Monthly Archives: October 2011

Business, Beauty or Sexy Head-shots

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What is the Right Balance for Women in Business?

There are two issues I think about and ask my female colleagues and friends about with some frequency – aging and standards for female beauty as an entrepreneur whose brand is really myself.

Personal Brand and Beauty Standard

I notice the amount of attention young women pay to looking polished or pretty in their photos for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I am over 50 and self-described average looking. I have this thing about being too critical of my professional pictures. Seeing how other women create a personal brand through their social media head shot photos is interesting.  I often wish I had felt as good about myself in my 20s as these confident young business women clearly feel. Here are some of my observations.

Four head shot types:

  1. The very beautiful, “glamour shot” kind of picture.  If you are naturally pretty, this one can look almost like a beauty pageant photo.  It looks like a head shot an actress might have in a portfolio for auditions or maybe a modeling contract. The funny thing is that the other photos on their site look more natural and a lot less threatening, more normal to us older women or maybe those of us (myself included) that are less naturally beauty-queen pretty.
  2. The “glamour shot” with an overt sexual aspect.  This typically includes visible cleavage and a suggestive expression. When you are “followed” by someone with this picture the first reaction is to think you’ve been spammed.
  3. A posed more business-like professional kind of picture. This picture looks more like what the person would look like if you ran into them at a business meeting.  Neat, put together in great business clothes.
  4. A candid, no makeup kind of picture. This might represent a more natural style – what the person looks like when they grocery shop.  Maybe they are kind of granolary (sp – is that a word?).  Maybe they are really secure and comfortable allowing people to see who they really are?  Maybe they reject the more beauty queen ideal.  It’s hard to know.

I find myself curious about whether these different kinds of photos reflect a deeper overt decision or whether it is just differing regional or generational standards for polish.  My mother was raised in Maine and was naturally beautiful.  She might have used lipstick when she left the house but unless she was going out to dinner or entertaining she wore no make up. She had dark auburn hair, brown eyes and her olive skin was deeply tanned in the summer. I am more fair with lighter red hair and blue eyes.  My make up regimen is pretty simple: I use eye-brow pencil since my fair eye brows are naturally invisible and a little foundation.  I use a lip gloss or Vaseline on my lips.  I have never used a red lip color.  If I try it, the person looking back at me in the mirror seems like a weird stranger. My eyelashes are blond.  I use a little light-colored mascara for a wedding or special occasion, but generally, nothing else.

As a young business women I worked for a national company in the 70s and 80s and traveled to every US region.  The pace of work and standards for relating to business colleagues differed by region.  This manifested in the work pace of the day, whether people stopped to have lunch and how late they scheduled client meetings each day.  I loved going to Atlanta because the gentile sales reps would schedule the last meeting of the day around 2:00 PM so I could go back to the Ritz Carleton, put my feet up and presumably re-apply my “face.”  I had extra feet-up time because I didn’t really re-apply make up in the afternoon. To my social scientist eye of the time, standards for female beauty in the business context varied as well.

I spent many days in the American southeast.  These women knew things about grooming, makeup and fashion that I had never considered at the time.  Southern women seemed very beautiful to me.  I remember feeling frumpy amongst them.  A note might be in order here that my family was in the clothing business.  This may be why I notice this stuff.  In Boston, the high-powered business women dressed in more classic, expensive Brooks Brothers type wear and less make up.  In New York, standards were influenced by high fashion and entertainment industry standards – clothes and make up. At a recent HR convention there was a 60-ish southern woman presenting and she looked fabulous.  She had on a Chanel suit and wore a color-coordinated diamond watch.  I’m pretty sure she colored her hair.  I also noticed that her book’s head shot seemed like it might have been taken a while back.  More importantly, she had a lot of smart things to say – innovative, progressive. I took a lot of notes and looked her up online later.

I am curious about why women make the decisions they do.  If I had unlimited income I would conduct a study and write a book.  I might buy such a book if it contained a sociological or anthropological analysis.

Standards of beauty and aging

I have recently decided to grow my hair out.  It is thick and sort of strawberry blond.  I get compliments on it.  The more I age, the more I think about emphasizing my positive physical assets is on my mind.  I make a living speaking to business groups.  I have managed to stay fit- keep my weight down; I pay attention to looking a bit more polished; and though my hair has very little grey, I am increasingly aware of the condition of my facial skin.  In the past, I would never have considered facial surgery.  At this point the price tag makes this a non-issue.  I don’t know if I could ever go through with it.  There is something creepy about the “housewives” shows where the women all look the same.  It’s kind of a “fish face” look as the skin is pulled back and the corners of the mouth get pulled.  I think looking natural and well-cared-for is much better than a fish face.  (I am aware that some plastic surgery is better, with a lighter touch.) When I have this mental discussion in my head, I consistently come down on the side of advancing my consulting and speaking skills thinking that if I provide enough content, people won’t mind that I am aging.  With age, comes experience and skill, I think.

