Welcome
Welcome to the
latest issue of Bringing Work to Life.
We explored
the following topics in the past twelve issues (all newsletters are
available at
www.elsdon.com/newsletters.htm):
o
Stewardship and governance (November/December 2007)
o
Finding the peaks (September/October 2007)
o
Career plateaus – what to do about them (July/August 2007)
o
Workforce planning (May/June 2007)
o
Assessing your organization (March/April 2007)
o
Individual change (January/February 2007)
o
Guiding organizational change (November/December 2006)
o
One to one (September/October 2006)
o
New horizons (July/August 2006)
o
Our greatest asset (May/June 2006)
o
Bringing development and performance home (March/April 2006)
o
Progressing in your organization (January/February 2006)
In this issue
we address “Transforming a Human Resources (HR) Career.”
Transforming a Human Resources (HR) Career
“So, while each of us faces - at one time or another – the prospect of
driving alone down a dark road, what we must learn with experience is
that the approaching light may not be a threat, but a shared moment of
trust.” These deep words from Warren Christopher in “This I Believe”
caused me to think on a recent personal challenge. We were at Project
Homeless Connect, a one day event, in this case in the Bay Area, to help
link those who are homeless with community resources. The day was well
on track with many people receiving support when, all of sudden, at
mid-day, as a friend and I were helping point to resources, a person
headed in our direction, muttering to herself, disheveled, making
strange noises. I heard someone suggest that she was psychotic and this
person went for help, I held back not knowing what to do and my friend
reached out with a kind word. At which point the distressed figure came
to us and began explaining her situation. She was fully present and
completely lucid. It saddens me that she has to contend with a life of
such hardship. The courage and compassion of my friend was just what
was needed, it contrasted with my own, inappropriate, reticence. May I
behave very differently should such a situation arise again. And I am
struck by the parallel for those charged with leadership in HR, which
means all in HR. The need for advocacy in circumstances that might be
difficult and uncomfortable. Let’s examine the attributes that will be
important for those wishing to create an HR path in the future, first by
looking at the context within which this takes place.
A recent survey by IBM of more than 400 HR practitioners from 40
countries points to the following primary workforce-related issues
facing organizations.
We see a wide range of issues linked to building and sustaining
workforce capabilities to meet organizational needs. Development of
people is a core skill need. In meeting such organizational needs there
is a perception within the HR community that HR is an active participant
in organizational transformation efforts as shown in the following
figure from the same study:
However a 2007 study by Deloitte and the Economist Intelligence Unit
points to the challenges still faced by HR since only 3.9% of senior
business executives indicated that their organizations are world class
in people management and HR, as shown in the following figure:
How can we relate these challenges, driving forces and needs to
competencies required of HR practitioners that will energize future HR
careers? Work from the University of Michigan and the RBL group sheds
light on this question (thank you to Dani Johnson of the RBL group for
making this available). Studies by these groups over twenty years show
core competencies for those in HR evolving as follows for the period
from 1987 to 2002 (where HRCS refers to the Human Resource Competency
Study):
The clustering of competencies evolved over this period with the
addition of the items shown in red each time the study was conducted
every five years. The latest study in 2007, shows further evolution as
follows:
The competency of credible activist is at the fulcrum of the two key
dimensions of people and business, speaking as it does to building
strong relationships and being clear about the importance of effective
advocacy. Indeed in this latest study, willingness to be a clear and
effective advocate is the single most important HR competency. It
supports those competencies needed to build effective systems and
processes and those that strengthen organizational capabilities. The
elements of each of these competency clusters are summarized in the
following figure:
This is not the HR of acquiescence, rather it is the HR of determination
and transformation. What steps can we take to be clear about what we
stand for and build these necessary competencies to be effective?
May Sarton expressed it well:
“Now I become myself.
It’s taken time, many years and places.
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people’s faces ….”
It starts with knowing ourselves and those parts of who we are, where as
Frederick Buechner observed, “our deep gladness meets the world’s deep
need.” This means taking time to reflect on our life and work
experiences and the meaning they hold for the future. It means taking
advantage of the many instruments that can help us discern more of who
we are, whether in terms of our personality preferences, interests,
skills or values (more information about assessment instruments is in
the October 2005 issue of Bringing Work to Life).
