HR CERTIFI TION INSTITUTE Hope Among Chaos Cristina Wildermuth, Ed.D., SPHR DIG ITAL DESIGNER: Chris Stein Certified is a publication of the HR Certification Institute and is published

Hope Among Chaos

Elizabeth Glaser PediatricAIDS Foundation

Protecting Privacy in the Information Age 14

Mind the Generational Gap 28

Making it Big, Keeping it Personal 50

Remember the Human Side of HR 72

Global Touch 86

HR CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE | Certified | Winter 2013

COVER STORY

Hope Among ChaosElizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

page 40

INSIDE CERTIFIED

Features

14 Protecting Privacy in the Information Age

By J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP

22 Breakthrough HR A conversation with

Seth Kahan

28 Mind the Generational Gap

By Nona Chigewe

50 Making it Big, Keeping it Personal

By Archana Mehta

66 Avoiding Culture ‘Clashes’ in International Business

By Margaret Brown

72 Remember the Human Side of HR

Bryan Wempen and William Tincup, SPHR

80 Most Popular Countries for Companies to Invest

By Seth Kahan

86 Global Touch By Reginald HubbardBy Archana Mehta

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation

www.HRCI.org Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 1

Departments

HR CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE

Mary E. Power, CAE, CMPExecutive Director

Bennie F. JohnsonChief Global Marketing

+ Business Development Officer

Certified™

Nona ChigeweProject Director

Margaret BrownNona ChigeweErin DeCaprioArchana MehtaEditorial Team

Brian Hodge

Alexis Chng-CastorArt Directors

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS:Margaret BrownNona Chigewe

Seth KahanArchana Mehta

SPECIAL CONTRIBUTORS:Katie Batten

Libby Ehrig, M.S.Rubens Pessanha Filho, PMP, GPHR, HRMP

Reginald HubbardJ. Trevor Hughes, CIPP

Ikoie NormanWilliam Tincup, SPHR

Bryan WempenCristina Wildermuth, Ed.D., SPHR

DIGITAL DESIGNER:Chris Stein

Certified is a publication of the HR Certification Institute and is published two times a year. For more information, please contact our offices at 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia, USA 22314,

or call us at 1-866-898-4724 (U.S. Toll Free) 1-703-535-6000 (International). Visit us on the web at www.hrci.org. To request a copy of Certified go to www.hrci.org/certified.

©2013 HR Certification Institute (HRCI). All rights reserved. ‘Certified’, ‘Get Certified, Get Noticed’, ‘Get ReCertified’ are trademarks of the HR Certification Institute. The HRBP, HRMP, PHR, SPHR, GPHR, PHR-CA and SPHR-CA are trademarks of the HR Certification Institute, registered in the U.S. and other countries.

or call us at 1-866-898-4724 (U.S. Toll Free) 1-703-535-6000 (International). Visit us on the web at www.hrci.org. To request a copy of Certifiedwww.hrci.org/certified.

I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO OUR SECOND EDITION OF CERTIFIED, OUR SEMI-ANNUAL PUBLICATION LAUNCHED IN JUNE OF

this year. It is especially designed for you, featuring subjects of interest and stories of extraordinary and emerging practices and initiatives that are being led by your peers who hold one or more of our

certifications. We hope that it is informative, interesting and fosters enhanced pride in your credentials.

This issue features some of these professionals and their employers who are leading the way in creatively enhancing the impact of their contribution to employee effectiveness and well-being as well as impact on business success. This involves ways to increase access to information, speed of execution, more effective collaboration, quality of communication and more. Once again, these are examples of HR professionals certified by the HR Certification Institute who are doing great things in their HR careers for their people, their businesses and ultimately for their own sense of fulfillment.

The Institute has now officially gone global with the successful launch of our two new certifications: the HR Business Professional (HRBPSM) and HR Management Professional (HRMPSM). These certifications are designed for HR professionals located outside the United States and were offered for the first time this past May in 67 locations across 49 countries. We are delighted to welcome 573 pioneering HR professionals from around the globe who successfully earned one of these credentials. We look forward to even more successful candidates around the globe at our next offering of these examinations in May 2013.

I also want to take this opportunity to introduce you to Clarissa Peterson, GPHR, SPHR, who will serve as the chair of the Board of Directors of the HR Certification Institute for 2013-2015. Clarissa is the chief human resources officer for Abt Associates. Leadership of the Board and the Institute will be in very capable hands.

I have appreciated the opportunity to serve as chair of the Institute, and I am proud of what we are accomplishing to help each of you realize your professional aspirations for valued professional HR credentials as well as how we provide support for your continued commitment to professional HR certification through recertification.

