The Other Side of Life 24/7: The Cynical Girl: #SHRMADVICE Day: Find More Executive HR Leaders

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Cynical Girl: #SHRMADVICE Day: Find More Executive HR Leaders

#SHRMADVICE Day: Find More Executive HR Leaders
#SHRMAdvice Day: Your Members Matter from Victorio Milian
#SHRMADVICE Day
The Week Ahead: June 2, 2013

#SHRMADVICE Day: Find More Executive HR Leaders

Posted: 03 Jun 2013 08:45 AM PDT

Society for Human Resource Management (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Earlier this year, I met with Jeff Pon at SHRM to hear what’s keeping him up at night.

Let me say that Jeff is a nice guy. It was a good meeting. Almost all of it is off-the-record, which is totally fine. I am not a journalist and he didn’t tell me anything super revelatory. I harbor no state secrets.

But Jeff did tell me that he considers himself to be a business leader first and a Human Resources leader second. I thought it was an interesting comment and wondered how many of SHRM’s members say that about themselves.

Not many.

Most of SHRM’s members are HR professionals first and mothers second. Maybe even grandmothers. And if I were in Jeff’s shoes, big data and demographics would keep me awake at night. Right now, SHRM has a bunch of women over 40 who form the bulk of their membership. That’s fine. Those women are fun and they like to party; however, they aren’t a particularly lucrative demographic for advertisers. SHRM has sold those names and email addresses over and over again.

And much to the dissatisfaction of advertisers and HR solution providers, many of these “leads” have grown cold. SHRM members are not promoted into roles with budgets. When they are, they don’t renew their SHRM memberships.

So how do you attract senior-level HR executive members who understand the future of HR and want to build a better association? How do you attract an existing demographic — powerful business leaders in HR — who would willingly evangelize SHRM’s brand and eventually attract a younger and upwardly mobile demographic?

Well, you have to blow stuff up.

How would I do this?

I have a background in HR/mergers & acquisitions from my days at Kemper Insurance where I was the sole HR leader for the Capital Development group. I worked (a little) in this space at Pfizer. I learned that sometimes you have to buy stuff to blow stuff up. If I were at SHRM, I would push hard for an acquisition of a prestigious management association. I would find one with a strong infrastructure that could run independently from the main body of SHRM. And I would find one that is outside the beltway and isn’t focused on Human Resources at all.

I would throw cash at it. A lot of cash.

At the same time, I would also hire a noteworthy consulting firm (think McKinsey & Company or Deloitte) to help me rethink HR. I would find the top 15 executive HR leaders in America, and we would create a highly visible and impressive task force that is focused on building a world-class Human Resources function for the 21st century. This endeavor would be tough and everything would be on the table. And it might take a few years to come up very important and concrete recommendations that would be published in a very public way; however, this work could be the most defining moment for Human Capital Management since 1948.

I would use these recommendations to form the basic underpinnings of a new marketing strategy for SHRM. Entrepreneurs, business leaders and HR executives might be interested in joining both SHRM and its new management association if the aforementioned task force can redefine and re-brand the Human Resources function.

Would the top 15 HR executives in America want to do this?

Maybe and maybe not. I would offer a free membership to both SHRM and the executive management association I just acquired. I would fly them out to the best locations to work on this project. I would pay their expenses, upgrade them to first class seats if a rented corporate jet wasn’t available, and I would offer them an annual stipend.

In essence, I would treat them like real business professionals on a board.

Who could help me appeal to the executive HR leader’s ego as well as their desire to build a legacy?

I would hire a real PR firm outside of Washington DC — one that knows the NYC media scene and not just insider politics in the beltway — to make my HR executives more visible to media outlets, journalists and cable news networks. If the market sneezes, I don’t want to see Suzy Welch on TV. I want my HR executives on the air to talk about the implications to businesses and the global workforce.

What else would I do?

I would never again say that I am a business leader first and a Human Resources leader second. HR is business. And instead of being stuck in the weeds with an inferiority complex about my career choice — as many HR leaders are — I would get to work on redefining the role of Human Capital Management in the 21st century and beyond.

