My Strategic Guidance for SHRM - Have a Take X2
November 17, 2010
I recently contributed to a series at Voice of HR designed to give strategic guidance to SHRM for 2011 and beyond. I focused my advice on one thing - have a take, have an opinion. Here's a taste of what I shared at Voice of HR:
"My strategic guidance for SHRM is pretty simple. Have a take. Share your opinion.
SHRM's full of smart people at headquarters. I know because I've met many of them in person or talked to them over the phone over the last couple of years.
But I digress. My strategic guidance for SHRM is to identify the 30 people in the organization who have the ability to share opinions with the world related to their view of what's going on in the business world. HR is included in that world, by the way.
Find 30 people who have professional credibility, strong opinions and aren't afraid to share them with the world. They can be from any part of the organization, doesn't matter. Get those people writing opinions and talking about their views on what's going on. Promote the hell out of them, see if they're better than the HR voices that are out there now.... Put a Huffington Post feel over the top of all that basic content."
The main reason I focused on the need for SHRM to start brokering in opinions is the fact that HR people get paid to have opinions, to have takes. HR people can't afford to say middle of the road statements like, "we're not anti-union, we just.... blah, blah, blah...."
The best HR people tell you what they think. If SHRM wants to find new energy, they're going to have to start having a take, they're going to have to model that behavior. They have the talent to pull it off. The question is, will their culture allow it?
Sadly, the answer is probably no.
Case in point, I got a note from SHRM last week that was intended to give some great news to someone like me: HRCI (the certification arm of SHRM) has opted to give recertification credit to bloggers like me.
Nice.
Hold on, let's look at the fine print from the message I received:
"We plan to send out a release about the fact that the Institute has updated its Research/Publishing recertification category to allow for blog writers to get credit for fact-based blog posts. I thought you might be interested in hearing about it now, however, since you are an active blogger.
The new policy requires that the posts not be considered editorial-opinion, must be on a website that is accessible to the public and be at least 700 words long. If you are planning on coming to next week's SHRM Leadership Conference, it would be great to meet you and to get you in touch with <name removed for privacy>, as it was <name removed>'s team, along with a task force of HR professionals, who put the new policy together."
It's a classic case of not understanding what it takes to be an HR leader. Some smart people at HRCI have done a cool thing for people like me, and by allowing blogging to qualify for recertification credits, they've taken a step into the digital age.
But, by putting the restriction of "fact-based blog posts", they've shown one of two things related to what it takes to be an HR leader in the field:
A. They don't understand that HR leaders get paid to take the facts they're referring to, and have opinions about the best way for the business they support to proceed; or
B. They can't get their head around allowing that behavior to be credited in the certification process, which is a cultural, risk-adverse position that shows they'd rather be administrative than strategic.
To SHRM staffers reading this: I know you're sharp and smart. What can be done to change the culture and get the organization to start taking some risks and have opinions?
So, I can add some facts and make it more wordy than it needs to be - and "Boom!" - I have credits?! Looks like Timmy won't be needing to pay $2000 to go to SHRM National any longer - I just need to start re-editing my libary of posts.
Why 700 words? That's funny - why not 1000 or 300 - I really like that 700 words is now the official length of a "fact based, Professional Blog Post" - so has it be written, so will it be - Great job as usual SHRM!
Posted by: Tim Sackett | November 17, 2010 at 08:13 AM
Hey, it is a fact that I don't like unions.. does that count?
Posted by: Michael Haberman SPHR | November 17, 2010 at 08:16 AM
Love the Jim Rome reference
Posted by: John | November 17, 2010 at 08:17 AM
That sounds easy. I'm going to start blogging. 700 words. Check. Facts. Check. I think I'll call it "700 words based in fact." Don't steal that.
Posted by: Bret Starr | November 17, 2010 at 09:34 AM
Kris,
I had a very smart professor in college who once said in an upper-level HR class, "As a profession and an organizational role, human resources was legislated into existence."
So, it's not surprising that being administratively minded, and not strategic, is the BIGGEST wall that has to be crushed before SHRM, et. al will be what they can/should be, and not what they are.
Posted by: G5steven | November 17, 2010 at 11:21 AM
I also find it particularly ironic that it must be publicly accessible when so much of SHRM's content is not.
700 words? That's the magic cutoff when content goes from not valuable to valuable? I'm screwed!
Posted by: Chris Ferdinandi - Renegade HR | November 17, 2010 at 11:36 AM
As the musical genius Paula Abdul once said, "Two steps forward, one step back..."
http://youtu.be/xweiQukBM_k
MC Skat Kat just gets SHRM, Kris.
Posted by: Lruettimann | November 21, 2010 at 10:31 AM
Kris,
I actually spoke with HRCI when I was at SHRM Leadership and they are removing the 700 word restriction. Apparently, it was a suggestion by another blogger who suggested that the articles be seen as more educational or publication-like. Not sure who it was but very rarely are my blog posts ever 700 words. I also asked them about the editorial and opinion based part. They can be opinion based and should but these opinions should also be fact based just like a research paper or white paper in order to receive credit.
Honestly, I was quite impressed with their openness. We discussed the possibility of receiving credit for podcasts, videos, and other non-traditional tools that we bloggers and social media HR people use. It's a move in a good direction.
jessica
@blogging4jobs
Posted by: Jessica Miller-Merrell | November 29, 2010 at 10:43 PM