TRAINING FOR YOU: How Google Sets Goals...

Short post today, but if you choose to take advantage of it, you need to book an hour on your calendar to take advantage of the resource.

Video embedded below is from Google Ventures with a hat tip to TechCrunch.  It's a great rundown of how Google sets performance goals - how they make choices on goals that individual contributors are going to chase, how they negotiate what goes into that valuable space, how the goals are supposed to cascade, how they are (or aren't) part of the performance process, etc.

In short, it's goal setting 101 from Google.  Pretty cool rundown of how they do goal management.

What will surprise you is how some of the things you know are incorporated into Google's process.  But, as you might expect, there's plenty to learn from the Google way related to goal setting and the great news is that none of it is out of reach for you and I and the companies we represent.

This is training for you - the HR/Talent pro.  Book this on your calendar and consume it.  It's hard to find rundowns like this to help you and your company reset the bar on goal setting and how it ties to performance.  (email subscribers click through for video)

RULE #1 For the New World HR Pro: You Gotta Ask...

I'm on record as saying that HR pros can learn a lot from Sales Pros.

At the top of the list is learning to negotiate.  Of all the negotiation skills available, the most valuable one is the first-strike position, or more to the point, simply asking for what you want.  Check out the example given by a VC I love to read, then I'll give you three scenarios you can force yourself or your team into to practice the skill.

Because if you get over your fear, you quickly learn that no one dies when you ask.  Most people actually want to give you what you ask for, mainly because they get asked so rarely.

More from Mark Suster at Both Sides of the Table:

When I lived and worked in London my wonderful assistant was Deborah Halliday, who was raised a very “proper” British young lady. Her brother played rugby for the English rugby team and went to Oxford. That’s kind of like having a brother in the NFL in the US.

If there was any society in which being a hustler was out of step with the norm is was England. Yet I was a foreigner so I got away with being different.

I used to ask Deborah to book my travel plans in France and Germany were I went 1-2 times / month. There were online tools to book this stuff but the Internet booking sites were early.

I would tell Deborah, “I found this hotel near the Champs Elysees for 170 Euros. But I don’t want to pay that much. Tell them I’ll stay if they’ll give it to me for 120 Euros.

“What? You want … what?”

“Mark. You can’t do that! You can’t just name your own price.”

Me. “Of course I can. Tell them you found a hotel down the street for 100 Euros but I prefer to stay at their hotel. Haggle. See what you can do.

Deborah. She was mortified. Bless her cotton socks. I put her outside of her comfort zone.

Me. “Deborah. You don’t ask, you don’t get! What’s the worst they can tell you? “No?” If so, we’ll call back an hour later and pay 170 Euros. It’s not like they’re going to tell you ‘no’ in an hour. You might as well try!”

Classic Mexican Road strategy.

Here’s the thing. They NEVER said ‘no.’ Such were the times. They weren’t fully occupied.

She began to love it. It was liberating. I taught her to make it a game. I would challenge her to see how cheap she could get rooms. I can still hear her giggle at how ridiculous it was in her mind’s eye. And yet how eye opening it was that you could have almost anything you wanted. If you just asked.

You gotta ask.  Want to practice as an HR pro?  Here's three scenarios where you can ask for what you want - but most HR pros never do:

1. You have a candidate who has told you they need 75K.  They're currently making 68K.  Offer them 69K and pitch - tell them why it's a great deal.

2. You've got a meeting you're hosting and need a conference room - call a hotel and ask for the room for free, on a date they usually have a hard time filling.

3.  The next time someone tells you that you're holding them up from making a term that needs to happen, immediately tell them you should go talk to the person that manages them- now - to have a robust conversation on the risk and what has and hasn't happened to that point.  

In short, ask for what you want.  If you're part of the 95% that the Suster references in his complete post (and it's probably higher in HR), you need the practice.

Start teeing it up - no one gets hurt.  All they can say is "no".  

ORG CHART 101:What Who HR Reports To Really Means in Your Organization...

