Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Learning from HRIS class
Time flies, it is almost the end of this class and for me the end of the HR Certificate Program. Fortunately I can say that along the entire program I developed HR skills that will help my professional development. I don’t think the learning road has ended, it is just starting… As a matter of fact I had a good work experience today, meeting with my HR team and discussing our plan for this coming fiscal year. I have to say that if had not taken this HRIS class my contributions in terms of technology solutions would not have been so powerful. A little more detail on this… I brought to the table the need for a Talent Management (TM) strategy as a critical function of HR. Because I’ve been doing all this research on TM solutions after each class we reviewed the topic, I was able to share my knowledge in terms of what TM solutions are available in the market. The relevant part of my sharing was the analysis of these SaaS options in the cultural context of my organization. After discussing why SaaS sounds like an advantageous option for us, we discussed alternatives like Taleo, Zoho, etc; At the end of the meeting we had talked about the importance and strategies of getting management buy-in in order to see tangible results from this discussion. I’m calling these vendors tomorrow to schedule demo appointments with them and ask them questions. I know I’m on the right track at work and I know this HRIS class taught me invaluable knowledge around TM suites, even more important is that this class motivated me to keep learning and goggling all that stuff that seems complex and threatening, but it is nothing to be afraid of, it is there for us to use it! It is Technology!!! Thanks Jun :D
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Talent Management suite advantages
Extensive research has been done in talent management (TM) repercussions and it has been found consistently that it is a critical factor in driving a company’s performance. TM must be one of the priorities in Human Resources; however the reality is that this is true only for those organizations with a high level of maturity. It is good news to know that there is technology specialized in execution of TM best practices. Common challenges in this arena vary from distortion of a department due to seasonal hiring/turnover, to time-consuming recruiting duties, poor on-boarding strategies, or gaps in leadership chain among others.
Once the business goals and strategies are clear for HR people, they can evaluate different TM solutions based on the culture of the organization. There are several solid TM solutions delivered via SaaS which facilitates integration of TM pieces like Recruiting, On-boarding, Performance Management, Total Compensation and Evaluation. These TM suites offer lower infrastructure costs than on-premise options and the deployment happens faster than downloading a bunch of programs to our computers.
TM suites have advantages for all stakeholders, for example: the system is critical to manage a performance-driven culture, it helps to align goals from the top to all levels in the organization, it helps to fill the gaps in the leadership force, it improves recruiting process, it increases employee engagement, it helps to develop a talent pool used at the time of succession planning, it provides data, etc. After considering these advantages, are you going to move forward? I can’t wait to see those times when TM is not a luxury or rarity but a way to get things done at any serious place to work!
Once the business goals and strategies are clear for HR people, they can evaluate different TM solutions based on the culture of the organization. There are several solid TM solutions delivered via SaaS which facilitates integration of TM pieces like Recruiting, On-boarding, Performance Management, Total Compensation and Evaluation. These TM suites offer lower infrastructure costs than on-premise options and the deployment happens faster than downloading a bunch of programs to our computers.
TM suites have advantages for all stakeholders, for example: the system is critical to manage a performance-driven culture, it helps to align goals from the top to all levels in the organization, it helps to fill the gaps in the leadership force, it improves recruiting process, it increases employee engagement, it helps to develop a talent pool used at the time of succession planning, it provides data, etc. After considering these advantages, are you going to move forward? I can’t wait to see those times when TM is not a luxury or rarity but a way to get things done at any serious place to work!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Cornerstone on Demand at Bill Kutik’s radio show!
I listened to Bill Kutik’s radio show with Adam Miller, CEO at Cornerstone on demand. They talked about the inevitable strong future of SaaS because of such things like shared infrastructure, faster implementation, lower maintenance costs, and so on.
I had checked this company’s website out recently and I feel this podcast was a good way to get to know a little more about them, especially their philanthropic side (Cornerstone on Demand foundation). I completely agree with the idea that talent management involves the entire employee cycle, from sourcing to on-boarding, to developing and even networking with alumni. If employees are the core of the business, why don’t look for the right ones and develop their skills to the maximum? Why the acquiring of TM solutions is so slow both in the profit and non-profit sector? I definitely, liked the company when they mentioned they have given their software and IT expertise to non-profit foundations to help them achieve their mission through empowering their people’s talent management!