Building on this foundation of knowing ourselves and what we stand for,
we are then ready to examine a future transformational path. A critical
early step is that of assessing the organizations with which we are
affiliated, either as employees or as service providers. Assessing them
to be sure they honor stewardship of the workforce and community, for
example by equitable compensation practices that do not
disproportionately reward those at the top, and by protecting the
physical environment. We can, and should, become credible activists
only with, and for, those organizations that practice values with which
we are aligned.
Having built internal clarity and external alignment we can then begin
to chart a personal development path forward. This is built on purpose,
aspirations, and the form of employment relationship sought, for example
whether traditional employment, or a contract or entrepreneurial
undertaking. For many people a written development plan can be
helpful. This development plan, or blueprint for the path forward, may
build on the following framework:
In taking these steps and engaging with organizations that honor and
respect the workforce and community, we enable our own path and ennoble
organizations and communities. Our advocacy then becomes the shining
light on the road.
Hunger
When confronted by recent information about hunger in the U.S. I was
reminded again of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus’ statement: “If
we had believed that poverty should not belong to a civilized human
society, we would have created appropriate institutions and policies to
create a poverty-free world. We wanted to go to the moon --- so we went
there. If we are not achieving something, my first suspicion will fall
on the intensity of our desire to achieve it.” The following figure
shows statistics for 2006 (low and very low food security are euphemisms
for hunger).
More
than 10% of people in our country had low or very low food security.
These 12.6 million households were uncertain at times of their ability
to obtain sufficient food due to lack of resources. Of this group, in
4.6 million households, one or more members of the family went hungry at
least some time during the year because they couldn’t afford enough
food. The following figure shows some of the concerns that people had:
This raises the question, how concerned are we as a nation about
supporting people in poverty and suffering from hunger. Perhaps
surprisingly, given these statistics, we find strong support for
dedicating additional resources to assist those in poverty as shown in
the following figure:
Source: bipartisan U.S. poll by the Alliance to End Hunger, October
2007
More than two thirds of people surveyed either supported or strongly
supported dedicating additional resources to the needs of the world’s
poorest people. In addition 66% of people said they would be willing
for the country to spend $18 billion a year to cut hunger and food
insecurity in half in the U.S. by improving and expanding programs like
food stamps and school breakfast programs for children. Support crossed
political boundaries.
As shown in the following figure a majority of people in the U.S.
believe that we spend too little on reducing domestic hunger and more
than 40% believe we spend too little on reducing world hunger.
Source: bipartisan U.S. poll by the Alliance to End Hunger, October
2007
Both percentages have increased significantly over this decade. It
appears that we have a society ready and willing to address the problems
of hunger and poverty. We need leadership with the same social
conscience.
Quotes
“wherever you are, be there.”
Elizabeth Deutsch Earle
“one human being who meets with injustice can render invalid the entire
system which has dispensed it.”
Leonard Bernstein
“Albert Einstein once observed that westerners have a feeling the
individual loses his freedom if he joins, say, a union or any group.
Precisely the opposite is the case. Once you join others, even though
at first your mission fails, you become a different person, a much
stronger one. You feel that you really count, you discover your
strength as an individual because you have along the way discovered
others share in what you believe, you are not alone; and thus a
community is formed. I am paraphrasing Einstein. I love to do that;
nobody dares contradict me.”
Studs Terkel
All from “This I Believe” edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman
Elsdon Organizational Renewal (EOR) Recent Mentions
·
Reviews of
“Affiliation in the Workplace: Value Creation in the New
Organization.” Ron Elsdon. Praeger, Westport, CT (2003)
o
Harvard
Business School
·
HBS Working Knowledge: Organizations
o
Global Diversity Institute
·
Global Diversity Institute - The Journal of Diversity Praxis
o
Journal of Asian Economics
·
ScienceDirect - Journal of Asian Economics : Ron Elsdon, Affiliation in
the Workplace: Value Creation in the New Organization, Praeger
Publishers, Westport, CT (2003) 280 pp. (hardcover), ISBN 1-56720-436-8,
$49.95.