#SHRMAdvice Day: Your Members Matter from Victorio Milian

Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:45 AM PDT

It’s the first week of June 2013, and the world hasn’t changed.

Let me explain that statement…

On May 23 I discussed my ambivalence toward renewing my SHRM National membership on my Facebook wall. It was set to expire at the end of the month. Here’s part of it; you can read the full statement here.

Facebook wants to know what’s on my mind. Here you go…

Yesterday I posted on my Facebook timeline that my SHRM National membership was set to expire in several days. I stated that I was “on the fence” when it came to whether or not to renew it. Colleagues chimed in and at this point it seems to be a roughly 50/50 split. Actually, that’s not quite accurate. There were clear yeas and nays. Yet many simply asked whether or not I found value in the organization, and to use that answer to shape my decision.

I’ll continue to think about it. This is not an easy decision, least of which it may mean that I also lose my membership to the state SHRM chapter, HR/NY. However, I spend a lot of time consulting job seekers to define and communicate their value proposition. They need to be able to convincingly answer the question, “Why should I hire you?” Why shouldn’t I expect the same from an organization that is supposed to have my best interests at heart? (emphasis mine)

Many colleagues chimed in, both for and against renewal. The pro side talked about access to resources, as well as about changing the culture from the inside. The naysayers talked about value, and whether I was getting enough bang for my buck. It was a good conversation; I appreciated the arguments that were made.

In the end, I decided not to renew. And the world didn’t change.

Do you know the movie It’s a Wonderful Life? Don’t laugh; I only saw it three years ago, much to my wife’s disappointment. If you don’t know the story, it’s about what happens to the main character, George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) as he’s thinking about making a particular choice in his life. Contemplating suicide, he’s shown an alternate future, one in which this critical decision leads to those around him suffering tremendously. In other words, his actions have the power to make the world better or worse.

I don’t pretend to have that sort of power. I also don’t pretend that dropping off the proverbial SHRM map is going to impact the organization. That’s part of the frustration. I wanted to be a part of an organization where I felt that I mattered. With SHRM, it felt like I was shopping in a clothing store and all of the sales associates were ignoring me. This, after numerous attempts to engage them on projects of mutual interest. No thanks; I’ll take my time and talent elsewhere.

So, while I’ve moved on, I do want to add one more thing: SHRM, you have amazing advocates. People from state and local chapters whom I’m connected with argued strongly on the organization’s behalf. You should find ways to thank them, as well as further harness their advocacy so that more members don’t drop out. Because while one person may not change SHRM’s world, enough people might. Your members matter.

Bio: Victorio Milian is a Human Resources Consultant, writer, and speaker living in the best place on Earth–New York City! Creative, hard working, and smart, his goal is to make brands great by maximizing their talent initiatives. Along with this, Victorio has spent the past four years articulating his thoughts through social media about the Human Resources profession, as well as the ever shifting work landscape, via his blog, Creative Chaos HR.

#SHRMADVICE Day

Posted: 03 Jun 2013 03:45 AM PDT

A few years ago, Mark Stelzner and I asked several of our friends to write blog posts on how SHRM (the world's largest association devoted to human resource management) could better serve its members.

Although the posts are no longer public, I thought it was a good series. I’ve asked my friends to participate again today and share some ideas.

You can follow the hashtag #SHRMADVICE on Twitter. And I have a few posts coming up on my blog, today.

Tweets about “#shrmadvice”

I hope you enjoy it!

The Week Ahead: June 2, 2013

Posted: 02 Jun 2013 03:45 AM PDT

Happy Sunday, everyone. I am off to Texas for a very short trip to see my friends at Summer Brand Camp. I will be moderating a panel on recruiting, HR and social media.

I am in/out but I do hope to see you there.

I am also wrapping up my social media webinar series with Jennifer McClure. This week is Strategies to Establish and Amplify Your Presence on Facebook. If you want an example of some of the content we share, check out a free resource guide we made called Your Guide to Getting the Most Out of LinkedIn.

I hope you all have a great week. Stay safe and stay cool out there.