G.L. Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur and venture investor/operator/incubator/mentor. Two of his companies have traveled the entire success path from the garage to IPO. He has been featured in Forbes, Wall Street Journal and other local business publications and newspapers.
Currently, he is Chairman of JobDig, an employment-focused media company that delivers multi-channel recruitment advertising solutions to employers of all sizes in all industries. JobDig publishes a free weekly jobs newspaper in markets throughout the U.S., operates the popular website jobDig.com, and partners with network and cable TV stations and radio stations in each of its markets to allow companies to leverage broadcast media in their recruitment advertising. The company also owns and operates LinkUp.com, a site that aggregates and publishes only jobs listed on corporate web sites from over 10,000 companies around the U.S.
His daily blog can be found at www.whatwoulddadsay.com, JobDig.com, and now as a weekly guest writer at US News and World Report.
He can be followed on twitter at www.twitter.com/glhoffman
Embrace the New, Embrace the Old
HR lives in tough times.
So much is new—FB, Twitter, background checks, Gen X and Y work methods, temporary jobs and ‘How To Do HR’ bloggers.
The dilemma must be how do we reconcile the new with the old?
How do we help our organizations achieve ever-toughening goals with the demands of a developing workforce? How do we make sure new communication tools are used in positive ways, rather than in silly, “give ‘em a wedgie” destructive workplace behaviors? And more.
Increasingly, HR folks risk being relegated to the bookkeeping-type functions inside organizations instead of the larger, more important task: ensuring our companies have the right talent in the right place at the right time.
It is not the HR person's fault. When you are in the swamp fighting alligators, it’s hard to worry about future issues.
But, THAT is the real job of HR. Even if those above you are not being receptive, it is your job to make sure that your messages get through. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t give up…just try another approach. The best among you understand how to do this.
It can be done. But it takes more effort, more awareness, more creativity and a greater willingness to try new things YOURSELF.
If you ask around, you will find that often HR is the part of your company not known for bringing new solutions to your company. You are the roadblock, not the roadbuilder.
Don’t be defensive.
I don't mind being the roadblock who stops a truck that's out of control, but we are roadblocks at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
ReplyDeleteSome of us.
Not me.