Is Your Workplace Harassment Free?

Is your organization "aware enough" to sustain a harassment-free workplace without periodic reminders? If your answer is yes, you might want to reconsider as it appears that even in 2012 it’s still necessary to advocate for dialogues and training about respecting others.

To be honest, this topic continues to be important because there are people among us that:

1. don’t know how to properly handle the power of their authority.
2. aren’t comfortable with people that are different from them.
3. don’t have the benefit of years of work experience and development of collegial relationships with people who have different traditions, customs, languages, and beliefs from the ones they were brought up with.
4. aren’t knowledgeable about improving interpersonal skills by increasing their Emotional Intelligence.
5. have problems with anger management and may not realize its potential impact on co-workers.
6. aren’t properly managing their stress, anxiety, depression, or even addiction.

Do you have any people in your workplace with these types of issues? Judging by the news reports, EEOC claims and increasing employment lawsuits each year, it’s very likely you do.

We see it everywhere: the world has become smaller, more integrated, and workplaces are global. That means a greater workplace mix of customs, accents, holidays, skin color, work and life traditions, religion, belief systems, cooking, music, sexual orientations, physical challenges… I could go on and on. The point is, everyone in the organization, from the CEO down, has a responsibility to RESPECT the person they are dealing with, internally or externally. And, because we are all human, sometimes we need a little reminding of what that really means.

Leadership Actions

HR and business leaders can best serve their organizations by assessing and building a strategy to address specific cultural needs. However, here are a few general guidelines every organization can benefit from. Consider including these in your strategy to promote civility, respect and engagement in the workplace:

Offer mandatory, updated training each year – the issues involved with respect in the workplace continue to expand. There are compliance requirements for training topics such as sexual harassment. However, a topic like workplace bullying is just as important, but not yet required. Make sure your training is inclusive of all the issues of diversity being experienced today.

Incorporate an interpersonal skills competency standard into the hiring model. Not many of us are filling jobs that are successfully performed in isolation of co-workers, vendors, agencies, customers, or distributors. Ensure your hiring model includes a component for assessing communication and interpersonal skills, and include questions regarding interpersonal relationships when completing references. Hiring the "right" skills sets can help to reduce and eliminate problems down the road.

Coach new managers on the proper use of new authorities. Businesses often assume individuals know how to be a supervisor or a leader once they receive the title, and you know what they say about assuming. Establish a coaching program based on specific leadership competencies and values and help new managers build the right foundation for respecting differences from the start of their new careers. A program like this could also be offered to existing managers struggling to adjust to the range of workplace differences they may be encountering.

Offer coaching to managers, leaders and employees struggling with workplace change or conflict – change isn’t natural. Humans are creatures of habit. Be aware of conflicts between co-workers or employees struggling to implement healthy changes to support updated business strategies. Offer coaching assistance to help them work through the changes before their frustrations become drivers for unhealthy, disrespectful behaviors.

Promote the benefits of assistance offered by healthcare and Employee Assistance Programs. Employees usually read through their healthcare benefits at enrollment time, and perhaps when they need a physical, dental, or vision procedure. But they may not remember, or be too embarrassed to ask, about assistance with stress, anger, or depression.

Continuously promote the organization’s core values. Tie the core values to everything the organization is doing through hiring models, performance goals, position descriptions, mentoring opportunities, and performance recognition. Aligning with these values should be an easy way to ensure respectful dealings with others.

Ensure job designs and performance goals are realistic. Do not unintentionally impose impractical expectations that cannot be achieved by ethical, respectful, and reasonable practices. We’re all operating in a mindset of "leaner and meaner" and sometimes we don’t realize that cliché may be delivering more than we intended. If the goal is to treat each other with respect, start by making sure the organization is demonstrating respectful practices with each of its employees, so they can pass it along.

Help workers with workplace etiquette expectations and standards. Just by virtue of the explosion of social media, instant messaging, texting, and smart phones, individuals are becoming more comfortable typing out a message rather than verbalizing it. Most workplace environments need an appropriate mix of both. Provide training and coaching to help employees be successful in both types of communication.

What’s Next?

April, I just learned, is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Sexual assault is a very disturbing and real problem, an issue we should all be aware of and committed to eliminating. Thinking about this brought up considerations of other issues that are just as important, such as workplace bullying, and sexual harassment. Analyzing these types of workplace problems, it becomes clear that they all involve a common message – RESPECT.

The work world will continue to get smaller, meaning that we will become more and more aware of things and people who are different from us. Building a business case for zero tolerance of any act of disrespect is imperative to sustaining best business practices in areas such as recruitment, retention or sales strategies.

According to a recently updated article by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), "Employers today must have programs that focus on prevention and correction for acts that involve harassment, bullying, violence, etc. While not expressly mandated by any federal law, courts, the EEOC and many state and local laws have made anti-harassment policies, complaint procedures and workforce training a necessity for employees to successfully minimize and defend against liability arising from workplace harassment." Organizations do not have the option to wait until the government mandates training for each type of harassment. The time to ensure a sustainable zero-tolerance strategy is now.

Build a strong zero-tolerance platform that is sustainable through future refinements and updates. Consider the various types of media available for distribution of your training and zero-tolerance messages. Be clear with performance expectations, as they relate to zero-tolerance from candidates, employees, vendors and customers. If everyone is aware and is doing their part, the negative impact to your organization should be minimal to none. The "none" is our target.


As always, I welcome your comments to my posting; please share your thoughts below. I appreciate your sharing a copy of this article with others you believe will find it interesting. Have a great week.

This article was written by Deborah A. King, SPHR, CEO and Sr. Organization Effectiveness Consultant with Evolution Management, Inc. Debbie and her team are ready to assist with organizational assessments, design, development and facilitation of zero-tolerance policies, procedures, and training, and the integration of a zero-tolerance message into existing human resource practices and workplace culture.

If you’re interested in learning more about our services, please contact us at www.evolutionmgt.com or 770.587.9032.

