Night of Champions Highlights Adapted Athletics Program

The University of Alabama football team is not the only team on campus to bring home multiple championships in the past few years. The Adapted Athletics program has brought home six national titles since it was founded 13 years ago by Dr. Brent Hardin.

In 2003, Dr. Hardin and his wife moved to Tuscaloosa with a shared dream of starting an adapted athletics department. Hardin’s wife played collegiate wheelchair basketball at the University of Illinois and knew first-hand the value of that experience.

“There were and are so few collegiate adapted athletics programs in the country that we felt like there was a great need and that we had the ability to make it happen,” says Hardin.

With a small operating budget and just a handful of volunteers, Hardin and his team created the program by beginning with a women’s wheelchair basketball team. “Our belief was that you had to have a [team] in place for students to come.” says Hardin. “It was a gradual process to add more teams as we saw the success of the women’s program.”

Adapted Athletics now has scholarship athletes and full-time coaches for the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis teams. They also offer wheelchair track, adapted rowing, and adapted golf.

“It’s a common misconception that [wheelchair basketball] is slow paced or not aggressive in nature,” says senior wheelchair basketball player and Paralympic champion Jannik Blair.

“People are amazed to see the speed, the collisions, and how our athletes are flipping their chairs,” remarks Hardin. “I think it’s what really hooks people. It’s impressive.”

The program continues to coach phenomenal champions today. These athletes will be honored at the upcoming Night of Champions event on February 25 at Bryant Conference Center. The community will have an opportunity to meet these talented athletes and hear their personal stories. The event is free and starts at 5:00p.m. The first 250 guests will receive two free tickets to the wheelchair basketball tournament on Friday, February 26.

For more information regarding the adaptive athletics program or the Night of Champions event please visit www.champions.ua.edu

Hauling Out the Holly: Happy or Headache for HR?

There are experts aplenty who will opine that the holidays are a stressful time for everyone. While these days can create anxious moments for each one of us, it should be a time of joy, gathering with family and friends, and hope for the future. I, for one, embrace these days and endeavor to find the good associated with the holidays.

Unfortunately, some people experience extremely difficult issues during the holidays. This creates unique challenges to the HR professional in many forms. I’m not talking about the simple part of whether an employee is paid for the holidays.

The holidays are about our organizational culture. Whether organizations like it or not, employees look to the company leadership during this time with anticipation, concern and sometimes plain fear. I believe there is an important role for HR to play in making this time meaningful and yes, enjoyable. Allow me to explain:

First, bring your HR staff together and allow the team to discuss some potential problem areas that could arise for your employees and their family members. Share these thoughts with your management staff. Perhaps there are some employees and their families that may need assistance. If the firm has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), encourage your employees to use it. Remember, being a good corporate citizen is not about bragging about your actions, rather, it is how we handle our actions.

Next, using your corporate policy handbook, determine if there are certain nonprofit service organizations your firm can assist during this time. There are many wonderful groups out there providing great support for our citizens so it would be a great opportunity to work with your employees to find the right groups to assist. Obviously, ensure that you have buy-in from executive-level leadership and legal counsel for an outreach campaign within the community.

The question also arises as to the religious nature of the holidays and whether the company even celebrates the holidays, including the holidays of others. These are questions best answered by your executive leadership and general counsel. Our business leaders should always appropriately understand and appreciate the viewpoints of all of our employees.

Should we or should we not pay a holiday bonus? This column is not of sufficient space to adequately address this much-debated topic. The evidence may not be empirical but little doubt exists that if you started a traditional of giving some cash for the holidays but decide this year to stop the practice – be prepared for the employee backlash.

Ah… what about decorating the office? Doesn’t it make your employees feel great when they see the office is outfitted with a holiday tree, or ornaments or cards? I know it makes me feel good to see it. You can bet that the vast majority of staff love the decorations and even take part in the activities. But, let’s again remember the need to be sensitive to others who may not celebrate this holiday season. Above all, create an atmosphere of inclusion in the festivities, not isolation for those who may differ in their beliefs.

