The Wall Street Journal recently published an article on how to innovate like a Nobel Prize winner and we at Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) thought we would share some highlights with you.

Times have changed and with the increasing introduction of highly sophisticated technology, so too has the way one innovates changed. Author Holly Finn states that “revision rather than reinvention is the new hallmark of innovation.” In today’s market, innovation is not so much about the creation of a completely new product but the improvement of that product.

Innovation in today’s climate is all about re-inventing the wheel.  For example, Sony does not need to create an alternative to the camera, they simply make an improved version of the already innovative digital camera with more megapixels and increased zoom capabilities.

Still not convinced? Let’s consider Apple as one of the ultimate innovators whose process Finn characterizes as “a tweak, not an overhaul”. Audiences are consistently excited when Apple releases a redesigned version of it’s iPod, an updated model of its infamous iPhone or the newly downsized iPad mini.

The takeaway? Don’t spend all your time and money to create the next big thing. Instead, concentrate the majority of your efforts improving current technology in ways that will interest your target audience.

Creating a campaign can be an enormous task but we at Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) think that managing one can be even more challenging. Today we give you five tips on how to manage a marketing campaign with ease.

1.  Take Time to Identify Goals

Don’t just dive into a project headfirst.  Take time to establish what your campaign is trying to achieve. Identify your target audience, how you will reach them and in what fashion you will be presenting your message.

2. Understand Your Target Audience

Once you identify your goals and know who you will be aiming your message at, it is time to understand that audience. Take the time to research likes, dislikes, interests and trends that apply to your target audience. Understanding your target audience will allow content creation for your campaign to be much easier to manage.          ` 

3. Set Campaign Milestones

A campaign can be a rather time consuming endeavor and many important details can be over-looked if employees are not held responsible. In order to avoid missing key components of your campaign, set milestones with strict due dates. By implementing this strategy, no detail will be forgotten and campaign elements will flow together naturally.

4. Don’t Leave Team Members in the Dark

Hold weekly or milestone meetings where employees can share what they have done, what they are working on and what they are planning for the future. When all team members are up to date with the goings-on of the campaign, work will not be repetitive or lacking.

5. Measure Success of Campaign

Use tracking and analytics software in order to see how effective your campaign was. This will not only allow you to celebrate the success of your campaign but will also help you to identify areas to focus on in the future.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team has been following the HR Technology Conference 2012, which concluded last week with some key takeaways:

HR’s present strategic opportunity is to drive the adoption of consumerized social technologies to boost productivity, improve communication, and foster greater collaboration both within and between departments.

The play for HR is to team with IT in a role analogous to what IT Business Analysts do –  assess needs, research solutions and implement new technologies enterprise-wide. In short, HR needs to don a Business Analyst hat of its own.

These insights come courtesy of Software Advice columnist Kyle Lagunas in his in-depth article “Thoughts from HR Tech 2012: Upgrading HR’s Role in Enterprise 2.0.”

Lagunas observes that consumer technologies are rapidly changing the way we work.

In HR, social and mobile technologies have proven to be powerful tools for sourcing and recruiting talent. And newer tools that leverage social consumer technologies–like Yammer for collaboration, and Work.com (formerly Rypple) for performance management–have the potential for facilitating a more actively engaged workforce.

At the HR Technology Conference 2012, these next generation tools were the focus of numerous sessions and conversations. But many attendees wondered, “Who takes ownership of these tools?

“As I see it,” writes Lagunas, “these tools present HR with an interesting opportunity to upgrade its role in Enterprise 2.0 – from traditionally tactical administration to tech-savvy strategic function.

It’s Time to Upgrade HR

HR departments fighting for a seat at the table aren’t doing themselves any favors by resisting innovation in workplace technology. There are bound to be hiccups when opening channels for employees to exchange ideas and information in real-time. But managers will be surprised at how infrequently these things occur.

The greater risk with these types of tools is that heavy-handed moderation can have a direct impact on a  company’s investment in these technologies.  If HR can focus on strategies to maximize return on investment, rather than policing use, they could position themselves as a major contributor in the social enterprise.

HROToday.com has published an insightful article on the importance of data analytics in the recruitment industry.  The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team thought we’d share the article by author Michael Housman titled “Data for Dollars: Analytics can help determine the value of your workforce.”