Civility, Respect and Engagement in the Workplace

Are You Ready to Conduct a Workplace Investigation?

How would your workplace culture, attention to employee safety, or commitment to a workplace free from harassment look if it was being examined by others outside of your organization? Would it live up to the corporate branding and messaging shared with internal and external stakeholders? Would outsiders view your corporate practices and decisions as fair and equitable?

Tillman Coffey of Fisher & Phillips LLP posed an interesting question at the recent SHRM-Atlanta Conference, “How Would This Look in Court?” Tillman’s presentation focused specifically on witness depositions, something corporate leaders, especially human resource professionals, participate in. His presentation was engaging, humorous, and educational. In the entertaining video Fisher & Phillips created to illustrate how challenging depositions can be, there was one question asked of the “HR Manager” that stood out for me. The question was, “What type of training have you personally had on how to conduct a workplace sexual harassment investigation?” Conducting a workplace investigation is serious business and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Organizations should ensure personnel charged with leading investigations receive the proper training in order to be confident and credible in the undertaking.

As an overview of the phases and nuances to be considered, here are some suggested best practices to include in an investigation strategy:

Treat the Allegations Seriously

As a general rule, the employer should take immediate steps any time an employee makes an informal or formal complaint, or when a manager witnesses or has reason to suspect employee misconduct that violates workplace policies. These steps could include:

• Develop an investigation strategy, including designing the appropriate questions
• Protect those involved from workplace disruption
• Attempt to resolve the alleged conflict as quickly as possible

Situations such as on-the-job accidents, workplace harassment, ethics, and whistleblowing will be subject to compliance with federal, state or local investigation requirements. In these circumstances engaging with legal counsel may be necessary.

As demonstrated by Tillman’s video "spoof," there are also a number of things an employer should not do when an employee complains:

• Joke about the situation
• Take sides or give personal opinions
• Fire the complainer
• Discuss the complaint with others who are not involved

Choose the Right Investigator

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines the hallmarks of the "right" investigator as someone with the right level of experience, neutrality and objectivity. The HR manager is often tapped to conduct an investigation because of the nature of the position, the ability to remain neutral and strong competencies in the areas of interpersonal skills. However, this isn’t a "given." In some situations there could be a disadvantage to HR taking on this role if there has been no relevant training, or there is a possibility the employee will view HR as being too closely aligned with management.

Depending on the circumstances and the individuals involved, there are other options for assigning an investigation leader: internal security personnel, outside HR consultant, and in-house or outside legal counsel.

Legal Issues

Even when the decision is made to not have legal counsel take the lead on the investigation, it is probably worth the investment to work with counsel to outline the legal issues associated in the investigation. This conversation may involve exploring topics such as:

• Employee perceived or legal rights for privacy
• Guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to ensure proper steps are taken in cases involving alleged harassment
• Dispute resolution terms included in Collective Bargaining Agreements
• Management of relevant documents to the investigation
• Process for coordination with internal and external media outlets

Investigate Thoroughly

Begin the investigation process by meeting with the employee who brought the complaint forward and then follow up by meeting with the alleged wrongdoer and all witnesses identified by either party.

• Allow each individual the opportunity to tell their story without interruption
• Take detailed notes; document facts, not opinions or conclusions
• Obtain relevant documentation
• Maintain confidentiality – only disclose information on a "need to know" basis
• Advise parties involved to keep information about the investigation confidential

Don’t Get Bogged Down

The investigator should stay in touch with both parties throughout the investigation to let them know things are still proceeding. Often the investigator is faced with a "he said/she said" dilemma which can sends the process in circles. The law firm of Ford & Harrison suggests assessing the credibility of witnesses based on these factors to aid in making a judgment as to whether the events happened as described:

Demeanor, Consistency, Chronology, Corroboration, Plausibility, History and Motivation

Complete the Investigation

After gathering the facts, the investigator will review the information and make a credible determination based on a "preponderance of the evidence." Depending on the circumstances the employer may request a written report or a verbal debrief. Be prepared to discuss investigation methods, conclusions and recommendations, as appropriate.

If the investigator concludes improper conduct did occur, disciplinary action must be determined. This usually is the responsibility of decision-makers on the leadership team, including HR. Once the action is determined, the employee who filed the complaint should be advised of the corrective action that will be taken.

Naturally, the employee accused of wrong-doing will be advised of the results of the investigation and the plan for corrective action to be taken. The investigator keeps the conversation brief, summarizing the findings along with next steps. It’s also important to remind the employee that the findings were based on what is and is not acceptable workplace behavior.

If the investigator concludes there were no findings of misconduct, the discussion with the complainant will focus on the employer’s commitment to continue to provide a respectful, harassment- and retaliation-free workplace environment. The meeting with the accused employee will focus on the fact that there were no findings of wrong doing and that retaliation will not be tolerated, and may be cause for further investigation.

Documentation

In most situations, documentation of interviews and other oral communications conducted during the investigation will be summarized in writing, and signed by the respective parties to confirm the facts. Legal counsel will advise HR about what level of documentation is appropriate for the investigation. Maintenance of any investigation documentation should be separate from the personnel files of the individuals involved.

Obviously, I’m an HR/OD Consultant, not an attorney, so none of this information is presented as legal advice. The purpose is to draw attention to key protocols to be considered when planning to conduct a workplace investigation. The point Mr. Coffey made in his presentation was to be aware and sensitive to the fact that seemingly routine HR issues often lead to litigation and most often they look different in court than they did in the office. If "people issues" surface in your organization, I hope these highlights will be helpful in determining your strategy.

As always, I welcome your comments to my posting; please click below. If you found this article interesting and helpful, I’m very happy for you to pass it along to others. Have a great week.

This article was written by Deborah A. King, SPHR, CEO and Sr. Organization Effectiveness Consultant with Evolution Management, Inc. Debbie and her team are ready to assist with the design and implementation of HR and OD initiatives. Contact us for more information; www.evolutionmgt.com; 770.587.9032.

