BIG Fish, small pond?

We are not going fishing but we are going to play a short game of “Would you rather…” in which you get to pretend to be a fish! Whether you choose to be viewed as a BIG fish or a small fish is all relative to the size of the body of water you choose to swim in. You may choose a little pond or small company versus Lake Michigan or a large company. Knowing the size of the pond that best suits you in the work world is important. Understanding whether you are at your best leading and setting the pace or whether you prefer to work as part of a larger team with common goals can determine your overall happiness and satisfaction with work and with your organization.

In my most recent work experience, I accepted a leadership position with a small company which was almost immediately gobbled up by a larger company. Overnight, my pond expanded without any input from me. In past work lives, I’ve worked for each a small, a mid-sized, and large company. Although I performed well within the different environments and I believe that I am very adaptable, each experience taught me something different about myself. The experiences provided insights into the types of environments in which I believe I excel best. Understanding that the position I accepted was no longer the position I held, I had to revisit a few questions that would determine my level of happiness with my future work. If you are facing a similar quandary, start your evaluation by asking yourself these “Would you rather” questions.

Would you rather be the architect or the builder? An architect designs and makes the decisions on the structure, whereas the builder follows the architect’s plans to bring the structure into existence. How much input do you need to have in the major decisions of your work? This question focuses on impact, the impact of your contributions. How critical is it to you to see an immediate or fairly swift impact in your work? In a smaller organization, you may be able to leave at the end of each day knowing and seeing the impact of your actions and your decisions. If that means a lot to you, it can be frustrating waiting for others to consider incorporating your input in a larger organization. But, perhaps you do enjoy knowing that you were part of a team that helped bring a project or plan to life? A builder’s team most certainly looks over a structure at the end of a construction project with a sense of pride.

Would you rather be MacGyver or James Bond?  This is in reference to resources. MacGyver didn’t do too poorly with string, duct tape, and a Swiss Army knife. However, Bond had the support of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, with fairly unlimited resources and state-of-art equipment.  This is not to say that well stocked small ponds do not exist. In general, larger ponds have a more ready supply of both physical resources as well as intellectual capital from which to draw. I’m certain there are many who love the ingenuity and creativity required to work with limited resources and still excel within small organizations. But it can be very appealing to have the road smoothed out so that you can move at a faster pace. Speaking of pace…

Would you rather be a tortoise or an antelope?  See how I avoided the hare? Okay, the pace of progress and the ability to be nimble varies greatly between the small pond and Lake Michigan. You can row across the small pond in minutes. In crossing Lake Michigan, we’ll see you…. I’m not really sure how long it would take but I can safely say it will take MUCH longer. Communications and decision-making can move quickly if all you need to do is travel down the hall a door or two. Within a larger entity there are levels of hierarchy that must be traversed, buy-in that must be gained from a larger span of people. If you are accustomed to moving swiftly to take advantage of an active market or address an unexpected complication or challenge within a smaller organization, you are going to have to become acclimated to the time-lag that is part of swimming in a much larger body of water.

The questions above were the essential starting point for me in evaluating, BIG verses small. There are others that will be specific to your situation but may revolve around new responsibilities, development and growth, as well as future opportunities for advancement within each environment. Your personal choice of small or BIG company should center on what fits you best, the magical pond in the woods or Lake Michigan where I hear the sailing can be very good!

Best regards,

Vivian L. Mora, MSS, SPHR

Vivian L. Mora is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institution and holds a master’s degree in sociology and economics. She is the founder and managing partner of Mora & Associates, a retained executive search and human capital consulting firm based in Katy, TX.

Vivian offers leadership development workshops as well as individual mentoring and coaching sessions (http://morahr.com/ExecutiveCoaching.aspx and http://morahr.com/CultivateSuccess.aspx). For more information, please contact her directly at (877) 310-6553, ext. 702.

Mistakes happen. How you handle them is what matters most.

