Survive HR

On this week’s Survive HR podcast, Kelly and I sat down and spoke with  two CEOs regarding their opinions about what traits great HR professionals possess.

The major criticism of our CEOs is the same as that of the CFO, lack of business knowledge. I sense a theme here, don’t you? Two of the most important corporate positions, that probably have significant influence on your career progression, think you need more business acumen. Every HR professional that cares about being their best must determine how to acquire business/financial acumen. One easy way to grow your knowledge of the business is to ask those in the various business roles you interact with about their areas. Specifically, what are their most pressing business challenges, what they envision for their areas going forward, what the competition is doing differently, how they are impacted by other functions in the organization, both positively or negatively, etc., etc.. I’ve actually asked these types of questions throughout my career and found every single person not only willing to share their knowledge, but happy to do so. It also helped forge relationships and trust that I was truly their business partner. You can also take courses to help improve your business acumen, or read books on business like “Finance for Dummies”.

Our CEOs appreciated the HR knowledge and interpersonal skills most HR professions brought to the table. They also appreciated HR professionals that are not afraid to push back when they believe the organization, or the CEO, is making a bad HR related decision. Both recognized that pushing back takes strength and confidence that many lack. HR is arguably the most important function within organizations, and truly makes a difference in how profitable, how sustainable and how well regarded the organization is, long term. That being said, be proud of the role you play, the difference you make and continuously make efforts to improve your skill set, including your business acumen.

As always, Kelly and I appreciate you listening to our podcast and reading our blog. You are the reason we do what we do. If you ever need help, we are available for coaching, consulting, training and speaking engagements. All the best!

This podcast is the most vulnerable podcast we have ever done!  We discuss the concept of purpose, life, and the role we play in it all!!   Thank you for listening!!

Unless you have lived a very blessed HR life, you have, from time to time, had difficulties dealing with your CFO. Is it just that CFOs are mean and nasty people? Perhaps, but have you ever thought that there might be legitimate reasons that HR does not always get along with their CFO?

The CFO has to answer to not only their CEO, but to the organization’s Board of Directors, Investors, and Stock Market Analysts. A CFO has no room for error when representing the financials of the organization. On this week’s podcast, Kelly and I discuss how HR can better work with their CFO, with our guest, Dr. Kimberly Whitehead, who served as a CFO for Newell Brands, prior to going into academia.

According to Dr. Whitehead, most HR professionals she has worked with do not understand the business, or basic financial principles. Often, when advocating for programs the HR department has no real idea the costs or the return on the investment (ROI) of those programs. An estimate by HR on the costs and ROI of an HR proposal is simply not going to cut it with any CFO.

So, should HR professionals just resolve that their CFO will never like them? No! Be proactive. If you are working on an HR program, get the Finance Department involved early on in the discussions, so they can help you in the financial analysis. If you don’t feel comfortable in the area of finance, ask if there is someone in the Finance Department that will help you better understand things like the budget, balance sheet, income statement, forecasting, insurance costing, bonus and long term incentive planning and costs, to name a few. If no one is willing to help you within the organization, take a class, or just research “understanding finance”, or similar terms on the internet for some free help.  HR and the CFO can be great allies, with just a few modifications in approach and a little relationship building.

As always, Kelly and I appreciate you listening to Survive HR. Please tell your friends about the show and please go on iTunes and rate us.

PART 2 is here!!!!!  Listen this week as we discuss the unfortunate levels of injustice that plague our nation and our role as business leaders to change the world for the better!!!!

The United States Supreme Court ruled on June 15, in a 6-3 decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, that Title VII’s prohibitions against sex discrimination in the workplace protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion, concluded that the term “sex” in Title VII applies to one’s identification as LGBTQQIA, writing, “An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex. Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”

Now that there is clarity on this issue, employers must make sure their policies, practices and training includes awareness of LGBTQQIA legal obligations and protections. While there will most likely be future cases regarding ancillary issues, such as bathroom/shower privacy and religious beliefs, there can be no question that those in the LGBTQQIA community are protected by federal law and cannot be discriminated against.

Even without this decision, most in the field of HR Management have long practiced and pushed their organizations to treat everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, with the same respect, fairness and equality, as anyone else in the workplace. This is one of the reasons Kelly and I are proud to be HR professionals, HR is generally on the cutting edge of positive social change and inclusiveness. Thanks for listening to Survive HR and please let us know if we can be of service to you in any way.

