when I entered HR, I really held my ethics high and proud. Never would I suggest “Off to Mexico” as a possible senario and negotiations-tool.

My life taught me that there are nuances to it. I have dealt a lot with unions through my career. I met trade-unionists that were full of commitment for the benefit of the company. They wanted to contribute albeit being the spokespersons for the rest of the employees.

In Denmark we have agreements that transends several sectors – general agreements between the unions and the representatives for industrial sectors. This makes HR much more easy. One agreement – and when you get a hold on it, it proves to be a book of solutions, just looking for a company representative and a trade-unionist that sits down and work out a local agreement. This normally takes the pressure of- and need for - the Danish equivalent of “Off To Mexico”. The system is based on  understanding and a shared interest for the company.

Now GFC is rolling over so many sectors and many a local agreement bears traces of being negotiated when money was in abundance, workforce hard to recruit. When I listen to the HR-grapewine I hear that when trying to negotiate – based on a crisis and perhaps a liquidity issue – a new local agreement, outsourcing rears it’s head again. Some use it as a wakeup-call for the unions some consider it a final solution, because the unions aren’t listening.

What would I do? hm… The prospect of outsourcing several jobs and the subsequent disaster for so many people makes it a tool I really would hate to pull out. It is a final solution not to be considered lightly.

But I am a company represenatative – and I would have to look at the greater picture and act on the benefit of the company, with due respect for the employees. I would have to be creative it the union-representative. But it really requires a union-rep that is in tune with the market, the company situation and most importantly understands that ultimative demands, will be met with the opposite from the management. Trench-warfare from WW-I proved that it is only the grunts that gets chewed up, rarely the Rear-Echelons that gets to taste the blood and gunpowder.

When looking at the danish system of agreements between the unions and companies, it is based on negotiations. It is really flexible with social security that enables the companies to fire people more swiftly and often in more controlled numbers; making the ajustments more swiftly and appropriate. so when companies threaten to either outsource or close down a part of the company, I can promise you one thing – it is NOT a hollow threat. It will most likely have been discussed at upper-management level, and a contingency plan will exist. It is NOT a tradition to threaten, but unfortunately it is a point lost on unions that through the last 5-6 years have been used to companies desperate to employ their members.

Two things must be my conclusion:

if you are in management and HR: if you pull the outsourcing card out, be ready to either be called as a bluff or you will have to go through with it. It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

if you are in a union: you are responsible for keeping a good relationship with the management while representing your members. Please think big and forward. You might be able to call the outsourcing as a bluff, but you might end up paving the road for it later, as no management likes to be humiliated. Please be flexible and choose the battles best fought and won; some are more appropriate for a GFC some more appropriate for a GFB (Global Financial Boom).

For both parties: keep flexible and be creative. You are dealing with so many people and their financial situation. Do not let it get personal. Keep it professional. Take a timeout during the negotiations if they get heated. But be prepared to walk the walk …

Kindest,

Steen

If you read
this article

you get the feeling that HR people does not feel like real employees.
I really do not think it is because we are superior people with a higher intellectual capacity, say like a salesperson – but I think it is because we often become pariahs of the organisation. We discipline people, we enforce corporate policies, we are often caught in OHS with all the legislation that acompanies that. We are the bottleneck – if you ask the managers – that stomps the growth.

So being the pariahs – we tend to give ourselfs cool nicknames and bitch on how other are utter morons.
Because nobody appreciates the benefits of a well-running, competent HR department. We do actually recruit the footsoldiers and generals, we assist with driving corporate strategy, we develop policies and guidelines so to keep a logic, fair and transperant way of conducting the internal business.

But they just bitch. So to ventilate our frustration – we bitch back. And give ourselfs cool nicknames, and blog like crazy to tell the world what we actually are contributing with and to.

Not that I do not recognize the benefits of a cool, and smooth running operation in accounting, sales, logistics, operations, businessdevelopment, and so forth. But they get recognized because they contribute directly to the running of business. Human Resources does it in the background.

And they don’t get to get cool nicknames…
Have a good sunday, friends.

Basicly the siutation is:

You promised something
You got caught
… and you know it…

and what is worse: no-one would care about what you think; the costumers will cry “Havoc and blood we must see”.The press want to see you on your knees begging for forgiveness. The Investors want this to go away NOW. But you cannot really fire that bright kid, that came up with the idea, so what to do??

Well – you rent a scape-goat… Plain and simple.
Call your trusty partner in crime – a.k.a. HR Department, let them canvas the market for a optimum candidate with a career in the terminal stage4 phase. And give hiim/her a offer hard to refuse.
“You take the bullet, we pay you for it”. Re-date the contract so the person has 6 months experience should you have to document something or what ever you need it to be. Contact the journalist thanking him/her for pointing you towards this shameless behaviour that you OFCOURSE not were aware of. You showed brisk judgement, launched an investigation, identified the culprit responisble, and have now fired him/her immediately. Then invite the journalist for a luncheon in order to tell about how much you care about CSR, OHS, ethics and morality in management.
He gets an article, you get exposure, the “scapegoat” gets paid.