It is said that this is a time for giving. Employees may want to swap gifts with each through name exchanges or random drawings. They ask, “Do I buy a gift for my employees? Should I gift my boss or her boss? How much do we pay for a gift for a co-worker? What if the employee doesn’t want to give or, worse yet, cannot afford to give others a gift? How do we handle the pressure of gift giving to each other?”

Remind employees there is no requirement from the company that an employee participate in a gift exchange during the holidays. This is a personal choice and not sanctioned by the company. As an HR practitioner, one has plenty of work pressures anyway so it should not be placed as the arbiter of gift exchanges at work. The policy should be that gift exchanges are neither encouraged nor mandated.

The Holiday Party – should we or shouldn’t we? On the heels of the tragic act in California, many will question whether these events are necessary anymore. This is a decision left to executives and your general counsel. In my opinion, these events are good for morale, especially if it take places at work where employees get an opportunity to see their fellow employees differently than what they see them doing at work every day. If the company has sponsored them in the past, then I encourage it to consider a party going forward. The best holiday events are the ones at the workplace.

Lastly, drinking at any of these events must be disallowed. There are simply far more chances of injury that can occur at the parties where alcohol is served. The events should be enjoyable to everyone but there is absolutely no reason to allow alcohol to enter the event. This protects the employee and employer. Too many cases and laws exist, which place employers at peril should they endorse the use of alcohol at any company function. Seek counsel to craft the appropriate message for employees, and this message should be generated at the chief executive levels and provided to all of your employees.

Hope these tips help, and to everyone, have a safe and happy holiday season.

P.S. Holiday pay is usually awarded when the employee works their last scheduled workday before the holiday, and their next scheduled workday after the holiday. TIP: Remember, some employees take vacation days before and after holidays, so this must be factored into the pay scenario.

Article by Larry Baldwin, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, MBA – Director of the Human Resource Institute at Culverhouse College of Commerce in The University of Alabama. A former HR Management executive and professional with over 30 years extensive experience management experience.

Back to Your Future!

It’s October 21, 2015, and the future has arrived. Today is the day that Marty McFly, valiantly traveled to our present day in the 1989 sci-film “Back to the Future.” People across the world have excitedly been sharing their comparisons of our world today to the 80’s film’s predicted future. While our current world may not live up to the hoverboards and self tying shoe laces in McFly’s 2015, it does offer the opportunities to help you make your future exactly what you want.

Through innovative technology and interactive teaching, professionals around the world are enhancing their skills and techniques every day. Certificate programs and continued education are on the rise as individuals are learning the importance of staying on the front end of trends and technology. While this may not seem important to some, more and more managers and CEO’s are seeing the value in having employees who are continuously learning to help keep their company on top in this ever-changing world.

Not only are these professionals increasing their value to their current employer but they have also learned and realized that these certifications can be used to market themselves for future jobs and promotions. Obtaining certifications prove that you’re capable of learning and retaining knowledge, while also showing that you’re committed to a career path, well versed in it and knowledgeable.

Although certifications certainly help professionals advance in their career, they also help individuals interested in starting a new career. As individuals progress in their field, they sometimes feel they should have pursued other options and begin to feel unhappy with their job. By obtaining certifications in the proper fields, individuals can become prepared to explore other options while also adding substance to their resume. By choosing to become certified in their field of interest, they are showing that they can learn and understand the concepts and tasks that may come with this new career change.

While it may be too late to order your brand new souped-up DeLorean outfitted with a flux capacitor, keep in mind it is never too late to redefine what your future will be. Invest in your future and continue your education and your future self will thank you.

Article by Kevin Lake, Communications Specialist for The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies. Kevin also  currently serves as the Vice President of Communications for the Public Relations Council of Alabama West Alabama division.

 

Is Your Business at Risk for Cyber Threats?

In 2015, small, medium and large corporations can face daily cyber threats from insider threats in the form of disillusioned employees, malicious and non-malicious hackers, and even nation states. What steps can executives take to reduce their risk and decrease liability? What are the expenses associated with protecting data? Even more compelling, what are the costs of a data breach?

