Jennifer McClure`

Equipping people leaders to navigate change — and design the future — with boldness and purpose.

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2010 SHRM Annual Conference – Day 1 Recap

Day 1 of the 2010 SHRM Annual Conference in San Diego, California is in the books and in my opinion, it’s off to a great start!

In the Opening Session, the event kicked off with a surprise Flash Mob dance before SHRM President & CEO Lon O’Neil and SHRM Board Chairman Robb Van Cleaves welcomed everyone and shared that attendance for this year’s event is up over 4,000 from 2009 – topping 11,000 attendees and including over 800 international members from 73 countries!

O’Neil and Cleaves were followed by a brief message from Assistant Secretary for Veteran’s Employment & Training Services – Ray Jefferson, a true American Hero who lost all five fingers on one hand while serving his country and protecting his teammates from a hand grenade prematurely detonating. Jefferson offered up one of my favorite quotes of the day – “The death of a dream can be the birth of a destiny”. Nice.

Next up, O’Neil introduced SHRM’s “We Know Next” initiative, positioning HR at the center of changes taking place in business today. He also encouraged HR professionals to use the latest communications tools like LinkedIn and Twitter (yeah, Twitter!). He’s even jumped on Twitter himself and you can follow him at @SHRMCEO.

Steve Forbes was this year’s Opening Session keynote and while his talk sent a few heading for the doors early and a few in my row to focus on the back of their eyelids, when I spoke to many of the attendees later on the Exhibit Hall floor, several mentioned that they really enjoyed what he had to say and felt his talk was very good. Blogger John Hollon begged to differ and quickly shared his thoughts via a post on the new (and very good) HR & Talent Management site TLNT.com – illustrating the challenge of an organization as large as SHRM to find a speaker that can please everyone. They can’t.

After the Opening Session, it was time to hit the SHRM Exposition. This year, I’m attending the conference as part of the Monster.com Social Media Street Team and my goal was to capture some of the sights and sounds of the chaos in the Expo Hall once the doors were opened. I was lucky enough to grab Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR for some commentary on various vendors and their swag and I’ll share a video of her adventures at a future date. (It’s late here ya’ll.) I also did over 20 brief video interviews with some interesting folks I stopped throughout the evening to ask about their plans for the conference or just to comment on their copious or outrageous swag finds. Below are a couple of my favorites that give a flavor of what it’s like. (Email subscribers – click here to view.)

Stay tuned for more live coverage of SHRM 2010 here on Unbridled Talent from me, and follow the conversation via Twitter using the hashtag #shrm10 and #monsterlive. You’ll also find posts daily from the Monster.com Social Media Street Team on the Monster Thinking blog, from fellow Street Team member Ben Eubanks on Upstart HR and the SHRM Blog Squad over at the official SHRM Conference Blog!

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HRevolution Impact On Those Unable to Attend

Today’s guest post is from Steve Browne – Executive Director of Human Resources at LaRosa’s, Inc. – a regional Pizzeria restaurant chain employing over 1,400 Team Members. Unable to attend the HRevolution 2010 UnConference held this past weekend in Chicago, IL due to family obligations, Steve kept up with the discussion via the #HRevolution hashtag on Twitter. His post conference thoughts as an HR practitioner and passionate member of his profession are below.

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I am so geeked after following #HRevolution this week on Twitter and also reading many of the “Post Revolution” blogs. Really, that’s not just shameless flattery.

You see, I’m an HR practitioner!!

And, may I add, I am unabashedly proud and passionate about that, and Human Resources in general!!

All of the pieces I’ve read have made me even more insanely jealous that I wasn’t able to attend this wildly successful UnConference. I wanted to meet the folks I’m connected with on Twitter and be part of an HR Think Tank. It is brilliant and I hope it truly is only the start of a continued effort to gather thought leaders who are changing the face of a profession. It’s a healthy forum and I’m so encouraged that it hasn’t fallen into the traps that a traditional environment can offer.

The one thread I keep reading through the summaries is “What do we do next?” or “What do I do next?”.

That’s an obvious response to the great energy that was created and it is another encouraging sign that this isn’t going to be some short-lived fad or electronic supernova.