Does who HR reports to in the organization have a lot of meaning?  Many people think it does, and here's what one of my readers thinks it means.  Take a look and let's talk after the jump:

--HR reports to CEO: people are our biggest asset; culture is important, as is engagement. 

--HR reports to COO: people are our building blocks; urgent resource needs for delivery of product or service, tactical.

--HR reports to CFO: people are our biggest expense; headcount is a dirty word, bottom-line.

--HR reports to GC: people are our biggest liability; why-we-can’t policy administration, risk aversion.

I like the list - a lot.  But it's not absolute - one of the best direct reporting relationships and the most support I ever had was when I reported to a CFO.  I'd venture a guess to say that the reporting relationship that's set up has more to do with the value the CEO places on HR than it does how the entire org views HR.  After all, reporting to a COO of CFO doesn't have to be a death sentence for HR - you can do cool things and having access to the guy/gal who controls the purse strings (CFO) can't be all bad, right?

One thing I totally agree with is the General Counsel thing.  Let's get out there and limit some risk, people!  That's probably not fair, but it seems like the least progressive place to be...

So I leave you with this question - would you rather report to a CEO who goes through the motions or a COO or CFO who gets it and is fully engaged?  Hit me in the comments with what you think.  

2 Things That Great HR Organizations Have In Common (2013 Version)

Pretty Simple.  They have more people than average to bad HR organizations with the following characteristics - 

1.  A low tolerance for Rules.  High rules people, which traditional HR is full of, look for the operations manual and if your situation doesn't fit the pre-packaged solution, don't hesitate to tell you no.  Low rules people can't stand the operations manual and love the chaos.  They want to come up with their own solution, which BTW, happens to be customized for the person they're trying to help.

2. They say "yes" more than their traditional HR counterparts.  A willingness to say yes, or provide a conditional yes, is probably a result of the low rules pentration I've described up top.  Finding a way to say yes/find a path again leads to more custom solutions, which results in actual innovation (shocking!) from an HR Pro.

The HR orgs who have more HR pros with these two things will win.  Degrees, certifications and all the other BS is nice and valuable on some level, but without more people with these two things, your department will be average.

Go find some low rules people who know HR.  Soon.

What Was the First Day of the Rest of Your Professional Life?

I'm on a little bit of a Dave Grohl kick - as evidenced by this post I did with a money quote from Grohl that really nails how people become world-class at anything (get your first instruments, start practicing your craft and suck, but keep coming back because you're having fun, etc.)

Grohl is basically a proponent of the 10,000 hour rule.  With that in mind, I've got a question for you today:

"What Was the First Day of the Rest of Your Professional Life?"

Not following me?  Check out the following clip from Grohl at SXSW where he did a keynote (thanks to multiple readers who sent me the link to this) - I've set it to the point where he talks about the first day of the rest of his life.  Click here to listen to the story - it involves a puck rock relative and a trip to Chicago.  I start it at 14:05, listen to at least 16:40 to hear the reference.

The first day of the rest of your life.  What does that mean?  It means what was the inflexion point in your life where you found purpose and challenge that would define who you are for the rest of your life?

What was the first day of the rest of my professional life?  I think there are two:

1.  I was a sophomore in high school and took a roadtrip with some juniors and seniors from our small town to the University of Missouri to play basketball for a weekend - pickup, ragtag hoops in the on-campus rec center.  Figured out I could hang at a young age, and that cemented a work ethic that would allow me to chase hoops in a way that resulted in playing college baskeball on full scholarship, but more importantly gave me the abilty to chase things I really believe in with a singular, dogged focus.  Almost OC in some ways. It's served me well as a transferable skill, but that's the first time I found it - after that day.

2. I was living in St. Louis as a 29-year old and trying to get back to the Southeast and in networking with some BellSouth Executives they said the following: "Kris, we don't have anything we can put you in within Marketing, but we've got this HR Manager spot.  You used to be a college basketball coach, right?  Why don't you try that?"

DING.  It was the first day of the rest of my professional life.  I have to say the ride has been fun, and I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

What was the first day of the rest of the your professional life?  Hit me in the comments (or in email as many do) and tell me when it all changed for you.