Feel free to operationalize this concept – it is for free… But feel free to qoute me as the inventor.
Have a nice day,
Steen, the HRDragon

my Bibbi-princess

After some coffee was drunk, the papers sorted and stacked, I noticed that Life must have thought I needed a reminder that there is grace around me. That  beauty and reward does NOT always lies in shuffling stacks of paper. In this case beauty was ON the stack of papers. I thank that gorgeous girl for reminding that you don’t need a cool job (i.e. HR Partner) to be cool.

Just be a feline princess…

More than once I attended “Value-implementation” workshops where the TopBrass told with great vigour and enthusiasm [on occasion not] about the creation behind the values, how much the costumers will benefit and on quite a few occasions how much more happy the employees would be, once they had taken to heart, this spanking brand new set of core values.

Now, is that nice, isn’t it. Few pamphlets, social gathering backed up with a new employee – manager conversation sheet, developed either by some high-priced consultant [not proud to admit: me] or some born-again HR Consultant, that has taken this golden opportunity to get out of the organisational shadowland and finally do something everybody will notice – and most likely hate.

so – to sum up:

Values created – CHECK

Values presented – CHECK

Values implemented according to what-ever new management fad, the CEO has stumbled upon: CHECK

And then nothing happens… the employees still feel disgruntled, they bitch about how much they have to disregard their own inner values, in order to comply.

Then the CEO calls either me again to complain that the values are malfunctioning. When I told him, noooo it is not the values but how they were made [Never do that if you are the consultant that helped concieving those darned values - then blame the organisation for lack of maturity].

At Copenhagen Business School there is a Ph.D. student, Susanne Eckmann. She has written an excellent article in the newspaper “Weekendavisen” – and I think she sums it up very nicely: It is a question of authenticity. Not the values, but the selfperception of the employees. Only do the important things, only the creative things and only in accordance with the employees own inner core value. If it does not happen to please that inner core, she states that “alienation” from the employee towards the organisation happens. And I tend to agree.

The higher education – the higher frustration, when the employee are ordered to do the tasks that is not interesting, creative or in accordance to the inner core. Atleast this is the humble opionion of this HRDragon. I have a MA and a BA and a 2 year consultant education from a highly esteemed institution in DK.

Yet I still have to answer questions on OHS, maternity leave, regulations, answer strange questions from future candidates. On occasion I do the “crazy OD” stuff… But, after working 2½ years with purely OD stuff, I can say onething: Dude, that is really hard to be creative on demand… But had you asked me when I was fresh out of university I would have puked out of sheer disgust to do such low-status jobs….

As she ends the article: Who gets to be free, creative and critical all the time?

1. Don’t be an asshole.
2. Don’t divert attention away from the mission and vision of the organization.
3. Don’t cause problems that are bigger than the problem we’re trying to solve.
4. If you don’t like it, leave.

http://punkrockhr.com/punk-rock-employee-handbook/

She is right… use common sense, accept that you are not the center of the universe and things have to be done – and you have to do them, as you are being paid to do so.

Kindest,

Steen

I keep noticing the different types that show up in HR departments.

With no evil intentions – I will try to make a description of the types I met through my career – it a key point for me that NO evil thoughts are intended.

The Cervix Brigade:A rather common specimen of HR is often the kind-hearted person, that after a few psycho-dynamic courses looks at their colleagues as potential clients, where they with their “Mother-Earth-loves-you” approach starts to dispense therapy as there where no tomorrow. I suspect their intention to enter HR is that it is cheaper than open a private practice and it is also a more stable income with a stable client platform. I often refer with great affection to those brothers and sisters as the Cervix brigade or less actionate as the Womb-squad.

The Wanna-be’s: four horsemen of Know-it-All. Most middlemanagers know them by heart. The back-seat drivers of Management. They hold the theory well as skilled masters of Management book quotes, that they dispend at every opportunity. Unfortunately they hold no basic understanding that from book to reality there are not just XXXX pages between covers, but a world of facts, context and some common sense. They impress in the beginning, but when shit hits the shovel, they cannot make a difference. In project groups you can spot them easily, as most presentations start with a lengthy theory lecture, and as the presentation inevitably moves towards the end where you start to present what you would be recommending the paint runs thin… I consider those to be invaluable in the beginning but a nusiance in the end.