I have a 40-ish friend with long, very curly salt and pepper hair.  She is thin and beautiful. All clothes look great on her. She recently decided to color the grey and when I asked about it she shared some of the feelings I’ve had about it too.  I was glad to know she was wrestling with the same thoughts I had.  This made me feel less neurotic. She feels pressure to look young and seem fit and vibrant.  Some of her friends and colleagues  thought that “fit and vibrant” did not include grey hair.  This is an incredibly smart and talented women.  I don’t know any man who does what she does with more intelligence or talent. When I listen to the last business deal she made I am amazed about how she solves thorny, complicated business problems and gets parties to agree.  I suspect that her clients feel quite well served but I understand the self-doubt she feels.

While I notice how people present themselves physically, I tend to judge women in a business context by whether they have skill and how they treat others and not by how they look.  I hope they judge me the same way. There is room for everyone and varied styles.  I sometimes worry a little about the more sexually overt style some women take on in the workplace because of my work in the HR world.  Overt sexuality usually causes problems for everyone including the woman, her coworkers and the company.  But still every woman needs to decide for herself what to do, how to dress and how to relate to others.

Maybe I will age into looking like those pretty older women with shiny silver/white hair, scarves and soft colorful clothes who wear earrings and lovely make up.  Not sure.  Just thinking about life today.  What got me thinking was a recent 20-something female Twitter follower whose formal head shot was a beauty picture and more natural candid shots appeared on her website. She is obviously smart and talented.  I was wondering about her thought process and whether I needed a better head-shot. Maybe I’ll buy an expensive cream to put on my wrinkles. Cindy Crawford does look pretty good.

PS. Word press spell check flagged the word mascara but it is spelled correctly – I have never used it in a sentence before and looked it up.  Why do you think WordPress doesn’t recognize it?

Nonprofit Boards Discovering Executive Director Misconduct

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Introduction

A nonprofit board’s worst nightmare is the discovery of financial malfeasance or gross violation of personnel laws by the chief executive officer. While staff make unfounded complaints about an executive director (ED), cases of significant management shortcomings are sadly on the rise.  Factors contributing to this increase are a human resource litigation generally and today’s economic environment. Employee retaliation claims are increasing and nonprofit leadership is increasingly distracted by operational pressure.

Many nonprofits never develop the mechanisms needed to mount an affirmative defense to employee lawsuits. Regarding financial challenges, nonprofit management has always required attention to cash flow but current funding cuts/revenue delays mean that organizations without strict, effective cash management practices are pushed to the financial edge with less advance warning. More specific causative factors that allow situations to develop into disasters include:

  • Boards hiring executives without verifying background or employment references
  • Board’s delegation of duties to executive directors without proper monitoring
  • Board member disengagement
  • Boards inexperienced in complex nonprofit financial operations or updated human resource standards
  • Economy denial: organizations counting on historical revenue to fund current or future operations
  • Lack of proper anti-nepotism policies, allowing ED and relatives to ignore trouble and/or collude

Immediate attention

When a board is notified of an employee’s intent to sue for executive director conduct or when a vendor hires an attorney to collect an outstanding payable, there are certain precautions needed to avoid insolvency and damaging public relations. One message to convey repeatedly is that the board has commissioned an investigation which will be thorough and unbiased. You can also reassure internal and external parties that if the allegations are without merit the alleged “offender” will be reinstated without prejudice. The following list is not meant to convey specific management or legal advice but is offered as a list of ideas for a board to consider. It’s imperative that a nonprofit facing  serious employee misconduct charges, consult their legal and financial representatives for professional guidance and to follow all organization policies that might apply. Among the points to consider:

The “Offending” Executive Director

  • Consider an immediate, temporary, paid executive director (ED) suspension and set up a board representative to be the only conduit of information from board to ED and from ED to board;
  • Indicate that the ED is not to contact anyone in current employ or discuss agency affairs in a leadership capacity, with any party until contacted explicitly to do so;
  • Audit the ED’s office contents and make note of personal possessions on agency property. These need to be safeguarded and returned in the event of termination;
  • If the matter involves staff and requires substantive internal communications, set clear boundaries with staff (see below) about contacting the ED while the matter is under investigation;

If the misconduct is financial

  • Verify the safety and integrity of organization assets and income by reviewing the balance sheet, profit and loss statements, accounts payable aging and accounts receivable aging reports, if available. If these reports are not available, consider hiring a forensic accountant for temporary assignment
  • If you have an internal or external bookkeeper/accountant, you must first determine if this individual is loyal to the organization or to the “offender,” whether he or she is competent and then take appropriate action
  • Contact all contractors, funders and vendors/creditors with a form letter conveying confidence in board’s ability to rapidly sort through the issues and comply with all standing obligations
  • Meet immediately with all major lien-holders such as banks, lenders, and landlords to let them know a personnel matter or financial matter has been discovered, the board is conducting an investigation and set up an ongoing communication contact in these groups. This group along with significant creditors should be contacted weekly until the crisis is stabilized
  • Your bank may have a “workout” department who can review your account activity in detail and help you identify gross errors, immediately
  • Locate all your financial files and secure them regardless of their condition.

