Author: Sheri Mazurek

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Should You Stop the Teambuilding Retreat?

An-office-team-mates-drinking-together-in-a-team-building-retreat-

The KnowHR blog has a posted what they titled Good F’ing HR Advice on October 25, 2010. The advice is to skip the teambuilding retreats. What outstanding advice! Think for a moment about the teambuilding retreats you have attended. They can often be filled with dreaded activities and motivating speeches that might spark some immediate motivation, but what happens after the speech. Often, the evenings are filled drinking with fellow participants some of who can kill your motivational buzz in a matter of minutes. And if you make it back to the workplace still riding the high of the event, how long does it take for the pressures of the daily grind to kill your buzz?

While there are numerous reasons why these events fail to show long term results, one of most overlooked is the workplace application. If the purpose of the teambuilding is to form relationships and build collaboration, how is that supported once you return to the workplace and what impact does it have on bottom line? If you want to build collaboration among peers or across work teams and groups, bring them together and give them a workplace problem to solve. If you want to provide them some techniques to learn collaboration and teamwork, provide the usable, applicable techniques then give them an opportunity to apply them in a real world work setting with clear goals and objectives provided for the team to accomplish.

The problem with application is fairly common with many different types of trainings. A few minutes of role play may help demonstrate the techniques taught in a course or in a training session, but if you fail to provide applicable practice in the workplace or fail to provide support after the training, it is sure to fail long term. The challenge is to figure out how to create application and support outside of the training department.

What ideas do you have to create application and support? Your comments are always encouraged!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

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Ask HR- Reference in the Resume

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I was recently asked my opinion of using a referral pane on a resume. You can view a sample of the resume by clicking here Reference Resume Sample

My opinion is that this is too difficult for a recruiter to scan. If you resume makes into the hands of recruiter or hiring manager once the Applicant Tracking System scans and ranks it, it only has a few seconds to sell your qualifications to get moved to yes or event the maybe pile. When I scan a resume, I need to know what did you do, where did you do it, and how can you help my company achieve its goals in 30 seconds or less. During the scanning process, I am not interested in who you got to say great things about you.

Another resume that doesn’t lend itself to quick scanning is the one will all the cool designs and bold colors. Unless I am hiring a graphic artist, I don’t need funky fonts, colors or shapes. I need a resume that concisely tells how you match our needs. It is as simple as that. (And if I were hiring a graphic artist, I would expect to see a portfolio in a format such as Acrobat or other software that you would be expected to use on the job.)

Another question I frequently get is about the cover letter. Should I bother to send one? The answer is yes. While some recruiters may never look at it, my guess is someone in the hiring process will. However, if you are going to send one, use the T-format.

Listed Job Requirement Your matched skill/experience
Knowledge of ADDIE Used ADDIE method to design corporate leadership training program that resulted in a 100% performance improvement in two departments.

And If you really feel it is necessary to add those recommendations, add another column to your T.

Listed Job Requirement Your matched skill/experience Recommendation
Knowledge of ADDIE Used ADDIE method to design corporate leadership training program that resulted in a 100% performance improvement in two departments. “program provided me the skills needed to help my team reach their goals”
Listed Job Requirement Your matched skill/experience Result
Knowledge of ADDIE Used ADDIE method to design corporate leadership training program. 100% performance improvement in multiple departments.

But if you want to standout even more, use the other column to show your results. That is what I really want to talk about.

What do you think? Your comments are welcomed and encouraged.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

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Ask HR-What is it like to work in HR

Staffs-working-in-an-HR-department

A question I frequently get from those individuals outside of HR is, “What is it like to work in HR?” Well, the answer to that question can vary greatly by HR professional and organization. Human Resources (HR) can include a broad spectrum of specialties within organizations. Some examples of specialties include recruiting, payroll, policy, safety, training and development, and performance management. In smaller organizations, the HR professional may handle all of those specialties and in larger organizations, each specialty is most likely its own department. The roles within HR can vary greatly as well as with many departments from the purely administrative to the executive. Another related and perhaps more important question that is often discussed is, “what should HR be doing?” For me, HR’s primary purpose is to ensure that the right people are working in the right places to accomplish the organization’s goal. In other words, HR is responsible to develop programs that will attract, select, develop, and retain the talent needed to meet the organizational mission. So whether you are an HR department of one or a combination of multiple departments that include hundreds of employees, your primary responsibility is talent management. Here’s a quick test to see if your programs are aligned and focused on the primary purpose of HR. See if you can answer the following questions.

1. What is the primary mission of the organization?

2. What talent is needed to meet the mission?

3. Which programs do you have in the following areas:

Identifying and Attracting Talent?

Selecting and Hiring Talent?

On boarding Talent?

Developing Talent?

Retaining Talent?

4. How is program success measured?

5. In what areas do we need to improve?

If you can’t answer these questions, you have some work to do.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

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Are you listening to the water cooler discussions?