A Very Special Christmas Eve Story From the HR Capitalist...

Capitalist Note: This story is a Christmas Eve tradition at the HR Capitalist. Merry Christmas...

It's Christmas Eve. Time for anticipation. Time for reflection.

Time for an outrageous demand towards a candidate that could only occur from the bowels of corporate America.

Gather round the tree kids, because it's story time, HR Capitalist style. Bring me a Diet Mountain Dew while you're at it, because this eggnog sucks. 

Everyone here? Good.

The year is 2002 and it's Christmas Eve.  The Capitalist has just become a VP of HR in corporate America, and just got a new boss, who let's say - is a little INTENSE.  The Capitalist finds himself at home on Christmas Eve, piddling with some work, etc.  His cell phone rings.  The Capitalist flexes his bicep (remember, phones were much bigger then), picks up the phone and answers the call.  It's the boss of the Capitalist:

Capitalist: Don, what's up?

Bossman/EVP (1B Line of business): Kris, glad I got you.  I'm ready to make an offer to the Director of Finance candidate we like.

Capitalist: Sweet.  I'll call her today and let her know.  Nice Christmas present.

Bossman: Great.  Just one little catch.  I need to know today that she accepts.

Capitalist:  You need an answer today? You know it's Christmas Eve and it's 12:30pm right now, correct?

Bossman - Yeah, I know.  But I just got word from a friend that corporate is thinking about making me take Sparkman from Atlanta as part of a succession plan, and you know what I think about him.  So rather than wait on that, we're going to move on Carol, and we need her to accept today so I can go into the next week and tell them that it's already filled when they call me.

Capitalist: Why don't we just say we have an offer out if that happens and give her a couple of days to think about it?

Bossman: Not good enough. Corporate will make us retract the offer.  Get it done today.  Gotta go! We're opening some presents!  <Click>

After the call, the Capitalist gathered himself on the reality of making a demand like a three hour window to accept an offer on Christmas Eve, and you know what he did?  He made the freaking call, boys and girls.  It went a little something like this:

Capitalist:  Carol!  How are you?  Kris Dunn from <company name retracted>.  Got a couple of minutes to talk? I've got good news...

Carol: Kris, can you repeat that?  I'm at Church with my three kids.  They always get so excited around Christmas.. (Church bells ringing in the background)

Capitalist:  You bet Carol, got great news for you going into the holiday.  We want you to join the team, and here's some detail for you... (Capitalist outlines broad specs of the deal, selling as hard as he can)

Carol:  Well Kris, that is great news.  Send me the offer package and I'll look it over on Christmas Day and call you back the day after Christmas.

Capitalist: Well Carol, it's funny you say that.  Because I'm in a little bit of a pinch here (long, apologetic intro into the issue), and well, I need you to decide by close of business today to accept the offer or not.

Carol: Kris, you know it's Christmas, right? That I'm with my kids? I'm currently in church?

Capitalist:  I know.  Still, you're the one we want and we have to close it today to ensure we can bring you aboard. 

Carol: <silence for 10 seconds>.  Send the package.  I'll look at it.  Goodbye. (Capitalist trying to apologize again but unable to before hearing <Click>)

And that, boys and girls, is how you know you've arrived in the show.  Cost of a Monster posting? $200-$400 depending on volume.  Cost of a third party recruiter placement? 10-15K..

The realization you've just crossed a line on Christmas Eve that only Gordon Gekko and Ari Gold could appreciate?  Priceless...

PS - Carol accepted and rocked the house at our company.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays....

TRAINING TOOLKIT For January: What To Do When Your Team (or you) Sucks at LinkedIn...

I've got your first New Year's Resolution right here - start taking care of your career by connecting and promoting who you are before you really need a strong professional network. There's no better tool than LinkedIn to help you accomplish that goal in 2013. 

Let's face it.  You - or someone you love - has a WEAK approach to LinkedIn. Maybe you don't love them. Maybe they're just a direct report. Still, the facts are there. Their LinkedIn profile is awful. They need some game. You don't know what to tell them to do, so you tell them to "spend time on it".