o
Greenwood Publishing Group
·
Affiliation in the Workplace — www.greenwood.com
·
Chapter titled
“How Can You Grow Your Practice with Purpose?” in National Career
Development Association Monograph, “Starting and Growing a Business in
the New Economy” Edited by Sally Gelardin, 2007
·
Recorded
Webinar for Project Management Institute
o
“Becoming Career Fit in Turbulent Times”
·
http://pmi-issig.org/Default.aspx?tabid=319
·
“Building a
Strong Workforce Through Affiliation.” Chapter 26 in “On Staffing:
Advice and Perspectives from HR Leaders.” Eds. Nicholas Burkholder et
al, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken NJ (2004)
o
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471410691,descCd-tableOfContents.html
·
“The Growing
Divide Calls for Advocacy.”
o
Article in March, 2007, NCDA Career Convergence magazine
·
http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=947&Sections=&IncludeDropped=1&AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285
·
“Reaching for
Our Deep Gladness”
o
Article in May, 2005, NCDA Career Convergence magazine
·
http://209.235.208.145/cgi-bin/WebSuite/tcsAssnWebSuite.pl?Action=DisplayNewsDetails&RecordID=625&Sections=6&IncludeDropped=&AssnID=NCDA&DBCode=130285
·
Mention in
article on cost of turnover
o
East
Bay Business Times, April 2005
·
Turnover costs exceed employers' estimates - 2005-04-25
·
“Worklife
Survival: Finding a Fit”
o
Article for HR West, February 2005 (Northern California Human Resource
Association)
·
http://www.nchra.org/StaticContent/Download/EXT0205007.pdf
·
Interview in
the education field “Affiliation as a Unifying Principle in Education”
o
Career Pro News
·
Affiliation and Education
·
MBTI Step II
workshop
o
CCDA News, April 2005
·
Local Chapter News
·
Review of ICDC
Global Issues Forum
o
CCDA, January 2005
·
ICDC Global Issues Forum
About EOR: Our Value Contribution
We enhance
your workforce, leadership and organization by:
·
Using
proprietary approaches to understand workforce and leadership challenges
·
Creating
tailored action plans and solutions to strengthen workforce and
leadership practices
·
Building
individual capabilities and contributions
We enable you
to focus on external results and building value, confident that your
organization and leadership are operating at peak effectiveness.
Our Mission
To support
your organization by enhancing performance, productivity and
effectiveness through revitalized workforce relationships and leadership
practices.
Our Approach and Values
We tailor our engagements to the needs of each organization with a
process designed to surface critical issues, identify root causes, build
effective solutions, monitor progress and implement.
With a scope that ranges from system and organizational interventions to
work with individuals, our focus is on the heart of the relationship
among the individual, the organization and the community. We believe
that organizational and community prosperity are built on enabling each
person to fulfill his or her potential.
Our Services
We work with
individuals and groups in your organization to drive performance and
development for both the short and long term. As a result people will
choose to work in your organization and will prosper there.
We bring
solutions when you need to:
·
Reverse
declining revenues and performance
·
Revitalize
your workforce
·
Stem the loss
of key talent
·
Redirect your
organization to new areas
·
Stop losing
customers or market share
·
Penetrate new
markets
·
Combat
aggressive competitors
·
Handle major
change
·
Break down
communication barriers
·
Energize your
leadership team
·
Successfully
build on an acquisition or merger
Our
proprietary services include:
·
State-of-the-art tools to take the pulse of your organization and then
move to action
o
Web enabled systems
o
Experts to gather and analyze information, moving your organization to
action
·
Individual
leadership coaching to give you world class leadership capabilities
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Leaders who know themselves and their aspirations, build their
capabilities and become catalysts developing others
·
Workshops to
build interpersonal skills in your organization so that:
o
Communication is timely, concise, accurate and personal
o
People listen to each other
o
Negotiations are quick and effective
o
Differences create rather than destroy value
o
Teams move forward, get results and quickly commercialize new products
and services
o
People understand and link their motivations to your organizational
needs
o
Your teams understand what it takes to create a committed, energized
workforce
o
People use their time well
·
Systems that
make it easy to drive performance and build capabilities by:
o
Linking objectives throughout the organization
o
Strengthening key competencies
o
Making sure you have the bench strength where and when you need it
o
Giving people tools to take charge of their own careers and development
and have a major long term influence on your organization
·
Proprietary
simulation and modeling techniques that let you explore how to maximize
the value of your workforce
o
Move from guessing what might happen to looking in depth at the
financial impact of different approaches
