CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: Be Willing to be Fired as an HR Leader for What You Believe In...

Here's an interesting snippet from a conversation I had recently.

My Friend:  "Wanted to get your take about the following.  I've heard people say that if you are not willing to be fired as an HR Leader for what you believe in, you're probably not doing your job.  Thoughts?"

Wow.  That's loaded.  First up, having courage to say what you believe in, point out what's wrong and walk if you don't get your way isn't a bad thing.  I get it.  It's good to say and if laws are being broken, it could certainly be someone's reality.

But... A big part of me believes if it comes to that, you may have been lax in your ability to build your influence in the organization across time.  Do you simply say what's wrong and demand change?  What about the 1000 other gray-area things that came up with your business partners over the last couple of months?  Did you find a way to be flexible and get their needs taken care of without being a bureaucrat? If you would done more of that over the last year, wouldn't you have the influence necessary to leverage those in question to get change without threatening to quit?

Good to say you'll quit when things look wrong.  Sadly, you've got some responsibility in the lead up to that inflexion point.  

It's never that simple.  I'm out.

The Capitalist Reading List for the Holiday Week...

Here it is:

Ambitious to say the least.  Background on each book:

The Alchemist:  It's the Kinetix holiday book for our customers and friends.  I've never read it, so I might want to get with it to be conversational with the folks we sent this out to.  I hear there's a homie named Santiago, some treasure, etc.  I'm down.

Free Darko's Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball:  The NBA has kicked off, and Free Darko's a place I go for the writing - regardless of the focus on sports.  I figure this book is a nice alternative way to be less pissed off about the NBA lockout.

Arguably - Essays by Christopher Hitchens:  Love him or hate him, Hitchens was one of the giants of political opinion in our lifetimes.  I'm about halfway through this 700 page monster, and I've already learned a bunch I didn't know historically about the founding fathers and Nazi Germany.  Hitch is great, passed away late this year though.  Nice one to pick up since it's filled with short essays and features that appeared in mags like Vanity Fair.  RIP Hitch, you will always be a giant in my eyes.

Have a great holiday week folks.  If you're in the office, no doubt you're kicking #@# because there's no one there to bother you.

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

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....

Ask Not Who the 1% Is: It Is You...

That's right, I said it.  You're the 1%.

It's been planes, trains and automobiles for me this week.  Last night, I sat on a runway for 2 hours in great weather in Phili, then missed my connection back home.  As a result, I spent the night in a room that Delta comped me for my troubles.  

It was a Days Inn in a rough section around the airport.  Last updated: 1983.  

I got a chance to talk to some people on the bus over and at the property this morning.  My conclusion - My life is pretty freaking comfortable, even though I like to think it's tough sometimes.

Perspective: Gained.

If you have the technology, time, focus, career desire, curiosity, <fill in the blank> to read this blog and others like it, you're in the 1%.  And the 1% isn't always about money. 

Trust me.

PICTURE: Why Older Generations Hate Younger Generations...

Capitalist Note after the email chain below...

-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Kris Dunn
To: Angela Dunn
Subject: RE: WINNING!!! 

That is classic.

He's waiting on me.

####!.

KD

On Tue, Nov 1, 2011 at 11:29 AM, Angela Dunn wrote:

WINNING!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Amy 
Date: Tue, Nov 1, 2011 at 8:48 AM
Subject: forward to your boys!
To: Angela Dunn 

Context of email from the Capitalist (In my best NFL Films Frozen Tundra Voice):  It was a cold day on the slightly frozen kudzu of Central Alabama.  

I'm in decent if not great shape.  So when my 11 year old son wanted to run a race my wife was helping plan, I said sure.  It was a 8K (5 mile) race, and the time above isn't terrible.  I run 5 straight 8:00++ miles and I feel like I've done my job.

There's just one problem.  See the kid giving a high five?  That's my son. He's high fiving me.  He finished a couple of minutes ahead of me.  I could have gutted it out and ran with him, but the guy in red is a friend and I just fell in with him during the race.  We talked a lot, so I can claim it was all about being social.

