Amy Suitter, Author at WilliamCharles

Do you have a strategic HR function?

August 4th, 2020 by Amy Suitter

Do you have a strategic HR function?

Where is HR in your company? We often hear the euphemism “seat at the table” as a descriptive term to determine whether a human resource function truly participates in steering company strategy. Does your HR function have a “seat at the table”? The human resources function plays a key role in the operating of a company. These traditional roles include; managing policies and discipline, employee administration, benefits and payroll. They resolve people issues and support managers in hiring, training and managing labor practices. They are often the fixer of other people’s problems. They are often the advocate or voice for employees. Everyone will agree these are critical functions to do well. Many companies operate just fine with a tactical but not strategic human resources function. Many of these companies get exactly what they want and expect from HR. In order to get to the next level it is likely that a more evolved HR function will be necessary. The need might be driven by increased competition and rising performance expectations or a need for more consistency throughout an organization. Organizational development facilitated by a professional is invaluable from the standpoint of succession planning and talent optimization. Organizational effectiveness and culture leadership can make the difference in sustaining the culture of an organization through these large changes. You may need executive compensation advice, improved HR technology or a more sophisticated performance management system. In reality, you probably need it all. We will further explore by asking questions to understand your current state and then offer five characteristics of a strategic HR function

Start by asking these questions

1. Where does HR report? It is often the case HR reports to either Operations (largest number of employees) or Finance (budget or compliance reasons). Often in these situations HR is not at the decision table. You may have good reasons for your structure but HR should ideally report to the top of the house for it to carry the right strategic weight.

2. Is your HR leader trusted and respected by the senior leadership team? This person needs to have iron clad relationships with the other senior executives.

3. Is HR primarily a compliance function? Are they obstructing needed change and growth? HR needs to proactively lead talent strategies to help the company move forward.

4. Can your HR Leader perform GAP analysis? Are they using KPI’s to measure success? Are they a business person as well as an HR person? Do the goals within human resources support the overall goals of the organization?

5. Do you view your HR function as modern? Do they look around the corner and at future trends? Do they embrace technology? What is the “employee brand” of your organization? What is their role in advancing the culture of the company?

5 Strategic HR Roles

1. Human Capital Expert – Maximizing the contribution of everyone within the organization. Talent acquisition and management strategies, training and leadership development, succession planning.

2. HR Strategist – Adapts both workforce and leadership structure to align with the future. Organizational development and effectiveness, measure results, survey, correct course as necessary.

3. Culture Keeper – How is the culture communicated? Are we “Walking the Talk?” Is the culture reflective of where the company wants to go? Does it represent what is “right” vs. what is expedient?

4. Change Manager – change occurs via people. Is the HR Leader the change leader (or one of them) within the organization?

5. Advisor/Consultant to CEO – Ensure HR goals and strategies are aligned with organizational goals and strategies. Key consultant and confidante within the senior leadership team.

Information from this article was a collaboration between WilliamCharles and Steve Crandall. Steve Crandall is an Executive HR professional, leadership coach and Master Trainer (L.E.T) Learn more about Steve at https://www.crandallpartners.com/principals-bio.

Contract or Interim Hiring

June 17th, 2019 by Amy Suitter

Contract or Interim Hiring

Most companies find contract staffing a complimentary addition to their overall staffing and talent acquisition strategy. Talent continues to be a challenge for companies given the supply and demand characteristics of the current economy and labor market. There are many reasons to consider hiring a contract employee.

Stay Flexible – One constant in business is change. Having a contingent element to your staffing budget gives you flexibility. This is true whether you are growing, shrinking or in a seasonal peak or valley. Contract options can help you stay lean.
Fill a Gap – You need a solution for a period of time, but not permanently. This might be filling in for a maternity or some other leave of absence. Perhaps you feel you need additional head count in a particular area and bringing someone in on contract can help you determine the right level of staff to hire on a more permanent basis. When someone leaves unexpectedly, filling the position on a contract basis while you take the proper time to conduct a thorough search may be the right approach.
Import a Skill – A contract resource can supplement your current team with a specific skill set or capability that is lacking. This also prevents you from making a long term hire for a specific skillset needed for a shorter term project or to build an organizational capability that doesn’t currently exist.
Expand Resources – This current labor supply environment makes it challenging to find certain types of talent. You can expand your resources by making use of people who are open to gig or project type work. This is also an option when you simply need more hands on deck to get something accomplished.
Contract to Hire – Sometimes all factors align and you may decide to convert a contract person to a direct hire. You now have a known quantity on board, a person that has already auditioned and can hit the ground running. This is a great way to tap into those on deck players for unexpected needs.
Optimize Finances – Use contractors to manage peak work-loads and projects. Keeping your direct hiring level at a level constant with the “valleys” will optimize your fixed employment costs. This will make your CFO happy!