Wow, can you believe that many of us have been working from home for 4 months! Some like it and  some hate it, but regardless of what you think of working from home, businesses are reopening all across the country. Many employees are fearful and with an uptick in COVID-19 cases over the past couple of weeks, rightfully so. So how should employers reopen? What precautions should they take? What if employees refuse to return to work? These questions present employee relations issues in addition to a myriad of legal questions.

From an employee relations perspective, employers need to make sure employees feel like the employers care about them, specifically that the employer is watching out for their safety. To help employers with doing this, OSHA form 3990, COVID-19 guidelines and the CDC recommendations should be followed. Legally, an employer is required to put in environmental and operational controls, including rating each job from low risk to high risk. Depending on the level of risk, employers must then  provide the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and have proper protocols for addressing sick employees, or those exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19. Contracting COVID-19 from the workplace may very well result in valid claims of Workers Comp, depending on the state where the business is located.

What about employees who refuse to come to work? This is a major concern for many employers, with whom Kelly and I have contact. Depending on the reason for the refusal, an employer may have a duty to accommodate. More importantly, employers should consider what they can do differently to accommodate employee’s needs, personal or otherwise, to create a more content, engaged and productive workplace.

Please join us on this week’s Survive HR podcast, as our friends from the law firm of Haynsworth, Sinkler, Boyd, Chris Gantt-Sorenson and Perry MacLennan address these and other issues related to safely and legally getting employees back to work following the COVID-19 quarantine. Thanks again for listening to our show! We appreciate you all more than you will ever know.

A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of recording a podcast episode with Nika White. Nika is just a fantastic person! She is a speaker, writer, and Diversity and Inclusion influencer. We recorded a meaningful episode about what companies should do during this pandemic as it relates to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It was great, and I hope you listen.

We began our episode by Nika asking a simple question of both Steve and I. She asked, how are you? What a simple question? However, how often do we ask that question, never truly taking the time to listen to the answer? The podcast continues as we discuss meeting our employees with Empathy and Compassion during this insane time. How true that seems today!

On the heels of yet another tragic death, and a nation suffering from not just a pandemic but from decades of injustice, discrimination, and inequality, have we stopped to ask our employees this simple question? Once asked….listen!

Steve and I are grateful you have taken time today to listen to our podcast. This is an important topic and one that deserves significant time and attention. I hope you stop today and ask your family, your friends, your employees—how are you?

The news is a scary thing these days! The COVID-19 crisis has led to many freighting days and anxious nights—we are all scared about the health of ourselves and those we love, and the economy is on a tailspin down! However, every day a story seems to bubble up that shows just how amazing humanity can be in the face of this pandemic. So today friends, instead of writing to you about the Human Resource function, I am instead going to link several great stories—happy stories—blessings! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Remember- blessed people, bless people! Please be sure to use this time to help spread joy and blessing to those less fortunate.

Human Resources and business, in general, have been forced to change the way they communicate with their team members. The communication, in some instances, has gone from face-to-face to virtual, or socially distant and behind a mask! However, contact with our teams has never been so necessary- in whatever form it takes.

This week on SurviveHR, we interview our friend and accomplished author, speaker, and communications leader Deb Sofield. She is a wealth of knowledge, and I hope you listen in! Her main message is to follow the three “C’s” of communication—be clear, be concise, and be consistent! In these changing days, we must also, according to Deb, add a few more necessities to our communication, “be empathetic, be compassionate, and be human.”

We have been tasked with over-communicating the COVID-19 message, from work from home, to CDC regulations and business policies! How we do that is critical to our success as a business and essential in the way our employees view us. According to Deb, “If you don’t communicate, people will speculate.” That is a fantastic phrase given to us by this expert, and it could not be more accurate. Our employees are desperate for communication from leadership and HR, and we have to keep them in the know daily, even if the news isn’t positive and especially during this crisis!

The world has changed and won’t ever look the same, and how we communicate must change as well! Steve Nail and I are so very grateful that you have chosen to listen to our podcast! We know you have many options when it comes to how to spend your time and we are so happy you have chosen to spend it with us!

COVID-19 has forced those who normally work in an office every day to transition to a work from home set-up. I firmly believe this will be our reality of sometime and even after this COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, there is a strong likelihood that this pandemic will shift the way business is done forever.