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December 2020

Thinking About Work in 2021: It's Probably Time To Get Out of the Fetal Position...

December 29, 2020

It's the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, and for me that means I'm working, but a bit reflective on the year we've just had. That's me every year during this time, but obviously, 2020 makes you reflect even deeper.

As I think about 2020 and what I want for me, my company and the world of work in 2021, one phrase comes to mind:

"Let's Get Out of the Fetal Position"

There's a multiple reasons that 2020 put a bunch of incredible people on the defensive about doing their best work:

--Pandemic
--Widespread Social Change
--Political Firestorm
--Cancel Culture, Virtue Signaling and Shaming for anyone who dares to stray from the promoted mainstream media norm on the issues above

Add it all up, and it's fair to say that most of us haven't done our best work in 2020. And that's a shame, because so many of you are kick ass talents at what you do. But there's been risk in 2020, and you did what you had to do.

Congrats, you made it through.

What comes next?

For me, I have to get back to playing offense. That's where I'm at my best, and on most of the issues where I might stray from the promoted mainstream media norm, there's no question in my mind that my views are valid and deserving of a view.

Of course, there's also the value of doing the work the right way. Check out this great video of JJ Watt of the Houston Texans talking about doing the work and why it's important. I watched it and thought about all the excuses that are around us why we shouldn't be at our best at our companies. Are many of those reasons valid in 2020? Sure - but the question is how long does all the change we've experienced in 2020 impact the work you do in a negative way?

The work, as it turns out, deserves the best you. The people around you remember the best you - the pre-2020 version. They believe in that version of you, and you owe it to them, the business and yourself to provide that.

Work matters. But half-assed, scared work matters much less than the best version you can provide.

My biggest resolution for 2021 is to get back to playing offense.

What about you?

Posted at 12:55 PM in Career Advice, Change, Performance Management | Permalink | Comments (6)

Resilience and the Art of Taking an "L" As a Predictor of Talent Success...

December 10, 2020

When it comes to long-term success for a working class professional in today's world, nothing is more important than knowing how to "take the L".

Let me explain.

"L's were taken" or "Take the L" has been around in phraseology since the early 2000's. Here's the Urban Dictionary cite:

TAKE THE L

Stands for "Take the loss". Frequently used to describe flunking a test, being dumped, being stood up, being beaten up or robbed, or losing one's money in the stock market, gambling, or through exploitative business schemes. I really took the L on that history exam.

While those cites are mostly from one's personal life, Taking the L as a skill is easily transferred to the professional realm.

Note from my personal life: I've got a son in an Engineering program, and it's been a challenging first couple of years. He's not a 4.0, but he works his ass off, and to his dismay, he doesn't always see correlational results to that work (from his view). I've tried to counsel him on what's coming for him in the professional world when he gets there. The guidance goes something like this:

"I take L's every week, sometimes every day in my business life. That meeting didn't go as well as it should have. Someone tells me "no" on new business. The L's are everywhere if you look hard enough."

We're trained by social media that life is nothing but success. Social media is bullshit, and comparison is the thief of joy.

Nobody loses on social media, and kids get a lot of trophies growing up these days. Everyone, it seems, is a snowflake.

But the L's are coming for them in life and at work.

With that in mind, the counsel to me son goes like this:

"In baseball, failing 8 of 10 times at bat (hitting .200) confirms you're no good. Failing 7 of 10 times (hitting .300) makes you an All-Star.

"Teams in Major League Baseball are desperately trying to get to a 92-70 win/loss record so they can make the playoffs (success!) as a Wild Card.

"Professional life is a lot like the MLB. You're trying to get to 92-70. Take the L and do the work in your career - there's a game the next day."

Of course, what we should be looking for is resilience in candidates as we recruit. Can they take a loss and rebound? Resilience is hard to measure, and in my opinion, it's driven by a few things:

1--Behavioral makeup - Sensitivity as a behavioral measurement matters. Low sensitivity people can take rejection, high sensitivity people take longer to recover. Assertiveness is also a tag along trait we should measure as well to look at resilience. Taking an L in the workplace is going to make people with low assertiveness even more unlikely to get back in the game the next day.

