Just more HR stuff

Find two great HR online resources :)

Workforce Managezine and the blog The HR Capitalist

Engagement Factors Vary by Country, Business, Function

Engaging employees to drive global business success: insight from Mercer’s What’s Working research

Find the analysis of Mercer’s What’s Working studies (free download report) at http://www.mercer.com/summary.jhtml/dynamic/idContent/1142165

Additional reports are also available for each researched countries.

The report shows how much employees’ perceptions of their work environments and the drivers of engagement differ around the world. “Differences by countries” in the last couples of pages snapshot the important findings, revealing how employees perceive their work experiences differently. Pretty interesting.

Below is the news at SHRM summarizing this report, highlighting the key findings

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Engagement Factors Vary by Country, Business, Function

By Kathy Gurchiek

(retrieved from SHRM newsletter at http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_024345.asp)

The factors that drive employees to be engaged in their work and motivate them to go beyond stated expectations vary not only from country to country but also by industry sector and within companies, according to recent research conducted among 22 countries.

It’s important for organizations expanding globally to understand what engages its workforce, according to Mercer, which has conducted the national “What’s Working” studies over the past several years.

Even among organizations with global locations that share workplace characteristics, such as English as a first language, differences in national culture, market conditions and the state of economic development influence employee engagement, according to Mercer.

Workers in the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, share only one engagement driver—a sense of personal accomplishment—rated first and second in importance, respectively.

However, the top drivers in the United Kingdom “paralleled six of the top drivers in Asia’s top market, China,” the report noted.

“Even if business leaders of multinational companies know how to engage staff in their home country offices, they might not succeed in delivering the most value for their HR investments if they simply transfer HR policies and practices to other countries,” the report says.

In looking to engage employees, Mercer reports, employers must:

• View global HR decisions in the context of national culture.

• Use valid research—not stereotypes—to align HR practices for a local population with actual employee attitudes and perceptions.

• Remember that the norm for engagement varies widely from country to country, making it critical to have data on national norms to interpret employee surveys correctly.

• Realize the elements that create engagement also create the employment brand.

• Understand that how the organization conducts its work reflects its organizational culture. How employees are treated reflects how they treat customers or clients.

Employers want workers who are “truly engaged in their work and the success of the organization,” said Patrick Gilbert, a principal and employee research expert at Mercer, in a January 2008 press release.

An engaged employee has a vested interest in the employer’s success and whose performance level exceeds his or her job requirements. These are employees, says Gilbert, who help their organization establish a competitive advantage and drive business performance.

However, “the drivers of engagement vary from country to country and from company to company. Even within companies, the drivers will vary across different businesses and functional areas,” he said.

“That’s why it’s important for employers to identify and manage the unique drivers of engagement within their own organizations. This way they can achieve maximum return on investment for their HR spending,” Patrick added.

There are four drivers of engagement that are consistent among employees around the world—the work itself, including opportunities for development; confidence and trust in leadership; recognition and rewards; and organizational communication that is delivered timely and in an orderly way.

The top factors by country, according to the findings:

• Australia: Quality of workplace relationships, including coaching.

• Brazil: Sense of personal accomplishment, confidence in senior management, training opportunities, fair pay based on performance, good reputation for customer service, comparable benefits to industry.

• Canada: Being treated respectfully, good work/life balance, feeling they can provide good service to the clients or customers.

• China: Sense of personal accomplishment, fair pay based on performance, good reputation for customer service, comparable benefits to industry, confidence in senior management, IT systems support business needs, training opportunities, regular performance feedback.

• France: Work/life balance, providing good customer service, being treated respectfully.

• India: Type of work, promotion opportunities.

• Japan: Base and incentive pay.

• Sweden: Respectful treatment, type of work they are involved with, sense of personal accomplishment.

• United Kingdom: Sense of personal accomplishment, confidence in senior management, training opportunities, fair pay based on performance, good reputation for customer service, comparable benefits to industry.

• United States: Confidence that career objectives can be met, sense of personal accomplishment, confident in organization’s success, quality is a high priority, opportunity for growth and development, information and assistance to manage career; flexibility to provide good customer service.

Companies typically can get a sense of what engages their employees by conducting employee surveys; ideally any issues that are identified are followed by some kind of action, Mercer notes.

Be wary of misinterpreting results, though.

“When an organization looks at its own employee survey data, it needs to take these [cultural] differences into account,” Gilbert said.