My kid beat me.

And you wonder why boomers won't get out of the way.  Who the hell does he think he is?  This is MY TIME, not his.

PODCAST: THE CYA REPORT (Pilot/Show #1, Recruiting Creatives, NLRB, E-Verify, Hyphenated Names)...

Some of you know I've got another blog called Fistful of Talent (we call it FOT).  I really need to make you more aware of what's going on at that multi-contributor blog.  Today, we're proud to launch a new product at FOT.  A podcast, aptly named THE CYA REPORT.

Here's how THE CYA REPORT podcast works.  We'll sling around a light item or two, bring in the highly opinionated Tim Sackett for news, then grab a guest to educate us on something we need some CYA on. In the future we'll have a quick hitting feature or two embedded in that format, but that's the way it's generally going to work.  Until the focus groups tell us it sucks, at which point we'll totally sell out and change it up.

Take a listen to our pilot via the flash player below (we'll work through iTunes, etc. in the weeks to come, if you don't see the player, just click the link for browser-based player), featuring the following features if you need to jump ahead:

Timestamp 2:20: Co-hosts Kris Dunn and Dawn Burke talk about keeping it real with a hyphenated name as a professional woman. Because let's face it, KD's an expert on this topic.  Also: Hungarian surnames are easy to remember.

5:12: Tim Sackett comes in with the news.  Topics: NLRB, e-Verify and discriminating against the unemployed.  We like one of these, hate another and are mixed on a third.

19:10: Why FOT believes in Jobvite (sponsor)

20:20: The CYA Report Interview with Jason Pankow of Microsoft Interactive.  Topic: Recruiting creative and technical talent at a place like Microsoft.  Ever wonder what it would be like to build a team to build a video game?  We've got that here.  Also available within - Jason's xBox handle so you can harass him on xBox live.

36:08: Why FOT reads Workforce.com (sponsor)

37:11: What we learned from the show, or why Tim became a Republican when he got old and crotchety.

Give it a listen, but remember, it's a pilot.  We're going to try and roll out a new podcast every couple of weeks, and we'll morph the show based on your feedback.  We're also going to work our game so it's no longer than 30 minutes, but that takes practice.  Drop us a comment with what you like, what was awful and what you'd like to see, etc.  Email us if it's too personal for public consumption, like a comment that Tim Sackett should be in jail for his worldviews.

Check out the CYA Report Below! Can't see the player? Click Here to Listen Now! 

Revenue Per Employee: The Only Performance Goal You'll Ever Need for HR Leaders

I've got an article up over at HR Examiner on the wisdom of using Revenue Per Employee to measure the effectiveness of HR leaders.  Here's a taste:

"How do you measure the effectiveness of an HR Leader?  I'll define HR Leader fairly broadly to keep everyone engaged - let's say that's not only those who lead the HR function for an entire company, but also those with generalist responsibility over a client group of employees.  If you support a line of business or a function and have a flock of employees to hire, train and fire, you're an HR leader.

Talking about the effectiveness and performance of HR is a black hole.  You've got the transactional side, performance, talent acquisition, etc.  All sub-areas of HR have metrics, and HR leaders have been told that measurement is the key to the HR function being viewed as strategic.

But the top 20 metrics you can site are really just white noise when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of an HR leader.

There's only one metric that really matters when measuring HR.  It's called Revenue Per Employee (RPE).  Take the revenue produced by your company or business unit and divide it by your total number of employee (FTEs for the budget geeks in the house).   

Compare Revenue Per Employee year over year for your HR leader.  Did it go up or down?  That's all you need to know. The rest is BS."

Plenty of feedback in my inbox and via DMs on Twitter.  The naysayers tell me that's an imperfect measure, citing the need to measure profit and the fact that all revenue isn't good revenue.  My response to both of those issues is pretty simple... An HR pro's contribution to profit is best measured by getting the most out of the people they have, and the demoninator of the formula (per employee) is actually an expense number measured by FTE's.    Lower revenue per employee means that you're likely delivering less potential profit to the company related to what you can control.  So profit is in there based on the revenue/headcout dynamic.