“I used to…”: oh dear, my favorite. Often a candidate with few years of experience, with some okay projects on the CV. Every time they start a job, the try to replicate former succes with complete disregard for the context issue. Most minor organisations hire one of those as they impress at the interview and often can document 100 years of past experience, but they just never take the time to understand the culture, context and market situation before they pull out Ye Trusty Suitcase Of Former Glory and start implementing their former succes. When the projects run in to problems, as they inevitably do – the organisation is always to blame: Not mature enough, to simplistic, not enough support, no qualified managers to grasp the importance of their past experience and the value they OUGHT to reap from it. They burn-out by sheer frustration when they realise they are fighting windmills with a tennisketcher.

The Boxed-Focused HR person: ”

I am good at recruitment, and I stay good at recruitment /salary /compensation /legal issues /Trade union relations and I stick to that, thank you very much”. I think of them as specialists, that live behind a very high wall, that takes energy to climb and when you finally climbed it and you dangle percariously on top of it just to get told ”I aint buying”. Sigh… A former colleague described them as a One-Tool-toolbox. A nessecity for a large corporation, but poison of new-thought-and-new development in anything but the ultra-large HR organisation.

The Dreamer. The one that holds no respect for the fact that HR supports the organisation in their overall work. They consider implementation as a unfortunate fact that is best left for managers. I hold them dear to my heart, because every organisation needs a village idiot, that makes things grow. But they have a tendency to become the village lunatic as fact-based implementation holds NO interest. They need support - perhaps from the Cervix brigade and the One-Tool-Toolbox. A former VP once described them as scientists that looks at the organisations as guinea pigs in a gigantuan lab experiment… We both sniggered

I oughtta gone to LawSchool: A slight variation of the One-Tool-Toolbox: They are structured and have often impressive memory as they can quote the complete works of our law-making fathers – from the equal-rights law to Workmans compensation act without blinking. Everything is law for them, and they are often established legislators-judge-executioner by own appointment. They hold a certain position in the organisation – especially in organisations that has a lot of blue-collar workes in Denmark. Revered and feared, because they can stop ANYTHING by uttering following sentence: “you cannot do that! It will be in violation of…. §XX subsection YY” – and often they succeed because the opponent does not hold the same knowledge (I have seen dreamers go home sobbing violently after meeting one of these characters). They are the one that on occasion can watch a movie where the bad-guy CEO plans to lay off 100.000 people just because the coffee was cold and think “ooh… he cannot do that – because it is in violation of the mass redundancy act of 1762″. Often they get their day of judgement when they meet the lawyer that teaches them that law is not cast in steel but cast in “truth is what the hell we establish it to be and THEN intrepets the law accordingly”. That leaves them befuddled and in disarray.

What type am I then? A mixture of the above mentioned. I will not go into the ratio between types, but I think the type less represented in me is the “One-Tool-Toolbox”.

My thoughts on how to become valuable to an organisation.

“Remember to remember….” Never forget you are there to serve as the “Human Resource Know It All” oracle.

“Be the role – not just the person”: It is okay to remember who you are, but you are being paid to do a job – feel free not to do it, but then leave the organisation by the doors marked “EXIT”. Do the job with respect for your core values and use them to influence the process. But things are often done because THEY HAVE TO. (layoffs, Salary cuts and what-not).

“Remember where you are”: Get to knwo the organisation and the culture and the context. without that knowledge you are simply lost without a map and a compass

“The Map is not the terrain”: Your theoretical knowledge and experience is great, but not easy to implement. With the risk of sounding like a nerd: you will be flying by map and instruments if you rely only on those two skills.

“Let people get to know you”. Spend time with the managers, directors and VPs and the janitor. Tell them about you be curious about them. When the relations are in place, things become so much more easy.

“The difference between thinking outside the box and being plain weird is hair-thin” – Every organisation needs to be respected and development and change for the their own sake is doomed. Every time you change you create confusion; give it time to swallow and understand and adopt. Then change again. The good partner/consultant dispenses change innovatively in a way that create value, because it creates value and not because it is innovative. if you thrive with creating innovate solutions – then go freelance and live from it; if you want to be a company consultant, hone your skills in designing something innovatively, but you need to develop those skills along many others.

most importantly: be humble with the people you work with but respect you self.

Kindest,

Steen

Normally HR persons stick to what they are supposed to do: hiring, firing, policies, union agreements, administration of the souls toiling away at the treadmill…

I have made a full circle in my career – I started with BPR and business development; earned my wings as a project-maker and ditto developer.

Now I have come home…

I am in the aviation industry – and bloody love it. Excellent company, top motivated managers and leaders in a volatile market. As close to an adrenaline rush for a HR Partner. Blessed with a boss that focus on making HR as visible as possible and had me dragged into BPR and businessdevelopment projects as a “chief-whip/enforcer/devils advocate/chief manipulator”. And I go to bed thanking the powers for granting me a boss like that.

But it leaves me with the question. Is HR supposed to do this? Have HR department become my private playground where I chase what I think to be of relevance?