If the issue is Human Resources oriented

  • If the ED is suspected of inappropriate or unlawful conduct, determine how the staff divides along loyalty lines. This is easily done by a brief, private interview with key staff then determine if others should be suspended, temporarily
  • Consider a large group meeting to indicate generally what has happened (no negative personnel details other than a personnel accusation was made), why details are not released (confidentiality) and how the board is responding.
  • Instruct employees not to gossip about any specifics, remind them of confidentiality policies
  • Consider offering a confidential survey to employees to allow them a safe way to speak up about concerns that could aid forensic analysis or to ask questions they might hesitate to bring up in the group
  • Secure an up-to-date copy of your personnel policies in-force and follow them consistently. If you have none, contact an experienced HR contractor immediately for advice and guidance
  • Locate all the official and unofficial personnel files and secure them regardless of their condition.

Contracts and Reporting

  • Create a list of all funders and contractors in the community and contact them with a form letter of whom to contact and promising further information shortly
  • Verify that payroll taxes and deductions are withheld and remitted regularly to pension sponsors, health insurers, and  the revenue services
  • Verify that 990′s and state corporation reporting are completed and filed
  • Verify that business licenses are current with copies on file
  • Locate all contract files and secure them regardless of their condition.

Board Governance

  • Verify that Directors and Officers liability coverage is in force along with other key commercial insurances. If you don’t have D&O coverage, most bylaws have a basic indemnification clause that hold board members harmless as long as no criminal activity is carried out, but insurance may help with a defence, if covered
  • Assign one or two board members to cover agency operations in the absence of an ED on suspension – someone needs to physically be present for some part of the first week immediately after the current issue is discovered, particularly if you don’t know staff allegiances
  • Remind board members of their fiduciary responsibilities and caution board members about quitting when a significant organizational failing is uncovered. Most state’s attorneys general have the power to reinstate board members so they can clean up what they should have done initially. I have seen this done in Maine. Board members quitting also draws public attention. It can make an innocent, inattentive board look ignorant, avoidant or guilty
  • Meet weekly as a full board and vote as a group on all decisions in advance where possible or vote to affirm emergency decisions made by board representatives in the moment. Keep documentation of all meetings and decisions
  • Verify that your organization is properly incorporated and locate copies of current incorporation documents – IRS determination letter; state sales tax exemption letters; board bylaws in force; and board meeting minutes
  • Secure these files regardless of their condition

Again, these items are meant to remind the board of matters they must consider. If you are a board member facing such an allegation of executive director misconduct, engage an experienced nonprofit management consultant or attorney and follow their advice. They will be more objective than you can be and will be able to warn you of what to expect. In my experience, after meeting with a board who is upset, shocked or fearful, the overwhelming feeling after our first meeting is relief that someone with experience is there to support a worried but well-intentioned board. Good luck!

Corporate Social Responsibility – an increasingly integrated approach

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Community stewardship is increasingly expected from American companies of all sizes.  Philanthropy used to be the purview of very large corporations through their own foundations.  Today, even the smallest companies have creative ways to show affection for the communities in which they “live.”  Old-school practices might have included a cash donation to one or two organized nonprofits in the community.  Often these donations were meant to enhance the company’s image and might even be connected to a board member’s pet project.  Things have really changed over the last 15 years. While many large corporations still have foundations, the bar has been raised to adopt a more integrated giving approach.

First: More pressing social issues

Global warming, pollution, high gas prices (sustainable agriculture and buy-local campaigns) and unemployment (employment sustainability) have been added to traditional vulnerable populations (poor, disabled, and displaced).  While state and federal funds are shrinking, social concerns are in some cases getting worse.  They are also top-of-mind when increasingly discussed in a global, media-based society.  We know instantly when a rain forest is disturbed on the other side of the earth. When George Bush, Sr. gave his “1000 Points of Light” speech in 1989, we didn’t know it at the time but this would signal a permanent shift to increasing dependence on the private sector.  His view was that charity is the responsibility of the private sector (small government, lower taxes, etc).  Later, more pressure for this shift would come from severe budget shortfalls at states across the country.  But I digress.

Second: Small company owners are passionate about sharing abundance

I recently heard a young woman (28-ish) describe her small company’s philanthropic activities and was struck by how clear and determined she was. Company size just isn’t a barrier in her thinking.  She is committed and moving forward with a variety of creative ways to share her success with worthy local causes.  I see this in many of the small businesses I advise regularly.  It’s got nothing to do with me pushing an agenda.  They are just there with a compassion that I imagine comes from a family where giving back is what you do. It’s inspiring and you can see how employees would “catch” the fever.