The side that says all revenue isn't good revenue?  Try telling that to a wise CEO that wants to measure you via Revenue Per Employee.  The thought may be true, but it's just noise and a reason to say no to the measurement.  Start focusing on Revenue Per Employee and let someone else figure out what's good and bad revenue.  We're not qualified to determine that, and all that thinking does is cause paralysis by analysis....

Check out the entire article here....

Capitalist Definitions: "HR Generalist"...

There's a big difference out there among otherwise like-minded people.  I'm not talking about GOP/Democrat, Coke/Pepsi or even Kobe/Lebron (what? that's just me?)...

I'm talking about the definition of the HR Generalist...

To many, the HR Generalist is an entry level HR pro, either doing transactions or a combination of transactions and early career HR exempt stuff, at a level I would call "HR Representative" or "HR Coordinator.  This tribe hears HR Generalist and thinks career level.

Me?  I hear HR Generalist and I think "responsibility for".  To me, an HR Generalist is someone who holds responsibility for most of the areas included in the HR domain - Recruiting, Performance, Comp, Employee Relations, Training, Payroll, Strategy, etc.  The Generalists I know might have specialists supporting them, but the Generalist is the one in the field, with a large client group, making it all happen.  They've got a flock that they are responsible for, and that flock views them as HR - across all the areas.  

In my world, the HR Generalist can be an HR Rep, HR Manager, Director of HR or a VP of HR.  If they have a client group in the field and they're responsible for supporting that client group across all areas, they're an HR Generalist in my eyes.

Long live the HR Generalist.  They get S### done.

Join Me In Vegas for HR Tech and HRevolution: Here's What We'll Do to Hang Out...

I’m not going to blow smoke up your shorts and tell you I know what’s going on in Vegas.

I don’t get Vegas. So if you’re coming for advice on what to do while you’re in town for the HR Technology Conference and/or HRevolution, I suggest you call Tim Sackett. He’s got Vegas sensibilities, all of which are detailed in this post at the HR Capitalist. Note the tour bus badge necklace in the picture embedded in that post. It says Vegas to me.

As an alternative, you could call Lance Haun for dinner suggestions. The last time I was in town, Lance handled dinner plans and we ended up at Benihana in the Hilton for dinner. That’s right – a garden variety Japanese grill that you can get in Nashville and Albany. Sinatra and Sammie use to be cornered up in a high-end club with the Rat Pack. Lance and I were ordering off a bent menu from a cook with noticeable body odor who ended up being one more “You look like a basketball player” comment from getting the beat down from this NBA rookie, who was at our table.

Still want to hang with me after hours in Vegas? Great, here’s how we’ll roll:

1. We’ll spend time at the Hilton Sports Book. I was raised in the heartland of Missouri and routinely mock those buying lottery tickets, thanking them for opting in to the voluntary tax on the uneducated. Like the church lady, I’m a little bit superior in this area. Betting on a game is the only way I can get myself to actually place a bet and enjoy it.

2. We’ll do a lot of walking, people watching and revisit every quote from Swingers and Oceans 11. If there’s one thing white guys can do, it’s recite direct quotes from movies we love. Sidenote – how the hell did Vince Vaughn get so heavy? Wow. PS: You’re like a big bear. You’ve got these claws. And you don’t know how to kill the bunny.

3. We’ll end up in the food court in the basement area of one of the big hotels to bask in the humanity. Ellis Island is shut down, but its spirit lives on in the low-end food court of any of the casinos, where all 50 states are represented across all socio-economic classes. Give me your huddled masses, your citizens in search of a crappy slice of pizza, or perhaps the casino combo. It’s the fuel they need to get back to the slots.