Good Morning America Report

The Soft Skills Dilemma

Last week as a volunteer for the SHRM GA State Council, I had the pleasure of participating as a panelist at the Governor’s Workforce Development Town Hall meeting in Marietta. If you haven’t heard about these meetings yet you might check out their website and get involved. There are 31 meetings planned across the state from August through November. The purpose of the meetings is to bring together stakeholders interested in finding practical and sustainable solutions to the soft skills gaps Georgia employers are facing. SHRM GA State Council is excited about the opportunity to participate in these meetings and offer the human resource professional perspective on how to train and on-board individuals who have not yet mastered these key life skills.  
Melvin Everson, the Executive Director of the Workforce Development Office, opened our meeting citing research which indicates that most employment terminations are not occurring because of a lack of technical skills or insubordination. Instead, individuals (particularly young people; first time employees, etc.) are losing their jobs as a result of a lack of understanding and demonstration of behaviors such as the following in the workplace:

• successfully being able to work in teams
• consistently being reliable and punctual
• communicating well with others, verbally and in writing
• solving problems and thinking outside the box
• dressing appropriately for the work environment

Whatever you want to call them, "life skills" or "soft skills," the nation – not just GA - is facing a huge gap in qualified candidates and workers as a result of a lack of these types of qualities. This problem will require involvement by all stakeholders, including the business community, to remedy. Are these gaps in soft skills surfacing in your organization?

What’s the Problem?

The message was the same from many of the individuals attending the meeting. Many are Baby Boomers who grew up in a time when the rule at home was, "You have trouble at school, and you’ll have twice as much trouble at home." The solidarity parents and teachers had for working together to teach the skills needed for success doesn’t seem to be the same today. We heard comments and suggestions about the root causes for our current situation that included issues such as:

• The concept of "respect" and demonstrating that to others, including people in positions of authority, is different today.
• For many families in the 50’s and 60’s, graduation from high school was a step beyond where the parents had been – so the journey of the family was seen as moving forward. Families aren’t on the same journey today.
• Teachers used to serve as mentors and role models. Today, teachers don’t have the time, aren’t as passionate about that role, or are afraid to challenge children in the classroom, especially teens.
• Many parents today are children themselves and haven’t learned these lessons yet, so it’s hard, if not impossible, for them to teach them to their children.
• Many families today include two parents working and they are often too busy or tired to get involved with the activities of their teens.
• Many families have only one parent "doing it all" and they are not able to keep up with everything – including discipline and manners.
• Today, based on the violence we’ve seen play out in schools, many teachers are afraid of confronting or disciplining students.  
• The schools are not demanding or teaching appropriate dress. As a result, when young people come to work they are unaware that there is a standard they will be judged by.
• The availability of technology has created a culture of isolationism to the degree that young people would rather text or email comments rather than have a conversation. This lack of having to talk with others has had a dramatic impact on communication and interpersonal skills.

What’s the Solution?

Sourcing, recruiting, hiring and terminations require time; and we all know time is money. Employers are looking for a workforce that has not only the technical skills to succeed, but maybe more importantly, the self-awareness and soft skills necessary to work with others within a culture that demands respect, courtesies, proper dress and dependability. The Economic Development Offices across the country want to be able to tell businesses shopping for a state to house their operations that they have an educated and ready workforce to staff necessary positions. So how do we ensure that pipeline?

From my experience as an Organization Development consultant, Human Resource Manager and trainer it certainly looks like the solution will require a collaborative approach. The immediate answer may be that employers need to offer training to young hires as reinforcement to the information shared through the on-boarding process. Maybe something like - How to Be Successful at Work 101 (I’m already developing this workshop). In addition, matching the new hires with a mentor to help show them the ropes and model the required behaviors could be extremely helpful. Underlining the training and mentoring, each new hire has to understand that these behaviors are critical to their success in the organization, and failure to demonstrate them in a consistent manner could result in termination.

Beyond the employer taking care of current hires, our school systems (elementary through college) need to step back and identify creative ways to weave successful work skills into their day-to-day processes, courses, and parent/teacher activities. I think everyone agrees that offering training to students and parents about the importance of embracing and demonstrating these "everyday skills" is imperative. In addition to the training, students need to be held accountable, just like they will be on the job, with consequences for falling short. Teaching parents will be just as important, so they can reinforce the training at home.

The Governor’s Workforce Development Office is already working on how to integrate these important lessons into their Work Ready certification programs. This is another collaborative effort of government, education, business, students, local communities and volunteers. Some of the competencies they will be addressing, such as punctuality and dress, will need to be measured more by a demonstration of understanding, rather than testing. The GA Work Ready Program is already a national example of how collaboration and training can succeed. Adding the requirements for soft skills is another strong example of how important they are for success and how dedicated the state is to having a workforce ready to succeed in the future.

So What’s Next?

I think we all agree the lack of interpersonal, communication and soft skills is a big problem for organizations. Given the size of the problem, it seems like we all need to get involved in one way or another to develop solutions and implement them.

At the SHRM Student HR Conference this past spring, Pam Greene, Chief Membership Officer, spoke for over an hour to the attending college students about the importance of proper dress, communication, language, punctuality, management of technologies, etc. Many of the issues she mentioned are the same ones we’re addressing in the Georgia Town Hall meetings. Businesses are beginning to offer etiquette classes to address common courtesies, respect and teamwork. States like Georgia are turning up the volume on the conversations they’re having with business and education partners to influence training curriculums and attitudes of teachers, parents and students. What’s your organization doing?

As the book title reminds us, It Takes a Village to Raise A Child. That village includes: HR professionals, educators, government agencies, parents, business owners, managers, chambers, associations - anyone with a passion for helping others learn how to succeed. It will take ideas and investments from all of us to close these gaps.