As someone who didn’t go, let me offer this as a possible “next step”:

We need to bridge the gap between the HR practitioner and the Social Media folks who are constantly putting out more and more phenomenal material and resources.

I can hear the “Duh!” from you as the reader already!

However, your “Duh!” isn’t being heard or read. You see, I’m one of those odd HR practitioners who is connected and loves it. The VAST majority of my peers aren’t connected, don’t “know how” to be and many are frankly (and mistakenly) afraid to be connected.

This isn’t a social media thing. It’s just exponentially more visible now how entrenched and hidden HR has become. People are more afraid of what to do to the point that they are paralyzed by this both within their organizations and in their profession.

Countless blogs, articles and sessions take HR and bemoan its shortcomings, faults and predicted demise.  Makes you want to go into the field – doesn’t it?

I think the contrary. This is the MOST exciting time to be in HR and #HRevolution proves that. The question is:

“Are the most connected HR voices going to continue to communicate with each other – or are they willing to step forward to be evangelists to the masses who aren’t connected?”

It’s so cool talking with folks around the globe through Social Media, but I’m already noticing that I’m talking to the same people (and so are you). How can we be evangelists? Is someone (or a group of people) willing to do this?

I think that it’s not only needed for HR, but for the people who are the thought leaders as well. I would love to see a list of Connectors who are HR practitioners go where the other practitioners are (chapter meetings, state conferences, SHRM National) and preach the “message” of where the future of HR is going and how to get connected. We can’t keep trying to reach them on Twitter if they don’t have an account!

#HRevolution brought together a great gathering of people who already share some forum of common space in Social Media. It’s time to build the bridge to the “New World” and show the profession the value of what’s being done. I’m excited and putting on my evangelist sandals even now . . .

What’s your next step?

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Steve Browne, SPHR is an HR pro who is passionate about connecting people. He runs an internet message board – (the HR Net) – with over 5,500 global subscribers  and facilitates monthly HR Roundtable meetings in Cincinnati. Steve actively serves on the Ohio HR Conference Committee and is also a popular speaker at HR Conferences, HR Associations and business/community groups. His HR street cred includes serving as a past President of the Greater Cincinnati Human Resources Association and being named HR Professional of the Year in Greater Cincinnati.

Want to be a part of the HR Net? Let Steve know! Follow him on Twitter at @sbrownehr.

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Can an Internal Coach or HR Pro Be Trusted With Your Secrets?


At The Conference Board’s Executive Coaching Conference
that I recently attended, we spent some time in one of the sessions discussing concerns with HR pros being designated or trained as
internal coaches in organizations due to trust and credibility issues. (Note: attendees at the conference were primarily external coaches and OD professionals.)

Here’s a tweet I sent out during the discussion:

TCB Coaching tweet

I guess the discussion made me a bit #sad because as a former Human Resources pro myself, I felt like I was effective as an internal “coach”. Whether working with an employee as part of their career development process or providing support to some making it through performance improvement plans, I worked hard to balance their need for confidentiality in the process with my responsibilities to the organization. I took pride in being someone that employees at all levels could talk to and one CEO even referred to me as his Consigliere – which considering some of the bullets I took for him, was kind of fitting.

But I do recall a conversation I had one day with an employee who was experiencing some issues at work. When I offered to listen and provide support, she said “Unfortunately, I can’t talk to you about this. It’s not that I don’t trust you personally. It’s the chair that you sit in. You have the authority to fire me. And I can’t risk that.”

After she left my office, I thought about what she’d said. I wanted to be offended. But I kinda understood where she was coming from. While it was frustrating that she wouldn’t allow me to try to help out just because of my position in the organization, I also knew that sometimes it was part of my role to be involved in making decisions about her career. So sharing a weakness or performance problem with someone who has that type of influence could be perceived as a risk.

Fast forward to today, where I work with clients as an external Executive Coach… The feedback I’ve received from clients is that one of the most helpful aspects of the coaching process is the opportunity to speak confidentially with someone outside of the organization who can listen, support, challenge and guide them. I’ve listened as senior level clients have shared with me a variety of potentially career damaging things – being afraid of making decisions, that they’re intimidated by a peer or they’re unhappy in their jobs. We’ve been able to work through and resolve those issues, but I’ve often wondered if it would be a challenge for me as an internal coach to have access to that same information.