Hiring contract or interim talent for shorter term needs is a compelling strategy in today’s labor market. Many professionals are finding it advantageous to work interim gigs. They can utilize skill sets they have developed that are in demand, build relationships with a variety of organizations and keep a more flexible work-life balance by working on a contract basis.

We will dive deeper into this subject in our July newsletter including misperceptions along with a couple case studies. If you are considering hiring talent on an interim or project basis WilliamCharles Search Group is happy to discuss this option with you.

Call one of our search consultants to learn more: 616-464-4355

The Dream Job. Are You Ready if it Knocks on Your Door?

September 7th, 2018 by Amy Suitter

You are content in your job. But let’s face it. It’s a job. A means to an end. But what if your dream job was right around the corner. What if an employer was proactively seeking their next superstar and that star was YOU? Would you be ready?

Here are some ideas on how to prepare yourself, fine-tune your personal brand and be job ready when your dream position comes knocking:

First things first – the resume. If you’re content in your current position (or even if you’re not), it’s likely you haven’t touched your resume in a while. But it’s time to blow the dust off and spruce it up. The resume oftentimes is your only chance to get your foot in the door. What does it say about you? Is it job current? Are your most up-to-date volunteer and board positions represented? What about ongoing education, certifications or additional training? Take some time with this one. Ensure the resume reflects you and your experience accurately.
Social media can make or break you. Gone are the days of separating your social and professional world. Employers are actively reviewing social media tools their candidates are using. A recent CareerBuilder survey stated that nearly 40% of all hiring managers are screening candidates based on their online personas – and nearly 70% of those candidates were ruled out due to questionable personal content online. Review your social profiles and delete any inappropriate photos, vulgar language or complaints about your current job or employer. Are your accounts representing a well rounded, polished professional with strong communication skills? Now is the time to manage your virtual reputation.
Stay connected. Your references should be your biggest fans. You’ve probably provided their contact information over the course of your career, but when is the last time you had a conversation with them? Are they aware of your current employment situation? If it’s been awhile, it might be time to reevaluate who you are providing as a reference. Are there more current or relevant contacts that can speak on your behalf?

Update your list. Give them a call. Make sure they are ready and able discuss your background and experience.

Be prepared to discuss your individual or team accomplishments. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day to day of doing your job, but when is the last time you reflected on your successes. Could you name a few if you were asked? It’s time to take stock of the individual positive contributions you’ve made in your roles. Make a list. Identify the outcomes. Have you led successful teams? The same is true of this scenario. Can you speak to successful team outcomes? Be prepared to do so. Future employers want to know that you’ve demonstrated successes throughout your career.
Strengths vs. Weaknesses (or Opportunities for Improvement). Everyone’s got them. Not unlike identifying accomplishments, being asked to articulate strengths and weaknesses is common in the interview process. Yet many interviewees have a difficult time pinpointing these areas. Be prepared to discuss them. In addition, have examples ready. Interviewers want proof. Can you validate these areas? How have you utilized your strengths or overcome your weaknesses? How do you, in fact, know these are true areas to highlight? While it’s not easy to expose some of these vulnerabilities, most employers value this level of transparency and self-awareness.
Continuous Improvement. It’s not just a cliché. What are you doing to ‘improve’ yourself, meaning, what is your professional development plan? How are you expanding your skillsets? Too many candidates rely on their employers to provide and resource their professional growth. For many organizations, this simply isn’t a focus. Or they are cutting or shrinking these budgets. It’s time to recognize that gone are the days of employer-funded or directed growth and development. Be intentional. Own your career path and growth plan. You are in charge of your development, not your employer.
Be proactive. You probably have a job description. Do you follow it closely? Do you draw a hardline on tasks outside of your job? Or are you open to expand your skills outside of your defined role? An individual who is willing to take on additional responsibilities becomes a more desirable candidate every time. Not only does this approach highlight someone who is a team player, it also illustrates someone who is proactive, seeking to better themselves and their organization.
When opportunity knocks, open the door. You may have few chances in your life to change your trajectory. Don’t miss them.

How to Approach Succession Planning

February 22nd, 2018 by Amy Suitter

Succession Planning

FUTURE GROWTH AND CONTINUITY

Many companies consider succession planning a key strategy for future growth and continuity. What considerations are necessary to this process? Many organizations consider succession planning to merely be an activity identifying replacements for incumbent positions. I find this to be self-limiting, and indeed, increasingly ineffective because of the fast rate of change, turnover and organizational fluidity. Instead, many organizations have developed a broader process by which a bench can be built without specifically targeting future positions. Job rotation immersions, talent utility pools, cross functional training and other activities can build the skills of future leaders without committing them to a specific function. This gives the organization flexibility for the future while giving high potential staff recognition and a challenge to develop a broader skill set.