For those employees you’ve already hired that don’t understand what soft skills are and how they help develop great workers, it may be worth your investment to introduce training and link it to dialogues about performance expectation. If you can salvage someone you’ve already been investing in, it’s much more cost effective than terminating them and starting all over with the recruiting, hiring and training processes.

It may also be necessary to initiate a program for candidates interested in applying to your organization. This could involve some mandatory "training" on soft skills as part of the application process. This unusual step could send a strong message about the value your organization assigns to these skills and could raise awareness for the candidate about how the behaviors integrate with the hiring and performance management processes adhered to by your firm.

One person at our meeting raised a good question: "We’re all on the same page about the importance of these skills and that’s why we’re at this meeting. But what about those stakeholders who aren’t here? How do we reach them?" Good question! I’m not sure of the answer, but I believe the more we keep the dialogue going and expanding, the greater our chances to get the right people involved.

This is a complicated and multi-faceted issue. I was honored to be a part of the conversations in Marietta and look forward to the various changes that will be implemented in our education and business systems to solve this problem.  

So your challenge - What are your thoughts about how we can come together to not only dialogue about the problem, but share solutions? I’m interested in learning if and how this issue is impacting your organization. Please respond below.

Dress for Success

The Sad Impact of Unethical Conduct

(I happen to live in Atlanta, GA, but the reader could easily substitute a variety of unethical events occurring all over America for the one I reference from my backyard. It’s a truly sad state of affairs. I hope by writing about it and generating some awareness and discussions we can come together to influence a change in organizational attitudes and behaviors.)

As the Atlanta Public School System prepares to open their 2011-2012 school year, the Metro Area is sadly dealing with an ethical scandal.   According to the Governor’s Investigative Report, it appears that at every level of the bureaucracy, staff members shamelessly planned and executed repeated behaviors that allegedly resulted in lying, cheating, stealing and ultimately hurting thousands of innocent children who, in some cases, did not get the educational benefit of attending school. The point I want to make is that these behaviors, and the ugly culture where they existed, appear to have resulted from: unrealistic organizational goals, a culture of retaliation and an unrealistic demand for performance results (at any cost), and a craving for public praise.

Ethics is often defined as “a philosophy principle concerned with opinions about appropriate and inappropriate moral conduct or behaviors by an individual or social group. Defined more broadly, corporate ethics can include legal compliance, ethical conduct and corporate social responsibility, all of which affect business sustainability.”

Just as the nation was learning about the details of the unbelievable activities of the Atlanta Public School System leadership, we also heard of the exposure of unethical reporting methodologies employed by the Murdoch News Corporation. Not only did this news bring embarrassment and reputation damage to Mr. Murdoch and his family, it also brought pain and suffering to the families impacted by these unethical practices and embarrassment to and questioning of political leaders in Europe. In both cases, the Superintendent of Schools Beverly Hall and the Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch refused to be accountable for the behaviors and decisions made under their leadership, offering instead weak excuses and apologies.

How would your organization rate on the ethics-o-meter? Do you feel confident that the culture your policies intend is being practiced? Are you sure people are being treated fairly and in compliance with employment regulations and practices? Can you affirm, without hesitation, that the organization’s values and philosophies are being carried out by your leaders, as well as staff members? If you can, congratulations! Especially in hard times, performing in an ethical manner can be challenging. If you hesitated, read on; I’m including some action steps to consider.

Conduct an Ethics Checkup

A 2007 article by Barbara Ley Toffler, still very relevant today, describes specific actions to create and sustain a culture of integrity that values ethical performance. She suggests:

• Since the word "ethics" is overused, change the vocabulary. Try substituting "decency" and "responsibility" for "ethics."
• Enron used words like "honesty" and "commitment" – and we know the end of that story. How about having staff (including you) write an essay defining what each value means to them, along with real-life examples of organizational practices that support and contradict those values? This could lead to some very interesting conversations, result in important changes, and demonstrate the organization’s commitment to ensuring ethical performance.
• Face the music – welcome the not-so-good news as well as the good news. Accept a new mantra: There is nothing I don’t want to know.
• Investigate potential areas of risk and plan steps to mitigate them. Follow up by attending your ethics training and ensuring it addresses these latest issues.

If you’re looking to add or update your audit process, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has the following suggestions:

• Add the ethics audit to an existing financial/compliance audit, minimizing disruptions.
• Be as descriptive and specific as you can about what ethics looks and sounds like. The ethics audit should be focused on a comparison between actual employee behaviors and the guidance provided in policies and procedures.
• Tie ethics metrics to the performance review process and compensation.
• Use a cross-functional team to assist with the ethics audit; include an HR professional, compliance manager and internal auditors or someone from legal.
• Be on the look out for areas where improvements can be made to close gaps.
• Be consistent in disciplining ethics violations and use the issues as a "lessons learned" opportunity for communications and training.

However you structure your audit, be clear about the distinction between ethics and compliance.

So What’s Next?

The National Business Ethics Survey published in 2010 concludes with:

• We are experiencing an ethics bubble, which is most likely temporary. When times are tough, ethics improve. When business thrives, ethics erode.
• Executives who don’t elevate culture to a priority, risk long-term business problems.

Ethical culture is the single biggest factor determining the amount of misconduct that will take place in a business. Individuals, groups, or organizations not adhering to ethics standards usually only get away with unethical behaviors for so long. Sooner or later something happens that brings it all to light. And when it does, leaders more than likely end up going to jail, companies are often devastated, employees and customers are usually injured in some fashion and become more skeptical, and overall, society suffers.

As our global economies expand and intertwine, we will also be faced with the practices of countries where regulations and laws guiding ethical practices don’t exist – so it’s an "anything goes" environment. Will your ethical practices be strong enough to navigate those unchartered waters?

How damaging for your company’s reputation and business success would an ethics violation reported on the evening news be? Studying a few of the many examples of unethical behavior reported in the past few months, the amazing thread to me is that so many involve more than one person – and these people, motivated by greed, or fear of retaliation, or whatever, go along with what’s being done, even though they know it’s wrong. In the case of the Atlanta Public School System, whistleblowers were threatened. Simply having an 800-number managed by a third-party would have taken that opportunity out of the hands of the unethical staff.