Not doing so could cause an organization’s leaders to assume that there are significant issues among its Japanese workforce and fewer issues with its Mexican workforce when, Gilbert said, “employee survey scores simply tend to be lower in Japan and higher in Mexico” when those workers rate employer performance.

It would be helpful for the employer to know if a broad cross-section of employers in that country also receives a low performance rating, Mercer points out in its paper.

Mercer’s most recent findings are based on 130 questions to working adults on a dozen topics: work processes; ethics and integrity; quality and customer focus; immediate manager; communication; performance management; work/life balance; compensation, benefits and recognition; job security and career growth; leadership and direction; teamwork and cooperation; and training and development.

Its latest findings are highlighted in the Mercer paper Engaging employees to drive global business success.

THINK BIG ACT SMALL

THINK BIG ACT SMALL
_How America’s Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive

First time reading this book, it reminds me "Good to Great", my favorite business strategy book. The approach the author employed here is a little similar to that one: with systematic approach to discover what and why contribute to company’s consistent high performance.

Jason Jennings, who is also the author for best selling books "Less Is More" and "It's Not the Big Eat the Small... It's the Fast That Eat the Slow", has well done by highlighting the key findings using the title “Think Big, Act Small”, and summarizing how these companies think big but act small with 10 key building blocks, including

1. Down To Earth (about the leadership and the culture)
2. Keep Your Hands Dirty
3. Make Short-Term Goals And Long Term Horizons
4. Let Go
5. Have Everyone Think And Act Like An Owner
6. Invent New Businesses
7. Create Win-Win Solutions
8. Choose Your Competitors
9. Build Communities
10. Grow Future Leaders

I particularly like “Let Go” and “Choose Your Competitors” sections.

Letting go could be harder than creating your competitive advantage or sustaining your success. Letting go of what you’ve always been, and knowing when to let it go or stick it out won’t be an easy one. Be able to face the brutal reality, going for best result, rather than pursuing egos.

For “Choose Your Competitors”, I think it belongs to “Think Big” part based on Jason’s point. More precisely, I would say “Think STRATEGICALLY”. With all the hard work (“Act Small”), you still won’t be able to succeed without the right choice of competition. YOU should smart CHOOSE the competition you want to go up against. Think and ask: what can make you own your space, while preventing someone from coming directly after you?

Third but not the last to take away is the reminder from Charles Darwin, in On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection: “…. It is NOT the strongest of species that survive, or the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change”. Yes, the most adaptable one beats! Even though it has been quoted so many times anywhere, it really touches me every time when I read it.

The Top 25 HR Blogs

The Top 25 HR Blogs
_By David Hakala on December 19, 2007
(retrieved from HR World http://www.hrworld.com/)

Surveying the HR blogosphere can be like searching for a rose in a desert. The landscape is littered with abandoned efforts, but there is a close-knit family.

