For me, the title of this blog is a continuous reminder of my first job. However, the lessons go much deeper.

As a 16 year old ride operator at Kings Island, I learned first-hand the importance of treating people with respect, even when they were not reciprocating. Whether it was working with the little kid rides or the biggest coasters, the emphasis on guest service was the same. Safety was 1st, always. Following that essential commitment, providing good guest service was the highest pillar we needed to achieve.

Those lessons continue to serve me well.

It was with some bemusement this summer when I had a chance to watch my son experience his first job. Asked recently what he learned, he replied that he learned he did not want to perform manual labor for the rest of his life!

For some others, the lessons included:

“I learned that people are not always upfront and honest”

“Having the right tools makes things easier”

“Corn leaves can be sharp”

As you continue through your work, take a moment to think back on your first job and reflect how a lesson learned continues to help or influence you today.

My son, an incoming junior in high school, finished his summer reading this past weekend, hasn’t located his backpack to use, and is spending more time worried about his appearance for school pictures on the 1^st day than on determining exactly where he is supposed to go first on the 1^st day!

My daughter, entering 7^th grade, has had her backpack prepped for a few weeks, rechecked it several times to ensure everything is in the correct order within the backpack, and already knows where her 1^st class is located so she can go right there when she arrives at school!

The vast differences in the preparation of these 1^st days I imagine are quite reflective of not only their personalities, but age too. While he would not admit it, there is excitement in my son to get going in this year. Meanwhile, my daughter certainly has apprehension of a new year with new teachers and the rise of additional expectations that come with each advancing year in school.

These are the same feelings that appear in our people at work from time to time too. I’m sure someone you work with is experiencing excitement about future possibilities while another may be feeling anxious over events where they have little or no control. What are doing to support this spectrum of humanity? Do you know where you fall on it?

One of the reminders that I am most likely to use at work this time of year as we have many new people joining the District is that while we in HR have heard a question many times, for this person, this is their 1^st time hearing our answer. Are we making sure that the answer is as complete and informative for this person as it was for the 1^st person who asked it on our 1^st day? It’s important that we make every effort to make it so!

Enjoy the 1^st day. While you’re at it, enjoy the 1000^th one just as much!

Music is an essential part of my life. My favorite way to unwind after a busy week at work is to slip on my Bose headphones and enjoy music of all types. It’s not unusual to see my playlist on a Friday night include selections ranging from Mozart to Lady Gaga.

While John Williams’ Imperial March is certainly a favorite and the powerful sounds of Shostakovich are nice to boost the mood, the piece I ultimately landed on has both power and beauty behind it.

The Overture from Candide is one selection that I find myself including in many of my end of week listening sessions. Even hearing it on loop over and over again while working at the Newport Aquarium (in the penguin gallery!) did not lessen my appreciation for this Bernstein classic.

I hope you can find some enjoyment in this selection as well!

Candide

My intent is not to answer any of life’s big questions (like who will win a battle between Batman and Superman) but to trigger some exploration and reflection. My plan is to post the question for all to see on Monday and provide my own response to it the following day. Even if this doesn’t trigger public discussion or disclosure, I hope that anyone reading this will think to themselves about how they might answer the question.

Look for the series to begin next week. Until then, stay warm and safe my friends!

It’s time to do some thinking and reflecting.

The stage at #SHRM15

Hank Jackson, the CEO of SHRM, echoed this theme yesterday. He hit upon a few points during his extended opening remarks as the conference officially kicked off.

Citing the newly released edition of Harvard Business Review, Hank talked about the necessity of HR to lead their organizations and step into roles that define to other executives what is important for the organization’s people. One of the articles in the magazine by Peter Capelli says that “the HR team can show these executives what they should care about and why.” Often, HR pros can conquer the what, but struggle with the why. This must change!

There are many in HR who would prefer to say “it’s the law” or “that is company policy” rather than provide rationale for the reason decisions are made. To me, it’s important to be able to speak to the reason behind a decision – the why of the decision. This concept is captured by Simon Sinek in his book Start with Why. Capelli cites something similar in the article when he says “knowledge of practices is essential, but it’s more important to understand what works when and where.” While this may remind some of you of your elementary school writing lessons (are you answering the W questions?) this practice is still essential in today’s workplace. Workers of today, no matter their generation, are not predisposed to simply follow orders because someone says so. Frankly, if the why can’t be explained, perhaps the decision needs to be reexamined.

Go beyond the what and cover the why. After that, ensure the when and where are correct too. This will bring the ability to thrive to not only to the organization, but to you as well.

As the HR social media community gathers again on-line to honor one of our own, the well-deserving recipient is NYC’s own Victorio Milian.

In honor of a great HR person! Thank you Victorio!

I’ve had the honor of meeting and learning from Victorio and while we celebrate him in the HR world, I am always impressed with his commitment to family and his capturing of the beauty that exists in his city. Through his stories and photographs, Victorio is able to share some of the big city experience with those of us who live in “fly over” country.