And with my feeble voice I yell “Hell, yes – we need to be there!!”  who else would? Controlling? Marketing? No, HR should be able to give the necessary feedback and process-management required. We need to be at the table in order to facilitate and develop – it is the only way we can stay ahead.

So many HR departments are – in accordance with Good Ol’ Newton – only reacting on the stimuli from the organization and hence are reactive rather than proactive.

With this in mind I skip forward to my partnership understanding. I thin that being a HR Partner differs from a HR Consultant, in the latter being reactive, but the partner needing to be proactive. I developed my understanding for the partnership role from the US Army’s attempt to develop a new kind of journalism “Embedded Journalism” – I developed “Embedded HR-ism” I still apply all the tricks of the HR-trade, but I do it much closer to the core-business. I – metaphorically – sleep, eat and sh’t with the “grunts” in order to service them with either the tricks, trades and vices of the traditional HR toolbox – or as a facilitator of development and coaching.

It makes HR so much more visible and in touch with the organization, thus adding value and reasoning into an organization growing like weed, fertilized with “Go-Mindedness”

I could go  on for hours….

I had high hopes and ditto anticipations. Having watched WestWing (all 7 seasons) I dreamt of a leader as Josiah Bartlett – and you know what… I think he is here…

His speech was dark, but still a light of hope.

Semantic wise it was brilliant – and it was delivered with a belief from within. I was impressed with the way he emphasized that they chose to circle the waggons because the recession rather that the recession is here – now we circle the waggons. To me the difference is significant – and I still hold the belief that he is a briliant example of a leader of change.

He was honest – but he shows a way out of the situation so dire for the world, and not just America.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

and I really felt a surge when he said

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.

Ladies and gentlemen – should any CEO stand up and utter those words with conviction, people will follow…

Last time I was in a company downscaling and fighting for every bit of “ground” my CEO forgot to motivate and inspire.

I really wished he would have had the courage to say

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends – hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility – a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

We did not have the motivation to struggle… nor did we get the acknowledgement of the tasks done and the – in all modesty – great achivements achived…

it is just words – the more cynical would notice. True, I would retort… but words have the benefit of creating change, when action is put behind it. He believes that he WILL succeed and the unnamed american [employees) will succeed. If you believe in your tasks – then you have multiplied the possibility of success. The words show the path and the confidence. If it was felt by the audience, then it becomes their confidence. And I you have the confidence, then you will act with confidence rather than question your decisions and hesitate.

I do not see Josiah Bartlett when I look at Pres. Obama – but I hear him.

Great…

Well, this was the words from a European rather than a american. It is the words of a HR Partner that firmly beliefs that change comes with words rather than from a journalist or a Policitial Scientist.

Do have a nice day and drink to the fact that change is the only constant in human life.

/Steen

I read a lot blogs in my pastime – redundancies are a common subject.

With the risk of just adding one more I would like to share my thoughts with you anyway

When the “ball” is rolling, costumers lining up at the door pawing to get in, recruitment is the name of the game.

You have to assist the management with describing what they really want, in regards to their organisation, tasks and colleagues.

It is the fun part of HR; you can fulfil the dreams of the applicants and the managers.

You have the position to decide whether those dreams become reality. I tried interviews where the recruiter displayed an immense arrogance; thank God it is a loooong time ago, but the experience stayed with me.

I emphasize to the manager, that we are most likely the first time the applicant gets to know someone from the company. The impression the applicant gets from that interview stays with them for a very long time.

Of course I need to test the candidate for motive, abilities and references and on occasion press for references.

But I have still to be respectful, careful and considerate in that process. Because the impression lasts, and lasts and lasts…

Now the situation looks so different. Oh dear, the world has changed. We went to bed in an economy just slowing down – and woke up one morning in an economy gone to Siberia.

Layoffs are an issue now that presses on the management and in the nature of gravity pulling the hard tasks downwards: it exerts it toll on HR.

I would like to emphasize that it is a more awful time for the for-applicant-now-colleague that faces the long, lonely walk down to the Unemployment Office than it is for the HR Partner. It is a terrible decision to sack people, and fortunately I have been blessed with managers, that shared my view:

It is a necessity for the company to survive, but we have still to be respectful, careful and considerate in that process. Because the impression lasts, and lasts and lasts… And it lasts not just for the one given their notice, but also for those who “stay onboard”.

Now management and leadership have to walk together.  You HAVE to keep focus on both groups. You have to assist those given notice in shaping a new future and you have to assist and show clear leadership in shaping a new road for the remaining employees.

Because the impression lasts…

And there are no easy cures. HR development is not just part of the organisations strategy in the Good Ol Times – it is a necessity in the Good Ol HARD times.

And if any: HRD is often one of the causalities of recession. It is expensive, but I really believe it is worth it.

Share your thoughts, please.

Steen