To not anticipate mistakes is futile. It happens. We are human and “to err” is in the nature of being. Shockingly, these statements are coming from a “perfectionist” but I am currently “on the wagon”.  I didn’t think of myself as a perfectionist for a long time. I had “exacting” standards. I demanded the very best from myself (and wanted it from others). Error-free was the baseline. These are just a few of the many statements perfectionists use to justify setting unrealistic targets and expecting unrealistic outcomes. The paradox within my own search for perfection was that although I wanted the very best from others I did not expect it. Why?  Because, of course, I knew that to expect others to live up to my standards was ridiculous and unrealistic. After all, my standards for myself were ridiculous and unrealistic!

For perfectionists, mistakes sound a death knell and then the kicking, head-banging, and wallowing begins. The error takes on monumental proportions and can ruin everything that comes after. We see some of the best examples of this in sports. The player who makes a mistake and compounds it play after play or round after round. We say that he was off his game that day. The player accepts that he was off his game that day. Nonsense! He wasn’t off his game that day. He just didn’t know how to get back on his game.  This same scene is also played out in offices, on work sites, and in homes day in and day out by people who expect perfection when they don’t get it. They beat themselves up in the aftermath of the error and it then affects the next thing and the next thing that he or she does. She’s having a bad day. Again, nonsense! She hasn’t figured out how to recover and move beyond the first mistake.

Recovery is a conscious act. It can be approached in a similar step by step manner used in many counseling programs. It’s a bit more concise than 12 Steps but is just as effective. The first step requires acknowledgement that we are human, errors happen, period. Next, acknowledge the current state just as a fact, placing no judgment on it as good, bad, or ugly. Just the facts, ma’am, as it is. Next, consciously take in that it is in the past now and no amount of “should haves” will change it so don’t go down that path. Next, move forward. Ask what can I do about the current state? What corrections can I make? If corrections are possible, make them. If corrections are not possible, ask what lesson can I take away from this for the future? Internalize the lessons and then move on by letting go.  Don’t continue to beat up yourself. Don’t wallow in it. You’ve corrected it and gained something from it.  It’s over and done.  Let it go.

Take it from a recovering perfectionist, following the steps above will change the way you handle mistakes when they occur and will lessen the amount of angst you suffer over simple human errors. The objective is not to strive for perfection but for excellence. Excellence is progressive and is acheived through learning. It becomes a synergistic process through which one gets better and better. Perfectionism leaves no room for this type of growth. Getting to this point doesn’t happen overnight. I’m still working on it, but it is working.

Best regards,

Vivian L. Mora, MSS, SPHR

Vivian L. Mora is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institution and holds a master’s degree in sociology and economics.  She is the founder and managing partner of Mora & Associates, a retained executive search and human capital consulting firm based in Katy, TX. 

Vivian offers HR technical expertise including coaching and mentoring (http://morahr.com/HR_Alignment.aspx).  For more information, please call (877) 310-6553, ext. 702 or email her at vivian@morahr.com.

My blog today is too brief to cover all three of the agencies referenced so let’s start with the EEOC and progress to the other two in subsequent writings.

What insanity has me asking your organization to befriend an agency that has a reputation (earned or unearned) of being somewhat prickly and overzealous in pursuing claims against employers? And, just how do you accomplish this? On the first question, I’m not necessarily insane. I’ve had the responsibility of working with the EEOC as the employer representative on several claims over the years for different employers. In almost every instance, the experience was pleasant, educational, and affirming. It was pleasant to find that each of the agents assigned was just as interested in resolving the issue or issues as we were. The experiences were educational in that in every instance, the agents were diligent in reviewing the EEOC mediation process with both parties and  in creating a non-adversarial atmosphere from the start. The experiences were affirming in that, having taken the precautions and put into place the recommendations, the EEOC put forth, I felt in each case that the agency was working for us rather than against us as the employer.