Recent data breaches have targeted large companies such as Target, J.P. Morgan Chase and Google, as well as federal organizations like the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). These breaches have triggered questions about the cybersecurity of entities with access to highly sensitive information. Even without highly sensitive data, all companies face threats of corporate espionage such as the stealing of data files, customer records, processes and product lists. Ineffective security leaves financial information, medical records, addresses, and more exposed to hackers, and represents the greatest vulnerability of American businesses today. Cyberforce Security: Risk and Mitigation, a one-day course hosted by The University of Alabama Cyber Institute (UACI) and the College of Continuing Studies (CCS), will educate C-level employees on steps they can take to protect their companies from cyberattacks and how to avoid unnecessary litigation.

No network compromise is insignificant and each one aims to harm retailers, banks, insurance companies, international firms and more. Target lost the credit card information of 40 million people and later came to a $10 million settlement deal with victims. The accounts of 76 million households and seven million small businesses were affected by the J.P. Morgan Chase hack targeting the country’s largest bank. Five million Gmail usernames and passwords were compromised in the Google breach.

Perhaps the most severe breaches were announced during late Spring and Summer 2015. These breaches, likely perpetrated by foreign hackers, were collectively referred to as the “OPM hack.” OPM has recruited and supported federal employees from all agencies since 1978. In April, OPM discovered hackers had stolen the personnel data of 4.2 million current and former federal workers. Further investigation revealed even more information had been lost than initially thought. In June, OPM admitted that 21.5 million background investigation files on current, former and prospective employees were also hit in the cyberattack. This suggests that in addition to garage hackers, sophisticated cyber criminals and disgruntled employees, corporations must now also guard against nation states. The costs associated with combatting these threats are staggering to most businesses.

The pace of innovation and creativity of malicious cyber actors has drastically outpaced the evolution of cyber security measures. Most companies scramble to react when blindsided by a security breach because they lack any anticipatory strategies to predict and prevent breaches before they happen.

Bama At work , professional developemt and conference services division of The University of Alabama is proud to offer on January 21, 2016 the Cyberforce Security: Risk and Mitigation course to help C-level executive understand the importance of the cybersecurity process for their organization.  More information is available on our website.

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Article by David W. Aucsmith, President of Aucsmith Consulting and Mark M. Lowenthal, Ph.D., CEO of the Intelligence and Security Academy.

        

A New Generation of Leaders.

As the baby boomers begin to retire and leave the workforce, the millennial generation is steadily beginning to be promoted in to supervisory and management positions. Although many workers with more seniority seem to think otherwise, this is a good thing!

In 2015 Millennials surpassed Generation X as the largest generation in the U.S. labor force. According to Pew Research Center, more than one-in-three American workers today are Millennials (adults ages 18 to 34). This milestone occurred in the first quarter of 2015, as the 53.5 million-strong millennial workforce has risen rapidly.

Millennials bring forth a new set of skills, values and expectations to the ever-growing workforce.  They are generally thought to be well educated and technologically savvy. Never before has there been a generation of workers that has grown in to their positions with as much access to knowledge and information as the millennial generation.

Even with the knowledge and skills, many members of the millennial generation still have major obstacles to overcome. The biggest issues facing Millennials being considered for a workplace promotion revolve around their possible lack of readiness for the position. Although many Millennials are believed to have the knowledge and expertise needed to do a good job, many senior workers still believe this new and upcoming generation lacks the skill sets needed to supervise and manage.

To better prepare Millennials for this upcoming challenge, we here at Bama At Work have decided to provide a few tips for our rising generation.

1. Attend Conferences

 Conferences allow you to network with influential people in your industry. They also provide an opportunity to learn more about the field you work in. Attend presentations that allow you to engage in topics that you may not be personally familiar with and allow you to learn from some of the brightest minds in your industry. Try to think of attending a conference as a small part of advancing the ultimate goal of your organization.

2. Continue Your Education

 Continuing your education not only benefits you, but also benefits your employer. People who upgrade their work skills and knowledge not only keep up with the latest technologies and business techniques, additional training helps you climb the corporate ladder and to realize additional career goals.