I had checked this company’s website out recently and I feel this podcast was a good way to get to know a little more about them, especially their philanthropic side (Cornerstone on Demand foundation). I completely agree with the idea that talent management involves the entire employee cycle, from sourcing to on-boarding, to developing and even networking with alumni. If employees are the core of the business, why don’t look for the right ones and develop their skills to the maximum? Why the acquiring of TM solutions is so slow both in the profit and non-profit sector? I definitely, liked the company when they mentioned they have given their software and IT expertise to non-profit foundations to help them achieve their mission through empowering their people’s talent management!
Some factors to be considered when buying a Talent Management System
As part of our HRIS class we’ve seen how important is to get executive support to be successful with the acquisition and deployment of a talent management system. Currently, I’m supporting my HR team doing research about several recruitment solutions. Reading “Buying a Talent Management System, The 11 Key Steps to Success” a whitepaper written by Knowledge Infusion and Cornerstone on Demand, I linked all the steps in our charter assignment and these companies’ recommendations which are:
1.Establish objectives, respond to the question: What are you trying to accomplish?
2.Win executive support, this is critical to make the change happen or not.
3.Assemble a project team, define who is involved and include key parties in the org.
4.Define requirements, validate existing processes and leverage vendor best practices.
5.Establish a preliminary timeline and resource requirements, implement only what you need!
6.Prepare a business case, what will be the business impact?
7.Establish a budget, understand your budget process and consider direct and indirect costs.
8.Evaluate solutions, consider solutions based on the org’s culture and needs.
9.Select a vendor, ask questions! Involve HR and IT parties.
10.Negotiate the contract, don’t focus only on money, negotiate service levels too.
11.Begin implementation, be aware of your scope all the time, and communicate!
Wow! All these steps require strong Project Management skills. Actually, without experienced project managers who keep their eyes on resources, timelines and focus, the implementation would be a complete failure. I even got motivated to continue working on my charter… stay tuned!
1.Establish objectives, respond to the question: What are you trying to accomplish?
2.Win executive support, this is critical to make the change happen or not.
3.Assemble a project team, define who is involved and include key parties in the org.
4.Define requirements, validate existing processes and leverage vendor best practices.
5.Establish a preliminary timeline and resource requirements, implement only what you need!
6.Prepare a business case, what will be the business impact?
7.Establish a budget, understand your budget process and consider direct and indirect costs.
8.Evaluate solutions, consider solutions based on the org’s culture and needs.
9.Select a vendor, ask questions! Involve HR and IT parties.
10.Negotiate the contract, don’t focus only on money, negotiate service levels too.
11.Begin implementation, be aware of your scope all the time, and communicate!
Wow! All these steps require strong Project Management skills. Actually, without experienced project managers who keep their eyes on resources, timelines and focus, the implementation would be a complete failure. I even got motivated to continue working on my charter… stay tuned!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Social Network Analysis
According to a white paper titled “Tapping the power of social networking to manage talent” written by Saba in partnership with Human Capital Institute, Social Network Analysis (SNA) is the mapping and measuring of flows of knowledge between people, groups, organizations or other components like computers linked on the web.
Why does SNA matter to an HR person? SNA is supposed to improve talent management and employee performance. SNA can be used to build Corporate Social Networking (CSN) which plays an essential role in mapping relationships at work. Once, HR understands those relationships, human performance can be motivated, shaped, manipulated, in order to achieve employee/business success. It is well known that the knowledge of who the agents of change are in a group is valuable; it is even more valued to take some action with that knowledge. Web 2.0 technology eases the analysis of networking and its impact on talent management, especially in mid to large size companies, where HR cannot get to know every employee.
Once a company implements and facilitates to its employees/customers/candidates an online place to share and interact with each other, HR can deploy an strategy to improve recruiting, on-boarding, leadership development, retention and evaluation. SNA results can be represented in flowcharts, graphs, roadmaps, and so on, which contain key connections useful to design and deploy engagement programs like mentoring or leaderships trainings. From a strategic HR perspective it was motivating to read how technology can be used to make more informed decisions when managing talent.