• Career Hub: This blog focuses on career and job-search strategies and tactics. No fewer than 24 career-counseling and employment professionals contribute to its content. Career Hub contains a wealth of information.
• Cheezhead: Author Joel Cheesman is one of the most widely read bloggers on emerging recruitment issues and has won several “best of” awards in the category. The tiniest new development doesn't get past Cheesman, and he’s guaranteed to blog about it.
• SixDegrees from Dave: Dave Mendoza is recognized for his expertise in the integration of sourcing methodologies, employment branding and recruitment techniques. SixDegrees from Dave spotlights HR industry leaders, sourcing gurus, global staffing practices and social networking.
• Gautam Ghosh: A prolific blogger, HR management consultant Gautam Ghosh writes from India, though most of his posts on every conceivable HR topic have a global tone to them.
  Insourced's Employment and Jobs Blog: It’s hard to say which is more attractive, the blog or the job-search engine. The blog touches on issues ranging from job hunting to work/life balance, while the search engine covers the entire United States.
• Evil HR Lady: Written anonymously by “an HR professional in a Fortune 500 company,” this blog reeks of “been there.” The Evil HR Lady has seen it all, done it all and blogs about it all.
• good to know: Martin Burns, recruiting manager for ZoomInfo Inc., writes this blog about career-search and recruitment practices. Tips on interviewing from either side of the desk, how to source candidates online, what to wear (never sandals) and how to write a cover letter are all covered.
• GoodRecruits: Robert Merrell, a technical recruiter and talent manager for executives, hiring managers and job seekers, writes the GoodRecruits blog. His main theme is how to use blogs as marketing and communications tools in job searches or recruiting.
• HR Tests: Written by Bryan Baldwin, an HR consultant in Olympia, Wash., this blog has timely news of laws, regulations, products and conferences concerning testing and assessment instruments. Baldwin also writes the HR Coal blog, which deals primarily with the management of technical talent.
• HR Thoughts: A good all-around HR blog covering everything from recruitment to EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs) to performance evaluations to professional book reviews and more. It's written by Lisa Rosendahl, an HR manager in a medical facility.
• Beyond HR: Written by an anonymous HR professional, this blog covers the leading edge of employment branding, search-engine sourcing and other modern HR innovations.
• Dr. John Sullivan & Associates: Sullivan is a consultant to management on everything related to HR. His blog is full of articles on college recruiting, employee-screening and -assessment tests, training, and new-hire orientation.
• HR and Strategies: This graduate student combines HR philosophies and news in a blog that is at once thoughtful and informative.
• HR Daily Advisor: Published by BLR Business & Legal Reports, a vendor of training aids and resources for HR professionals, HR Daily Advisor offers a deep and broad archive of tips on ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), compensation, FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act)/wages, harassment, hiring and recruiting, general HR management, and more.
• HRMetrics.org: HRMetrics.org is all about things that can be measured and how to measure them — from retention effectiveness to home worker productivity.
• HR Web Café: This blog concerns general workplace issues, employment matters and work trends. Sponsored by ESI Employee Assistance Group (an EAP), its posts are frequent and detailed.
• Breaking Human Resource News: This is a welcome blog, serving up constantly updated news about products and services for the HR professional, from software to EAPs.
• CharlotteRecruiting: Written by a recruiting specialist in Charlotte, N.C., this blog has advice on managing staffing firms, interviewing and other recruiting topics.
• Jibber Jobber: Jason Alba runs this popular blog, which is heavy on summaries and links to other HR bloggers’ posts. This is a great blog for quickly scanning the best posts of the day. Jason’s own posts and guest bloggers make insightful reading, too.
• Chief Happiness Officer: Consultant Alexander Kjerulf teaches HR departments and entrepreneurs how to transform their workplaces from dreary and stressful to fun, energized and happy.
• http://www.generationsatwork.net/: This blog will help you relieve the tensions among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y workers. It is written by Russell Eckel, an expert in organizational and workforce development who now consults mainly on the Millenial Generation.
• Human Resources 101: As the title implies, this blog steps through the nitty-gritty of HR management and policy development, with topics such as “How Graphic Should A Workplace Safety Ad Be?” and “50 Behavior-Based Interview Questions.”
• Employment Law Blog: Check out this great blog to learn how to throw an office party without being sued, download forms, stay abreast of employee-rights decisions and much more.
• Inside Human Resources Blog: A good place to learn about trends in workforce demographics and the attitudes of younger generations.
• The Human Capitalist: A well-informed review of news about HR technology written by industry guru Jason Corsello, a vice president with HR technology consultancy Knowledge Infusion.

RELATED ARTICLE:
The Top 25 HR Influencers of 2007
Harness the HR Potential of Blogs and Wikis

Merger and Acquisition_Human Capital Factors

In the last couples of months, I have worked on the process mapping for the HR aspects of Merger and Acquisition. It has been a very COOL job to codify the integration process for consistency and efficiency with the creation of the long term value and impact.
The complexity of M&A couldn't be stressed even more, especially from Human Capital and Org Culture Integration perspectives.
Just found several reports from the MMC, and belows are two Mercer reports nice done to give you quick snapshots:

M&A in Emerging Markets: The Human Capital Challenge (BRIC)

M&A in Asia Pacific: The Human Capital Factor

The 48 Laws of Power

The 48 Laws of Power

(check it out at wiki; btw, Sun-Tzu's The Art of War is a very good one too. Worth reading!)

For me, it is a good book about the human being. Why? Because understanding the nature of human being is the first step to learn how to master the game of power.

“Learning the game of power requires a certain way of looking at the world, a shifting of perspectives. It takes effort and years of practice, for much of the game ma not come naturally. Certain skills are required, and once you masters these skills you will be able to apply the laws of power easily…”

“The laws are based on the writings of men and women who have studies and mastered the game of power. These writings span a period of more than three thousand years … ”

(quoted from “The 48 Laws of Power”)

The book is thick with lots words. If you don’t have time, you could go browsing these 48 laws and I am pretty sure you would sort of getting some connections to your experiences also.

Ready For Anything

Ready For Anything
_52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life

The author has done very good job by giving many principles about how to make your daily life more productive. Don’t ignore the little stuff. Through daily accumulation, you would be surprised how much time and effort you might have wasted on the unproductive things.

