PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 238 - Keeping the Human in HR, Live from Ultimate Connections

HR Happy Hour 238 - Keeping the Human in HR: Live from Ultimate Connections 2016

Recorded LIVE at Ultimate Connections 2016 in Las Vegas

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Cecile Alper-Leroux, VP HCM Innovation, Ultimate Software

Listen to the show HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, we welcome back friend of the show and one of our favorite guests, Cecile Alper-Leroux, VP of HCM Innovation at Ultimate Software to talk about the three big mega-trends that are facing HR leaders in 2016, and some of the ways that technology can help HR leaders and their organizations meet these challenges.

The three big topics we touched upon on the show include, the concept of the  "Employee Experience", and how that differs from traditional ways of measuring employee engagement, the evolution and transformation of performance management as many organizations are re-thinking their performance management processes, and finally, how HR and HR technology has strive to make predictive and prescriptive analytics more accessible and relevant for HR and business leaders in 2016.

This was a fun and interesting conversation about some big issues in HR, ways HR leaders can wrap their minds around these issues, and how technology continues to evolve to address these dynamic trends.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below:

Many thanks to Cecile and to the team at Ultimate Software for once again welcoming the HR Happy Hour to the Ultimate Connections event.

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on iTunes or your favorite podcast app or iOS or Android - just search for 'HR Happy Hour' to add the show to your playlist to never miss a show!

The one HR tech feature you'll regret not asking to see in the demo

I have seen lots of HR software, done more than a few of my own selection processes and subsequent implementations, worked on an HR tech product team for awhile and even been an end user of a bunch of different HR technology solutions over the years.

And if I have, in all these years and in these varying roles learned any single thing about HR technology I think it might be this: In the sales/evaluations stage almost no customer asks their potential HR tech vendor that will be supplying technology solutions that will (hopefully) be used by every person in the organization to review and demonstrate perhaps one of the most important feature/functions of the software, namely, the 'I forgot my password' process.

I don't know why, and I suppose I may be wrong about this as I am not actually sitting in every HR tech vendor demo going on (shock), but I know that I have never seen, nor asked any vendor to discuss and/or demonstrate that actual process that employees would have to follow when they forget their passwords. And they will forget their passwords. Probably every few months. And if the 'I forgot my password' process is slow, clunky, and hard to complete they will become more enraged than they were before. 

So the 'use case' for the "I forgot my password' process flow also needs to factor in the increasing frustration and impending rage of an employee, who has just tried three or more times to (unsuccessfully) log in to the HR system, likely because someone told them they have to, and now the technology tosses them into the 'I forgot my password' abyss. This seems like an incredibly small thing, but for some reason I think it is more important than we tend to believe. 

You have an already unhappy customer who is not able to log in to the system. Make sure the process for welcoming them back into the system doesn't make them even more unhappy. Make sure you take a look at the 'I forgot my password' process when you evaluate any HR tech supplier.

Happy Thursday.

In my tribe

I am in process of working on an epic 'Ranked' post, (1980s Albums, Ranked), that is taking ages to compile. In the extensive research (two or three Google searches), for that post I was reminded of one album that is certain to make the final rankings, In My Tribe by 10,000 Maniacs. 

The album was 10,000 Maniacs most popular album, and for many music aficionados it was the defining work for the band. I had the album back in the day, and I recall seeing a fantastic 10,000 Maniacs concert once as well. 

But what made me think about this album more directly today, was an extremely interesting comment someone made about me yesterday. This person thanked me for (I am paraphrasing a little), for being 'An advocate and supporter of our tribe'.

It was an interesting comment to me because I suppose I have not ever explicitly thought about being a supporter of a 'tribe'. But I suppose over the last few years especially, I have looked to work with and collaborate with people that I have known for a while, and who's talents and abilities I respect, (and often envy). And that is just a normal, natural thing I think. We want to work with the people we enjoy working with and who can imagine, create, and deliver amazingly cool things. And sometimes, maybe most of the time, these are people that we like, we maybe know socially, and perhaps we even consider them friends outside of 'work.' So I suppose given that context we (perhaps while not even thinking about it in those terms), we create, nurture, and support our own versions of a 'tribe'.

I don't really have a point to this, I am fortunate that the editor of this blog (who is me), has extremely low standards for quality, clarity and relevance.

But I suppose I should make some kind of point, (especially for the kind, kind people who are still reading).