3. Get Certified

Once you learn your industry and become familiar with the “ins and outs” of your field, it is time for you to prove it. Certifications demonstrate expertise in specialized areas and provide assurance to employers that an employee has the skill set needed to perform the required duties. Certificate programs such as the Management Certificate Program for Supervisors at The University of Alabama help prepare individuals to take on a management role while developing an efficient leadership style. These types of certificate programs not only give you the leg up on your competition, but they also show employers that you are ready to advance in your career.

As Millennials take over the workforce, it is important that they be properly equipped to lead and grow. Through continuous learning and training, the millennial generation is bound to be one of the most successful generations the workforce has seen.

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Article by Kevin Lake, Communications Specialist for The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies. Kevin also  currently serves as the Vice President of Communications for the Public Relations Council of Alabama West Alabama division.

Would they Back Out of the Job Offer?

So, say you’re a recruiter or HR manager for your organization. You just closed a job search for a Systems Engineer role in Minot, North Dakota. The candidate met every qualification the hiring manager wanted, plus the team really liked the candidate. They believe he will be a great addition to the team. He accepted the verbal offer and will begin work in three weeks. It’s been a 75-day recruiting search, and the team is ready to move on to other talent searches.

Fast forward, and now you’re five days away from the arrival date of the candidate and the organization is prepared. The team has his office set up with a new computer and an email address has been assigned. The only remaining concern in your mind is that he has not sent back the written offer letter you mailed him and there has been no communication. Are you worried?

Later, when you return from lunch, you check your voice mails, and there is one message from the Systems Engineer candidate. In the voice mail, he begins by saying that he really appreciates the opportunities offered by your company, and the time everyone spent with him, but his tone seems somber. Then, he drops a bombshell. He is declining your offer and says he is staying with his current firm. He explains that they not only matched your offer, but also gave him a 5 percent higher salary and other incentives. Your worry now turns to abject frustration. It is needless to return his call. The day’s gone from great to terrible!

This may seem somewhat far-fetched, but it happens every day in the tough business of talent acquisition. Hiring proven talent away from other firms is often risky when you don’t necessarily know all of the motives of the prospective candidate. To be fair, a job candidate has the absolute right to accept or reject a job offer. A company should be prepared to be jilted at the altar. If you are a recruiter or Human Resource Manager or Hiring Manager, you have probably experienced a similar situation. So, how do you avoid this in the future?  Here are some tips to consider:

• Have a total plan in place regardless of the acceptance of the verbal offer:

After a tough job search, exuberance is a fair response when the prospective candidate accepts a job offer. But, be mindful that there are many variables at play in the mind of the job searcher. Never assume the search is over. Take a cautious approach before sending out those, “Thanks, but no thanks,” letters to candidates who weren’t given the offer. At a minimum, the recruiter should continue communicating with the department to establish a fair evaluation of the remaining candidates should the candidate decline the offer. Why?  These candidates may be next up in the hiring process.

• Always stay in contact with the candidate who accepted the verbal offer:

Avoid the trap of going silent with a candidate after verbal acceptance has been given to you. Have the candidate provide best methods and times to communicate with them during this transition period. Build a working relationship with the person through the waiting period between offer and arrival. Do not wait until the person walks through the door. Quickly send out a written job offer and get this offer in the hands of the candidate ASAP. Use an overnight service and follow-up with an email or phone call to ensure receipt of the documents. Require the written job offer to be accepted and returned to your organization no more than seven days from the verbal offer date. Call the candidate at a minimum of two times each week to find out if they have any questions or concerns. Provide a newcomers website where candidates can learn about the company and find out what they can do to prepare for joining the company in advance of their arrival. Talk with the candidate to determine if they have any questions about the special arrival website or general questions about the new job. Respond promptly to questions and do not be afraid to show the candidate your interest in their arrival. Be active, but not overpowering. Remember, you are investing in this person and want them to be a part of your organization. Build on this relationship. It is a business necessity to build up the relationship before the first day of employment.

• Never assume anything in the world of talent acquisition:

Changing jobs or leaving a company for a new job can be very difficult for many candidates. In recruiting, one should never assume this process is simply a choice of saying yes or no. Safety and security are important to many. Be sensitive to these concerns. Motive is very difficult to establish for every candidate. It is fair game to ask a candidate how they would respond if their current company makes a counteroffer.