Here’s my assignment for you – share one idea that you have about ethical cultures and what can be done to enforce a message of "we’re serious about ethics!" Please share your thoughts and ideas on this very important topic below.

Collaborate for a Solution

www.evolutionmgt.com

770.587.9032

Small Decencies

Wanted: Global Managers

Do you remember the 1964 World’s Fair Disney exhibit, "It’s a Small World"? (It debuted the song you can’t get out of your head as soon as you hear it.) Well fast forward to the 21st century and we’re there – "it’s a small, small world." The notion of a global marketplace is no longer a prediction; it’s here, and its impact is far reaching. 

Globalization not only impacts companies that import and export products. It influences the operations of all types of industries that have facilities in the U.S. and overseas, as well as totally U.S.-based enterprises that have competitors in foreign countries. Today, companies with an Internet presence and a few employees can, and do, compete effectively in the global marketplace. Globalization - the movement toward economic, financial, trade, and communications integration - is impacting all types of businesses, regardless of size.

We’ve grown beyond just large corporations like Coca-Cola and Sony needing to pay attention to how international business is driving changes to our education systems, leadership development programs, customer service approaches, technologies and financial decisions. Business investments in products, services, workforces, facilities, technologies, and communities all have to consider what’s occurring in the global marketplace. Is your organization considering these influences? Is your leadership team designing strategic initiatives for competing and winning in a smaller world?

A "World-Wise" Road Map
The 2010 IBM Global Chief Human Resource Officer Study, titled Working Beyond Borders, found that "while organizations continue to develop and deploy talent in diverse areas around the globe at an accelerated rate, the rationale behind workforce investment is changing." The study findings indicate that:

• expansion requires workforce redirection to locations providing the greatest opportunity, not just lower costs
• management strategies to reflect an increasingly dynamic workforce must be re-imagined
• competitive success will depend on leadership talent to assimilate information and share insights among a diverse group of employees living and working around the globe
• social networking and collaboration "soft" skills also have a beneficial bottom-line consequence

Supporting the IBM Global Study findings, the May issue of HR Magazine, (available to SHRM members), includes an interesting article by Kathryn Tyler entitled, Global Ease.

Kathryn’s article focuses on the strategies necessary to help organizations build "culturally competent" Chief Human Resource Officers (CHRO). I saw the value of these strategies carrying over to any manager responsible for leading international work teams; not just HR. So I’m offering them for your consideration.

Ms. Tyler suggests that organizations and individuals can independently and collaboratively incorporate career learning opportunities, such as the following, to boost global leadership development:

Travel - A long term assignment may not be practical for everyone; but with a slight modification, perhaps taking an 18-month assignment with two-week trips back to the states every three months, it may be a workable option. Work and travel should be focused on countries and cultures that are important to the organization whether the location is dedicated to operations, labor or customer markets.

International degrees and workshops - Not all professionals need an international degree. Enrolling in global courses can be very educational and rewarding. Schools such as the Thunderbird School of Global Management offer courses on various topics related to globalization. However, for managers who have the time for and interest in an international degree, the experience can be valuable and allow for establishing a strong business network with executives from other countries.

Read globally - Keeping up on world news through country specific newspapers and resources such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Economist, Fortune and Harvard Business Review is a must. Incorporating discussions about current international events into management meetings can also lead to innovation and creativity.

International projects - Managers should be encouraged to study a new language, assisted by resources such as Rosetta Stone; and to volunteer for project assignments as they are identified. An organization can build a competitive advantage by locating managers in emerging markets for a year or two in order to gain an understanding of the way work and business relationships are accomplished.

Multicultural network - Leaders should be encouraged to network with other managers and executives who have international backgrounds and responsibilities, even if their role is not the same. Managers can also be matched with mentors outside the U.S. and should be offered access to opportunities where they could join in on international team projects.

So What’s Next?
The writing is more than on the wall: Globalization is here to stay, and leaders need to be taking the right steps to embrace it. Just by virtue of the word, globalization means business not usual. Therefore, it requires new thinking and new ways of doing things.

As I wrote about last week, planning and implementing organizational change isn’t a strong suit for American businesses; as demonstrated by a 70% failure rate. It takes time and commitment to successfully initiate change and to have it embraced by employees. But it can be done with the right leadership and change management approach.

According to Peyman Dayyani, VP of Organizational Development and Human Capital for Mobile Communication Company of Iran, who was quoted in Tyler’s article, "acquiring global skills should include a 70-20-10 learning approach: 70% learned by doing, 20% from being mentored by individuals with a global mind-set, and 10% by reading and attending classes." This formula can provide a good yardstick for developing the mixture of global learning experiences suited for specific organizational needs.

Not only do organizations need to consider the impact of globalization in their approach to strategic expansion, they also have to re-imagine their orientation, leadership development and human resource programs that support workforce analysis, succession planning, engagement, job rotations and more. Leadership development, especially to grow global cultural competencies, still seems to be elusive to many organizations. According to IBM’s Study, companies are struggling to both find and nurture effective future leaders.

Cultural competencies necessary for the success of global leaders according to Kathryn Tyler include self-awareness and the knowledge of how you are perceived by others; language acquisition, which not only provides a means for communication, but also allows for insights into the culture; and societal sensitivities, which allow leaders to be open to different solutions and adaptable to different cultures and work style norms. Leadership development programs focused on integrating these competencies along with the traditional leadership skill sets would go far in helping executives prepare for managing an international workforce.

The experts have gathered data, analyzed it and are laying out road maps for tuned-in organizations to follow in their quest to motivate and prepare leaders for the changing requirements of global management. What advice would you add to aid companies trying to strategize about how to prepare for success in a global market?