Third: Giving efforts are more creative and less formal

Companies interested in helping their communities are limited only by their imagination.  Ideas include micro initiatives (car washes), macro initiatives (Facebook contests) and everything in between.

The United Way “Day of Caring” combined with the explosion of social media got company owners thinking and moving. In addition, nonprofit fundraising has ramped up in quantity, quality and creativity.  A for-profit company writing checks to a few community nonprofits has transformed into: direct support for environmental concerns, buy-local support through employee discounts, funding nonprofit capacity building, education scholarships, community landscaping & gardening, days-of-caring and so much more. In my opinion, younger workers coming into the commercial and nonprofit workforce have influenced creativity both in how nonprofits ask for money and in how corporations are giving. Young people are also donating differently (web-based searches and analysis) pulling nonprofits into Internet-based marketing and online donations.

One small company I know selected a nonprofit through a strategic process (focused on a particular mission); underwrote production of logo wear (polar fleece vests) with the nonprofit’s logo; and sold them at a reduced cost to their 80 employees. All the proceeds of these sales were donated to the charity. Employees were encouraged to explain why the charity’s logo is on their vest when asked in the community. It’s essentially a 360 degree internal marketing campaign for the charity and a clear demonstration of the company’s commitment to the local community.

Fourth: Standards for community investment are just higher

The Human Resources group “Society for Human Resource Management“ (SHRM)considers corporate social responsiblity to be an integral component of every company’s strategic plan and something HR professionals must be prepared to help organize. I studied for the SPHR (Senior Professional of Human Resources) exam in 2009 and learned about a more integrated and institutionalized approach to corporate giving.  The SHRM Learning System ® 2009 describes four phases of increased quality giving covered in the “Strategic Management” module in a section on “Ethical Issues Affecting Organizations.” That is a serious endorsement!

The phases begin with 1. Reactive corporate philanthropy, and move to, 2. Strategic contributions, 3. Mainstream involvement, and the most integrated, 4. Corporate accountability. Social responsibility is seen as an investment in the community.  Employees want to work at a company that’s engaged in the community. The idea is that companies go through these phases over time as they grow.  The highest level, Corporate Accountability, means employee involvement at all levels.  This doesn’t mean merely giving money – it can include allowing paid employee time off to volunteer some part of every month on a nonprofit site. Yes, this approach improves the company’s image in the community but it also results more robust support for local nonprofits.

An ancillary benefit of corporations getting smarter about giving is elevated expectations for ethical and efficient nonprofit operations. Companies want to be sure their cash or time donation is used wisely and consistent with the public trust.  No waste; good financial checks and balances; and other business-like efficiency practices are raising the bar for community nonprofits.  Always a good thing!

Living Right and Doing Well at Work

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There is an expression, “right living” that means roughly being ethical in your behavior and truthful with yourself. Being happier at work is within your control and can result from “living right” at work. As an employee for over twenty years I have made all the mistakes noted in this material. Some, more than once. These mistakes combined with my human resource training, clinical background and an Al-anon program of recovery have led me to some suggestions that might help you.

It is assumed you generally perform well enough and pick the right jobs over time. This post won’t apply to someone in an abusive workplace or who are working for an abusive boss. It’s meant to help the majority of folks who work for someone else and perform reasonably well. It is certainly easier to try these principles if the workplace is healthy but ironically, they are actually more useful to reduce stress in a less-than-ideal work situation. It is in those times that one needs to monitor his/her own behavior at work. These strategies will work. You will be happier and will feel less stressed in the place where you spend the majority of your waking hours – at work.

Ten Principles to Living Right and Doing Well at Work

1. Turn in your best performance
2. Put out the energy that you want back
3. Accept what you can and can’t control
4. Take responsibility for what you do and think and say
5. Compliment others when they do well
6. Don’t take responsibility for what others do wrong
7. Accept that the owner runs the business
8. Read the political landscape – eyes wide open
9. Make suggestions to improve workplace effectiveness
10. Stay long enough to make a contribution

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. Turn in your best performance

Your paycheck is compensation/exchange for helping the company. It’s an implied agreement. Working within your framework come to work everyday doing your best to understand your job, know what you are accountable for and work toward the company’s goals. Stay knowledgeable about your industry. Read the news, research techniques and ask questions. Learn about what your coworkers are responsible for so you can see how your work fits into the bigger picture. This may also include helping others do well at their jobs too, when you can.

2. Put out the energy you want back

The golden rule is cheesy but it does apply. Put out the positive perspective you would want if you owned the company. When everything around you is going to hell in a hand basket, focus on the little things that went well for you. Don’t get involved in gossip. Don’t talk negatively about co-workers or the boss. You don’t have to avoid co-workers who do gossip and you don’t have to get them to stop (I know it’s tempting). Try acknowledging the struggles they talk about, be sympathetic but stop short of agreeing, and say you have things to get back to. I have experienced toxic coworkers who read my silence as agreement so I simply indicate that my experience has been different but I understand they are struggling. “Great boots (scarf, suit, hat, sweater, etc.), gotta go” and move on, smiling.