“If offered a job by our organization, what will be your response if your present company counters our offer to you?” A possible follow-up comment to the candidate could be, “What makes you worth more today than yesterday to your current company, other than our offer?”

When making an offer of employment to a candidate, ask the tough questions as it relates to their decision to leave their current organization. Your organization is investing time and money in this selection. Never assume anything in the recruitment process.

Talent acquisition requires creative sourcing; sharp interviewing skills; plans for success or possible failure; tough negotiating skills; and the ability to sell and close the deal with the prospective candidates. Once the deal is made, it is important to follow the Sales model of building and developing a customer relationship with the candidate to get them in the door. Excite the candidates about the organization and the job. Show them how important they are to the organization’s growth. Don’t think the talent acquisition process ends simply because the candidate gave a verbal “yes” to your offer. Keep working the deal in a patient and forward thinking manner. How do you handle your job offer process?

To learn more about human resources and talent acquisition, register for the 61st HRM conference, on October 6-7, 2015. The conference will take place at The Club in Birmingham Alabama. More information on our website.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Human Resources and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Larry Baldwin, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, MBA – Director of the Human Resource Institute at Culverhouse College of Commerce in The University of Alabama. A former HR Management executive and professional with over 30 years extensive experience management experience.

Project Management Simulation: The Kobayashi Maru

What a morning! Some days, you’d rather just stay in bed. For those Trekkies out there, you are familiar with the Kobayashi Maru or the infamous “no win scenario” that was part of the curriculum for command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It was primarily used to assess a cadet’s discipline, character and command capabilities when facing an impossible situation, as there were no “legitimate” strategies that would result in a successful outcome.

We all have some mornings where the Klingon War Birds are closing in, the shields are about to fail, and the destruction of your ship is imminent. There is no way out. You are done! Well, I sat in the captain’s chair this morning, and my little starship was in a world of hurt. The project was falling way behind, the budget was blown to bits, the staff was putting in a lot of overtime and they were not particularly thrilled about it. And worst of all, the boss was not happy at all. The situation was looking pretty grim as we battled to regain control of the project and get things back on schedule. Our stress level was boiling over. Could we pull the project together, would my starship be doomed and its crew turned to space dust.

Then, a friendly voice carved through the tension, saying, “You have completed Phase I.” What?!?  Was this just a bad dream? Well, not really. It was the simulation that comes with Bama At Work’s Advanced Project Management course. This course features a unique real-world simulation that will test your skills as a project manager. The simulation covers just about all of the nightmares that could possibly happen to you when piloting your way through a major project. Like the Kobayashi Maru, the simulation puts you and your team in some tough situations that will call on all of your planning and decision making abilities. And, unlike James T. Kirk, you can’t reprogram and beat the simulation. But, you can win fair and square, if you make the right moves.

Think you have the moxie to sit in the captain’s chair in the heat of battle? Do you want to learn how to command your starship when the odds are against you? Take project management courses and earn your Starfleet stripes.  Visit our website to learn more and enroll in the University of Alabama’s Project Management Academy. On-site custom training is available upon request. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + ,and LinkedIn  for more information and news about project management certificate programs, professional development and how to improve the efficiency of your organization.

Article by Antoine Bell, Marketing and Strategic Communications Manager, Professional Development & Conference Services, The University of Alabama.

Succession Planning: It’s Not Just Needed at the Top!

Some managers think of succession planning like they do writing their wills or purchasing their cemetery plots. They know they should be thinking about it at some point. But they would really rather not do it now. It is just too depressing.  And it is easy to rationalize putting it off amid dealing with daily crises and firefighting.  Additionally, in these days of everybody-for-themselves career planning, some managers actually worry that they might plan themselves out of their jobs if they do too well in identifying and grooming their successors.  Still other managers’ reason that they shouldn’t worry about succession issues, since that is something only the CEO and other senior-level leaders should be concerned about.

But succession planning is no longer a topic that should be put off until a rainy day. It needs to be done now. It needs to be done for all levels in the organization, from CEO down to shop floor worker.  And it needs to be done in small and medium-sized businesses just as much as it needs to be done in big business.

Why has succession planning emerged as such a hot topic? There are at least five major reasons.