2--How someone grew up and overall hunger level - Silver spoons haven't taken as many L's. Understanding how someone grew up can tell you a lot about how bothered they are going to be when Cheryl throws up all over their idea in a team meeting.

3--Mentoring to this point in their career - It's true, guidance in the professional realm matters. The more you've had someone who has seen you fail and been a muse for you - in big ways and in small ways - the more likely you are to have resilience and the perspective that proceeded your desire to show up the next day and grind.

If you're looking for someone with resilience, spend some in the recruiting process digging into to how they bounce back and what happens after a big/small failure. If you're looking to grow resilience on your team, talk more about reactions to failure and setbacks.

You want a team that can take an L. Most of us are striving to go 92-70 in the game of life and squeak into the playoffs.

Posted at 03:19 PM in Change, Culture, Leadership, Manager Tips, Managing, Performance Management | Permalink | Comments (3)

California's Affirmative Action Bill Defeat and the Future of Diversity Hiring...

December 08, 2020

Had the honor of talking to California reporter and resident John Hollon on my podcast (Best Hire Ever) about the November defeat of Prop 16 in California, which would have overturned past bans on Affirmative Action style quotas and preferences in public hiring, contracting and education in California.

Regardless of your position on any of the related issues, America is becoming increasingly multicultural, and there's a lot to unpack and think about with this surprising defeat in the Golden State. Worth a bit of time to consider for sure. #hrleadership #hr #diversityintheworkplace #diversityandinclusion #californialaw

Full podcast rundown appears below - something for everyone, regardless of your politics or view.

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

In Episode 22 of BEST HIRE EVER, Kris Dunn talks with California resident (born and bred) news editor and professor John Hollon about the defeat of Proposition 16 in the November 2020 election, which would have allowed the reinstatement of affirmative action style quotas and preferences in public hiring, contracting and education in California. Voters in the Golden state rejected it by a margin of 57% to 43%, even though proponents of the bill outspent the opposition by a margin of 16/1.

John and Kris have a wide ranging conversation about the bill, including John's rundown of the history of such legislation in the state and his reaction as a California resident. The conversation then turns to an examination of California's multicultural makeup and the fact it is a preview of the future version of America - and what we can learn about multicultural attitudes towards Affirmative Action and the impact of those diverse views to corporate DEI programs today and in the future.

Please subscribe, rate and review (Apple) and follow (Spotify) to get the latest delivered to you. Click here if you don't see the player below!

RESOURCES AND SHOW NOTES:

------------John Hollon

John Hollon on Linkedin

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kinetix

The HR Capitalist

Fistful of Talent

Boss Leadership Training Series

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

Posted at 09:25 AM in Best Hire Ever Podcast , Talent, Workplace | Permalink | Comments (3)

Here's Your ATS Market Share Rundown!

December 02, 2020

If there's one thing I love in the HR Tech Community, it's great recurring research - the type that's not a flash in the pan, but gets released every year so you can track changes. This type of research helps build a vendor/partner brand, and if done right, it's a total gift to folks like you and me. Example of companies that do this type of research include Jobvite and OnGig.

So let's talk about OnGig!

In Episode 21 of BEST HIRE EVER, I talked with Rob Kelly of OnGig to do a deep dive into OnGig's recent ATS (applicant tracking system) Market Share report. Focused primary on surveying enterprise-level companies, there's a ton of gold in the findings as Kris and Rob talk about the current state of the ATS market and compare and contrast what's happened in ATS-land since 2018. Spoiler alert - a LOT has changed.

Take a listen to hear the reactions to how the market has changed from 2018 to 2020, and be sure to go get the report which is linked to in the show notes.

Please subscribe, rate and review (Apple) and follow (Spotify) to get the latest delivered to you. Click here if you don't see the player below!