3. Accept what you can and can’t control

You can control literally: what you do and think and say, period. People burn out when they try to control the uncontrollable. If you are working harder to get someone to change their behavior than they are working themselves, that’s the signal. Wait, “Am I in charge of what this person says, does, or thinks?” The answer is no, no, no. You are not the boss of the world. Your judgments about what others should do (unless you get paid to do this-coaches, etc.) are YOUR vision, YOUR ideas, YOUR life plan, not theirs. Leave others to the natural consequences of their choices. When they ask or if the opportunity presents itself provide observations, suggest available choices and give them encouragement to find their own way. This does not apply to supervisors who must judge and evaluate the performance of others. That’s a whole different article.

4. Take responsibility for what you do and think and say

When you do or say things that hurt others or that put up barriers to achieving business goals (i.e., offending a customer), admit it, apologize if necessary and move on. You can choose to acknowledge the event, learn from it and improve or you can choose a less effective course, say: A., Pretend it didn’t happen, B., Blame others, or C., Go on and on about your shame, humiliation and worthlessness. Your co-workers will quickly see which style represents your ongoing approach. If taking a reasonable perspective on your own mistakes is difficult for you (it is for many) you might need either an AA or Al-anon meeting. Those who are familiar with these models will understand my point.

5. Compliment others when they do well

People naturally gravitate to those who support them to feel good about themselves. In addition, when a person (meaning you) feel good about yourself, it’s not threatening to give credit to others when it is deserved. This is both fair and right. Never take credit for what others do right. If you are living right and doing well, others will notice and even if they don’t, you’ll be a better, happier person.

6. Don’t take responsibility for what others do wrong

While you don’t have to shame others you can allow others to sit with or in situations they create for themselves. This is how we learn to change. If you touch the hot stove and get burned, you learn. If someone puts their hand between yours and the burner, they get burned and you get off scot-free. If you rescue others too often, they will not learn and you will quickly fatigue. We all know people who blame themselves for everything that goes wrong. It’s tedious and it’s not helpful to a well-run workplace. What I do when a co-worker is feeling badly about a mistake is acknowledge they made a mistake and tell share when I’ve made mistakes too. Help them focus on the future and encourage them to move on.

7. Accept that the owner runs the business

Everyone thinks they know better than the real boss. The owner is the owner, not you. An employer has a right to run his/her business as they please. It may not be “fair,” or “right,” but it’s life. I’m not saying you should work for a jerk but over time, owners who respect employees and run a healthy workplace will do better. This is the natural consequence. Conversely, those who are abusive to employees or allow employees to intimidate one another will suffer unproductive turnover. It is not your responsibility to speed things up or to change the outcome. Your job is to decide if you want to work there. You might be able to achieve small improvements by giving professional feedback but be realistic. If things are very negative look for work elsewhere and let the owner suffer his/her own natural consequences.

8. Read the political landscape – eyes wide open

If there is one mean person in the office that no one seems to “take on,” watch and listen to see why that is. Maybe this employee is someone’s romantic partner. Maybe this person is a toxic ringleader with mad retaliation skills. Don’t get hung up on how this is so wrong or unfair. Yes, it’s unfair but this is the reality. Work within your frame-work to turn in your best performance. If this dynamic prevents you from do well in this job, start looking for work elsewhere. You can certainly confront these individuals and it is possible that something might change for the better but it is more likely that you will make yourself a target. AND you are not responsible for rescuing coworkers from this behavior or saving the business from it’s own poor lack of attention to negative employee behavior. That is a lot of heavy lifting. Chances are many other people have tried and failed. Identify the informal power leaders.

9. Make suggestions to improve workplace effectiveness.

If the business does better, everyone benefits. Providing feedback at work is a part of every person’s job. The trick is to know when to speak up, with the right motives. If you constantly complain about the things you can’t control or the things that make it hard for you, people will stop listening. If you provide professional, well-timed (and not too often) suggestions that will improve things for everyone or a whole department, people start viewing you as a valuable asset with good ideas.

10. Stay long enough to make a contribution

Human resource professionals do not like job hoppers. Yes, you can explain that you had a personality conflict with your boss if this happens at one out of five of your last jobs. If there is a personality conflict with every boss in the last three jobs perhaps you are in the wrong field OR you need to do some personal improvement work.

Strategic Planning – Looking at the Future – Still Relevant?

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Is your Strategic plan still relevant?

Your specific plan may have lost some relevance but strategic planning has not.  A plan from 2 years ago is less useful than it might have been in less volatile times.  Naturally we have questions about taking the time to do complex planning when the external environment is changing so rapidly in unexpected ways.  Not only must businesses take the time away from day-to-day matters to catch their breath, but strategic thinking and planning is more important in uncertain times.