• First, the 1996 crash in Bosnia of the plane carrying U.S. Secretary Ron Brown and over 30 senior executives from major U.S. corporations made succession planning a front-burner topic. That plane crash was a wake up call to corporate boards, CEOs, and Vice Presidents of Human Resources around the globe.  It galvanized attention and led many corporations, government agencies, and even nonprofit enterprises to resuscitate otherwise dormant succession planning programs.
• Second, it is common knowledge in small business that inadequate succession plans are a common cause of small business failure when founding entrepreneurs retire or pass away. In fact, an entire industry has sprung up to offer financial, legal or management advice to small business owners about how to hand down their legacies to their heirs who may have ample cause for concern about inheritance taxes that can eat up their life work. Even worse, some entrepreneurs cannot find replacements to manage the business when family members are not interested.  They may be forced to sell—or go out of business.
• Third, the downsizing craze of the late 1980s and 1990s has taken its toll. Middle managers, more than any other group, saw their ranks dramatically thinned during a continuing parade of cost-saving measures that were variously called by such euphemistic terms as reductions in force, downsizings, layoffs, smartsizings, early outs, early retirements, and buyout programs. While those programs looked good to investors on quarterly balance sheets, raised stock prices, and often enhanced earnings for the short-term, they also reduced the ranks of middle managers being prepared for promotion to the senior executive level.  While that would have worked effectively for a few organizations, widespread downsizing depleted the middle management ranks almost everywhere–making traditional modes of recruitment such as headhunting less effective than ever before.  Was it no longer always possible to rely on luring talent away from others when needed desperately–and usually on short notice? And, as immigration rules were tightened in the U.S., the old trick of finding talent from abroad became a proverbial rabbit that was tougher to pull out of the proverbial hat.
• Fourth, demographic trends point toward leaner times for recruiters and increased importance of making investments to grow talent from within. Between 1996 and 2006, those aged 55 to 64 in the U. S. will increase by 54%, while traditional entry-level employees aged 25 to 34 will experience a net decrease of 8.8% below traditional levels before that.  This demographic trend has prompted doomsayers to predict that over 20% of all senior executives in large corporations will be at risk of retirement in just a few years.
• Fifth and finally, record employment levels make worker retention a key cause for concern. With national unemployment rates below 4% at this writing, employers who don’t invest in the development of their employees as a retention tool will find themselves in deep trouble fast.  In some locales (where unemployment rates have dipped below 2%), it is not uncommon to place a job vacancy advertisement in the newspaper and get no responses for a year.  In this market, employers who can give their employees development for the future will find, based on research, that investments in training or succession planning efforts are actually retention strategies that can preserve existing talent.  What is more, employers are becoming more willing to tell people when they are successors for key positions–something that only one-fourth of U.S. employers did just a few years ago–because the hope of future advancement can keep workers from jumping from employer to employer for wage increases ranging from small to very large.

Taken together, these trends point toward the growing importance of succession planning as a daily activity to be undertaken at all levels. It is not just a cause for concern for the CEO. It is, and should be, the concern of any manager who wants to retain, attract, and develop a first-rate staff now and in the future. This trend will not just go away. To learn more about succession planning, register for our course on January 12-13, 2016 at the AIDT Center in Birmingham. More information on our website.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Human Resources and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Robert K. Prescott, Ph.D. SPHR and William J. Rothwell, Ph.D. SPHR. Robert Prescott and William Rothwell are the instructors for the succession planning course offered by Bama At Work.

         

What is The Name of my Game?

Every day our organizational management is confronted with the rush to Big Data and its impacts on organizational metrics. However this rush is failing to understand one critical factor in making a decision. Consider this scenario. It is a dreary, overcast day and so you decide to go to the mall to do some shopping. As you enter your favorite big box store, you see an 18-year-old blonde blue-eyed girl head directly to a particular display. I am not trying to create a stereotype but rather to demonstrate the basis of Big Data.

