Are you important? How far away from the inmates do you live?

I have to think of all the jobs in this fantastic country of ours that chief among them for stress, danger, and sheer 'Sunday night and I can't believe I have to go to work tomorrow insomnia', has to be working inside a jail, prison, or penitentiary. 

On the plus side, since our nation doesn't seem at all on course for reducing or even slowing the growth of incarceration rates, career opportunities in the prison system could be one area in an otherwise downbeat job market that might offer job seekers some prospects, and corrections system staff some level of job security that is often hard to come by these days. Sure, you have to deal with the daily inconveniences of metal detectors and pat-downs when coming to work, and every once in a while there could be some kind of security crisis like an escape that might throw a little hiccup into your day. And there is always the chance, however remote, that a more significant incident like a widespread inmate riot could ensue, the kind of circumstance that might require a full and comprehensive response from all prison officials and staff members to respond rapidly, and in numbers.Can I use my FMLA for this?

Since these occasions could potentially require rapid response from off-duty guards and other officals at a moment's notice, often the corrections officers and the other high ranking prison officials will be provided (mostly free), housing in neighborhoods quite near the prison itself, such that response times are reduced, and quick action can be taken in the event of a major security or safety incident. Essentially, if you have a role, either in prison leadership or in security, it makes sense to have you situated close enough to the prison such that you can respond quickly if called upon in a crisis. When the inmates decide they've had enough of the man keeping them down, you better be ready and able to respond quickly.

So what kind of persons and job roles at the prison should receive free or otherwise subsidized housing near the facility in exchange for their ability to be rapid responders and to be able to provide their leadership in a time of crisis, with the expectation that their fast contributions could mean the difference in a minor incident turning into a major one?

Certainly the warden and assistant warden. Probably the senior corrections officers and guards. And maybe some other mid-level guards too. Possibly the prison medical staff and maybe even some of the communications and other outward-facing individuals. 

How about the prison's Head of Human Resources? 

Would you rate the HR leader for the prison in that 'special' category of staff that needs to live in close proximity to the facility, and at taxpayer expense? 

Well officials in the State of New Mexico are about to try and sort that question out. It seems that for at least 5 years, the head of HR for the State Department of Corrections, Elona Cruz,  has lived rent-free in a home situated a 'stone's throw' from the state penitentiary. And according to the comments from Acting Deputy Secretary of Corrections Gregg Marcantel, it look's like Elona's time in state provided housing is soon to end. When asked whether the department's head of HR should be living in corrections department provided housing  Mr. Marcantel said- "From HR to an air-conditioning repairman, the answer would be no.” 

Nice. Comparing the Head of HR for the Department to the A/C guy. Thanks Gregg. Any chance you'll be signing off on the new Leadership Development program we've proposed for next year? Didn't think so.

Kidding aside though, it is unlikely that the Head of HR would be called upon to thrust him or herself into a potentially volatile and dangerous situation alongside the prison's first responders in the event of a serious security incident. Those kinds of incidents are more about using force, strategy, tactics, and execution of trained and ingrained protocols to attempt to regain control of the situation, and minimize the risk of injury to staff and inmates, and the damage to facilities and property. Sparing the easy jokes about organizing the facility picnic when teargas is flying, real life danger and violence is not typically the strength of HR.

But the comments from the Deputy Secretary are instructive - in his view the idea of HR being at all essential or important in times of crisis is sort of implausible, as evidenced by his comparison of HR to the A/C repairman.

And while it is natural and unsurprising that he's take this position, one thing is pretty clear - the farther away from the inmates you live, the lower your status and relative importance at the prison.

While it's great to accept a sweet set-up with free housing and a short commute, eventually you'll get called out. And if you're not someone needed to run into the prison in a crisis, well then, you can live 45 miles away with the maintenance staff.

(Here's the part where you make the comparison to 'charging in to the prison riot' with whatever equates to that kind of drama in your organization, and think about whether your leaders want you right next to them at the ready, or off 100 miles away).

Have a Great Weekend!

If you must have a dress code policy...