4. If we run out of cool things to see, we’ll head back to the conference hotel after texting Bill Kutik to watch him interact with the valet parking guy as he has his Alfa Romeo 159 pulled up. We’ll then ask him what he said to the Hertz rep to get that upgrade for the price of a midsize. He’ll rightfully beam with pride. Complimenting the host of HR Tech in a way that’s memorable to him – check.

I know. I’m a Vegas machine. I’ll be there all week for HR Tech, so tip your waitresses and please – try the veal.

Join me at HR TEch by registering online. Just enter HRCAPITALIST (case sensitive) in the Promo Code field and receive $500 off the conference standard rate of $1,795. You pay only $1,295 for everything but only before the discount expires on September 19 – just days away.

Is a Presentation From Tony Hsieh of Zappos Enough? (#HRFL11)

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh keynoted HR Florida this morning.  Before I go off on a rant, let me say this – I’m a fan of HR Florida, Zappos and Tony Hsieh.

Tony Hsieh has done it – he’s built a great company and a culture at Zappos that can actually generate business and opportunity unrelated to the core business of his company – by talking to people about culture.   He’s a great speaker and the thoughts he shares on culture, building a company and chasing a bigger purpose are compelling.  I’m a buyer when he speaks.

HR Florida is a great conference.  I put it in my top two in the HR space:  HR Florida and the HR Technology Conference, which will be in Vegas in October.  Both shows do a great job with content, logistics and the thousand details that go into putting on a production of this size (HR Florida has 1,500+ attendees this year and in addition to Tony, also has Daniel Pink coming in on Wednesday).

The problem, as it so often is, is what people do once Tony pumps them up to change the world.  You want to be like Zappos.  I want to be like Zappos.  Let’s start with a couple of simple tweets I put out this morning while listening to Tony to see if you’re ready to do what it takes:

“Test for building your version of the Zappos culture: Are you willing to list every employee you have that’s active on Twitter on your company website?  #hrfl11”

“Be real and you have nothing to fear – Tag for transparency at Zappos.  #hrfl11”

What about it Sparky?  Are you willing to put up the 500 most active employees you have on twitter on a rolling widget on your corporate website and control none of the message?

No? Then you’ve got some work to do before you can be like Zappos.  Apparently people are real in your company – so real that you can’t tolerate the transparency of the exercise described.

If you won’t show off your team members in that way, it’s usually because you think some of them are not ready for prime time.  And that’s the point.  The naysayers to me claiming that a keynote from Tony isn’t enough will say, “Kris, Tony doesn’t advocate being like Zappos.  He thinks you should build it in the way you want.”

The naysayers are right.  But I suspect Tony would be a huge advocate of doing whatever it takes to reset your culture and have actual values you are willing to hire and fire by.  That doesn’t mean you have to copy what Zappos has done.  It does mean that you should take down the plaque that espouses Integrity, Communication and Teamwork and see if they really drive your culture.  Of if they’re just hollow values written on paper that no one can recite, and certainly no one lives by.

The real issue with having a supernova like Tony deliver a keynote at a great show like HR Florida is the lost opportunity.  Other keynotes are simply aspirational.  They're present to pump you up, often with stories that have nothing to do with HR.  Not Tony.  Culture is in the wheelhouse of what HR is supposed to own.  But no one really knows how to get started.  How do you reset a culture that's driven by your founder being around for the last 20 years and doing it the way he (and his wife) wanted?  Scary stuff for most HR pros to think about taking on.

I’d love to see a conference track after a Zappos keynote that really challenges and develops those who are interested in taking the pain that’s necessary to reset their corporate culture.  I’d love to see that track arm HR pros with tools that can help them make the case.  First conference that really tries to dig in and make HR pros who volunteer uncomfortable after a big meaty keynote wins.  Big.

Tony Hsieh: +1.  HR Florida: +1.  What HR pros do next after hearing Tony speak:  Not registering a score at this time.

(check out all the tweets from HR Florida by searching the hashtag #hrfl11)