What is fundamental – hasn’t changed?

The eight key elements in the strategic planning process have not changed:

  • Visioning statement
  • Mission statement
  • Organizational values, philosophies and standards
  • Internal strengths and weaknesses
  • External strengths and weaknesses
  • Human Resources projection (new to some companies)
  • Financial projection
  • Strategic goals

Each company’s project is unique but the overall process and outline of the strategic plan will be similar.  Not every company includes a specific financial projection or a human resources/talent management projection but these are fundamental to sustained success. Certainly there’s renewed interest in a few specific strategic goals: financial sustainability, monitoring the external environment and perhaps strengthening each program, product or service area to meet solid profitability goals.  If your company hasn’t made efficiency a priority, you are either in a lucky market with a high profit margin or you haven’t paid attention to economic indicators. Companies will be crafting goals to take a closer look at all aspects of operational efficiency: policies and procedures, business processes, better automation, and staffing.

Human Resource management component

Leaving human resources out of the company strategic planning process can have negative consequences.  There is a powerful temptation to run with very lean staff in uncertain economic times but managing this way creates the need for astute human resource management.  Looking at the effect of operating over-leanly for long periods points out the issues. First: employee fatigue and burnout leads to quality problems.  Tired employees make more mistakes. Second: Tired employees may move to other jobs or simply quit if they perceive that their company isn’t listening to their needs.  Third: tired employees are more likely to turn into disgruntled employees. Counteracting these conditions requires a pro-active, sensitive approach to employee relations.

Financial modeling the effect of potential business actions/decisions on staffing levels and then on revenue generation can be complex.  There are times when cutting staff results in real savings but staffing cuts can also reduce revenue when there is strong connection between job activities and revenue generating activities.  In addition, when laid off employees qualify for unemployment benefits in a self-insured company, costs will decrease by only a portion of the salary level.

High growth companies experience challenges of another kind.  Shortages in skilled labor, specialized degrees, or difficulties recruiting staff to a particular geographical area can slow growth in sales or operation functions.  When calculating return on investment for expensive capital purchases, unrealized staffing projections can affect a company’s ability to meet ongoing obligations.  If financial planning does not consider the true HR costs, future plans may be assembled on faulty assumptions. These are examples of how the talent management and long-range thinking HR experts bring to the planning “table” can promote sustained quality and success.  HR staff is an important companion to financial management staff.

Finally, decisions to discontinue one product or service in favor of something new creates a training and development opportunity for current staff that is generally less expensive than recruiting and orienting brand new employees from scratch.  If you consult staff development experts in the planning process and invest in current talent you may save money and achieve the essential new competencies within a shorter time frame.

Sharp market analysis

Market conditions – what can you control?

You will need sharper market analysis during the project planning phase.  Many key product components or factors (markets, expenses, staffing, etc.) are still controllable.  If you can’t control certain market factors, you can model different assumptions on a continuum that reflects a range of potential market scenarios.  A simple analysis of the proportion of factors that you can control compared to the proportion of factors you cannot control is useful for preliminary decisions about which product or service lines should be eliminated or retooled. If 50% of critical market factors cannot be controlled and it’s assumed they are trending in the wrong direction over time, take a hard look.

Another piece that was important in more certain economic times but is crucial and needs more attention today is financial modeling.  Sound planning must now include long-range 5 to 10 years) financial models to determine vulnerabilities if things stay the same or if things get worse.  In addition, every product line should be at least break even.  Depending upon your profit margin, loss leaders may not work for you unless they reliably drive customers to higher margin offerings.  Finally building cash reserves; proper product and service pricing; accurate cost of goods sold assumptions; and market reliability must be carefully analyzed to ensure the capacity to weather various “storms.”

More up front project planning

The planning process will be similar to that of better economic times but because companies need sharper market analysis additional time might be devoted before the retreat. This places pressure on a savvy strategic planning steering committee to map out the data points needed before brainstorming takes place at a retreat. If no one person has expertise in this area, develop small collaborative groups spending sufficient time to roll up data and a range of options for a decision-making group to consider.

Who should participate?

A full planning group will create the vision and direction for the organization at a retreat.  This group has shifted solidly away from just partners, boards or senior leadership towards a more inclusive variety of stakeholders who can offer useful perspectives.  In larger organizations, subcommittees focused on certain functional areas are still needed.  The larger the organization the more time must be spent in project planning, research assignments and delegating certain data gathering.  Smaller organizations are inviting key influential or knowledgeable community partners who may have specialized information about a particular function or aspect of the organization’s mission.

What time period?

Most organizations are limiting the duration of their strategic plan to two years whereas the norm has tended toward three to five years.  Market forces change too rapidly to leave strategic planning to every two years.  This means you should think about strategic planning initiatives every other year.  Planning more often will force you to get better and more efficient in your project process.