Great advice, coach.  Next time tell them to "try harder". With that kind of coaching, what could possibly prevent better results in 2013?

Good news. I'm here with the only training package you'll ever need to get yourself or others ramped up on LinkedIn and getting better results.  t's a whitepaper my team at Kinetix created with my help called "Are you a LinkedIn Benchwarmer? 12 Steps to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile Today".  Click on the link to hit the download page and we'll hit you with the following:

1. A breakdown of the three most common types of LinkedIn users including "The Franchise" and "The Scrub" as a baseline for you to determine where your profile falls in the LI game.

2. Our 12-Step Playbook for updating and enhancing your LinkedIn profile. We'll give you all you need to improve your LinkedIn profile dramatically with 20 minutes of work.  12 Easy Steps.  What I love about the toolkit that each of the steps intros with reasons why you need to complete the step, has pictures of what success looks like, some friendly advice from our recruiters at Kinetix and then an idiot-proof call to action called NOW YOU DO IT that tells you what to click when to complete the step.  We've made this #$#@ real simple.

3. A checklist we're calling the LinkedIn Leaderboard for you to use when updating your LinkedIn profile or training your team on this, complete with coach's notes and a scorecard to track your progress. Got a team that needs work on LinkedIn? Use this whitepaper and checklist to make it simple related to what they need to do. It's a perfect companion tool for your next meeting focused on individual development.

This is the tool to use to run a professional development session on how to better use LinkedIn for any team. It's going to make you look smart.  It's going to make you look like you care. It's done in a way where the kids on your team won't laugh at you, Brontosaurus.

So download it and roll it out already - CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.(registration required). Not a sales pitch, just interesting reading and a great way to help your team and employees out.  I helped write it, so if you like what you get here, you'll like the toolkit...

If you find registration for content personally appalling, I don't even know who you are anymore.... Just kidding, just email me or hit me in the comments if you're hiding from the authorities and are naturally suspicious, and I'll send you the PDF...

Ways HR People Say They Didn't Get The Work Done...

I love to write about HR people finding ways to squeeze administrative work down to the lowest possible percentage of time so they can spend time on what matters.

But let's face it, sometime S*** happens.  And then, you've got to protect yourself.  That's why I'm priming the pump today with some MBA one-liners for why the work didn't get done, then we'll find some pure play HR versions.  More from VentureBeat:

"The key to getting away with not getting everything done is to talk like a businessperson. MBA degrees are optional, but helpful. Pull out those banal MBA one-liners and you can circumnavigate your way through any missed deadline or incomplete spreadsheet. Whether you’re too busy or just a little lazy, here are ten surefire lines that will cover your butt and earn you some corporate cred to boot:

1. I didn’t have the bandwidth this week
2. We were trying to boil the ocean
3. I had to prioritize other deliverables
4. It wasn’t the right high-level strategy
5. It fell below the line this week
6. It’s really a time and distance problem
7. There were other low-hanging fruit to attend to
8. It’s just not quite in my wheelhouse
9. It didn’t make sense to reinvent the wheel
10. The problem was that we were working in silos
11. It’s an issue of scalability"

So that's the MBA world.  Got any from the HR world?  Here's my short list, hit me with yours in the comments:

1. Four letters and a word:  EEOC suit.
2. You want me to put out the fires or work on succession planning?
3. I value recruiting.  I just value not getting sued more.
4. Remember that technology we didn't invest in?  I was conducting the orchestra via forms as a result.
5. Interrogations on bad stuff was my entire week.  I feel like an overworked cop from "The Wire".
6. Our comp plan is not competitive.  That's why time to fill is up.
7. I could get my team around the mission a lot faster if they were bonus eligible.
8. The last time I avoided these employee relations issues to do the fun stuff, the person in your role before you got canned.
9. I can't get anyone to respond to basic requests for information.  Can we have the CEO send out an email?

Boom.  That's what I got.  What other one-liners are gold for HR Managers, Directors and VPs to say they didn't get the work done and live to tell about it?  Put it in the comments.

Let's crowdsource this sucker.