So how to you get to this place? The first thing you do is follow the very straight forward guidance the EEOC has provided for every organization on dealing with various issues of discrimination including sexual harassment in the workplace (link included at the end of this blog). Regardless of the nature of the issues, every single piece of policy guidance includes; (1) the employer taking proactive and affirmative steps to prevent or avoid discrimination in the workplace by developing, communicating, and upholding a policy against various forms of discrimination and (2) conducting an effective, prompt, thorough workplace investigation when a complaint is received. 

Now, I would recommend applying the EEOC’s detailed enforcement guidance for “Vicarious Employer Liability for Unlawful Harassment by Supervisors” to developing all such policies. 

To summarize the guidelines, employers are encouraged to develop anti-harassment policies, along with complaint procedures for those who believe they have been harassed.  The policy should clearly explain unacceptable conduct and reassure employees who complain that they will be protected against retaliation. The complaint process should describe multiple avenues for reporting harassment and provide assurances of confidentiality to the extent it is possible. Investigations of allegations should be prompt and impartial, and if the investigation finds that harassment did indeed occur, the policy should provide for immediate corrective action. (Broadus, 2009)

After doing this, the next step to befriending the EEOC is that if  and when you receive a formal EEOC complaint, choose mediation, every time! Don’t blow it off or take it for granted. It will take some of your time but is worth the investment. Come prepared with proof of all the steps you have taken to avoid getting to this point and come with an open mind and congenial attitude towards the complainant. Don’t play coy if you know there were issues, but, be clear if the complainant did not afford you, the employer, an appropriate opportunity to address the issues.  This could be your chance to do so or to make concrete plans to do so, and exit the mediation with your organization’s wallet intact and a potentially salvaged employee-employer relationship.

All of the above steps will help to establish your organization as one that takes complaints seriously and one that actively works to maintain an environment where employees can work free of discrimination and harassment. That will make you a friend and ally to the EEOC.

Good luck and best regards,

Vivian L. Mora, MSS, SPHR

Vivian L. Mora is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institution and holds a master’s degree in sociology and economics.  She is the founder and managing partner of Mora & Associates, a retained executive search and human capital consulting firm based in Katy, TX. 

Vivian offers Harassment Prevention and Professional Interaction training sessions (http://morahr.com/HarassmentPrevention.aspx) including sessions geared towards the unique issues faced by harassment prevention in hospitality, sports, and entertainment industries which draws on her background successfully leading the human resources function in professional sports and entertainment.  For more information, please contact call (877) 310-6553, ext. 702 or email her at vivian@morahr.com. Referenced link to EEOC Policy Guidance: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/index.cfm.

Can these letters make a difference?

Why do we certify? Is it because the letters look good after our names? Maybe it’s to impress others? Well, the letters may look good after our names but I’m in the impress others camp.  Although we, generally, do not certify to impress others in a smug sort of way but to show that we possess a certain amount of knowledge without waving it in the air or shouting it out loud. 

A profession is defined as a vocation founded upon specialised educational training.  Historically, as a vocation moved towards becoming a profession, a specific set of skills and/or a body of knowledge developed. Certification exams became a means of assessing whether any one member engaged in the vocation possessed the requisite skills and body of knowledge.  Hence, certifications were developed for many professions. 

Certification can set you apart from the crowd. It can lend a certain level of credibility that you just might know what you are doing. Employers quite often include preferences for certifications in job postings. In the HR community, it is quite common to find a preference or a requirement for PHR or SPHR certified candidates. Considering the overwhelming number of applicants an employer may receive for a single position posting, filtering by this means can make the task much less daunting.

The Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), the recognized leader in HR certification, announces that it has over 108,000 certified HR professionals in more than 70 countries and territories. Considering that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that approximately 1 million human resource professionals currently work for US businesses, even if all the certified professionals were in the US, we are only talking about 10%!  With those numbers, I’m guessing that those letters after your name can set you apart. 

In addressing the second half of my question, can not certifying harm you? Maybe, maybe not, but why not help yourself wherever you can?

