human resources

why I wouldn’t hire an HR person for an HR job

I can be pretty judgmental about Human Resources because it’s my field, I’m passionate about what it can do for business, and I’m appalled at how many HR “professionals” want to hold the field in the stone age. But really, Human Resources is no different than any other field. A few people are really, really passionate about and great at their jobs, most are fair to middlin’, and there’s a group at the bottom that really drag things down. As the old saying goes: there’s the people who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.

If I were filling an HR spot today, I’d be inclined to look well outside the field. I’m pretty sure I could train a top performer to be a great HR pro quicker and easier than I could take an existing HR pro and help them to be great. That was Nucor Steel’s insight when they located their plants in rural areas outside of the rustbelt: they found it easier to teach farmers to be steelworkers than to teach steelworkers a different way of doing things. I’ve seen this applied in other industries: I know of an owner of auto repair stores who hires his store managers from popular restaurants. He has found it’s much easier to teach a restaurant manager about the auto repair business than to teach mechanics to excel at providing a great customer experience.

Would I really not hire a human resources person for a human resources job? I would, but here’s what I’d be looking for:

  • They really, really get that the focus is on customer service and managing the customer experience.
  • They are collaborative problem solvers who strive to figure out how to do something vs. deflecting innovation with the shield of bureaucracy.
  • They view themselves as a business person with an HR focus vs an HR person who somehow ended up working in a business.
  • They are FUN. I want to surround myself with people who enjoy their job and enjoy their lives. Managers and employees should look forward to visiting HR, not feel like they’ve entered a crypt. HR is tough, tough, tough. A lot of the job involves difficult conversations because people haven’t been at their best. It’s easy to get bitter, cynical, and self-righteous. But please do it at my competitor’s company, not mine.
  • They get stuff done. They don’t talk about how busy they are or use “I tried, but…” as an excuse. They produce.
  • They enjoy helping people.
  • They love learning and improving their skills.
  • They are driven to succeed AND value the team’s success as much as they value their own success.
  • They have been exposed to finance, accounting, marketing, sales, etc. They don’t need to be an expert, but should understand how the business works and how all the departments fit together.
  • They like innovation and view change as a core part of progress. If you hate or fear change, please go work for someone else.
  • And, yeah, they should probably know something about employment law and HR best practices. But, if they have the rest, this one is the easy one to teach. I can’t teach someone to have fun (even when the job isn’t fun) or to enjoy change, or to enjoy the hard work of self-improvement, but HR basics I can do.

That’s my wish list. What’s yours?

The Purpose of HR

I hate the term “Human Resources” because it misses the point. A better name is: “Individual and Organizational Performance.” The way I see it Human Resources has only two functions: 1) Enable employees to perform at their very best; and 2) Enable managers to bring out the best in their employees. That’s it. Everything HR does either supports employees and managers at being their absolute best or gets in their way.

Great HR is a collaborative consulting role for internal customers. Anything else is just noise and static.

The best HR departments get this and focus their efforts on providing phenomenal customer service. If you’re in HR, how good is HR’s customer service at your organization? Do employees and managers feel fully supported by you? Do they feel like you are policy enforcers or do they feel that you help them understand all the pros and cons of the available choices and make the best decisions possible? Are you continually asking how each program and policy will impact the end users? Are you constantly seeking ways to improve your customers’ experience and make things simple, quick, and reasonably pleasant? Do your employees and managers enjoy contacting HR? Is every person on your HR team pleasant, knowledgeable, and solutions focused? Imagine your company was shopping for the best HR service on the planet – would they choose you?

There’s a very simple test to determine whether you provide phenomenal support or not: on the whole, do your employees and managers contact you BEFORE THE FACT to explore options, solutions, legal ramifications, and get your perspective on the situation OR are you forced to contact them AFTER EVERYTHING HAS MELTED DOWN?

At its best, HR helps companies attract, find, hire, develop, and retain great performers. It helps people make better decisions, be better leaders, and excel daily, regardless of the department they’re in. The finance department is better when the HR department is better. The sales department is better when the HR department is better. The product development department… you get the idea. Every department can exist with counterproductive HR, but they become better when HR becomes better.

So… are the individuals and the organization better off because of the HR service you provide? It’s a simple yes or no question.

Innovative HR?

I’ve been seeing a lot of articles and blog postings lately on innovation. There’s lots of interest and everyone wants to be known as an innovator. Innovation is a nice buzzword and I suspect it will be a moneymaker for consultants over the next few years. But like all buzzwords, it misses the point.

Why do we want to innovate? No, really – why? Other than it’s fun to be different, the only business reason that comes to mind is to gain a competitive advantage; to offer customers something they can’t get elsewhere. When talking about innovative companies, the focus is almost always on the product.The problem is that novel ideas are easily copied and improved upon. What makes the innovative companies innovative is rarely the product itself.

What really seems to set innovative companies apart is the execution of their products and services and their focus on the customer. They have high attention to detail and design their products and services around how the customer wants to use them. Apple is a great example (no, you can’t write about innovation without mentioning Apple).  What set the iPod apart from all the other MP3 players on the market? It was really, really easy to use, distinctive looking (who knew refrigerator white could be a cool color?), and had plenty of accessories available both from Apple and the aftermarket. But what blew everyone away was iTunes. We take iTunes for granted now, but it showed that Apple really understood how the customer would want to use an MP3 player from start to finish. They understood that customers didn’t want an MP3 player – they wanted a simple and easy way to find, purchase, and listen to music.

And then there is the ubiquitous iPhone. Sure the iPhone is neat, but here’s an example of the level of thought Apple put into the details and understanding the customer’s experience from start to finish. What’s the very first thing the customer experiences when they purchase an iPhone? The packaging. It is elegant, intricate, minimal, and shows amazing attention to detail. It contains everything needed to get started yet is tiny and easy to store. It also benefits Apple. Less packaging means lower materials costs, lower shipping costs, lower storage costs, and higher profits. Everyone benefits. That’s innovation! Apple didn’t invent boxes, they just did a far better job of executing. And, no, the box isn’t the most innovative thing about the product and no one is going to buy a phone because it has great packaging (we don’t even see the box until we’re handing over our money). It is just an example of the attention to detail given to every aspect of the product. Too many companies focus solely on the product and overlook all the ways that the customer uses and interacts with the product, from the very beginning to the very end.

All of which has me wondering how can HR give the employees they serve a better overall experience like Apple does? There’s an old adage that engineers should be forced to use the products that they design. Unless they do, they never truly understand how the customer uses the product. Too often we only focus on how we interact with the customer and completely ignore how the customer interacts with us. You want innovative HR? Try using your services like a customer from start to finish:

  • What’s it like to apply to your company?
  • How easy is it to find the careers section?
  • How clear and attractive are the job postings?
  • How simple is it to complete an application or submit a resume?
  • How understandable is the process? How well is it explained in advance?
  • HOW WELL DO YOU FOLLOW UP WITH CANDIDATES?!?
  • In what ways does the process and your interaction make them feel like you’re interested in them vs being another name in the database?
  • How much of your company’s personality comes through in the hiring process?
  • How much of a realistic job preview do you give?

Obviously, this is just one aspect of HR. This same process can be applied to all HR services and processes.

Innovation isn’t for the creatively blessed. Innovation can be had by anyone willing to pay attention to details and understand things from the customer’s perspective. How innovative are you? How well do you understand your customer’s experience? Don’t just ask the questions, try out your own processes from the user’s perspective.