Strategic plan configuration and structure

It has always been a part of my own consulting process to ensure the plan is formatted or assembled in a way that makes implementation a natural part of how the organization functions.  This is more important today because companies operate with leaner staff.  Complicated plans with goals that overlap divisions or departments are inefficient. I like the model where divisions take the companies’ plan and develop complimentary plans for each program as well as the functional departments: Marketing, Finance, HR, and Technology, etc.  This not only helps everyone pull in the same direction, it will streamline progress reporting, enable sharp analysis and make efficient use of management time. The strategic plan becomes the activity of departmental meetings because each group has its own goals to track. Monitoring and reporting out becomes a normalized function for every supervisor and does not fall to an administrative “planning” position.

Better use of “real-time” input when the plan is underway

An increasingly popular strategy is using technology to ensure that information about the external environment is coming into the organization during “off” planning years as a means to:

  • Notify leadership where assumptions were right
  • Notify leadership where assumptions were wrong
  • Notify leadership of the signs of impending significant changes
  • Notify leadership of emerging opportunities and threats

More importantly, I would like to see an ongoing dialogue by a wide range of employees when the plan is underway.  There are a number of ways to do this.  I’ve pitched using a closed LinkedIn or Facebook group but haven’t convinced my clients to try it yet. With the right IT person and enough interest I think this is achievable. We have used more conventional databases to accumulate and organize information or email bulletins which have to be compiled but these feel “old school.”  As more companies try new ways, we will see creative innovation and great real-time dialogue.

Recruitment, Workplace Branding and Employee Satisfaction

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Introduction

Years ago, I attended a breakfast hosted by the Northeast Human Resources Association where a management consulting firm discussed recruitment that emphasized employer branding. I had been considering a more strategic look at recruitment and this presentation solidified it for me. The following outlines one way of thinking about recruitment.

Recruitment as a sale

Most organizations realize that recruitment is, at least partially, a sales process. The question is: What are you selling? Many organizations conduct recruitment as if they were selling job content and salary. Some have progressed to understanding that the most effective interview is a two-way interview: the candidate sells him/herself to you; you sell your organization to them. But how do you know what organizational characteristics to sell? What is it about your workplace culture that would mean something to potential employees? Workplace Branding provides some answers.

Why now?

There are generally two challenges in recruitment, sorting out inappropriate candidates for easy-to-fill positions and locating candidates for hard-to-fill positions. Strategic recruitment addresses both issues.

Recruitment efforts have evolved from newspaper classified, to a few online sites, to multiple job postings, social networking sites and a host of other more sophisticated and aggressive candidate sourcing methods. As recruitment for hard-to-fill positions becomes more competitive, chances increase that your good people will be approached by search firms attempting to lure employees away from their current assignment. The less attention you pay to employee satisfaction, the more vulnerable you are to unsolicited head hunting calls and premature turnover. High training costs and long orientation periods make this particularly painful. When approached, will your employees say, “No thanks,” I’m happy where I am?”

Workplace Branding

I envision a world where all nonprofits know the workplace strengths their employees appreciate most and who promote these strengths internally and externally; where turnover is low and candidates are attracted to employers who offer them a better fit. Workplace branding combines target marketing and sales with strategic planning and employee satisfaction. It strengthens the workplace in areas of most importance to employees. If you are a large organization, promote career paths and advancement. If you are small and can’t pay well but are well-managed, promote sound leadership and employee opportunities for rich experience. Consider promoting an innovative work group solution that allows employees to influence results. The bottom line – determine your strengths and leverage them.

Steps

First, survey your employees for what they like and don’t like about working for your organization. What brought them to you in the first place? Fix the things they don’t like, as long as these changes are consistent with your mission and high quality and continue to cultivate the things they do like. Create a workplace branding vision-sometimes called an “employment promise.” Deliver on this promise at every employee relations opportunity. Promote your brand internally and externally. Sell the elements employees like best, during recruitment. Monitor key indicators to see how you are doing and continue improving over time.

What do employees want most?

Numerous studies over time have identified some variations on the following 10 employee satisfaction themes:

• Interesting work content;
• Advancement opportunities;
• Fair compensation;
• Opportunities for enriched assignments;
• Strong leadership (leaders that adhere to principles and apply them consistently);
• Opportunities to be heard by management;
• High, consistent work standards;
• An employer with integrity/character;
• An employer known for quality service/products; and finally
• The freedom to make decisions affecting their work unit.

Will it work?

I have employed these concepts in a variety of organizations with great success. Improvements in recruitment efforts, particularly with employees who value the work style of your particular organization, are easy to measure. In addition, this approach improves the engagement of your best performers and protects you from aggressive head hunter tactics.

Good luck!

Joel Stein’s – “Pimp my Password” – Hilarious!

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Time Magazine’s August 29th issue (I know, a little behind on my reading) contains one of Joel Stein’s funniest columns.  He isn’t always funny. Sometimes he goes too far – remember the one on placenta?  Don’t ask.  But when he takes a timely, complicated issue and makes fun of experts he is at his best.