HR often seems to get thrown under the bus in regards to confidentiality and credibility issues (if you’re the one causing that to happen, then please STOP), but I don’t agree that credibility/trust of internal coaches is an “HR” issue. I think it’s more about the perceived confidentiality that an external coach can provide – no matter how good an internal coach may be.

I think it’s hard for employees not to feel at risk when sharing information with people in a position to influence their careers.

What do you think? Can HR pros serve as effective coaches inside their organizations? Do external coaches have an advantage over internals?

The conversation at the conference has caused me to wonder if maybe the employee who was preoccupied with where I parked my derriere each day was on to something…

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Passion: It’s Not a Dirty Word in HR !!

In the wild world of HR, I come across many HR people who either hate the profession or feel that everyone hates them.

Passion - It's Not A Dirty Word In HR

There are blog posts about the death of HR.  Magazines love to fill themselves with how the profession is failing.

Today’s guest post is from my good friend and mentor Steve Browne, who is Executive Director of Human Resources at LaRosa’s, Inc. a regional Pizzeria restaurant chain employing over 1,400 Team Members. Being passionate about HR is a subject that Steve is uniquely qualified to talk about – because that’s how he’s consistently described by others. Learn more about Steve at the bottom of this awesome post.

HR is tough. It is.

That’s because we have to deal with people and people are tough. However, that’s also the BEST reason to be in HR! Seriously. The main reason I went into HR was to mess with people. Trust me. It’s allowed.

When it comes to “passion”, some people tend to think that it’s not appropriate in the work environment. Unfortunately, because many people aren’t passionate at work, they often feel disillusioned and are thinking about how to leave their employer more than they’re seeking how to drive performance.

The reason the TV shows “The Office” and “30 Rock” are so popular is because people know folks that work beside them who are reflected in the characters of the shows.

People who love what they do scare us too! Really. People who are passionate are often under suspicion of not being genuine or just a cheerleader who doesn’t have a clue. That’s sad. We’ve come to a point in work environments where drudgery is often preferred to enjoying what you do! Think about that.

HR, more often than not, is the catalyst of this drudgery because they don’t see the ability, or avenue, to be passionate at work. This needs to change! HR professionals have to ask themselves – “If this is so bad, then why am I doing it”?

HR people who aren’t passionate should get out of HR.

Sounds harsh – but it would be better for you and the profession if you went into a field you were passionate about.

So can you be passionate about HR these days ? The answer is a resounding YES! Here’s how:

1)       JUMP IN OVER YOUR HEAD

Get away from your desk and into your people. Your desk doesn’t miss you as much as you think it does. Your people do.

Too often HR’s answer to people is – “I’ll get back to you” – when we never intend to do it. Stop this! Get in front of your employees and let them know that they do exist, they’re valuable and that you (and the company) appreciate what they do.

2)      BE CONSISTENT

Get out of the fairness and compliance mode. Compliance is the law. We can’t change laws, so quit trying to.

Be consistent with how you handle situations and understand that the majority of what we do is gray and not black and white. Consistency is essential and people will see how “fair” you really are when you’re consistent.

3)      BE GENUINE

Who likes fake people? Anyone? You can’t teach this. You either are genuine or you aren’t. And your employees know it right away.

If you knew me and saw my office, you’d hear my iPod blaring, and see my lava lamp bubbling next to my Magic 8 Ball and the sword on my wall. I also just got a bobble head made of myself! (A gift from a vendor.) I only wish it was a tie dye shirt versus a blue oxford!

I’m passionate about everything I do. Honestly. More often than not people respond to this positively and most of them say that HR at our company is better because this is the tone that HR sets:

Love what we do and what you do!