With regards,

Vivian L. Mora, MSS, SPHR

Vivian L. Mora is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institution and holds a master’s degree in sociology and economics. She is the founder and managing partner of Mora & Associates, a retained executive search and human capital consulting firm based in Katy, TX. 

Vivian offers an online HR certification prep course twice a year once in the Fall and again in the Spring (www.moraHR.com/hreducation.aspx). For more information, please contact me directly at (877) 310-6553, ext. 702.

Making the weeds tolerable!

How often do we in HR lament the desire to get out of the tactical weeds and into more strategic work? You know, work that actually adds measurable long-term value to the business versus the activities that are more routine or functional and focused on short-term outcomes. It’s one of those things when you wish you had a dollar for each time the lament surfaces. But before we wade into the fracas between tactical and strategic, I want to actually remove the notion that you can totally eliminate the weeds. I’m doing this because wishing for the impossible will only make your work day more and more intolerable. So let’s marinate for a second in the knowledge that we will live with weeds. Okay, that’s good enough. I don’t want you to fret too much because I’m also going to tell you how to make those tactical weeds not just tolerable, but welcome, in your quest to play a more strategic role.

The tactical and the strategic are partners, period. They are not always equal partners. The share that one holds versus the other can vary greatly, so they are very dynamic partners, always in motion.  For most HR leaders, the goal is to shift the balance to the share held by the strategic. However, it is a fact of corporate life is that if the tactical is not taken care of appropriately, it will hold court indefinitely.  The tactical or operational aspects of human resources must function in a manner that makes them more or less background music or you will be stuck primarily in this mode. It’s extremely difficult for the C-Suite to hear your voice on strategic matters when tactical or operational matters under your managment are creating chaos.  Managing the tactical aspects of your human resources function effectively and efficiently so that they run smoothly and do not surface as distracting issues is the key to becoming viewed as someone who can command attention on more strategic matters.

At this point, I am going to toss in what may appear as a conundrum but truly is not. As you are addressing and putting in order the tactical aspects of HR (the processes, the systems, etc.) so that you can shift into a focus on strategy, you must already have your overall long-term strategic objectives for HR in place. If not, you will be caught in a loop of re-addressing those same areas you’re trying to move beyond if they don’t support the strategic objectives. It may sound like this is a ”chicken and egg” debate but it is clear that the strategic must come first. How can it come first when you are neck-deep in the weeds? It’s simple. Most of the work has been done for you, if not along with you. Your strategic objectives should already exist within your organization’s corporate objectives. Your first order of business in the quest to be a strategic partner is to ferret out, that is, derive your HR strategic objectives from the existing corporate objectives. This single step will ensure that you have full alignment between the HR objectives and the corporate objectives of your organization.  That’s when you are working with a purpose and the tactical doesn’t seem so much like an intruder standing between you and your dream of being a true strategic partner. Every facet of what you accomplish will tie right into the strategic. You will see it and so will the C-Suite.  And guess what? If they don’t see it, you will have no problem showing the linkage!

Let’s stop fighting in this unwinnable battle between tactical HR and strategic HR. It should all be strategic! If you don’t or can’t see the strategic value in something that you are doing, why are doing it?

With regards,

Vivian L. Mora, MSS, SPHR

Vivian L. Mora is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institution and holds a master’s degree in sociology and economics. She is the founder and managing partner of Mora & Associates, a retained executive search and human capital consulting firm based in Katy, TX.  Mora&Associates assists organizations with structuring people strategies to fulfill organizational strategy. For more information, please contact me directly at (877) 310-6553, ext. 702.

This is the question: At the opening of her presentations, Theresa likes to share something humorous to lighten the mood and make the audience more receptive.  As she was entering the building that morning, she observed a woman across the street attempting multiple times to parallel park. In opening her presentation that day, she shared a joke with her work team regarding the incident and women drivers that put almost everyone into stitches. This can not be considered harassment in the workplace because it was not intended to harm anyone present.