So the point is this: We should support, champion, care for, nurture, and protect our 'tribe', even if we don't actually know who they are, how they precisely 'fit' in the tribe, and even when we may not be realizing that we are actually doing these things, even while we are doing them.

I am thankful to have the opportunity to know the incredible people that I get to work with, and who have supported me so much. I hope you know who you are and how grateful I am.

Thanks for reading. I will try and do better tomorrow.

It's after 5PM: Don't you even THINK about replying to that email

Clearing out a bunch of 'saved for later' articles in my feed reader this past weekend and I came across this gem from our pals at the Washington Post - France may pass a law allowing people to ignore work emails at home. Here is all you need to know on this, (in case you couldn't figure out the gist from the on the nose headine):

Among a host of new reforms designed to loosen the more stringent regulations in the country’s labor market, France’s labor minister, Myriam El Khomri, is including a provision that would give employees the right to ignore professional emails and other messages when outside the office. It would essentially codify a division between work and home and, on a deeper level, between public and private life.

El Khomri apparently fleeced this idea from a report by Bruno Mettling, a director general in charge of human resources at Orange, the telecommunications giant. Mettling believes this policy would benefit employers as much as their employees, whom, he has said, are likely to suffer “psychosocial risks” from a ceaseless communication cycle. As reported in Le Monde, a recent study found than approximately 3.2 million French workers are at risk of “burning out,” defined as a combination of physical exhaustion and emotional anxiety. Although France is already famous for its 35-hour workweek, many firms skirt the rules — often through employees who continue working remotely long after they leave for the day.

I know what my (primarily) USA-based readers are thinking right about now. Likely some combination of 'Those French don't know what it takes to compete in the modern economy', 'It is too late for that idea, technology has made the walls between work and non-work just about irrelevant', and 'You will never get the raise/title/office/parking space you want without working ALL THE TIME'.

At least here in the USA, the vast majority of advice and strategery around helping folks with trying to achieve a better level of work/life balance seems to recommend moving much more fluidly between work and not-work. Most of the writing on this seems to advocate for allowing workers much more flexibility over their time and schedules so that they can take care of personal things on 'work' time, with the understanding that they are actually 'working' lots of the time they are not technically 'at work'. Since we all have smartphones that connect us to work 24/7, the thinking goes that we would all have better balance and harmony between work and life by trying to blend the two together more seamlessly.

And I guess that is reasonably decent advice and probably, (by necessity as much as choice), that is what most of us try and do to make sure work and life are both given their due.

But the proposal from the French labor minister is advocating the exact opposite of what conventional (and US-centric), experts mostly are pushing. The proposed French law would (at least in terms of email), attempt to re-build the traditional and firm divide and separation between work and not-work. If this were to pass, then if it is outside of your 'work' time, then feel free to ignore that email. No questions asked. No repercussions. At least in theory.

An interesting, if very Frecnch-sounding idea.

But here is the question I want to leave with you: What if the French are right about this and the commonly accepted wisdom and advice about blending work and life is wrong?

What if we'd all be happier, and better engaged, and more able to focus on our work if we were not, you know, working all the time?

What if you truly shut it down at 5PM every day?

What would that look like?

PODCAST: #HRHappyHour 237 - 4 Ways to Take a Successful Retreat

HR Happy Hour 237 - 4 Ways to Take a Successful Retreat

Recorded Wednesday March 2, 2016

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guests: Laurie Ruettimann

Listen to the show HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish talked with Laurie Ruettimann.  Laurie is a former Human Resources leader turned influential speaker, writer and strategist. She owns a human resources consultancy that offers a wide array of HR services to human resources leaders and executives.  You can follow her blog at http://laurieruettimann.com.

Since Laurie and Trish each went on retreats recently, Steve talked to them about the things that made a retreat valuable and rewarding that are easily replicable for a weekend/day/a few hours away.  We also tied the discussion to ways that leads to a more human approach to work.  Finally, we wrapped up the show by discussing Globoforce's WorkHuman event.  WorkHuman is happening in Orlando from May 9-11 and is a place to learn about how to create a more human workplace.  

You can listen to the show on the show page here, or by using the widget player below:

You can learn more about WorkHuman here - http://bit.ly/whtrmctw and show listeners can use promo code WH16TM300 for $300 off your registration.

This was a fun show and I hope you take a break from work to give it a listen!

And remember to be sure to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour on iTunes or your favorite podcast app - just search for 'HR Happy Hour' and you will be sure to never miss a show.