Colleagues-having-a-water-cooler-break.

Office gossip is a term recognized by many. Just hearing this term will most likely result in recollections of conversations you have had or overheard at work. It may even bring a picture of the “known office gossip” into your mind’s eye. While there is debate as to whether office gossip is all bad, if you are listening to it and taking action on what is heard, you may just be well ahead of the game. During a keynote address during the ASTD ALC conference this past weekend, Anne Bruce made the following statement.

“Gossip is a symptom of unmet needs and expectations.”

If you consider for just a moment the topic of office gossip conversations, it may become very apparent to you that no one whispers around the water cooler about things that went well or met their expectations. Instead employees seek out trusted colleagues who may share their viewpoint or their frustrations. Often it is only with these colleagues that employees feel safe enough to give their true feedback.

As HR professionals you need to become a trusted colleague for employees. Doing so will help you find the cause of problem so you can treat more than the symptom. As any good doctor or HR professional should know, treating just the symptom will not cure the disease.

What have you tried in your organization to be more trusted? Your comments are always encouraged.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com.

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Sally’s First Day

Woman Sits in Front of Black Laptop Computer

Sally was so excited she couldn’t sleep. She kept playing the next day over and over in her head. She would arrive to her new job (her first “real job”) exactly ten minutes early dressed in the new business suit she received as a graduation present accessorized with a brand new leather Franklin Covey planner. She couldn’t help but to smile as she imagined being greeted by excited coworkers while receiving the full red carpet treatment she would receive as the newest employee at Dream Company, Inc. Her day would be busy and filled with introductions to co-workers who couldn’t wait to hear all the ideas she has to make things better at Dream Company, Inc.

When the alarm sounded the next morning at 6 a.m., Sally sprang out of bed as the excitement of the day masked her fatigue of a restless night sleep. As planned, she arrived at Dream Company, Inc. promptly at 7:50 am.

If your company was Dream Company, Inc., how would Sally’s story go from here? How long would it take for the honeymoon to end? Would Dream Company, Inc continue to be the dream she expected? What about her motivation? Would her immediate manager or peer group have a negative or positive effect on her? How does your culture support Sally?

Feel free to write the ending of the story and post comments about story telling in learning.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com.

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You want to work in HR?

Group-of-people-standing-beside-a-white-board

I recently received an email from someone seeking advice on entering the field of HR as a career choice. This is a question I often get and so below is the advice I gave to someone with a degree in accounting. If you have a degree in HR, I would recommend that you also find some experience and education in business, finance and/or accounting. Understanding business is critical to a successful HR career if you really want to make an impact.

1. Find your passion.

2. Try an internship in an HR department. There are so many specialties within the field that this experience could prove valuable to you in determining what type of experience and education you will need to obtain and in which HR specialty. You can find certificate programs in a variety of specialties through local colleges and professional organizations. Take advantage of those.

3. You will definitely need to gain some experience. There are few ways to do this. You could seek out entry level administrative positions within HR or training departments. You could also look for opportunities within companies or organizations that you may currently work or have worked for previously. Retail and restaurant management positions can be a way to gain experience in many aspects of human resources such as hiring, recruiting, training, and supervising others. Recruiting firms and employment agencies also are a great way to get experience in that area and often hire new college graduates.

4. NETWORK. NETWORK. NETWORK. Join local or student SHRM chapters or other HR organizations in your area and get involved. Volunteer and join committees. You will be able to build a broader network and gain some experience by participating actively.

5. Create a LinkedIn Profile. Make sure you join groups with which you have a shared interest. Group postings often include networking and educational event announcements and other topics of interests to you. Also, seek individuals who are in HR roles within the organizations for which you are most interested in working. Try to connect to them and watch their updates. You may find announcements of openings in their companies on their profile.

6. Attempt to connect with an HR person within an organization for which you want to work to set up an informational interview. Use the interview to learn what roles the company has within the department, what skills and experience is needed to work within those roles, and ask for ideas on how you can gain the skills and experience. Make sure you keep a business card when you leave the meeting so that you can properly thank them for their time with a note and keep in contact via LinkedIn or through email.

7. Watch your online presence. Google yourself and keep all of your information and postings professional. Seventy percent of employers will Google you!

A career in HR can be very rewarding, but like accounting it isn’t for everyone. It is important to figure out what aspects of work excite or motivate you. When you find a job you are passionate about, it doesn’t feel like a job. And that is the best career you can have!

What advice can you share?

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com.

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Motivation-Do your programs support it?