The answer, of course, is “false”. Her intention was to put everyone at ease but many people believe that jokes of this type depict women as less competent and can be detrimental to attaining equality in the workplace. Here Theresa’s humor may have had a negative impact on many members of the audience.

In employment situations, your intentions matter for nought. It is your impact that means everything in the world. The clear fact is that no one can see or feel your intention. They may guess at it but you hold those in your head and in your heart. The impact of actions and words can be more clearly observed so they get to carry the day every time. 

Humor is not uncommon in the workplace. Anywhere you find interaction among people, humor and jocularity is likely to be present. Whether you intend to entertain or to lighten the mood, a joke or comment that takes aim at another group of people will rarely be overlooked just because in your heart you know your intentions were good. Actions and words must be put through a mental filter to assess their potential impact, particularly in the workplace.  As an HR professional reviewing situations similar to this, you must consider the impact that the actions or words had irregardless of the intention behind them in order to provide an effective response. 

To avoid allowing intentions to overshadow impact in determinations, it has served me well in my career to keep in mind the old aphorism, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.  I don’t know about you but that’s not a road I want to travel!

Despite being a consultant who gets paid for ocassionally facilitating ropes activities (but avoiding the touchy-feely as much as possible) I’m going to suggest a much more cost-effective means of achieving the results of such a day off-site.  This is an activity that could be supported 100% by your organization and it does not involve games or ropes. It may involve a hammer and a nail or paint and a brush though. I am suggesting that you volunteer your team for a day with a community organization that is in need of help! Your company may already financially support one or more organizations with its checkbook. For many companies, the checks have been necessarily smaller in the past couple of years. Volunteering time can supplement the support that your organization provides to these groups in a manner that is far more impactful and could even be of greater value than handing over a check once or twice a year.

I’ve had the privilege of working for organizations that highly valued their ties to the community and offered both financial and hands-on physical support to the organizations they chose to become involved with.  A day on-site painting, landscaping, or doing repairs at a community center, a YMCA, a job-placement center can save these organizations thousands of dollars. This day can provide your team with a sense of accomplishment, comraderie, and unity that can only come from giving!

The act of giving in this manner brings about several major benefits with positive implications for teams:

• Builds ties and deepens relationships;
• Creates shared memories and becomes a part of your team or group’s history; and
• Eliminates or reduces stresses by allowing each participant to focus on something beyond themselves!

Give this a try! Check in with the function in your organization that oversees community giving and/or social responsibility to identify a community organization that is currently supported. Determine what is within your team’s capability to contribute.  Finally, sign your team up for a teambuilding activity that engages the heart and leaves the bottom line intact!

With regards,

Vivian L. Mora, MSS, SPHR

Vivian L. Mora is certified as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR) by the Human Resources Certification Institution. She is the founder and managing partner of Mora & Associates, an executive search and human capital consulting firm based in Katy, TX.  Mora&Associates offers community-impact facilitated teambuilding in the following markets: Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, TX; and Overland Park, KS. For other regions, please contact us directly at (877) 310-6553, ext. 702.

Now that I’ve gotten that out, let’s talk about wellness and healthcare costs. Who wants to keep paying through the nose and other orifices for healthcare? You? Really? I didn’t think so. Then, are you willing to sit on your hands and wait for Congress to work through all its contortions so that the US government can rollout a plan that we can almost guarantee will be under revision as soon as it launches and so many more times after that? Oh, I’m sorry, that sounds almost like I don’t have confidence that the healthcare reform proposals will cure-all our healthcare woes.  I’m a glass-half full thinker and even I can’t look at all this maneuvering with a sense of hope. There is something that does give me a sense of hope. It is wellness. Being the ”can-do” person that I am, I don’t believe in sitting on my hands in any circumstances. I think wellness is our salvation. I wholeheartedly believe that it is the most effective weapon we have in this war against out of control healthcare costs.