Professor Andrew Kakabadse

Crisis Management - A Must in Today's Business Environment

We’re all aware of the dramatic news reports and instant images sent around the world when there is a disaster. Certainly no one can forget the images of September 11, or the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and the massive destruction resulting from the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The business community, as well as communities at large, is constantly being reminded of the vulnerable nature of our world and the extreme cost of these types of disasters. Certainly some are the result of Mother Nature’s work, but other events can be just as devastating, such as financial failures from poor business management, cybercrime, computer viruses, violence in the workplace, and union strikes. Is your business ready to handle these types of crises? Do your employees know what to do in the case of an emergency?

FEMA Director Craig Fugate spoke at the National Hurricane Conference in Atlanta last week and stressed how important it is for public officials, as well as communities to be prepared to fill in the gaps in support when a disaster occurs. His message is a call to action for business leaders to ensure that each organization is prepared, that employees are aware of and preparing for disasters in their homes - mirroring what they see being demonstrated at work - and that clients and customers know how to connect to ensure continuity with on-going orders and projects. So what is your business doing to answer this call?

Crisis Management Planning
No one wants to think like a terrorist or imagine the worst case weather disasters, but that’s what needs to happen in order to be prepared; we have to imagine what types of disasters could come our way. Developing a plan using the available resources and ideas of what others are doing is best approached as a team effort. Preparedness is important naturally for an organization’s human responsibilities, and also for the financial and economic impacts disaster can bring. Establishing and implementing a practical plan to address disasters can help minimize disruption, down time, and operational chaos.

The planning phase should be led by a credible senior leader, often the Human Resources Manager. The role of this leader is to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to systematically examine and plan for what is required based on the results of strategic and analytical discussions focused on:

1. Considering the entire universe of things that can go wrong, i.e., terrorism, pandemics, epidemics, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc.
2. Analyzing each event and assigning a likelihood that it will actually happen
3. Addressing those situations with the highest likelihood of occurring and considering both contingencies: your work sites are operational, and your work sites are closed or capacity is reduced

The Internet offers a broad range of information about various specific types of crisis management planning which may be helpful to your team. FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security offer information on how to plan for continuity and disaster management in the workplace, as well as provide resources for individuals to utilize when planning for managing disasters with their families at home. In addition, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) offers some excellent articles, templates, and tips to assist both planning processes. HR should be evaluating catastrophes through three distinct lenses:

1. Employees severely impacted by the disaster (loss of family members, homes, etc.)
2. Employees impacted by the disaster (energy or transportation losses)
3. Employees not directly impacted

Get a Kit. Make a Plan. Stay Informed.
The American Red Cross program for disaster preparedness works under the mantra Get a Kit. Make a Plan. Be informed. It’s easy to remember and work with, and similar to the one utilized by the Department of Homeland Security. Working with the information available at websites such as the one provided by the Red Cross your Planning Team can gather helpful advice on how to integrate this information at work, as well as how to design and communicate tips to share with employees for preparing at home.

The Kit should contain at least the basic supplies, and someone should be identified as responsible for rotating the food and water items based on shelf-life.

The Plan should contain at least two places for employees to meet, one outside the building for sudden emergencies, and the other outside the immediate area should employees not be able to return to work in the case of an evacuation. In addition, create a Communications Plan so everyone knows who and how to contact (depending on what lines of communication are open) in the case of a disaster or evacuation. That emergency contact information, perhaps a toll free number, should be provided in writing and each employee should be requested to program the information into their mobile phones.

It’s important for the Business Continuity and Disaster Plan as well as the Communications Plan to be in writing but they also must be integrated into day-to-day business strategies. A roll out campaign with employees will be necessary initially to share the information. It should then be reviewed in on-boarding sessions with new hires, as well as periodically for updating. In addition, periodic practice sessions should be designed and conducted, just as you currently do with building fire drills.

There are a few things the HR Manager or Planning Team can do to implement the Be Informed step:

• Research what types of disasters or emergencies may occur in your area; what are other businesses planning for?
• Build relationships with local emergency preparedness officials and ensure you are staying up to date on information relative to health-related or terrorist events.
• Identify how local authorities will notify you during a disaster – radio, TV NOAA Weather Radio, etc. Identify someone responsible for making sure this equipment remains in working order.
• Know the difference between different weather alerts and educate your employees to be mindful of these distinctions, especially in parts of the country where conditions can change quickly.
• Educate employees who travel about possible disasters and emergencies that may occur in those locations and what to do in the event of such a disaster.
• When a disaster occurs, the workplace can change immediately. If there are injuries, emergency response is likely to be delayed. Make sure a representative number of employees are trained in first aid and CPR; and if an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available, that someone knows how to use it.
• Provide all employees and their families with Emergency Contact Cards, available through the Red Cross.

So What’s Next?
We are more vulnerable at work than we’ve ever been, making developing, implementing and sustaining a realistic Crisis Management Plan no longer a luxury. It needs to be a critical element of your strategic business plan, aligning with your HR, operations and financial strategies.

The Weather Channel recently reported the confirmation of 292 tornadoes as of April 19, 2011, beating the previous April record of 267 in 1974. According to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, the average for April is only 116. You may not live and work in a part of the country that is prone to tornadoes, but look at the devastation caused by the tornado in St. Louis last Friday - and they haven’t had a tornado this strong in 44 years. The time to plan is before disaster happens, not after.

I know raising awareness to possible risks and threats isn’t the best motivator for driving business leaders to take action. I’m hoping that by writing this blog on this important topic that we can start a dialogue of sharing ideas that will spark others into action. Regardless of what industry we work in, what part of the country our employees live in, or what size organization we support, a plan for what to do in the case of a disaster is good business sense for everyone. We need to keep employees as safe as we can while putting strategies in place to allow us to continue running the business and servicing our customers.

So my wish is that you’ll share a little something about what steps your organization is taking towards emergency planning, and what helpful things are you are doing to engage employees to be prepared for a disaster at work, as well as at home. Thank you for participating in this dialogue. I look forward to reading your comments.

