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I’ve always held the opinion that big organizations move at a snail’s pace. Every day, we see or read about bureaucracy – government is the biggest offender. But anyone who has worked with large NGOs (non-government, not for profit organizations), or giant corporations has tasted it. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule. The most valuable business on the planet has set a wonderful example for getting things done. But unlike Apple, most big companies don’t have the will or the way to cut through the quagmire of red tape to “just…

Each day HR professionals in companies of all sizes are addressing issues related to planning for the eventual departure of baby boomers from the workplace.  There is much talk of succesion planning as it relates to filling key positions and roles within these companies.  

In the midst of these conversations, another question needs to be raised: "Who will succeed our current generation of HR professionals?" 

Join us for #NextChat on April 18 at 6 p.m. ET, and we'll tackle questions such as Who's Next? -- Who will be the next…

Back in the fall, We Know Next published my blog, Why HR and the CEO should be joined at the Hip. According to SHRM, the blog struck a chord within the HR community. Conventional wisdom suggests the CEO’s most valued C-suite confidant should be the CFO. I’m not arguing that. During my CEO days, I was fortunate to work with two outstanding financial executives. I’m simply pointing out that a CEO has more than one hip, and with culture finally getting its credit as a key success factor, the time has come for…

I have recently been on the road at conferences and client visits and I have observed a recurring theme: there are a lot of HR Hoarders out there, both physical and intellectual. Take a few minutes and look around your workspace. Do you still have binders, folders and files full of old data? Maybe you’ve modernized, and they are digitized and in the cloud. More importantly, are these just iterations of a process your company (or you) has been doing for the last few years (or decades) that sits proudly on your bookshelf as a testament to…

Meeting the evolving needs of employers, recruiters, and the emerging workforce, Monster.com, the worldwide leader in connecting job seekers to opportunities, has released BeKnown, a professional networking app for Facebook where users can create professional networks in a Monster-type environment, without ever leaving Facebook. The app allows for the sharing of…

I am just back from the SXSW Interactive Conference where I spent time with tens of thousands of geeks, nerds, dorks, and techie wizards. Not everyone at the conference was a Gen Y hipster — although it felt that way. I was tremendously fortunate to meet amazing men and women of all ages who had impressive resumes and interesting stories.

The one unifying theme? Everyone in attendance was passionate about technology, mobile devices and digital media.

It was a fun scene. I couldn’t help but…

As 2011 draws to a close and a new year begins, SHRM is pleased to report that the global HR standards initiative has not only successfully launched but also continues to gather steam across the world.  As of the end of December, there are 13 participating countries and 19 observing countries from around the globe that are involved with ISO Technical Committee 260 for Human Resource Management.  Additional countries are expected to join the effort in 2012.  This assembled body will propose and develop global standards for topics within the purview of HR.     Why do standards matter for HR?   …

Numerous employment, labor and employee benefit laws regulate the American workplace.  Human resource professionals conduct business daily within this framework. But what if HR professionals helped shape these very laws and regulations?     Given HR’s unique knowledge and experience of implementing these laws within their organizations, wouldn’t their influence make for better HR public policy?  The answer is unequivocally YES, which is why the role of an HR Advocate is so important.   But what does being an HR ADVOCATE entail?  Consider these key elements of the job:   Activism – Engaging…

At the recent annual conference of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources, one message came through loud and clear. Repeated by multiple speakers, the concept was uttered best by Jon Love, former president of Pitney Bowes Government Solutions.   “I don’t need the HR police,” Love said.    What CEOs and other top business leaders want—and need—from the HR professionals in their organizations are solutions to problems. Telling the C-suite why they can’t do something isn’t helping the company, according to business leaders at…

For being a profession with heavy detail and conformity requirements, I’ve always wondered why we aren’t better at using the rigor of science within our work in Human Resources.  It would seem to me that the structure and process of the scientific method would appeal to us since we spend much of our time working with structure and process all day long. 

And yet, when we look at how we approach our work in HR, there’s not as much science…