HRC JOB OF THE MONTH: Sr. Director of HR (North America) - MASONITE INTERNATIONAL

Some of you probably know that my role at Kinetix is primarily focused on recruiting, and at times I help recruit great HR leaders and professionals for Kinetix clients.  I love that part of my job.

I'm going to start sharing the best HR roles that I'm currently recruiting for at Kinetix, because let's face it, there's no better pool of HR leaders out there than the HR pros who seek to stay on top of their game by consuming digital content and engaging in the social conversation that results.  That's you, BTW.

The next role I'm going to share with you is a great one - I've been retained to help Masonite International find a great HR leader to join its team as a Sr. Director of Human Resources for North America.

I'm going to share it with you two ways:  First, I'm going to trickle info out to people I'm connected with on Twitter and LinkedIn over the next couple of weeks, so follow me or send me a request to connect if we're not already connected.  Then, I'm going to give you a long form position description, complete with my commentary, known as "KD Comments".  I know, you can't wait.  Check it out:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kinetix and Kris Dunn (HR Capitalist, Fistful of Talent) are working exclusively with Masonite International to fill the critical role of Senior Director of Human Resources - North America.  This role will be a member of the Masonite HR leadership team, located in balmy Tampa (stay warm, my friends) and reporting directly to Masonite’s SVP of Human Resources, with close interaction with multiple line of business owners within the company.  Compensation and rewards will be competitive/compelling for the right candidate.

Who is Masonite?  Great question and we've got a great answer – Masonite is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of interior doors and entry door systems.  Throughout the company’s 80-year history, Masonite has maintained its focus on leading-edge innovation, manufacturing excellence and superior customer service.

KD’s comments:  Some people say manufacturing is dead in American.  If you think that, then you’ve already self-selected out.  Masonite is proof that the manufacturing game is very much alive in the U.S.  You have to love that as an HR Pro.  But if you don’t, this isn’t for you. 

What’s Masonite looking for in their next Sr. Director of HR for North America? 

A group named the Who once asked (America should have seen this coming), “Who Are You?”

KD’s comments:   Why the classic rock reference?  Other than seeing the classic footage of the bassist half-heartedly singing studio backup while smoking (1:24 in the video, check it out.  He’s also super-chill all the way through the video) and the realization that the drummer has headband-taped his headphones onto his head (3:11), you need to answer that question at 30,000 feet before you raise your hand and say you’re interested. Who are you?  Who do we need you to be? Let’s break it down:

We’re looking for a HR leader with deep experience in running the talent function for a large-scale, multi-site manufacturing environment.   We’ll also talk to HR leaders with heavy employee relations experience in a multi-site environment in different industries.  Is that you?  Keep reading.

But wait – If you fit that profile, but you’re a senior level HR professional with who’s looking for a strategic role where you can think and let other people do, you can stop reading now.  This role is not for you.  The right candidate for this role is going to have the capability to be strategic while always looking for what’s necessary to get things done – and often be the one to do the things in question.

To sum it up – Experience outlined above + brainpower/processor to be strategic + small ego and personal bias wired toward taking action = a great candidate for Masonite.   Is that you?  +1. Keep reading.

Let’s Dig Into the Details, People

Four things we want you to know about this role:

1. The Scope of the Job

Codeword:  Meaty.  There’s a lot here, and it’s not a small job.  Consider:

• The HR Team:  As a member of the Sr. HR Team at Masonite, you’ll report to an ultra-capable and established SVP of HR.  You’ll also have two upstream peers, one running talent acquisition and one running all back-office functions, including payroll, compensation and benefits.  So you’ve got strong people to hang with and bounce ideas off of.  Which is nice.
• Your Direct Reports:  You’re the tip of the spear when it comes to executing the people/talent strategy in the field.  You’ll have seven direct reports deployed across North America to help you get it done.  We hear they’re good.
• The Facilities You’ll Be Responsible For:  24 of them, including locations in Canada and Mexico.  A big enough sandbox to have a lot of fun and not run out of challenges - ever.  We’ll validate your I-9 when you join the company with your passport due to the travel.  Wait, we can’t tell you what to provide.  Of course, you knew that. Just know there’s a good bit of travel involved.
• The Business Partners at the Home Office Who Need You To Be Great: In addition to interacting with your field HR team and the operations leaders at each of the facilities, you’ll have access to four Operations leaders at HQ who are looking to you to be their peer.  Not someone handling transactions, their peer.  Making bad stuff go away and good stuff that’s not expected be developed and implemented daily.

