Business as a Second Language: Tips to Master the Talk and Improve Your HR Function

As if we didn't already know it, recent economic challenges have brought home the point--the business world we live in is demanding, ever-changing, and in some cases very fragile. Global competition, environmental changes, new rules and regulations, and demographic shifts have all had an impact, and to survive, organizations must think and act more forwardly and creatively.

For those of us in human resources, it is past time to get on board!

At FlashPoint, we've been speaking about this for years. HR practitioners can't just see themselves as the proverbial "people persons" whose sole purpose is simply to carry out functional day-to-day duties focused on employee relations. HR has to be more progressive. It has to integrate itself into the business. It has to figure out the organization's strategy, develop departmental goals around it, and help managers tie individual employees' goals to the strategy as well.

This shift in thinking and acting presents challenges. Many people in the HR field don't come from a business background. For a good number of HR professionals, a balance sheet is about as easy to understand as quantum theory. We've been telling those in HR that they need to speak like their CEO, but for a lot of people the CEO talks in a foreign tongue.

If the struggles described here sound like ones you face, it's time for you to invest in solutions. This, of course, means educating yourself--becoming familiar with business concepts, the ins and outs of your particular field or industry, and changing trends. Your investment could be costly and time-consuming, but it doesn't have to be.

Read the rest of the article to learn ways that you can improve your business skills and more fully incorporate your HR programs into your organization's strategic operations. To explore how FlashPoint can help you, contact us. You can also find more information on our website.

Focus Tactic: Interview Those in the Know
FlashPoint offers renewal sessions for its strategic peer group  alumni, and at a recent meeting, participants discussed how they could better understand their organization's goals, objectives, and strategy and how they could build HR programs to support them. One suggestion we offered was for participants to interview organizational leaders, such as the president/CEO, CFO, COO, and so on. We provided them with some questions to ask:

• What are our organization's key strategies, goals, and objectives?
• How will you measure whether we meet them? How will you know if we're successful?
• What role does HR play in helping the organization achieve these strategies, goals, and objectives?
• What knowledge, skills, and abilities do our team members need in order to execute our strategy?
• What are the most critical workforce issues we face today? What will they be five years from now?

If you're an HR leader, we encourage you also to ask your executives questions such as these. Not only will it help you better understand your business, it will demonstrate to these key players that you're serious about making HR an important component of the organizational strategy.

Join Us for The Leadership Challenge^® Workshop, April 29-30

To support individuals and organizations looking for leadership development opportunities, FlashPoint facilitates The Leadership Challenge^® Workshop. This popular program effectively utilizes interactive training, a self-assessment, and one-on-one coaching to help participants master and demonstrate proven leadership skills. What sets this workshop apart from other programs is that we present it as an ongoing development process; we continue to provide guidance and follow-up support months after the training component has ended, helping participants to master the leadership skills they learned and ensuring that they incorporate these skills into their work.

We will again offer the workshop during a two-day public session on April 29-30; if you or someone you manage is looking to develop leadership skills, this is a great opportunity. The workshop is ideal for mid- to upper-level functional-area managers or high-potential managers in any industry. Leaders in growing small- to medium-size organizations will also benefit.

Details about the program are listed below; for a more in-depth description, visit our website or contact us. The deadline to register is April 2.

Dates: April 29-30, 2010
Time: 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (breakfast and lunch included each day)
Location: FlashPoint, 200 S. Meridian St., Ste. 270, Indianapolis (Note: We are in the process of relocating, and we will host the workshop at our new office)
Facilitated by:  FlashPoint senior consulting manager Andrea M. Moore, CPLP, CEC
Cost: $1,600 for FlashPoint clients and charitable nonprofits, $1,800 for nonclients; includes the two-day workshop, a pre- and post-workshop Leadership Practices Inventory assessment, an hour-long one-on-one coaching session, and more. Send three people and the fourth is free!
Register: By April 2--space is limited! To register, call 317.229.3035 or e-mail us.

Upcoming Events 

Indiana Chamber HR Workshops
FlashPoint sponsors the Indiana Chamber's 2010 HR Training Series. Sessions take place in Indianapolis. More information is available at 800.824.6885 or the Chamber's website.

• Affirmative Action Half-Day Seminar, March 23
• Employee Benefits Seminar, April 22
• HR Webinar Series (see details below)

Indiana Chamber HR Webinar Series Presented by FlashPoint
The Indiana Chamber is teaming with FlashPoint to present a series of one-hour webinars on a variety of HR-related topics throughout the winter. FlashPoint team members will develop and present the sessions, which participants can follow online from the convenience of their own office or home. To register or learn more, call the Chamber at 800.824.6885 or visit its website. More information is also available at FlashPoint's website.

• Developing Compensation Programs, March 10

Other FlashPoint Speaking Engagements
FlashPoint regularly presents at conferences and association meetings. We hope to see you at the following events!

• Human Resource Professional Development Association--Krista Skidmore will present "Strategically Connecting Talent Acquisition and Talent Management" at the HRPDA's monthly meeting, Indianapolis, March 10 (more information at HRPDA's website).

FlashPoint's consultants present on a variety of matters related to human resources, business strategy, and leadership development--so if you're looking for someone to talk to your organization, visit our website to check out the topics on which we speak. You'll also find links to speaker biographies as well as a list of organizations for whom we've presented.

We're Moving!