Feel free to share this blog so we can expand the discussion, as well as information about available resources.

Business Continuity & Disaster Planning

How Do You React to Change?

Respond to this question using a scale of 1-5, with 1 being a response of ‘Avoid at all Costs – I like routine’ and 5 being ‘Energized By Change – I seek out opportunities to do something different.’

There is evidence that change and the frequency with which we must deal with it will continue to increase in our professional and personal lives. This fast-paced diet of change is going to require a stronger and stronger demonstration of skills such as adaptability and flexibility. These capabilities will be necessary in our home lives as well as in response to expectations from our employers when it comes to managing our careers. If that’s the writing on the wall, what are you doing about strengthening your skills to be ready to respond in a healthy and productive manner to the changes the world is unleashing?

Requirements of an Innovative World
In a recent article written for FedEx entitled Adjusting to a Rapidly Evolving Economy,  Catherine Bolgar, former editor of the Wall Street Journal, suggests that the traditional approach - get an education and then go get a job - may be becoming obsolete. Combining her notion with what business leaders say about the way they will fill jobs five years from now ("We haven’t developed those job requirements or titles yet") and it becomes clear that continuous learning and building a capacity to embrace and quickly react to change are skills we all need for the future. The fog isn’t completely lifted on how education and innovation will transition together, but as John Howkins, author of the book, The Creative Economy says, "When somebody stops learning now, it’s like they’ve stopped thinking, or at least being creative." Certainly you don’t want that description to apply to you, and you also don’t want any colleagues on your team who have given up their passion for learning and development. So what can you do?

Naturally our basic curriculum will remain relevant. We still need to learn math, science, and the ABC’s; but technology has changed what we do with the information we’re learning. We no longer have to memorize the answers – they are just a click away. But what’s important now is knowing how to understand and use the unlimited data available, analyze what it means through the filter of the big picture, and make recommendations of what steps are best to consider for moving forward. These are fast becoming critical skills for 21st century workers. 

I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about my experience judging at the SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Student Conference.  In the past the SHRM student conference competitions were based on a Jeopardy! style of questioning, requiring students to memorize employment regulations, definitions, laws, etc. This year the format changed to one where students prepared a two page executive summary of a case study, including issues, possible solutions and recommendations. In addition, they gave a 30 minute presentation of the case, demonstrating analysis and problem solving logic. This format change was initiated as a result of what SHRM is hearing business leaders need from new employees coming into the workplace. Key among those abilities to be successful are the following:

• Adaptability
• Problem-solving
• Analysis and recommendations
• Collaboration
• Mentoring
• Entrepreneurship

Technology – a Big Driver of ChangeI was recently in the grocery store with a friend who was visibly upset and appalled that I had selected the "self-checkout" option. "Don’t you realize that you are taking someone’s job away by using this lane?" he demanded. My response, as heartless as it may have sounded was, "They’ve already lost that job, and it’s not coming back!" As technology helps businesses improve efficiencies and cost-savings, jobs will change. That’s how it’s always been – it just hasn’t been this fast.

I looked over at the other four check-out lanes that were still being managed by real people, and hoped they, as well as their employer, have their eyes open to the future. The ‘checkout’ position is going to become obsolete and they need to be learning a new skill to help them move on to the next job in their career. We’re already reading about the research and development of shopping carts with scanners on them; you’ll be "checking out" as you are shopping. How quick and easy will that be? There isn’t anything we can do to stop the march of technological progress. What we can manage is how we prepare and handle the on-going changes technology and globalization will bring.

So What’s Next?Individuals, as well as the business and academic communities have a responsibility to address these new skill sets. For individuals who do not like change, it’s important to take the necessary steps to get comfortable with it. Try new things to relax your preference for control and structure. Set up situations where you don’t know all the answers before the questions are asked. Put yourself in elements that you are not familiar with to strengthen your confidence that you can deal with whatever happens.

Employers can also help employees build these necessary skills. Through a variety of assessments employees can become familiar with their work style preferences and use that knowledge to modify them and grow capacity to deal with change. An assessment like the Myers Briggs Type Indicator for example, opens opportunities for dialog and discovery about how individuals deal with information, decisions and structure. What we know about preferences is that they are just that -- "preferences."  Just because someone has a strong tendency preferring a lot of structure and routine, doesn’t mean they can’t learn to embrace and deal with changing situations and less predictable work relationships in a healthy and positive manner. It just takes time to help them understand their preferences and assist them in shifting their immediate reactions. Self discovery work like this does require patience, commitment and possibly the accountability of working with a manager or external business coach to stay the course. However, the results can be very rewarding for both the individual and the company.

Establishing a mentoring relationship also has the benefit of sharing knowledge and building collaboration skills while dealing with real-time problems and situations. For mentors and mentees these relationships can lead to life long friendships, career development and often spotlight leadership potential that may not have been realized to date.

We may not know all the requirements for those jobs without titles and job descriptions that we’ll be filling four or five years from now, but we do already know some of the success factors that the employees in those positions will be measured by.

What are you doing to make sure you aren’t viewed as "behind the times" when it comes time for your next promotion or career change? What are you helping to facilitate in your organization to better align your workforce readiness preparation with the skill sets of the 21st century? 

Large and small organizations- public, private and non-profit - see the need to change their business strategies. Don’t forget the importance of aligning the people-management functions along with those business changes.

I’ve written this blog to start a conversation about skills required for the future and what we can do to develop them. What’s your advice about ways to improve flexibility and "soft skills"? What steps do you suggest to improve understanding and alignment with the changing relationship of education and business skill set needs?

I look forward to your answers to those two questions. Please click below and share.

Innovation and Creativity at Work

How do you react to change?

Wanted: Leaders and Creative Thinkers

The March issue of Harvard Business Review contains an insightful article, The New Path to the C-suite by Groysberg, Kelly and MacDonald. Their research focused on seven C-level jobs; the competencies the positions needed in the past, those currently in demand, and to the best of their abilities, the competencies that will be required over the next decade.