Why does SNA matter to an HR person? SNA is supposed to improve talent management and employee performance. SNA can be used to build Corporate Social Networking (CSN) which plays an essential role in mapping relationships at work. Once, HR understands those relationships, human performance can be motivated, shaped, manipulated, in order to achieve employee/business success. It is well known that the knowledge of who the agents of change are in a group is valuable; it is even more valued to take some action with that knowledge. Web 2.0 technology eases the analysis of networking and its impact on talent management, especially in mid to large size companies, where HR cannot get to know every employee.
Once a company implements and facilitates to its employees/customers/candidates an online place to share and interact with each other, HR can deploy an strategy to improve recruiting, on-boarding, leadership development, retention and evaluation. SNA results can be represented in flowcharts, graphs, roadmaps, and so on, which contain key connections useful to design and deploy engagement programs like mentoring or leaderships trainings. From a strategic HR perspective it was motivating to read how technology can be used to make more informed decisions when managing talent.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Recruitment solutions shopping
I'm looking for a recruiting solution for a small company. I have a few good options that I'll present to my colleagues in a few days. When I was looking for solutions, I found there are several companies that offer their talent management packages only to mid size or large organizations. The search is narrower when we are talking about 50+ employee companies, I understand why. Anyway, my archaic system is becoming less useful and it is ridiculously time-consuming.
During my research, I've noticed that it is not only the quality of the platform that you use to do your recruitment what brings success or failure to your process, instead the culture and management style at your company have the biggest impact in the implementation of a new system.
Recruitment is not an isolated event, it exists because of reasons like turnover, restructuring that creates new positions or eliminates current ones, etc... Recruitment is part of talent management and has to be addressed the whole phenomenon. Business success includes talent acquisition, management, deployment and it is very important to handle the talent pool and work on succession planning. I hope to convey this need to my team in a few days...
During my research, I've noticed that it is not only the quality of the platform that you use to do your recruitment what brings success or failure to your process, instead the culture and management style at your company have the biggest impact in the implementation of a new system.
Recruitment is not an isolated event, it exists because of reasons like turnover, restructuring that creates new positions or eliminates current ones, etc... Recruitment is part of talent management and has to be addressed the whole phenomenon. Business success includes talent acquisition, management, deployment and it is very important to handle the talent pool and work on succession planning. I hope to convey this need to my team in a few days...
Learning 2.0
A few months ago, I was one of those people who refused online learning. I used to say I'm a classroom learner, I wouldn't take an online class. I've changed so much since I'm taking this HRIS class. Now, I'm all about technology!
I understand that you don't need to go miles away to be able to network with your classmates. You really get to know well your peers using all these Web 2.0 tools. Now, I even think it is more efficient to keep in touch with your colleagues and subject matter experts through virtual conversations and online knowledge sharing than other traditional methods.
Reading a blog, I found an article written by SABA (people management solution enterprise) about learning 2.0. This document mentions that informal learning is becoming more relevant in organizations and consists of a natural collective participation of sharing and acquisition of knowledge that occurs outside of classrooms.
Globalization is strengthening informal learning through Web 2.0 technologies. People are able to get the information that they want in real time. At the same time, there is an increasing need to be a better consumer of knowledge. There is more supply of information, therefore, it is more important to be selective and to have the motivation to go out there and do smart searches and contributions.
I understand that you don't need to go miles away to be able to network with your classmates. You really get to know well your peers using all these Web 2.0 tools. Now, I even think it is more efficient to keep in touch with your colleagues and subject matter experts through virtual conversations and online knowledge sharing than other traditional methods.
Reading a blog, I found an article written by SABA (people management solution enterprise) about learning 2.0. This document mentions that informal learning is becoming more relevant in organizations and consists of a natural collective participation of sharing and acquisition of knowledge that occurs outside of classrooms.
Globalization is strengthening informal learning through Web 2.0 technologies. People are able to get the information that they want in real time. At the same time, there is an increasing need to be a better consumer of knowledge. There is more supply of information, therefore, it is more important to be selective and to have the motivation to go out there and do smart searches and contributions.
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