Marketing has spent large sums of money to create an experience based on Big Data to create a vision of the why that 18-year-old would head to that particular display. Their models extensively study the correlation behind the demographics and desires of certain population groups and how they result in purchases by these groups. In the readings on the implications of Big Data in HR one article suggested the use of a tool called predictive analysis. The example they provided was that Big Data had told an organization that every time a certain manager interviewed a candidate for an open position the hire resulted in a failed hire. The extended logic was that if this hiring manager was the next manager up for an opening, the odds were that the hire would not last. Correlation is great for certain aspects of the organization, but HR needs to see if the causality of the human capital management issues are clearly understood.

Return to our predictive analysis example we discussed above. It is critical that when we have a problem with a process, it is almost never a people problem. If this is correct then the fact that a particular manager is interviewing failed hires is not the grounds for a valid correlation but rather a sign that something is something is wrong with the process. Is the reason that the hires fail due to the wrong cultural fit? Is the reason the hires fail due to the wrong skills for the position? The use of the continual process improvement methodology provides you with the tools to discover the root causes of the process problems that a concentration on correlations does not and cannot.

When we determine that in order to correct the obstacles to the hiring process, we need to find a driven method to empower change in our organizations. The use of the cause and effect determination is a method to drive that change. The TLS Continuum (Theory of Constraints-Lean-Six Sigma) provides a roadmap to discover the causes of the process problems.

We are not suggesting that Big Data does not have a place within our organizations. It certainly does in areas like sales or marketing. But when the success of our organizations is dependent on knowing why we are experiencing process errors, there is a better route to go with the TLS Continuum and the Continuous Process Improvement tools. To learn more about big data and the influence on HR, register for the 61st HRM conference, on October 6-7, 2015. The conference will take place at The Club in Birmingham Alabama. More information on our website.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Human Resources and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Daniel T. Bloom SPHR, Six Sigma Black Belt, SCRP. Daniel is the CEO and Managing Consultant for Daniel Bloom and Associate, Inc and will be a speaker at the 61st Annual HRM conference.

Creating a High Performing Team.

One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Einstein, who said, “I never teach my pupils, I only provide the conditions in which they can learn.”  This is a key concept to remember when you start exercising more leadership the further you get into your career.  In determining what kind of leader you will be, you need to know how to create the conditions to produce a high performing team that will grow.

Learning the ropes as a manager can be a long and difficult ride, but it doesn’t have to be.  Here are the most common tips to use to foster an atmosphere of growth within your teams.

1. Your title is not enough: Sorry to tell you but the titles of “director,” “manager” or “VP” will not move your people to outperform their past efforts. It is about learning to earn the respect of your team.  It is about getting out of your office and getting your hands dirty, showing them you are willing to work just as hard as they are to get the job done!

2. We are friends: You have to have defined lines to properly lead others. Yes, you want to have an open door policy for your team, but seek a balance that helps them to help themselves.

3. Goals? What is that: Along with defined lines, your people need to have clear goals they have to accomplish every day, week, month, quarter and year. These need to be 100% understood so they know how to prioritize their day to accomplish projects and tasks in the proper order.

4. I have to hire someone now: The impact of hiring the wrong person can only create more stress on you and your team. Take your time when hiring, make sure they are a good fit within the company and your team’s culture. Hire a team member not just a body!

5. Everyone is motivated by money: Although your employees do need to pay their bills, many of them are not solely motivated by money. Some are motivated by work/life balance and maybe telecommuting can get their performance to increase. Others may need a pat on the back, extra responsibility, or even a sense of camaraderie with the company or team. Everyone is different so help them build SMART goals and watch them shine!

We know there is so much more to being a manager, and that is why we have released our newly expanded catalog of professional enrichment courses.  Built for convenience and packed with quality instruction, our professional development and enrichment courses can help you master many of the obstacles you face when improving your career and teams.  These courses range from business and health to courses that help grow your perspective on the world.  These affordable courses can range from 1 hour of your time to just a few weeks to finish. Bama At Work, The University of Alabama partners with World Education to offer students 100% online career training programs. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google + , LinkedIn or visit our website for more info and news about Professional Development, Online Training and how to improve your professional profile.

Article by Kelly Fuhlman, Director of Social Media  for World Education , and is personally involved in helping others make a better life for themselves through education. World Education is one of the main partner of the University of Alabama for Online Certificate Programs.