So, I am privileged to know Victorio and hope that this day of celebration brings him the recognition he so richly deserves!

As I spoke to other attendees and asked them about their conference experience, I frequently get one of three reactions:

1. Who are you and why are you talking to me?
2. A story about the great session they just went to.
3. A comment about how little new information has been learned, but how they are hearing and getting refreshed on things they already knew.

It’s this third point that catches my interest. I believe this provides an opportunity for the HR pros who attend conferences to leverage their own knowledge in their organizations and build their credibility in the organizations.

We know that outside “experts” are often believed more than those who are embedded within organizations. This gaining of knowledge from the outside can be leveraged to help position HR as true knowledge partners throughout the organization.

When you hear a speaker talking about something that you believe and sharing information that you want your organization to use or implement, take note. When back in the office, share what you’ve learned. A simple summary of points can go far in helping convey points that need to be made. Giving credit to others brings both enhanced credibility to you as a learner and shows the value that attending conferences or other learning experiences is for the organization.

So, if you’re heading to state conferences in Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New York, or Michigan in the next few weeks, don’t let the information gained reside only in your mind. Spread the knowledge and share the wisdom!

After hearing from SHRM leadership today during a question and answer session, I continue to have several concerns not only as an active volunteer leader, but also as a certified professional. I worry that the value of my certification, no matter which one I have (or both) will have even less value than they do now. I have this concern for the following reasons:

• Approved providers – Although there are many frustrations with HRCI and their processes around certifying programs in a timely manner, the proposed SHRM solution of allowing their chapters to be approved providers has the potential to weaken the process o ensuring that programs meet the requirements as set by SHRM. Right now, those able to approve programs have been fully vetted by HRCI and have firm guidelines. While SHRM can go this direction, the numbers needed to support the chapters and councils could create a large discrepancy in how people certify programs for credit. Will there be different tiers for the different certifications? That is a question we do not know.
• After years of touting the HRCI certifications as world class, SHRM’s efforts to transition to their competency based certification is an overt statement that the HRCI certifications are not valuable in their eyes. It was stated today that the new certification goes beyond knowledge and that it represents “an evolution” from the old model. As an old biology major, I know that evolution happens over time and is not a sudden change in direction. One bit of advice to SHRM, don’t describe this as an evolution. It’s closer to being a revolution.
• Finally, I worry that having two certifications for HR associated with SHRM (let alone the others from World of Work and such) will lead to confusion. Will employers be willing to accept both HRCI and SHRM? Will the work done over the years to build recognition for the HRCI certifications ultimately prevent the new one from being established as a clear improvement over what was in place before? Two different has the potential to raise the level of confusion. If we as HR professionals are confused, how will those outside the realm be able to grasp the differences?

More information from SHRM is forthcoming at the annual conference in Orlando. Stay tuned for more and hold on as things continue to evolve!

The recent announcement by SHRM that they are launching their own “competency based” certification has many in the HR world feeling uncomfortable. While discomfort comes to some with any change, there appears to be a much greater reaction here than typically would be found among those who get apprehensive with any change.

What is interesting here is the different tones being used by the organizations involved in the HR certification world.  For SHRM, who started this with their announcement on Monday, there has been a divergent communication strategy to the HR community. This tweet was among the more unusual messages.

@DustinHaverkamp We asked members about competensie. The question is why HRCI doesn’t t want to move toward compency-based certification.

— SHRM (@SHRM) May 16, 2014

First, spell check would be nice. Second, and more importantly, this reflects an antagonistic message toward a member asking questions (Dustin Haverkamp) and really highlights the schism that has erupted between SHRM and HRCI. Many (even most) of the statements by SHRM have highlighted their desire to move to this model. As more details emerge, it still remains to be seen what this new certification will look like and how it will continue to push the human resource world forward.

The HRCI response has basically been, we are here, we have 135k certified professionals, and we do not intend to go anywhere.

As for my own level of discomfort, it really resides in my role as an active conference planner for state and local HR associations. I will be anxious to learn more about the new certification while striving to ensure that my state council and local associations are positioned to best serve the HR professionals who wish to stay current and competent in their role. To that end, I’m not certain any certification can prove that. If there are letters after my name that should demonstrate that, it’s not SHRM or SPHR, it’s the MBA. Yes, I have my SPHR and have had it since 2003, but I firmly believe that it’s my performance day in and day out that demonstrates not just my HR competence, but my confidence in knowing the business that I lead.

Questions remain and I hope that time will bring answers and a sense of comfort to all those feeling out of sorts.  In the meantime, keep learning no matter what it entails.

As a leader in an organization, it’s important that we regard change not as a mechanism for loss, but as an opportunity to grow and expand our horizons. Share examples from your own change events that demonstrate this. These stories can be powerful tools to show a little of yourself while emphasizing the ultimate outcome that has happened to date.

Ralph Waldo Emerson captured this sentiment beautifully when he said:

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.”

As we wrap this year please go ahead and add to your life through change!