For almost five years FlashPoint has called 107 S. Pennsylvania St. in downtown Indianapolis our home, and it's been a great office. But we're excited to announce that we've outgrown it and we're moving to more spacious quarters a couple of blocks away. Sometime around the first of April you'll find us at 200 S. Meridian St., Ste. 270, Indianapolis, IN 46225 . We'll be located in the historic McKee Building (also known as Station Place), which locals may recognize as the home of the Old Spaghetti Factory. One of the most exciting features is an in-house training center. We're still working out details about when the movers will come, so look for more information in an upcoming issue of eFlash! Rest assured, though, that you can always find us at www.FlashPointHR.com or info@FlashPointHR.com.

Tips from the FlashPoint Team--Advice on Recruiting

FlashPoint conducts human resource assessments for many organizations, helping to ensure they're following best practices and remaining compliant. Consultant Jeremy York oversees most of these assessments and finds three key areas in which organizations often fall behind: record keeping, recruiting, and employee handbooks. Last month Jeremy gave some tips on maintaining proper records. This month he offers the following advice on recruiting:

• Post current job opportunities on the company's website. Ensure the site is updated with current company information and include items such as benefits, an equal opportunity employment statement, etc.
• Utilize an applicant-tracking system (ATS) to automate the application process. An ATS stores employment applications/resumes in an online database. It saves time, eliminates paperwork, speeds up communication, and allows one to process reports easily.
• Develop interview guides for hiring managers to use to document their conversations with candidates. The guides help to ensure consistency, fairness, and equal treatment and to improve selection results.
  • Use telephone interviews as the first step in the interviewing process and develop a telephone interview guide to document important candidate information. This helps filter out unqualified candidates and saves time by discussing key elements of the position up front.
  • Develop behavior-based interview guides that focus on desired behaviors, general competencies for positions, the organization's values, and desired performance outcomes. Use these interview guides to ensure consistency and to improve selection results.
• Conduct background checks (criminal check, education verification, employer reference verification, license verification, driving history check if applicable, etc.). Require positive references from at least three of the candidate's former supervisors or managers before making an employment offer. Consider outsourcing all or subcomponents of the background-checking process. Apply this consistently to all new hires.

These are just a few of the things you should consider when recruiting. For more details on these tips or to learn about additional steps you should take, contact us or visit our website.

Laws and Rulings Affecting HR

EEOC Issues Proposed Rules Regarding ADEA Defense

On February 18, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to more clearly define the meaning of the "reasonable factors other than age" (RFOA) defense under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The RFOA defense is an affirmative defense asserted by the employer in order to demonstrate that its challenged policy or action was based on "reasonable factors other than age." This particular NPRM follows two United States Supreme Court cases addressing the RFOA defense: Smith v. City of Jackson and Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories. 

In Smith, the court authorized recovery for disparate impact claims of discrimination, holding that the RFOA test, rather than the business-necessity test, is the appropriate standard for determining the lawfulness of a practice that disproportionately affects older individuals. Subsequently, in Meacham, the court held that an employer bears both the burdens of production and persuasion for a RFOA defense in an ADEA disparate-impact claim.

The EEOC proposes to clarify the scope of the RFOA defense. Consistent with Smith and Meacham, the proposed revision provides guidance on determining whether a particular employment practice is based on reasonable factors other than age. The inquiry turns on the facts and circumstances of each particular situation and whether the employer acted prudently in light of those facts. This standard is lower than Title VII's business-necessity test but higher than the Equal Pay Act's "any other factor" test.

To learn more about the amendment and its implications, read the entire Labor and Employment Law Alert that Barnes & Thornburg LLP issued on this topic.

The information we present here should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion. Visit Barnes & Thornburg's website for more information about its Labor and Employment Law department.

Congratulations and Celebrations

FlashPoint is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of our clients and our team members. We offer congratulations for the following successes!

• The Indiana Chamber recently announced its annual "Best Places to Work in Indiana" list, recognizing organizations with a strong workplace environment that values employees. These recent FlashPoint clients made the list: Benefit Associates, Hancock Regional Hospital, RCI, and Teachers Credit Union.
• Earlier this month Indiana INTERNnet announced the recipients of its 2009 IMPACT Awards, which recognize achievements in internships and mentoring. The Midwest ISO and College Mentors for Kids won Outstanding Employer of the Year awards.
• The City of Indianapolis in January named Roche Diagnostics as a finalist for its first-ever Indianapolis Sustainability Awards. The city recognized Roche for implementing a chiller plant reclamation system.
• Wheaton World Wide Moving recently promoted Brenda Carter to director of human resources. In December Brenda also achieved certification as a senior professional in human resources (SPHR).

Case Study Highlight

Vera Bradley

Since 1982 Vera Bradley has been delighting its customers with high-quality bags and accessories crafted from colorful fabrics and trims; for many of those years, the Fort Wayne-based company sold its products primarily through exclusive retailers nationwide. A few years ago, however, it decided to branch out and open its own Vera Bradley brand stores. To ensure success, the company's human resources staff members had to put into place uniform processes and procedures to serve a number of stores across the country. They also had to quickly build a core team to oversee each of the stores. They determined they needed a partner to work alongside them, and they turned to FlashPoint for support.

Read a case study on how we helped Vera Bradley build a strong HR foundation to support its new business opportunities. You'll learn about our work with HR policy/process development, manager resource manuals, organizational development, recruitment, and training.

To view additional case studies, visit our website.