This piece is about hackers hacking by exploiting pathetically guessable computer log in passwords.  Here’s an excerpt (p. 62):

“People who do security for websites believe it’s reasonable for everyone to memorize a different password for each site, change it every few months and make sure it contains Greek letters and in no way relates to our lives or the way humans think. That’s because people who do security for websites are nerds. (While this is surely true, I love nerds.) They memorize the names of Tatooine’s (?) moons for fun.  They don’t think how they’re going to feel after their mother dies and every website (they log on to after that) keeps cheerily asking for her maiden name.”

Link: Joel’s August 29, 2011 Time Magazine piece

The next brilliant piece of cross-promotion is when he discusses the conversation he had with Kevin Mitnick about this topic.  Two pages later is a “10 Questions” interview with THE Kevin Mitnick.  You have to marvel.  Before I read page 62 I had never heard of this gallactic hacker.  Now his name has been reinforced by two different magazine pieces.

While we’re here, I would like to share two quotes from this apparently famous hacker who served time and is now probably rich (p. 64):

Q: What make you a good hacker was less coding skills and more the social engineering skills.  What were they?

A. Social engineering is using deception, manipulation and influence to convince a human who has access to a computer system to do something, like click on an attachment in an email.”

One more:

Q. Which of your hacks are you most proud of?

A. I think when I hacked into Pac(ific) Bell Cellular to do traffic analysis on the FBI agents who were tasked with capturing me–not for hacking into Pac Bell but for how I leveraged that information to stay one step ahead of the government.”  Geez.

Link: Kevin’s Mitnick August 29, 2011 Time Magazine piece

I hope you enjoy Time Magazine as much as I do.

How my Twitter account was spammed/hacked

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First, my apologies to my followers for the stupid spam messages they got.  It is exasperating to know that my followers were bothered in any way.  Here’s what happened.

What happened

I first received a direct message from one of my followers saying that: I just saw a really bad blog about you” and a link.  It was from a follower whose name I recognized and the link looked like every other link we see.  Against better judgment, I clicked on the link.  It brought me to a site that appeared to be sponsored by Twitter but it wasn’t exactly right.

One problem with auto-completes

While on this page, my Chrome auto complete filled in my password.  I closed the page seeing that it was bogus and thinking I was safe.  Too late. Next, I started getting repeated messages from my followers about these spammy messages.  There were two spam messages: one that said I had seen a ”really bad blog” and one said,  ”I saw a funny picture of you.”  

Sent direct messages that looked like they were from me

This virus sent direct messages to people listed in my “sent” direct messages Twitter page, in the order in which they were listed there.  Most recent messages first, etc.  There were 200+ of these direct messages so theoretically, all of them could have been sent these messages. It appears that only 50 received them.

About 2 days had elapsed between the time I clicked on my follower’s link and the time of the first direct message.  This morning, Sunday, I went onto Twitter and changed my password and then discovered the bogus direct messages sent automatically. I began deleting all my direct messages.  It took a while to delete some 300 or so.  Some of them were the bogus messages and the rest were messages I had sent. I tried to find a way to disable direct messages as a fail safe but this is apparently not possible.

I direct messaged a few folks who alerted me to the spam and sent two tweets warning everyone.

Authorized applications I don’t use

Another thing that happened is that a bunch of bogus applications were now “authorized” to access my Twitter. I deleted all the ones I hadn’t authorized my self.

I changed my Twitter password once more.

I also got a bunch of bogus new followers with sexually oriented female pictures and no mission narrative.  I delete these immediately and always have.  I was thinking this would minimize the chances of a more evil hacking.  Sadly no.

It is Sunday evening now and I hope all is safe and resolved.  Geez!  What a pain!

Global Gender safety: Excerpt from 2011 Study on Homicide

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This is a blog-in-brief for when twitter isn’t enough but a full blog entry isn’t necessary.

The 2011 Global Study on Homicide  has been released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).  It contains an interesting note on differences in homicide proportions and gender.  We can see that women’s safety from abusive partners is expected and confirmed but we don’t often remember that men make up the majority of both perpetrators and victims of crime worldwide.

The excerpt follows below:

“Disparities not only exist in homicide typologies but also in their prevalence in different regions and countries, yet this study shows that intimate partner/family-related homicide is a chronic problem everywhere. Women murdered by their past or present male partner make up the vast majority of its victims worldwide, which explains why in many countries women are more likely to be murdered in the home than elsewhere.

Men, on the other hand, make up the vast majority of both victims and perpetrators of all types of crime, including homicide, and are more likely to be killed in the street. They are also more likely to be young, the street is more likely to be in a built up area and they are most likely to be killed with a gun.”

You can read the entire report at: 2011 Global Study on Homicide Copyright 2011 © United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime - UNODC

Suzi Benoit @HRSociology