Recruiting is big business. U.S. employers collectively spend nearly $124 billion a year on recruiting, and almost $6 trillion on payroll. With that level of spending, small improvements in outcomes can easily be worth billions or tens of billions of dollars.

Yet recruiting has largely been an unmeasured process, wherein recruiters screen candidates by their own criteria, including work experience and academic achievement—historically poor predictors of candidate quality. Once hired, systems are seldom in place to measure or track quality of hire in order to continuously improve the recruiting process.

With quality of workforce becoming increasingly critical as a differentiator and a source of competitive advantage, HR professionals must ensure they deliver the best candidates for the money. The most sure-fire way to do this is by using a data-driven approach that leverages quantitative metrics to measure, analyze, create, and sustain a more productive workforce.

New technologies and rapidly advancing analytics are changing the nature of the contribution that HR can make to an organization. These advances enable companies to predict employee performance, engagement, and retention as a function of various inputs. By doing so, HR is able to quantify the quality of the hourly workforce, then deliver insight and drive action to improve the recruiting process and overall workforce performance. With quantitative metrics and a focus on the strategic impact of a more productive workforce, the recruiting function is sure to become one of the key drivers of organizational success.

HRO Today’s article offers these (and more) insights:

• Data Analysis Matters – The amount of money that can be saved for an organization through the use of data analytics is immense. Small changes on the margin that result in sales or productivity increases of just a few percentage points can be worth significant amounts of money.

• Becoming Data-Driven – Once companies grasp how to use data and analytics to better understand their workforces, they can take a deeper dive into analytics to gain insight into all aspects of their recruiting process, and to drive further changes and improvements.

Taking the Analytics Plunge – Use data to optimize sourcing decisions and budgets, evaluate the effectiveness of recruiters, and understand your applicant shelf life.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing a post about job hunting from June Owensboro, a staff researcher and writer for TermLifeInsurance.org.  We’ve held onto this post while we excerpted 14 chapters of  ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management,” a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO)

But now we’re ready to go with June’s article – “Job Hunting Requires a License, Too.”  Enjoy.

Thinking about getting a job flipping burgers?  Heads up — you’re competing against a guy with credit card bills, a car payment, mortgage, and four kids who lost his job last year. Though the economy and housing market have seen encouraging signs of improvement, unemployment rates have seen little of the same positive growth.

The Current Population Survey (CPS) released a news report about employment on May 14 of this year. According to the report, the 8.1 percent unemployment rate changed little since April.  In January 2011, that number was marginally worse at nine percent.

The message is clear for all those looking for employment right now: the competition is stiff and things are not getting any easier.

Given the state of today’s economy, people are desperate for employment.  But when it comes to competing with the rest of unemployed America for the limited positions available, it takes more than luck to land a solid job.  Monster.com, a leading expert website in the job advice field, recommends starting your job search with a positive, patient, proactive mindset.

Strategy

The first step in the hunting process is to start with a well-thought-through strategy for approaching your searches. Figure out – based on your experience, education and goals – how to narrow down the field of jobs for which you’re applying.

For starters, jobseekers without degrees are extremely limited in their options. The Chronicle of Higher Education stated last June that an estimated 59 percent of all jobs require at least some amount of post-secondary education.

Next, location.  It may not be the wisest choice to find a job in your city and you may have to adjust your scope to include moving to another city or state for the sake of opportunity.  On the other hand, it might be unrealistic to even consider uprooting your family or losing the support of friends and the community.

Maybe your car can’t handle a long commute or perhaps you are still pursuing your education and need to work abnormal hours. Some people enter college with a dream of what they will do for a living, but compare your degree choice to the current demand for your expertise. No matter what the specifics are, carefully compare the costs to benefits and make a rational choice about what career to aim for.

Resume

Once you have established which kinds of work you want to apply for, you will know how to build your resume accordingly. The Rockport Institute outlines specific ways to construct a resume that effectively and efficiently represent your employment and will set you apart from the competition.

The most important thing to remember when writing and submitting your resume to a potential employer is to customize it every time. Granted, it takes a little more time to adapt each resume to each position you’re applying for, but the results are much more effective than the one-size-fits-all approach.

Consider the fact that for every position offered right now about 100 to 1,000 resumes are submitted. Imagine being the poor soul trying to wade through all of those and decide on a handful to investigate further. Impact Hiring Solutions suggests the average time spent glancing over a resume at 10 to 20 seconds.