In a previous post, I discussed motivation from the perspective of who owns the responsibility. In a recent article in Chief Learning Officer magazine, Graham Jones discusses the motivation of leaders. Jones describes two types of motivation and the effect each type has on a leader. The article purports that leaders who are positively motivated toward realistic goals achieve greater success than those who are negatively motivated by avoiding a set of circumstances. The suggestion made in the article is that those who are motivated by fear of failure or fear of making mistakes often behave in such a way as to avoid situations where failure and mistake making is possible. This behavior can often limit their own success and increase levels of stress and anxiety further making success more difficult to achieve.

Consider how the culture of your organization and the HR programs in your organization drive motivation. Do the HR programs focus on the stance that it is a manager’s job to motivate their staff? If this is the case, do your managers use negative consequences as a method of motivation. If so, then the very program or culture might be driving underperformance. If the only response to a performance gap is some kind of warning being given to an employee, how does that impact their motivation? What if the employee was internally motivated already? Could this actually change their motivation from positive to negative (avoidance) resulting in more of a performance gap?

What do you think? Your thoughts are always encouraged!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com.

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Who do you serve?

A-female-staff-in-an-HR-department

The workplace today is filled with its own set of politics and “workplace dynamics” as it sometimes called. There are power structures within the organization both formal and informal. Often times the informal leader has the strongest voice while the formal leader struggles with the very concept of guiding others or having them “follow them.” I have witnessed position power be overruled across industries and within multiple organizations by those persons in organizations that people follow despite their title or position. It is very likely that if you are an HR professional or employee anywhere that you too have witnessed this in your own organization.

Another question that is often asked that is also dictated by these power structures is, “who do you serve?” Many HR professionals believe they are working for their internal customers. Many claim to have gotten into the profession because they like helping people. (No judgment on that answer, I myself initially chose this profession due to the “human” aspect.) However, I wonder how many HR professionals out there are serving “the people” or “their internal customers?” At the end of the day, is that really the job of HR?

If you are and HR professional, what do you see as your “job”? Who are serving? Is it you job to serve the business or the people?

Your thoughts are encouraged!!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com.

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Motivation- Whose job is it anyway?

A motivational card beside a mobile phone on a desk

There is a lot of information written about motivation. New manager/leader training found in organizations and books everywhere has at least one course or chapter devoted to the topic of employee motivation. Located within the material, one will find lists of tips and tricks to keeping employees happy and motivated to meet performance objectives. There is another school of thought that believes it is not the manager’s responsibility to motivate employees or create the motivation for employees. Instead it is the responsibility of the manager to hire motivated employees and then act in such a way to keep them motivated and stay away from things that would de-motivate.

After many years of teaching motivation techniques to managers, I have come to the realization that the later is actually the way to go. In reality everyone is motivated by something different. People seek jobs that are a match for their needs. For some, that might be a job that provides training or skills in area of interest; for others, the perfect job will allow them to work flexible hours to meet the needs of their family while utilizing already developed skills. Regardless of the motivation to seek a job or the factors that keep one motivated on the job, the first step for a manager/leader who wants to maximize the discretionary effort of employees is to figure it out.

What do you do that de-motivates your team? Have you ever said, “Oh, he loves it when I do that?” assuming your actions are inspiring or motivating? Keep in mind, if you are the manager/leader you have the control in the situation and the employee is well aware of this fact. He might not actually love it.

What things do you leaders do that de-motivate you?

Your thoughts are welcomed and encouraged!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Are you concerned with employee retention?

A-female-HR-staff-having-a-discussion-with-emplolyees-in-her-office

How concerned are you about employee retention? If you are a HR pro, you should always be concerned about the retention of your high performing employees. And if you have allowed the job market of the past two years to sway your focus on this, then you might expect some trouble ahead. According to a recent survey conducted by Kelton Research, The Cornerstone OnDemand “Employee Attitude Survey”, you may not be alone. The survey reveals a look at the perceptions employees currently have about their workplace. If we were to use the survey as a scorecard, then we would see that many organizations are failing in some very critical retention areas. Using the familiar grading scale of where a 70% get you a C, let’s take a look at the areas with a failing grade.

GRADE
Showing appreciation 54% say their colleagues show them appreciation Only 30% say their managers; 16% say executives F
Receiving Feedback on Performance 58% say NO 71% say “they haven’t gotten any reaction from their supervisors in the last six months.” F
Establish Career Goals with Employees 82% say during the past six months that they haven’t F
Show alignment with company goals and objectives 53% say they don’t have a clear understanding of how their role fits within the organization F

Study after study continues to a direct link to these behaviors and the retention of talented employees. Despite the research, many company leaders seem baffled by the retention dilemma that is projected to get tougher on companies as the job market shifts and opportunities for top talent increase.

How would you rate your company and yourself on these critical retention driver? By the way, many of them are a lot more cost effective than expensive reward and incentive programs.

Your comments are always welcomed and encouraged!

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is currently employed as the Human Resource Manager at EmployeeScreenIQ, a global leader in pre-employment background screening. Follow her on twitter @sherimaz!