Companies do not have to invest in wellness because they care about what we are eating or what we are doing to our bodies physically. But they should invest in wellness because those things that we are eating and doing are costing the companies an arm and two legs in benefit dollars.  The healthcare utilization habits of a company’s employee population determines just how much it will cost to insure that population. If we all keep eating donuts and soda for breakfast while avoiding exercise like the H1N1, we all continue to pay for it in real dollars and in health deterioration. If we all chose a breakfast similar to the one served at the aforementioned wellness presentation along with even moderate exercise, we all have a new leg or two to stand on against the rate increases and can see our costs stabilize while our overall health improve. Is that not a win-win situation you would want?

The line of thought above is not a fantasy. It’s real and actionable. I’ve put it to work in organizations I have worked with and reaped the savings. Yes, support our lawmakers in their efforts to make a difference but you don’t have to sit on your hands while they work. Creating a healthier workforce will help create a healthier nation. This is a solution, we can take action on today that will provide measurable and positive long-term outcomes for our organizations and our people. Keep feeding on wellness. I can’t seem to get enough of it.

Note:  If you are interested in finding out how to make wellness work for your organization, feel free to contact me. I’m on a crusade and I look forward working with others who believe in self-help and taking matters into their own hands vs. buying into waiting that costs even more. Find me online at Mora&Associates (http://moraHR.com). Just complete a contact us form.

The Great Job Hop is in the embryonic stage at this point but the signs are clear. The “high performers” that many organizations have worked diligently to retain over the last couple of years are starting to “look around”. For organizations, the traditional break-up line of “it’s not you, it’s me” would be a lie. It is you. However, for some, there is very little you could have done to prevent the pending break-up. You were not the only company to make layoffs and eliminate jobs. The company to which your “high performer” is moving may have made even more cuts than you did. The difference is — he or she did not experience it first-hand with XYZ Company. 

Organizations have done a great job in the past few decades of building cultures that encourage closer associations at work. One of the questions in the ubiquitous Gallup Q12 is “Do you have a best friend at work?” Our associations at work don’t fall along neat little lines where my best friend just happens to be my fellow ”high performer” in the next cubicle or nor do all occupants of the “most crucial positions” go to lunch together daily. No, with all these close associations forming at work, many of your high performers watched their BF at work lose his or her job. They then rode the emotional rollercoaster with their BF as he or she looked for work in a very tough market. The high performer’s feelings towards the company that he and his best friend at work loved a year or so ago have changed. There’s probably a high degree of survivor’s guilt mixed in with some resentment.  Now, I’m not a psychologist so that’s about as far as I go into the psyche but I am a sociologist so I can tell you what the resulting behavior will be with a high probability of being correct.  An exit is the course that most will take when faced with this quandary. There will be a great urge to remove oneself from the environment that has brought about these feelings. Fortunately, for them, high performers and individuals occupying crucial positions generally have options when the employment picture begins to change for the better, as is predicted for the coming year. 

Companies who have looked ahead and have seen the writing on the wall are beginning to take steps to “re-engage” with their present staff to help mitigate the potential damage. Organizations who took the humanistic route have an advantage. These companies’ actions will not have caused as much guilt or resentment and may even be viewed positively if separated employees were provided with adequate severance benefits and communications remained open throughout the changes. The re-engagement should be approached much the same way as initial recruitment campaigns were approached. What are the positive attributes that attracted employees to your organization? Do you have a unique value proposition (UVP) for your employees? In business, every organization has a unique value it offers to its customers. It’s the reason customers will want to choose do business with you rather than your competitor down the street. You will need to make certain employees know what UVP you have to offer them and that the attributes which brought them to you are still very much a part of the organization. Do you conduct “internal” marketing? If not, you would be wise to quickly develop your messages and a campaign for getting the message into the ears, minds, and, hopefully, hearts of your most valuable asset, your people. 

If you sincerely want to keep your high performers and crucial staffers in place during the Great Job Hop, the most important part of your messaging will be that it rings true.