Part of the reason so little time is spent evaluating resumes is that most employers have a checklist of “must-haves” and if after a 10-second scan the resume does not include these qualifications, the resume is discarded. Given this knowledge, a wise resume writer will start with a strategy that gives the reader the details they need to know first. This is why it’s important to customize your resume to each specific position and highlight only the most relevant experience.

Searching

Once you have established which kinds of work you want to apply for and have your job-specific resumes ready, you can begin searching.

Aside from the well-known search engines like indeed.com, monster.com, and careerbuilder.com, a few innovative sources are available for hunting that are not as widely known.

Reuters recently highlighted the effectiveness of social media as a rising force in job hunting. Facebook and Twitter provide a unique outlet for discovering potential career openings primarily because of the networking opportunities they create. The more you advertise yourself, the more likely you are to find the jobs that most apply to you.

Craigslist is another great option, especially for those looking for entry-level positions or part-time employment. You can search for employment opportunities by city and type, or post an advertisement for yourself with your resume attached.

Networking

Quintessential Careers, a site dedicated since 1996 to helping job-seekers, asserts that networking is one of the most crucial ways you can be successful in your employment hunting. The more you put out your information to potential employers and organizations that can help direct you to possible job matches, the more likely you will be to find something that is an optimal fit for you.

Compiling a list of people you can talk to about all things job related will give you a broader realm of possibilities as well. They can critique your resume, suggest places that might be looking for your skills, or refer you to head-hunters who can share your information even more.

June Owensboro is a Staff Researcher/Writer for TermLifeInsurance.org.  She can be reached at juneowensboro@gmail.com.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 14 – So You Thought It Was Okay to What?

 I have been amazed at what some folks think passes for acceptably behavior in the workplace.  With so many stories to tell and so little space, I thought I would group these stories into four categories:

1.     Interpersonal issues among employees
2.     Social Media and technology
3.     Ways to “beat the system”
4.     Alcohol, drugs and safety

Just for fun, I’ve also included some travel stories of passenger mistreatment that make you wonder what the airlines are thinking.

Interpersonal Issues

The workplace is made up of human beings and, as such, many unpredictable things can occur.  These interpersonal issues can lead to some strange situations.  I the early stages of my career, the concept of sexual harassment was just becoming accepted, and little case law existed.

So, what do you do when a very attractive woman who has a job that consists of installing computers, cables, printers and the like chooses to wear micro minis to work?

In those days, the in the shop would whistle and hoot and holler.  This is easy to deal with, and once the guys understood the rules and she understood the dress code, I thought there would be no problem.  Unfortunately, a few weeks later she had enhancement surgery and, as a result, the mini-dresses became even more micro.  When the general manager of the facility heard about her “new look,” he raced upstairs to her work area and pronounced for all the world to hear, “Where is she?  I want to see them.”  Fortunately, no lawsuit followed.

Other areas of potential interpersonal conflict that I discuss in the book include body odor, cultural differences, office affairs (best to avoid those email containing naked pictures), illegal activities, etc.

Social Media and Technology

Interpersonal issues in the workplace have been complicated by the use of social media and technology.

While I think Facebook, Twitter, texting and other such services are wonderful advancements in communication, they can be problematic in the workplace.  On many occasions we have had to remind employees that unless they take special precautions, Facebook posting are available for most anyone to see.  What you do on your own time is your business, but when the reputation of the company is damaged, it becomes a work-related issue.

Ways to ‘Beat the System’

Employees can also be very entrepreneurial.  Perhaps a better way to say this is that they feel a need to “beat the system.”  We once terminated and employee for running a catering business out of my customer’s kitchen.

Don’t have a car?  No problem—borrow the company car and use it for personal business.

Many employees don’t realize that stealing time is the same as stealing money, and you can see this in the creative use of time cards and time clocks.

Falsifying documents is another big problem in many organizations.  Many of my clients are government contractors, and the penalties for incorrect documentation can be substantial.

Alcohol, Drugs and Safety

Perhaps the area where I have seen the most damage has been in the area of alcohol and drugs.  Many careers have been severely damaged by drinking in the workplace, and more than once I have had to send someone home who either smelled of liquor or failed an alcohol test.  Drug use is similar, but not always as blatant.

As for safety, 99 percent of accidents are preventable, but you have to pay attention to what you are doing and follow the rules.