Are you saying that there shouldn’t be specific target replacements for positions? Of course, this often makes sense. Say for instance that the Finance area has a CFO who is about to retire and the Controller, just below this position, is performing well and has the capacity to succeed the incumbent. This would seem natural and a given career opportunity for the Controller. However, in many other cases, especially regarding top management positions, it is generally unwise to predict how the future will unfold and lock in a specific transition. Unless the change is imminent, things can change very quickly and alternatives are important. Even in this example, while the Controller might be a logical successor, if might also make sense to ask, given this vacancy – is this the model we need going forward and can the Controller rise to that- if it is significantly different. Succession planning is about developing options for filling positions and development of staff which gives multiple opportunities – not locking in a particular map.

Some might be concerned that if we develop a good bench, but don’t have positions available, we may lose our good work and talent to someone else. That’s always a possibility, but not a good reason not to invest in development and career opportunities for staff. Without it, your high potential people will leave anyway because they don’t see a future or commitment to their growth. They are always marketable. So, the burden is on the organization to see to it that positions are developed, or indeed invented, to challenge their best talent.

Do these same principles apply to private or family held organizations? Yes and no. To the overall staff, the principles apply the same. For the owner(s) and next generation succession, roles of family in the organization are very different. Research shows that only around 30% of all family owned businesses survive into the second generation, only 12% will survive into the third, and only 3% make it to the 4th generation and beyond, according to JSA Advising, a family business consulting firm. While there are many reasons for this, in my experience the most prevalent are:

• Failure to accurately assess the skills, potential and interest of next generation family members.

• Failure to develop and deploy a transition plan from current generation to the next: roles, responsibilities, governance, etc.

• The mistaken assumption that the criterion for succession is being a family member. A good, but often painful exercise is to ask, “If the next generation were not related to the family, would I hire these people?”

• Failure to candidly deal with wealth and control succession, along with management succession.

Sounds like a pretty precarious environment! It can be, but doesn’t need to be. In my practice, the companies that have most successfully moved control to the next generation have done so because there was deliberate hard work and thinking on the front end, new management was qualified, committed and well trained, departing management/owners were actively willing to release the reins, and the organization was healthy enough to handle these changes.

Hiring Mistakes Will Cost You: 5 Ways to Avoid Them

September 13th, 2017 by Amy Suitter

There is no hiding from a hiring mistake.

One HR professional once told me that a controller’s mistake is tucked away in a financial report but an HR mistake is walking around the company. The costs of these mistakes are significant. Just search “cost of a bad hire” on Google and read about the consequences. Most studies indicate that the cost of a hiring mistake for a professional level person is 2 to 5 times the annual salary. So what is the root cause of this issue?

A survey by Robert Half showed that one-third (36%) of 1,400 executives surveyed felt the top factor leading to a failed hire, aside from performance issues, is a poor skills match. The second most common reason (30%) was unclear performance objectives. A poor fit is another driver of candidates not sticking. These mistakes can be more expensive because they take longer to resolve. Another underestimated factor determining the success of a hire relates to motivation level and character. I personally believe these are the most important intangible factors that determine success.

Here are 5 things you can do to mitigate hiring mistakes:

Fully identify and understand the profile of the successful candidate.
Consider all factors that determine success. This is includes motivation, character, emotional competency, fit with your culture and values, etc. Too many times, hiring managers are infatuated with a certain skill or experience aspect and lose sight of other critical requirements.
Focus the evaluation of the prospective candidate on how they fit the first year goals and expectations.
rather than a list of job duties. The creation of a list of desired accomplishments, expectations and projects to complete will serve you in three ways.
- Better to evaluate the candidate against what you expect them to accomplish, rather than a static job description.
- Create the right expectation with the candidate.
- You will have just completed a big part of your onboarding plan.
Interview the candidates for desired intangibles.
It is easy to get very focused on behavioral interview questions developed from the job description and key requirements of the position. We can all agree that success takes place as a result of a person’s drive, willingness to take good risks, ability to deal effectively with people and fit well within a culture, etc. We need to tailor interview questions to successfully evaluate all aspects of the candidate that will impact performance.
Listen and communicate.
Listen to those around you. The best talent agents have blind spots. Everyone succeeds when the decision maker is listening to those around him. Communicate clearly all of the expectations to the candidate before you extend the offer. Often, candidates fail to fully understand the expectations and subsequently fall short.
Red waving flags should never be ignored or discounted.
Learn to read basic signals that a candidate might be sending. One example: if the candidate is not responsive or slow to respond during the hiring process, consider this a message. Either they are not very interested in the job or they are not likely to ever be responsive. Every candidate tells a non-verbal story. This is every bit as important as the actual interview. They are glimpses of the person that you are committing to hire.