RESOURCES AND SHOW NOTES:

------------OnGig and Rob Kelly

OnGig

OnGig ATS Market Share Report

Rob Kelly on Linkedin

------------Kris Dunn

Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

Kinetix

The HR Capitalist

Fistful of Talent

Boss Leadership Training Series

Kris Dunn on Twitter

Kris Dunn on Instagram

Posted at 09:28 AM in Best Hire Ever Podcast , HR Tech, Recruiting | Permalink | Comments (3)

Pros and Cons of Florida Voting in the $15 Minimum Wage - It's Complicated...

December 01, 2020

By now, most of us have reached a steady state conceptually related to raising the minimum wage. Reasonable people can agree that we should pay people as close to a living wage as we possible can, right?

Then, of course, it all goes to hell.

Consider Florida's recent passage of Amendment 2 on Election Day 2022, which few are aware of and is going to shake things up in a big way. A few details from the Wall Street Journal:

"Florida voters’ approval of a $15 minimum wage is fueling the hopes of advocates who aim to pass similar measures in other states, though still-elevated unemployment and lower costs of living in rural areas remain challenges.

More than 60% of Florida voters supported Amendment 2 this month, setting the state on a path to a $15-an-hour minimum wage by 2026. The measure’s success was notable because of Florida’s conservative leanings and the struggles its vital tourism industry, where many low-wage workers are employed, has faced this year as it dealt with the shutdowns and travel restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Florida’s governor is a Republican, and voters there backed President Trump’s re-election bid."

States are starting to take things into their own hands as the Federal Minimum Wage sits at $7.25. I promised you Pros and Cons, so here goes - for Florida, but it really applies to any state looking to elevate the minimum wage to $15.

PROS

--People at the lower end of the labor pool have a better chance to make it on one job.

--That's about it, which is important, BTW.

CONS AND S**T TO FIGURE OUT

--Everything else.

It blew my mind a bit to see Florida carry this 60/40 in November. It's one thing to say you're raising the minimum at Disney, which once the pandemic recedes, has pricing power and leverage over all the people who long to wear mouse ears and eat a big drumstick walking around the park. For everyone else, it's a bit of a sh*tshow from a business perspective.

Here's my list of the biggest problems that business has to figure out - one that everyone knows and one that no one talks about.

1--Duh - It's a small business killer. Do the math for any owner of a Subway anywhere in Florida or an independent tourist-related business in International Drive in Orlando (the ones living on the edges of the Disney dream), and it's easy to see moving from $10 to $15 per hour is brutal. Where does the money come from? Well, it's either got to come out of your pocket as a consumer via price increases or the low margin businesses can't work.

2--The big hidden cost here is wage compression in any organization. Nobody talks about this one, but raising the minimum wage and increasing what you pay your entry level workers by $5-$7 not only increases your operating expenses, but it creates compression with all other experienced hourly workers, as well as the low-level salaried workers. The biggest place this hits is in your "leads" (the hourly folks with the most experience) and your first-level supervisors. You know what's coming - you either pay those people as well to eliminate the pay gap elimination that occurs due to a big bump in the minimum wage, or you deal with the festering dissatisfaction.

What you'll hear if you don't deal with the compression - "Well, why should I deal with all the BS if I can make roughly the same to just clock in and clock out - and I'm OT eligible"!!

Wage compression associated with the minimum wage increase is the storm on the horizon, the Jason from Friday the 13th with the mask/chainsaw.

Don't feel bad for Disney or any big company related to this - most aren't paying their share of taxes anyway, and this is just a redistribution related to what they should have been paying. Feel bad for any company with 100-1000 employees with moderate margins. Consumers aren't mature enough to consciously pay more in a rational exchange for the increased living wage. They migrate to where they get the same product the cheapest.

Hello living wage - a good thing. Goodbye lots of small businesses - a decidedly bad thing.

Get ready to see tenants in strip malls near you with 50% occupancy spaced out - with available spaces between active business - to maximize the appearance of a robust business environment. Good times.

Posted at 11:24 AM in Compensation, Economics | Permalink | Comments (2)