Travel

I have flown nearly three million miles over the years on various airlines, and I am constantly amazed at what this industry passes off as customer service.  Read this chapter for the horror stories.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 12 – How to Manage Them Internationally

While I realize that many of you will not have international employees and this chapter may not apply to you, there may come a time when you decide to expand your operation.

Whether this expansion comes in nearby Mexico or Canada or you move to Europe or Asia, managing international employees is somewhat different, and you need to be aware of the potential issues.

In this chapter, I will discuss two types of employees:

• Locals you are relocating overseas
• Locals who are actually natives of the country you are operating in

Relocating Expatriates

Locals who are relocated overseas are known as expatriates or “expats”  The selection of the expat is critically important, given that their annual costs can easily be two to three times their salary.  While the proper selection criteria are beyond the scope of this book, here are a few things to consider:

Career Blockage

The assignment has to make sense form a career perspective.  Often, expats are sent overseas for two to three years and return to find a job that is not as “big” as they were used to. Repatriation is a key to success.  Upon their return, be sure their assignment allows them to take advantage of their new skills.

Other key points discussed in this chapter include:

• Culture Shock
• Lack of Pre-Departure Cross-Cultural Training
• Overemphasis on Technical Qualifications
• Family Problems
• Compensation

Working with the Local Nationals

Over time, most organizations replace all or most of their expats with local nationals.  There are some general rules in dealing with your overseas employees.

Rule #1: Think Globally, Manage Locally

Rule #2: Don’t Believe Everything You Hear

Rule #3: Don’t Fall into the Religion Trap

Rule #4: The Paradigm May be Different There

Rule #5: You Really Can Hold Them Accountable

Rule #6: People Are People

Dealing with employees’ issues can be a bit easier in most of the world, but only because there are a series of very strict rules employers need to abide by.  Again, this will vary by region and country.

Read the chapter for details.

Next: Chapter 13 – What the Future Holds

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 11 – How to Deal with the Unions

Unions today make up a very small part of the workforce.  In the 1950s, union membership stood at around 35 percent of the working population.  Today, the number is less than 12 percent, with most of these in the public sector.  Why the fall?

I would like to say it is because you have all ready my book and are using excellent HR practices that keep people from wanting to join unions.  Wishful thinking.  In fact, there are a number of reasons, including these:

• Many of the issues that originally brought unions to the workplace, such as minimum wages, child labor and workplace safety, have all been legislated both federally and located.
• A number of industries where unions once dominated, such as textiles and steel, have moved offshore.
• The old concept of “personnel” evolved into the practice of human resources (HR), and companies made a much greater effort to meet the needs of their employees, thus giving them much less reason to organize.

Given the above, I would suggest that in the 21^st century, if you wake up one morning to find a union at your door, it will constitute a failure of management…not of the employees.

Unfortunately, if you do wake up that morning with this new problem, your work is really cut out for you.

Labor Relations Management

Like most things in HR, labor-relations management is a process consisting of three steps:

1. Union organizing
2. Collective bargaining
3. Contract administration

Union Organizing

The union organizing process is the attempt by the union to convince a sufficient number (30 percent) of employees to sign authorization cards allowing for an election.  The election campaign will be a lively one, and there are a number of things you should remember regarding your conduct – the dos and don’ts.  These include:

• You can give your opinion, telling them why you think the union is NOT good for them, and why.
• You can tell them if they strike, they may be replaced.
• You can tell employees that they don’t have to talk to union representatives if they don’t want to.

There are also a number of things you cannot do, including:

• You cannot question employees about the union.
• You cannot spy on their meetings.
• You cannot visit them at their homes to discuss union issues.

Collective Bargaining

This is the phase where you must negotiate in good faith toward the goal of reaching a collective-bargaining agreement or union contract.  Generally, you must negotiate things like rates of pay, overtime, grievance procedures, etc.

I would suggest that you always hire a professional to assist you in this process.  The union will certainly be using one, and you should as well.

Contract Administration

Administering the contract once it has been negotiated is by far the most time-consuming element of the union relationship.  Most of this effort will involve interpretation of the contract.  There will likely be issues that come up that were not anticipated at the time of the negotiation.  When this occurs, there is typically a grievance and arbitration procedure, which I discuss in detail in the book.

At the end of the day, the best policy is to pay attention to your employees’ needs, provide a safe workplace for them, and pay them competitively.