Give it a try. Passion is awesome! Passion is critical! And – HR MUST be passionate !! – @sbrownehr

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Steve Browne bobble head Steve Browne, SPHR is an HR pro who is passionate about connecting people. He runs an internet message board (the HR Net) – with over 7,500 global subscribers – and enthusiastically facilitates monthly HR Roundtable meetings in Cincinnati. Steve actively serves on the SHRM Board of Directors, and is a popular speaker at HR Conferences, HR Associations and business/community groups.

Want to be a part of the HR Net? Let Steve know! Follow him on Twitter at @sbrownehr.

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Wanted: A Positive Onboarding Experience

Lone Ranger Earlier this week, Michael VanDervort shared a post on his blog The Human RaceHorses about his first day on the job in HR. It’s a great read and made me think about my own “first day” experiences. Unfortunately, I’m long overdue for a good one.

Job 1

My first job post graduation was at Margaret’s Employment Service. I responded to a “Help Wanted” sign in Margaret’s front yard and when I met her – a recruiter for 30+ years – she put down her phone only long enough to say “You’re hired”. I was provided a desk, chair, phone and the Yellow Pages and my training consisted of “Make calls”. So I smiled and dialed. Within a couple of weeks, someone actually talked to me at a bank that was hiring and I scheduled an interview. For me. I don’t think Margaret noticed when I left.

Job 2

My new job was an Internal Auditor position – a job typically filled by Finance grads and MBA’s. Clearly, someone wasn’t paying attention in the interview process. (Me.) My first day involved showing up in the wee hours of the morning to drive to a branch office where, like Ninja, our secret arrival was timed with the opening of the doors. Once inside, the auditors scurried off immediately to capitalize on the element of surprise. I was instructed to count and balance the cash drawers of the Tellers. And I had no idea how to do that. Left alone to count more money than I’d ever seen in my life, it wasn’t pretty. One. Two. Three…

Job 3

After 18 months of terrorizing bank employees, I networked my way into an HR Manager position in a small company. On my first day, I entered the Plant Manager’s office full of youthful hope and exuberance. He looked at me and said: “I don’t know anything about HR. Don’t expect me to help you. There’s some books in your office.” And he went back to smoking his cigarette. So I found my office and started looking at books. I was a little less hopeful, but thrilled to finally be working in HR. Even if no one else cared.

Job 4

A few years and a relocation later, I took an HR role with a new start up that was part of a bigger company. On my first day, I showed up at the main office as instructed, but since I’d been hired for the new company (still being built) and I wouldn’t be located there, there was no place for me. My boss suggested I find an empty desk and make plans for recruiting and training the new employees that would be needed. I worked on that project (making plans) for the next 5 months at random locations before the new building was finished. During that time, I worked in a crowded office, but wasn’t really part of a team – because there wasn’t one for me yet. As a result, I attended lots of meetings with myself. They were very efficient.

Job 5

Eventually, I was recruited to a position at a company with a new CEO who’d been brought in for a turnaround and wasn’t seeing eye to eye with the VP of HR. It was a confidential search, so once the current VP was notified of his unplanned departure, the CEO and I were supposed to meet with him the following weekend while the offices were closed so he could pass the torch and provide me with the keys to the kingdom. Except the CEO forgot to show up that Sunday so it was just the two of us. Awkward. The next day I met with the HR team that had just been informed of my arrival the Friday before. They told me that because of the changes that had taken place and the way things were handled, they felt like outcasts. And I knew how they felt because I’d been there before. Thankfully, we were able to fix that.

So Why The Big FAIL When It Comes to Onboarding?

All of the companies that I worked for were great places to work (except maybe Margaret’s) and they were filled with smart and capable people. A couple of my bosses were even amazing and inspiring Leaders to work for who really challenged me and helped me to grow. But all of the companies I’ve worked for – both the small ones and those in the Fortune 500 – failed me as a new hire on my first day because they didn’t plan effectively for my arrival or take the time to make me feel welcomed.

Research shows that 90% of companies believe that employees make their decision to stay at a company within the first six months, but many of us have experienced an onboarding process that started our career with the company off on the wrong foot. Things that make you go hmmm…

Do you have an awful new hire experience similar to or worse than mine? What was your worst (or best) first day/week on the job like?

I showed you mine. Now you show me yours. Tell me about it.

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