I know, workplace dress code policies have (mostly), gone the way of the IBM Selectric and the Inter-office mail envelope as relics of a bygone age. In our more modern, progressive, and enlightened workplaces, most organizations have come to understand that with all the many thousands of things to worry about, that articulating specific dress code standards and policies is a colossal waste of time.Love the 70s

The vast majority or workplace dress code discussions have been distilled into short phrases - 'business casual ', seemingly the dominant one these days. What exactly does business casual entail? Who knows for sure, just walk around the office for a day or two and generally you can sort it out. Mostly, dress code standards are arrived at organically and are largely self-policing. Wear something inappropriate to the office some time and chances are someone will tell you about it, if not to your face, in a snarky comment on Facebook.  

Dress code policies are boring, and writing about dress code policies as I am right now, possibly represents the nadir of my adventure in blogging. But I had to come up with a hook to feature some fantastic workplace dress code policy imagery I came across recently. Fantastic workplace dress code imagery? That does not even make sense.

Well, take a look at the image on the right that accompanies this post, as well as the rest of the collection of dress code policy images from the British Postal Museum Archive described on the How to be a Retronaut blog. 

These dress code policy posters are, quite frankly, awesome. And not only do they look cool, but they also serve the purpose of transforming what would be a typical, boring written policy (that no one ever reads, except as a preface in an employee disciplinary hearing), into a vibrant and effective tool for educating the target workers as to the desired workplace behavior.

Additionally, the dress code posters attempt to connect the policy to real-world examples, demonstrate the potential negative ramifications of violations of the policy, and even have a little fun at the same time. Are these vintage posters really that groundbreaking and meaningful in the overall canon of workplace thought and theory? 

Not really. 

But they do remind us that even the most mundane and tedious parts of the job of Human Resources, the parts that still sometimes include writing and enforcing workplace dress code policies, can still be creative, can still be personal, and can (for shame), still be even a little fun.

No one reads your policies. Maybe it's time to get a little more imaginative in their presentation and communication.

Have a fantastic week!

Guess the Corporate Support Function

Take a guess at what corporate support function, and the nature and design of an increasing number of positions in that function were recently described by a senior executive at a huge, global corporation in the following manner:

...new jobs are being created that recognize the importance of both technology and creativity simultaneously.  So, as these left and right brains are thankfully mashed together in a singular role, job titles such as “creative technologist,” “marketing engineer,” and “information architect” are beginning to appear on org charts. We are looking at creativity and technology in the same glance instead of sequentially and that is tempting indeed. My bet is that these early “buds” will flower in surprising work and productive, new ways of conversing with our consumers and customers

Did you guess HR? Finance? Communications?

Actually, you probably sorted from the 'marketing engineer' title, that the quote was indeed about Marketing, and was attributed to Dana Anderson, Kraft Foods’ Senior Vice President of Marketing, Strategy, and Communications.  The quote is sourced from an interview of Ms. Anderson on the Forrester Interactive Marketing Professionals Blog here.

Why does a quote about what a big-time Marketing executive thinks is going to be one of the most significant changes in her field in the next 10 or so years matter to the (assumed) readers of this blog - HR, HR Technology, and perhaps recruiting professionals?

Perhaps not much. But in a semi-regular effort on this site to make connections between stuff I find interesting (sports, comic books, tech gadgets) and Human Resources issues - I'm going to give it a try.

If you buy-in to the idea that in HR, much of what you are expected to do as a leader, is quite a bit similar to what sales leaders confront every day;  and if you see the relationship between say something like recruiting and branding, or even performance management to a complex and coordinated PR campaign, then developments in the talent profiles for the next generation of marketing (and likely communications and PR), probably do matter to you in HR.

Take another look at the Anderson quote. She talks about job titles like 'creative technologist' and describes the next generation of talent in her discipline as possessing a blend of left and right brain thinking that should ultimately produce 'surprising and productive' work, and create 'new ways of conversing with our customers.'

Would you characterize any of the spots in your HR shop using similar language? Is there any room on your Benefits team for a creative technologist?  Anyone in the training group given the chance to develop and innovate using a mashup of their left and right brained selves?