These principles are pretty practical, but I think it is also the same important as to develop and integrate them into your own ways to efficiently and effectively manage the life based on your personal needs and goals.

Make these principles work for you, not work for “principle” itself.

SINK or SWIM

Sink or Swim
_New job. New Boss. 12 weeks to get it right.

This book is pretty hands-on and easy to follow with its clear structure and layout.

I have searched and looked for good guide books for new hires for a while. “The First 90 Days “is good, but it's better for people in “management/leader position”. This is totally suitable for very new hire. It provides the weekly planning and suggestions focused on 5 main sink-and-swim skills: Goals, Time, Knowledge, Team, and Image.

Even through it's designed for facing the new job or new work situations, I would say it is also helpful as a guideline to periodically check our progress and performance up. : )

Never Eat Alone

Never Eat Alone

_ and other secrets to success, one relationship at a time

If you want me to name several things that changed my life, this book would be one of them.

It is not just a book about networking or relationship, but a way of living to connect the people around you to make the world a little better. I cannot agree with Keith’s points even more. I like the underlying values/concepts he talked about. Highly recommended.

Have one, read and execute it. You will be amazed about how things change around you. Enjoy it!

The First 90 Days

The First 90 Days
_ critical success strategies for new leaders at all levels

This book provides very comprehensive knowledge and researches about leadership transition and development with hands-on models. If you are interested in this area, this is the book you would love to read. I have heard a lot about it since I start my HR career, it is highly recommended especially for professionals who work in Learning and Development, or doing the leadership succession planning.

In addition to these professionals, it is also good for everyone who wants to become a leader to get it. But it might be a little bit “too HR” book for you. So I made some summaries from the content as presentation slides (let me know if you're interested in). If you have gotten several years working experiences as a background , I think it should be enough to go through the slides and catch the main ideas about how “The First 90 Days” matters, and how to make it work.

Expatriate Compensation Trends in China

Expatriate Compensation Trends in China
http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=23705

Trend: global talent, but local pay. ><

Leadership

Empathy Matters Most for Effective Leadership

(cited from WorldatWork Newsline)

Dec. 27, 2007—While senior executives are rated highest in business competence, it is their empathy and trustworthiness that are the best predictors of overall effective leadership, according to a study of 1,405 leaders in 47 organizations.

The six-year study by global consultants BlessingWhite analyzed feedback on the executives from nearly 8,000 colleagues including direct reports, peers and superiors. Respondents were asked to rate the individuals in 54 areas, which were combined into eight categories spanning both business and personal characteristics.

Not surprisingly, the executives were generally rated highest in the core competencies of business aptitude, responsibility, clarity and internal attunement/self-confidence. Nevertheless, it was high scores in empathy and trustworthiness, followed by business aptitude, that were found to be most predictive of high ratings for leadership effectiveness.

What are leaders good at? (ratings highest-to-lowest)

business aptitude
responsibility
clarity
internal attunement
trustworthiness
empathy
external attunement
depth

What matters most? (correlation with effectiveness)

empathy
trustworthiness
business aptitude
depth
external attunement
clarity
responsibility
internal attunement

“It’s revealing that although leaders advance within the organization by mastering the core business skills,” observed BlessingWhite CEO Christopher Rice, “once they’re on top they don’t necessarily demonstrate the personal characteristics that are needed to connect with colleagues and employees or build loyal relationships, and as a result they fail as leaders.”

According to Rice, the leadership gap may not become an issue when times are good. “People will usually follow their superiors who, after all, have the title, credentials or charisma. BuPublish Postt getting employees to stay engaged in difficult times amid turmoil and many unknowns…that’s when empathy becomes crucial. An effective leader has to be able to understand others’ feelings and needs, and to generate trust. It’s personal qualities such as empathy and trustworthiness that can make all the difference.”

Of the study subjects, 37% were vice president or above and 45% were directors or managers. 40% were between 31-40, 39% 41-50, and 15% more than 50. Two-thirds were men and 43% earned an advanced degree. Feedback was provided by 7,924 individuals.

BlessingWhite is a global consulting firm dedicated to creating sustainable high-performance organizations.

[www.blessingwhite.com]

International HR

Consulting resources:
http://www.eca-international.com/

International Pay Rate

http://culpepper.com/eBulletin/2007/DecemberCompensation.asp

If interested in more survey findings about compensation and beneftis, check out
The Culpepper eBulletin Newsletter
http://culpepper.com/ebulletin/default.asp