-stressor outside of prescription drugs.
28. Pick your battles.
29. Have a vision and share it with inspiration.
30. Don’t be competitive; it’s a team effort.
31. Forget about labels – everyone is unique and special.
32. Don’t forget about the commonalities, though.
33. Have an ice cream sundae contest.
34. Watch a great teambuilding movie together like Remember the Titans.
35. Write a “you did an outstanding job” note once a week and mean it.
36. Share company war stories or historical (hysterical) tales.
37. Keep your word.
38. Have them plan the work and then work the plan.
39. Go to a seminar together.
40. Encourage them to join a professional association.
41. Bake cookies in the microwave and share.
42. Be a good idea-bouncer-offer.
43. Show your gratitude; you really can’t do the job without them.
44. Consider employees’ perspectives.
45. Respect personal lives and personal time.
46. Praise publically.
47. Correct privately.
48. Be a person that others want to be around.
49. Take pride in the employee’s large accomplishments.
50. Take pride in the employee’s small accomplishments, too.
51. Share a sincere compliment about the employee in front of other people.
52. Make time for the employee.
53. Recognize that everyone makes mistakes.
54. Give $1 lottery ticket, because they are a winner no matter what.
55. Give space when they need it.
56. Communicate a lot.
57. Be honest.
58. Ask for feedback on your leadership style.
59. Do something constructive with that feedback once you get it.
60. Teach tolerance.
61. Reconnect – do a fun team building exercise.
62. Give the benefit of the doubt.
63. Tell them how important they are to the success of the team and of the business.
64. Be a servant leader.

 True leadership does not dominate – it cultivates.
– HR Whisperer

64 Ways to Show Employee Love is a post from: The HR Whisperer

Yes, this is really me in Steamboat, CO!

With the new year beginning, I started thinking about what the year might hold for the workplace and employees.  Well, I’ll be honest; I was really thinking about snow and skiing.  Those two are at least fun —  I know,  I know.  Unless you have to get on the roof with the hairdryer to de-ice the gutters before the second storm hits and the snow wrecks the house (true story).   Been there, done that.  Sunny Florida beckoned.  I went.  Still miss snow, though.

But it did get me thinking about employees and their needs.  There’s this old adage that says, red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky at morning sailors take warning.  Meteorologists and sailors alike know that a red dawn means high water content from an approaching low pressure system.  Simply put, a [snow] storm is brewing.

Well, we have a red dawn coming.  Employers have enjoyed loyalty from their workforce, especially with the down economy.  While 2010 may still be a downer, things seem to be looking up job-wise, which means that employees will soon be on the move again.  There’s a tempest coming and with it new work ethics, attitudes and priorities.  It’s the perfect storm.

But, in spite of record unemployment, a dismal economy, and Gen Y entering the workforce, employees still have the same expectations they always did.  Spherion points out in its 2009 Emerging Workforce Study that despite the significant change workers have witnessed over the past few years, there is surprisingly little change in how they perceive the employment relationship.  While people may stay at an organization because the current economy demands they do so, holding a job and being motivated in that position are two vastly different things. 

So, how can organizations prepare for the stormy employer-employee relationship in 2010?  Three things: 1) concentrate on the social-emotional connection, 2) offer developmental opportunities that link to the organizational mission, and 3) take advantage of social media.

          Focus on the social-emotional connection.  One of the greatest causes of misery for employees is the feeling that the organization they work for isn’t interested in who they are and what goes on in their lives.  Combat this by training supervisors in social-emotional intelligence.  No matter what the business climate, the generation of the worker, or the technology available, all people want to feel important.  The Hawthorne Studies of 1924 found that if managers paid more attention and cared about employees, it raised morale and increased productivity.  That still holds true today: a recent worldwide engagement study that found that organizations with the highest percent of motivated employees increased income 19% and earnings per share 28%.  Creating the social-emotional connection also means that basic HR programs have to be in place to meet employee needs.  This includes having a decent compensation and benefits package, providing accommodations for the disabled; offering flexible work arrangements, establishing special-interest networks, and presenting good career prospects.

          Provide developmental opportunities that link to the organization’s mission and vision.  The “perfect storm” of the emerging employment contract implies that there will never be job security, that employment will be contingent on added value, and that workers have the right to demand the freedom and resources to do their jobs well.  So, if workers are to add value, help them by providing ample opportunity to improve skills and capabilities.  There are many ways to do this such as through education and training, job enrichment or enlargement, coaching and feedback.

          Take advantage of social media.  Social media is the new way of connecting and tech-savvy workers are using it to keep in touch with friends and family, share information, surf for a new job, and provide opinions on their work and their workplace.  Social media is a virtual conversation and because of this, business is now a virtual conversation.  With the advent of social media, an organization’s brand or reputation can be literally one comment away from disaster – from a Twitter blurb, Facebook post or Epinions review.  Someone out there is talking about the organization and they can say whatever it is they want.  What you can do though, is help manage the conversation.

Managing the conversation however, does not mean telling employees what to say.  It means creating an authentic atmosphere where people can initiate a conversation.  In the era of business transparency, empowering people to tell the truth can be risky, but also rewarding.  Think about how your organization can use social media to its advantage.  Introduce rules of engagement for employees and encourage them participate with an understanding of those rules.  Use social connections to share information about the company – create organization Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, or company wikis and blogs where people can share information, celebrate accomplishments, trade opinions. If something bad pops up, have a person in the organization accountable for responding to it appropriately.  Just keep the conversation going.

While workers may be staying in their respective jobs due to the economy, if the relationship is not a strong one – or is abused – when the storm is over, employees will leave for greener pastures.  Whether it’s today or tomorrow, organizations that invest in their people will find that their people will invest in them.

Employee Snow Storms is a post from: The HR Whisperer