If you believe at all in the idea of a 'war' for talent, and that convincing the 'best' or most capable people to come and join your organization, or even for internal talent to join your in-house function will result in competitive advantage, then understanding what the next generation of marketers, sales people, and communications pros will bring to the mix is really important to you in HR.

I'll spin it this way - if you were just starting out in your career, smart, good education and backround, lots of options to consider, which direction might you go?

Door Number One - towards the future of marketing, mashing up creativity and technology while creating new and exciting things.

or

Door Number Two - leading to the future of HR in your organization.

Come on, be honest - which one would you choose?

Have a fantastic weekend!

Tomorrow's HR Today - Tonight

Wow, that is a confusing title for a post. Tomorrow. Today. Tonight. 

What the heck am I talking about?

Since it is Thursday, it's time for a new episode of the often imitated, but never surpassed HR Happy Hour show.  Let's get the particulars out of the way.

HR Happy Hour - Thursday September 16, 2010 - 8PM EDT.  Listen live on the show page here, using the player widget below, or calling in on the listener line at 646-378-1086.

Have you ever listened in to a webinar given by some high profile executives or attended a conference session presented by one of the top thought leaders in the HR, Management, or Technology space and thought - 'Boy that was an awesome session, but I really wish I could ask a few more questions'. 

Well tonight on the show, you will get your chance. 

Joining us on the show to talk about the future of HR, and what tomorrow's HR leader will need to succeed, will be Leighanne Levensaler, Vice President of HCM Strategy at Workday, and Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Director HR & Talent Management at Chiquita Brands International.

These are the kind of experts that normally you'd be lucky to dial in to a webcast and maybe ask a question via the chat box, or you would have to queue up with another 38 people to try and have a quick moment with them after a presentation at a Conference Board or HR Executive event.

But tonight, Leighanne and Jennifer will be live on the Happy Hour, talking with you about the future of HR and talent and technology and whatever else is on your mind.

I hope you can join us!

The Best HR City Show

Is clearly Rochester, NY, right?

Seriously, I don't know where the 'Best HR City' is, but tonight on the HR Happy Hour show we will attempt to find out.

HR Happy Hour - Episode 26 'The Best HR City' is live tonight 8pm EST. 

Call in on 646-378-1086.

Think your city rocks in the HR and Recuiting world? 

Call the show tonight and state your case.  The 'winning' city gets a visit in 2010 from the HR Happy Hour, a live on-location show, and the right to wear the 'Best HR City' crown for all of 2010.

Who will win - DC, Portland, Minneapolis, Cincy, NYC, London, Canada (yes I am calling Canada a city), or some other dark horse location yet to chime in on the debate.

Here is the criteria we posted on the HR Happy Hour site to get you thinking about how to defend your turf:

1. The number of talented HR and Recruiting pros that live in the city now. And that means now, you can’t claim people who used to live in your city, went to college there, or stopped in the Waffle House once on the way to somewhere else (Birmingham, this one is directed at you).

2. Examples of some companies, large or small, doing some interesting and innovative things in the HR, Recruiting, and Talent Management space. And honestly, the way things have been going the last two years these may be hard to find. The city that can claim the least amount of mass layoffs will probably win this category. Since government jobs still seem like they will be plentiful for, well forever, Washington DC has a major advantage here.

3. How well your city has represented on the previous shows, and if you show up this week. And I am not just talking about volume of calls (although that helps). No, your city has to bring something to the mix beyond, ‘Portland rules!’. And speaking of Portland, you were once the runaway leader in this category, but have since kind of disappeared from the radar.  If it weren’t for some abominations from the 513, they would have this one sewn up already.

4. Number of active bloggers, tweeters, big time LinkedIn or other online dominators. Some cities definitely can claim pretty high numbers of active participants in the ‘Digital HR’ space. That will carry some weight in the final determination.

5. Conferences, events, tweetups, random meetings with strangers where you talk about HR or Recruiting. More weight will be given to the smaller and more ‘organic’ kinds of events. San Diego does not get any credit for simply ‘being San Diego’ with perfect weather all year thus becoming a place everyone wants to visit. Same for New Orleans (except for the weather part).

So that is it - hope you can join us tonight!