The article is very informative, especially as a professional development guide for individuals desiring to move into the C-suite. I also see a lot of relevance in the article for leaders to consider from the perspective of succession planning and leadership development. I totally understand there are times when bringing in new blood, and new ideas, is a better approach than promoting from within. However, let’s not overlook the opportunity to prepare senior leaders already in the C-suite for different responsibilities, as well as developing those managers coming up through the ranks behind them. With the proper combination of situations such as exposure, mentoring, training, and job rotations, your exceptional leaders of the future may be just down the hall.

The New PathThe research confirmed some of what has been previously speculated. There has been a lot of change taking place with regard to C-suite competency requirements over the past ten years. Add to that daily global and technology changes and the result is a continuous redefining of what is needed to operate a successful business, now and in the future. Through their research and interviews conducted by the authors, one thing became clear - the "technical and functional expertise that once was a must to reach the C-suite will take a backseat to leadership skills and a strong grasp of business fundamentals required of leaders in the future."

Groysberg and his team openly state their understanding that different times and different circumstances call for different leadership skills. However, they also acknowledge the impact of the rapidly changing landscape being thrust on leaders today. Issues such as changing workforce demographics, globalization, and technology innovations are driving new trends in the ways we search for talent. The new workplace seeks a blended combination of creativity, thought-leadership and well rounded international business backgrounds.

Where’s HR?The focus of the HBR article is on seven C-suite positions: CIO – Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, CFO, General Counsel, Chief Supply-Chain-Management Officer, Chief Human Resource Officer and CEO. Common across all positions is a theme of increased knowledge and experience with:


• Business acumen and orientation
• Communications
• Collaboration
• Strategic thinking
• Technology savvy
• "Soft" leadership skills, i.e., trust, empathy, professionalism, motivation, ethics, etc.The requirements for Human Resource (HR) leadership are changing just as much as for other disciplines. However, for many reasons which would fill another blog, HR doesn’t have as established a presence in the C-suite as a position such as the Chief Information Officer (CIO). In the overview of the research on the Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) position, Groysberg includes a New York Times quote from Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, "The discipline I believe so strongly in is HR, and it’s the last discipline that gets funded. Marketing, manufacturing – all these things are important. But more often than not, the head of HR does not have a seat at the table. Big mistake." I agree, it’s a big mistake; especially when we look at the "people-related" changes that are integrated in the new requirements for C-suite players:


• Planning for and implementing workplace flexibilities and a variety of work structure options
• Anticipating and embracing intergenerational work style issues
• Analyzing and preparing for the impact of cultural differences and shifting demographics
• Focusing on continuous needs to help prepare and move people through change
• Expanding confidence and abilities to work with people at all levels of the organization, including C’s and the BoardIf organizations don’t take the appropriate steps to expand the experiences of their HR Managers and VP’s, I believe we will create an imbalance and run the risk that the CHRO role could tilt too far in the direction of business knowledge and lose the eye on the importance of motivation, flexibilities and development. Without the right balance of competency requirements, it’s easy to foresee the creation of a skill set gap for managing talent assessment, recruitment, engagement and retention.

I think this is an exciting time for HR. For those that are already in the profession, those in academia that teach and develop HR professionals, and organizations that invest in and promote high potentials that demonstrate the drive, interest and passion for expanding their horizons.

As the article mentions, we’ve come a long way in getting progressive organizations to see the value of HR. It’s great to identify and hire ambitious, passionate business leaders who understand the dynamics of people, as well as the criticality of matching workforce skills and training with the jobs of the future. However, for those individuals, as well as others who are just learning how to combine their technical knowledge with the human side of business there’s a place for "on-the-job" trainings that come in the form of overseas assignments, job shadowing, exposure to board meetings, and observing innovative strategic planning efforts. And really, these types of experiential learnings would be great not only for the CHRO, but for all the employees in the Succession Plan that need to expand their knowledge of company-specific issues to help expand their business orientation horizons.

So What’s Next?The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) continues to have a finger on the pulse of changing competencies required of CHRO’s. SHRM collaborates with business and academic communities to stay current in the conversation about human resource leadership competencies. In fact, the organization has also rolled out a SHRM-approved HR college curriculum to better address future skill sets for the up and coming HR/business leader. SHRM continues to partner with thought-leaders in every aspect of human capital and business management to expand research, training, and learning events to keep pace with determining the right mix of responsibilities and training as this dynamic role evolves.

The HBR article pointed to the trend that non-HR executives with backgrounds in operations, marketing and corporate law are more frequently being tapped for CHRO positions and they also acknowledged that this tendency is not without problems. They specifically cite that legal professionals are often being selected for the CHRO position as the regulatory environment has become so complex. However, tracking the successes and challenges of this skill set selection indicates that often there is more time spent focusing on regulations and compensation issues so that other responsibilities suffer.

I recognize that the bar is being raised on all jobs, not just HR. Businesses recovering from the recession of the past three years can not be successful doing the same things, the same ways they did them before the recession. And with that said we all know that what we’ll be doing in five years and within the next decade will be remarkably different than what we’re doing in 2011. It’s a rapid-change environment in which we live and work. Every business needs to attract, develop and retain the top talent to best manage this changing marketplace, and that includes the C-suite.

So why not link the Succession Plan and future workforce needs with professional development and retention efforts? What would training and development programs look like if we were developing employees for the C-suite of the future? How could we utilize mentors to transfer knowledge, design job shadowing to heighten the awareness of the criticality of strong leadership and soft skills and devise on-the-job experiential experiences to motivate and retain employees, while building a pipeline of future talent?

Do you agree that the C-suite needs to come together to collaborate about how to prepare the next generation of internal and external candidates? What role do you see HR playing in this conversation? What ideas are you considering or implementing to address this issue? What successes have you seen and what challenges are you still trying to figure out? I look forward to hearing from you. Please comment in the box below.

Future Business Leaders Need to Think Outside the Box