KD’s comments: We just took any concerns you had about the scope of the role off the table.  It’s the real deal, with enough complexity to keep you challenged for the long term and some great people we’ve already met to keep it fun. 

2. What’s In It For You, What You’ll Be Doing in this Role and as a Result, What You Need to be Good At

This is where most marketing documents for open positions show a long list of things they want the right candidate to have.  We’re going to give you six things you need to bring to table, how you’ll use them and how you’ll grow as a result.  Here’s what we need you to have:

• Strong Employee Relations chops.  As you might expect with 24 facilities, there’s always a need for a steady hand when it comes to all things employee relations-driven.  We need you to be able to handle the scope and volume of employee-relations issues this type of scale drives, and do it in a way that limits risk but is still viewed people-oriented.
• Deep Labor Relations Experience and Expertise.   A few of the facilities are organized, so we need you to be fluent in labor relations, contract negotiation, dispute resolution in an organized environment, etc.
• Experience managing, overseeing and mentoring a large HR staff in a manufacturing environment.  In this role, you’ll have 7 direct and 20+ indirect reports helping you get things done in the field.  That means we have a huge need for the hire we make to have great experience coaching, mentoring and growing the HR pros that report to them in a progressive type of way.  Do you have experience making HR Managers and Directors better professionally and ready to take on more responsibility?  If so, you might be the right hire.
• Labor Law Expertise at the Local, Process-Driven Level.  We’ve got plants.  There’s a lot of labor law that’s related to that.  We need you to be the expert in this area, but in a local, process-driven way that allows us to be in 100% compliance while driving the time spent by your HR team and the plants you serve in this area to the lowest amount possible.  Doing that gives everyone more time to spend on revenue-generating activities.
• Strong HR Generalist Background Allowing You to Develop and Deploy Programs as Needed.   Employee Relations will always be at the top of the list for this job, but we need you to have a strong generalist background in HR Leadership, with the knowledge and demonstrated capability to sense what’s needed, develop programs as necessary (with and without the help of your peers in Talent Acquisition and Comp/Benefits) and execute those programs for business results.  Performance Management?  Leadership Development?  Managerial training at the plant level?  Yes, please.  And more.
• Specific Understand of Recruiting Best Practices and Execution in a Manufacturing Environment. Good news – you’ve got a peer as part of the HR Leadership team who is an expert in Talent Acquisition.  That’s a great reason to take this job, but we’ll still need you to be an expert in what it takes to go into a specific geographical area surrounding a plant and help develop and execute a plan allowing Masonite to get the local talent it needs to reach its production goals.  We’ve got 24 plants.  That means there are 24 different formulas you’ve got to figure out since each plant is unique related to the talent market in which it resides.
• Experience in Making Managers of People at the Plant Level Not Need You (as Much).Let’s face it – your Employee Relations platform is only as good as the managers/supervisors you have in the plants.  With that in mind, we’re looking for a partner who can craft a short/intermediate/long-term plan designed to make our “managers of people” better.  We know you’re probably great at putting out fires.  We want you to show us how to prevent them through building better managers and supervisors.

KD’s comments:   I know. Just six things listed we need you to be good at, but they cover a lot of real estate, don’t they?  What’s in it for you if join the team?  Unlimited opportunity to lead and build what you’ve always wanted to build related to a field-focused HR practice.  Read on.

3. Who You Have to Influence on the Business Side

As we mentioned earlier, who you have to influence on the business side of the operation is pretty simple.  You’ve got the operations leaders at each of the facilities and you’ll have four Operations leaders at HQ who oversee that group that are looking to you to be their peer.