Next: Chapter 12 – How to Manage Them Internationally.

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 9 – How to Train Them

Let’s be honest.  Have you ever been sufficiently trained?  I have always subscribed to the concept of being a lifelong learner, and I appreciate any training I can get.  While each employee’s situation will be different, we need to ask how much training is really required and whether the results justify the expense.

In looking at employee training, I would suggest you ask the following questions:

• Why are we doing this training?
• Is it to provide new skills, or is it in response to an employee performance problem?
• Is training really the solution to the employee’s performance problem?

Oftentimes, when an employee is not performing, the natural assumption is that the problem is lack of training.  I would suggest that before you reach this conclusion, you consider whether the employee is willing and/or able to do the job.

Willingness is the interest, motivation and confidence to improve, whereas ability is the knowledge, skill and resources to improve.

In the book, we provide a “Willingness & Ability Table” as a useful tool for you to use when trying to decide if a performance issue represents an employee’s lack of willingness to perform or is really because of lack of ability.

Are the goals of the training clear and realistic?  Far too often, we enter into training without considering its real goal.

Are you trying to provide information?  Improve skills?  Do you expect a real change in performance?

Do you know if the employee is ready for training?  The necessary employee characteristics to ensure readiness of training include:

• Ability to learn the subject matter
• Favorable attitudes toward the training
• Motivation to learn

All of these factors need to be present for training to be a success.  The planned training program should directly relate to the needs identified by the needs assessment, which we have already discussed.

Effective training objectives have three components:

What the employee is expected to do, the quality or level of performance that is acceptable, and the conditions under which the trainee is expected to apply what is learned.

Once you are convinced that your employee can and is willing to learn, it is time to figure out what the best training method would be.  A wide variety of methods are available for conducting training, such as:

• Classroom training
• Training videos
• Role-plays
• Case studies
• Computer-based training
• Learning games
• Experiential programs

Some measures of training success might include:

• Trainee satisfaction with the program.
• Knowledge of abilities learned.
• Use of new skills and behaviors on the job.
• Improvements in individual performance.
• Improvements in organizational performance.

At the end of the day, training needs to improve performance.  That is the bottom-line measurement.

Next: Chapter 11 – How to Deal with the Unions

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team is sharing some hard-won business insights directly from the source.

 ”A Practical Guide to Human Resources Management” is a 266-page guidebook to the intricacies of the world of employment from Jeff Stinson, founder and president of Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO).

Chapter 10 – How to Discipline and Fire Them

In many ways, this was the most challenging chapter to write for this book (and most interesting, which is why we decided to skip ahead one chapter and get to this topic right away, saving Chapter 9 – “How to Train Them” – for next week).

After thirty years in human resources, I have more stories to tell than I can possibly cram into this little volume.

For example, I mentioned in the opening about my customer whose employee staged a hunger strike.  Ultimately, he had to be fired for reasons that had nothing to do with his hunger strike.  Guess what?  He claimed retaliation.  Four years later, we settled this gentleman’s case for very little money and all kinds of aggravation.

Then there was the employee running a business out of her office.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t our business.  She was indignant when she was fired.  She didn’t understand the concept of “stealing time.”

Then, of course, there are the employees who threaten their supervisors and co-workers.  Or the ones who refuse to follow simple policies and procedures.  And let’s not forget the ones who are intoxicated or on drugs at work.

All in all, though, these are the easy ones.

This is a most difficult chapter to write because of the angst that goes into every disciplinary situation.  It is not easy, not pleasing and often doesn’t end well for you and certainly not for the employee.

So, for the purposes of this chapter, let’s look at two different activities that require discipline: performance-related issues vs. dysfunctional behavior.

I separate these two because your approach to them will be very different.

Some employer-employee relationships call for you to perform guidance activities like:

• Coaching: you point out the things the employee is doing well and the things that he or she is not doing so well.
• Counseling: used when coaching fails–it’s a form of communication that gives the employee the information needed to change unproductive behavior.

Then there’s progressive discipline, an escalating process of dealing with failure to perform to expectations or to change behavior.  The sequence:

1.     Coaching Conversation

2.     Counseling Session

3.     Written Warning

4.     Day of Reflection

5.     Termination (the end of the road)

Finally, there are simply layoffs and reductions in work force.  There are a number of ways to determine whom to reduce.  Get the details when you read the chapter.

Next: Chapter 9 – How to Train Them