The Business of Ironing

Ironing

Have you ever wondered why we iron our clothes?  I have, and it usually is around the time when I am doing just that.  Smooth, flat, pressed clothes are part of our culture.  It is important in our personal life, and important in business.  Friends might tease you about "rolling out of bed in those clothes", or it may impact how your colleagues view you.

I was recently working as a recruiter for many entry level positions, and one of my co-workers stated that "if someone had wrinkled clothes, then it was points against them."  Now we didn't use a point system, so that was just a figure of speech.  However, many people have an opinion about wrinkled clothes.  I have heard people say that it demonstrates an attention to detail, or relate it to organization.  This got me thinking about ironing in the business sense.

Business

When you relate sharp pressed clothes to business, you are focusing on details, and presentation.  I get that.  Then I also think about the time and/or money that this consumes.  Spending time on ironing is fruitless.  There is no productive value.  If you head into work wearing ironed clothes you have to sit in the car, or on the bus.  There goes the ironing on your shirt and pants, and your clothes have wrinkles.

There are "wrinkle-free" shirts and pants, but who really wants to go around in clothing infused with formaldehyde?

While I could continue to describe different aspects of wrinkled or ironed clothes, that it not the point I am trying to make.  I use the clothing as a representation.  How often do we get involved with unproductive tasks both in life and at work?  Often times we may focus on these unproductive tasks at the expense of the more important issues.  When looking for alternatives it is also important to weigh the risks, as with the "wrinkle-free" shirts.  Is something really better, or does it just appear that way?  Look for something that will make an impact, and if you don't find anything, that's just fine.  You should feel good that you made an effort to look for an alternative.

The call to action

Ask yourself "why?"  Why am I doing this?  What value does it add?  Is it important?  Then make a decision on whether or not something needs to change.  If you start asking why, and begin to evaluate actions and activities, you might find a better way of doing things in both your personal life and at work.  Think differently, act differently, and get different (hopefully better) results!

New SHRM Certification

SHRM recently announced a new certification program for Human Resources.  This certification is in direct competition with HRCI.  The announcement by SHRM has caused a buzz in the HR world and has left many, including myself, wondering "what now?"

More information on the new SHRM Certification is slated to be released at the SHRM 2014 Annual Conference.  However, There is currently information available about the new SHRM Certification on the SHRM Website.  According to SHRM, the new certification is based on results of a study done by SHRM, and aims to create better global alignment in HR practices and ensure that Certified HR professionals are appropriately equipped to make an impact in the workplace.   The new SHRM is a competency based certification and will cover 9 areas of competency, which include :

1. Human Resource Expertise
2. Relationship Management
3. Consultation
4. Leadership and Navigation
5. Communication
6. Global and Cultural Effectiveness
7. Ethical Practice
8. Critical Evaluation
9. Business Acumen

The SHRM competencies seem to cover important business areas as a HR professional, and not limited only to knowledge of HR practices.  Demonstrating understanding and having competencies in Relationship Management and Consultation are important areas for HR professionals to develop relationships, and work with managers to solve problems, or overcome departmental issues. 
According to SHRM, there will be 4 levels of certification, for different levels of experience in HR.  These areas are:

1. Early Level
2. Mid Level
3. Senior Level
4. Executive Level

The new certification will provide an opportunity for those without exempt level HR experience to demonstrate their knowledge and competency, in addition to providing upper level HR professionals with an opportunity to distinguish their level of competency based on the model. 

SHRM will be providing an opportunity for current HRCI Certified Professionals (PHR, SPHR, GPHR) to gain the appropriate SHRM certification by going through an online module in 2015.  The SHRM website states that over 30,000 HR professionals were surveyed in planning for this new certification.  SHRM states that “the new SHRM certification will become the new standard for HR professionals around the globe.”  The current certifications offered by HRCI have significant recognition, and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the new SHRM certification. 

The presentation of the new SHRM certification program had a sloppy delivery, with a lack of specifics to build confidence in this program.  The potential benefits were lost in the confusion of the initial announcement. SHRM has done well at providing supplementary details, but these details should have been pitched at the onset to build industry confidence in the certification. 

Through the switch from knowledge based certification to competency based certification, SHRM is making a bold move. It is this bold move that could transform industry certifications and change the way we look at business, or could prove to be ineffective.

The first SHRM certification exams are slated to be in May of 2015.  After that, only time will tell what impact this certification will have on HR professionals.

Applying Customer Service Principles to Leadership

Imagine if you could create a work environment where employees not only wanted to

stay, but refused to leave.

    At some point or another we have, or will encounter an employee that we identify as

someone who is not an engaged employee. In many cases, the easy thing to do is to write them

off, and let them do their job until they leave. Another choice is for leadership to encourage

them to leave through lackluster interactions with the employee. Alternatively, leadership

can work to engage them and the rest of their workforce by delivering an exceptionally

positive experience for them. This will result in a higher level of employee engagement in the

organization.

    To address the employee engagement issue, I suggest changing the way we think about

employees. We need to start looking at employees in the same way we look at customers. Both

are essential for operations, and both impact the bottom line. There is a focus on Customer

Service, but it is important to begin focusing on Employee Service. To do this managers and

leadership will need to implement the principles of customer service in their interactions with

employees. I feel that a basic, yet effective Customer Service model that can be applied to

Employee Service is the L.A.S.T (Listen, Ask, Solve, Thank) model.

    For the next 90 days, I challenge you to start using your knowledge of Customer Service,

and start applying these principles to your interactions with your employees.

Begin this challenge with an intentional service approach toward employees demonstrating the

“how can I help you?” attitude.

• Be willing to genuinely listen to your employees. Having this willing attitude to

listen will make employees feel comfortable approaching you.

• Ask questions to get an understanding of how they are doing, what they are

working on, and plans for the day instead of telling them what needs to be done.

Chances are, they already know what needs to be done, so give them a chance to

tell you. Ask questions like “what are your goals today?”, or “What is going well

on your project?”

• Through your interactions with employees, it is important to demonstrate a

value for them by genuinely listening to their concerns, and solicit their ideas

for solutions to those concerns. Facilitate their process of solving their own

problems. This is a great opportunity to develop the decision making skills of

your employee, provide employee empowerment, and a way for you to better

understand that employee.

• Thank them for their contribution with specific details, and be genuine. In

this process you can reinforce the desired behaviors that your employees are

demonstrating.

    The point of this challenge is to develop trust and build the relationships within your

team. It is an opportunity to trust your team more and increase their trust in you, while

identifying their strengths and opportunities for development. There may be obstacles along the

way, but keep at it. No matter how much you think they like you right now, they may like you

even more after this challenge.

    For those of you who are brave enough to step outside of the regular daily routine and

are willing to try this challenge, I would love to hear about your successes in Employee Service.

After completing the challenge, I encourage you to continue providing great Employee Service

to your employees, and watch their satisfaction with you as a leader and satisfaction with your

company rise. You might just see them coming back each shift with smiles on their faces, and

passing that great service forward to your customers.