KD’s comments: The most important thing here?  Like most operators, these folks don’t want someone in HR to dictate from a policy manual.  That’s necessary at times, but what they really want is someone who can help them figure talent-related issues out. Not someone handling transactions, their peer.  Making bad stuff go away and good stuff that’s not expected be developed and implemented daily.  We’ll be digging into your approach related to how you do this in the interview process.

4. Who You Have to Coach, Grow and Mentor on the HR Side

Last but certainly not least, we want you to know that there’s a need for the hire we make to have great experience coaching, mentoring and growing the HR pros that report to them in a progressive type of way.  Do you have experience making HR Managers and Directors better professionally and ready to take on more responsibility?  If so, you might be the right hire.

KD’s comments:  It’s a great role.  I think the right candidate could come from a couple of different places, most likely a company with a large scale manufacturing base and great human capital strategy who feels like things have gotten just a bit too bureaucratic over the last couple of years, or an up and comer who’s built similar infrastructure and wants to do it again in an even bigger environment.

Legal Said I Had To Break Out Some Qualifications and Requirements In a Bulleted Fashion: (plus some of you need this, so here you go)

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field required; Master’s Degree in HR, OD preferred
• 20 + years HR experience including 8-10 years of management and senior leadership experience
• Significant experience in a manufacturing environment
• SPHR / PHR certification is a plus
• Must have experience in a union environment negotiating labor contracts
• Experience as a strategic HR business partner developing HR strategy in conjunction with senior leadership. Ability to move from the strategic to the tactical seamlessly.
• Strong executive presence and presentation skills
• Ability to collaborate and work with all levels in the organization
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), strong interpersonal skills, time management skills, and team-building skills are essential for success
• Training, facilitation, coaching, and leadership skills
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)
• Ability to handle multiple priorities, a high level of initiative, strong problem-solving skills and good judgment.

Submittals for this opportunity are being handled by Kris Dunn. Please apply here and Kris will have direct access to your resume. Be sure to ask him for a packet of company information and intelligence that you can use to separate yourself from the pack in this search.  If that sounds like too much work, you’re probably not right for the role.  However, if you’ve made it this far and are energized by the opportunity, hit us with your resume and ping Kris on Twitter.

 

Noah Kagan on "Why I Got Fired From Facebook - a $100 Million Dollar Lesson"...

Capitalist readers - allow me to introduce you to someone you should know - someone who surely hates bad HR, but might actually appreciate the readers of the HR Capitalist.

Meet Noah Kagan - he's a former early Facebook employee who went on to do great work at Mint.com, and more recently has founded a cool little site for entrepreneurs to learn what they need to know called AppSumo, which I've ordered from and I love.  

I don't know Noah and this isn't a paid post.  I just dig his world view.  Here's how to learn more about him:

Noah's Blog - OkDork

AppSumo - his current company

A great video interview with Noah which gets inside his head about growing a business and doing what makes you happy...

And finally, according to the title - his story about getting fired at Facebook in the early days.  Check it out:

"Let me start in reverse.

I can tell you every detail of the day I got fired aka “let go” aka “down-sized” aka “shit-canned.”

I thought I was going to a routine coffee with my boss and randomly saw Matt Cohler sitting at the table inside (surprising)!

I knew something was amiss. Matt broke the news quickly and I was in dead-shock as the words came out of his mouth. They walked me back to the office and removed my laptop and my cell phone.

Then I proceeded to the Verizon store to use their phone, called my gf (at the time) and drove to the house I shared with 6 other FB guys.

Packed up all my stuff in my CRX, smoked a 1/2 pack of cigarettes on the balcony and drove to my friend Johnny’s place. It took me a bit to let my mom know and I slept on Johnny’s couch for a few days, thanks J!

Later that night we had a bbq at this place and everyone was asking me how the job was going….#awkward

I kept drinking that night to pass out and pray this was all a bad dream."

After a period of self-reflection, Noah goes on to evaluate his responsibility in getting fired from Facebook, the types of employees he looks for as a result, and more.  It's a great read, so go check it out and take a look at his blog and AppSumo while you're at it.  

You'll be glad you did.  I think we ought to be more like Noah in HR.