Another Day in the HR Field

The 5th in a series about Strategic Human Resources Management: In last weeks readings and discussions we talked alot about the difference between the title HR Manager and HR Business Partner. While I have been both and sometimes the responsiblities where similar regardless of the title, I learned a great deal about how to transition and maintain the business partner concept within the HR department. Approximately five years into my HR career, I worked or a financial services organization that was acquired by a much larger more active parent organization in the industry. The new owners lead us through a major cultural change that tool is from a clan or parentalistic organization to one that was highly organized and run by numerous policies that were very transparent an accessible to employees. One of the major pendulum shifts was salary administration. We went from not having a explicit stated strategy to a salary schedule which was reviewed at least every three years. Once we ma

The 4th in a series about Strategic Human Resources Management: This week we are covering a couple different topics that are highly interesting to me which are Strategic HRM in Action and International HRM.   I am definitely hoping to see and hear both of these topics live at next week’s SHRM (the organization) annual Strategy Conference.   Here are a few of the case studies which I believe will hit on the “in action” aspect of this week’s readings. Track: Case Studies   CASE STUDY: A Business Case for Employee Investment: A Children's Hospital Story Workplace Application: Using the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC as a case study, you will learn how they positioned HR as a leader in the organization and are using HR metrics to impact their culture. Wednesday, October 3, 2012 | 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM EDT   CASE STUDY: Creating Client-Centric HR: HR at Your Service Workplace Application: Learn lessons from the best hospitality

the following is a Guest Post by Kyle Lagunas Tucker Robeson, CEO of CDL Helpers , says, “You need to wake up to the fact that if you’re not engaging your employees, you’re hurting them--and your company.” Although Gallup estimated in 2004 that disengaged workers were costing U.S. businesses a staggering $300 billion a year in productivity losses, engagement is one issue that often goes unaddressed. The reason, I suspect, is that there’s a lack of consensus on what the term “engagement” really means. For many business leaders, “engagement” is just a buzzword. And before you can tackle engagement, you have to understand what it’s all about--what it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters. What It Is Employee engagement is a critical indicator of how successful a business is--and the sustainability of that success. At its heart, employee engagement is about motivation. You can’t “buy” engagement. In fact, w hen you require a certain standard of service, studies show that

The 3rd in a series about Strategic Human Resources Management: I have been in HR long enough to remember the years when no one in the field (at least around me) was talking about Strategic HRM, to everyone talking about having a "seat at the table" so they can be Strategic, to now actually seeing that it has and can make a difference when companies set their mind to it!  So yes Strategic HRM is not just a theory, it is a reality.  How you may ask?  I know I have for years wondered the answer to that very question especially before I started consulting because I was never employed by an organization I felt was practicing Strategic HRM or even knew what it was.  Well, first, as I mentioned in a previous blog post , the HR pro in charge must make sure they are doing HR basics correctly or top management will not even consider them capable.  Second, you must have top management's full support and it is best if they actually own the initiative.  And third, you must know

The 2nd in a series about Strategic Human Resources Management: This is the second in a series of posts related to the Strategic Human Resources Management course I am teaching here at the University of Illinois Springfield.  This is a shout out to all those I have researched and the students will be researching who are considered by others as contributors to the field.  In addition, it is my way of asking for advice, information, and suggestion on who else might be out there that I have yet to run across. Since the names will be researched and papers will be written on each of them individually to learn more about the field and what contributions have been made, I am specifically searching out those who have published or speak regularly about the topic.  So if you have a moment please comment with any insight you may have and/or share this blog post with others you think may be helpful.  In the meantime, here is our first stab at a shout out for Strategic HRM contributors: 1.