Gardiner Hempel Jr., CPA, GPHR Partner, Global Employer Services, Deloitte Tax LLP

HR Certification Institute Board Chair

Dear Certified Colleague,

4 HR as a Business LeaderAndrew Sungkwon Park, CHRO, provides a lesson in managing growth within a global company that has a “people first” philosophy.

6 Leading ThoughtCertified HR professionals offer insight into how the function of human resources is impacted by the unique industries in which they work.

6 First In Flight56 Wild About HR65 Front Desk as the Front Line

7 In the NewsMohamed Farouk Hafeez discusses how to maintain business sustainability during a full-blown national crisis.

11 Continued DevelopmentTayari Shaw, PHR, shares the journey of defining her role as a business partner to company leaders.

20 Emerging HR ProfileZahid Ali Mubarik, GPHR, HRMP, describes how he is leading the HR certification revolution in his native country.

34 Global ProfileThomas Belker, SPHR, GPHR, shares the impact and value that global certification can have on diverse, multinational organizations.

58 Data PointLibby Ehrig, M.S. and Dr. Cristina de-Mello-e-Souza Wildermuth, Ed.D., SPHR, share their research results on the topic “What is strategic thinking?”

62 Newly MintedChristine L. Taylor, SPHR, credits her HR achievements and career successes to her certification.

78 Global ProfileBhavesh Chandaria, GPHR, HRMP, examines the growth of India’s HR movement and how his career has prepared him for the changes ahead.

2 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 www.HRCI.org Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 3Winter 2013

Leading human resources for one of the world’s largest manufacturers for construction materials and heavy equipment is no small task, and yet it’s still growing.

Andrew Sungkwon Park, chief human resources officer for the South Korea-based Doosan Infracore, is running the firm’s “2G Strategy,” which stands for “growth of people” and “growth of business.” This strategy reinforces the company’s people-centric approach and underscores how the company has become such a key player in today’s global landscape.

Certified had the opportunity to interview Park and ask him about his career and the company’s HR strategy.

Certified: How long have you been at Doosan? What brought you to Doosan?Andrew Sungkwon Park: It’s been 19 years since I joined Doosan Group, and I’ve worked at Doosan Infracore (DI) for about seven years. The reason I joined DI is as follows: In 2005, DI acquired former Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery, then the largest construction equipment manufacturer of Korea, to lay the foundation to achieve its vision to become a global company through restructuring its business portfolio toward ISB (Infra Structure Business). Right after the acquisition, I joined DI HR to spread Doosan’s people philosophy and HR systems.

C: What does the HR structure look like at Doosan?ASP: Besides DI corporate HR based in DI headquarters in Korea, we’ve put HR organizations in place for each business group in Korea and for each region in overseas countries given that we have business operations not only in Korea but also across the globe. By doing so, we can implement consistent HR policies globally and serve as the business partner for all DI organizations.

of GrowthChief Human Resources Officer of Doosan Infracore, Andrew Sungkwon Park, talks international strategies for continuous HR growth.

By Archana Mehta

HR AS A BUSINESS LEADER

C: What is unique about working for Doosan? ASP: The most distinctive feature or strength of Doosan is the “2G Strategy,” based on which we operate our HR systems and philosophy. In other words, Doosan is a people-centric company that keeps searching and cultivating competent talent who will, in turn, contribute to our business growth and invest the accumulated value and profits in people development once again. For example, we dispatch employees to various DI entities across the world to provide them with an opportunity to experience global business environments and become a global multi-player who can unleash their potential wherever they are assigned to work.

C: What is Doosan’s unique value proposition, and how does human resources help the company with meeting its value proposition?ASP: Doosan is the company that continues to pursue growth and seeks to enhance its competitiveness under the slogan, “People are the future.” What needs to be done for us to achieve this goal is to make Doosan a great workplace where every employee wants to work.

In this regard, the employee value proposition (EVP) that HR wants to offer to our employees is not focused on monetary compensation; it is more about continuous self-development opportunities through development plans, various learning opportunities such as on-the-job training for leadership or job competency development, etc., thereby enabling employees to strengthen their employability on their own.

DI seeks to be an energetic, young organization, and our EVP is to assure our employees that the growth of our business is directly linked to their individual growth, I believe.

C: What are the biggest HR challenges (and solutions) Doosan faces for navigating growth?ASP: In its 100 years of history, Doosan has pursued change and achieved growth constantly, and it is still growing and changing rapidly. In the past, the decision-making process was focused on performance in some cases as the success of business used to be the top priority. However, our growth engine for the next 100 years should be our “people.” To this end, the management of DI continues to listen to the voices of our employees, maintain close relationships with them and reflect employees’ opinions in various corporate systems and policies in cooperation with HR so as to make DI a great workplace for all employees. For example, HR analyzes corporate culture to identify issues of each organization and then develops programs to address these issues.

C: During periods of rapid growth, how do you manage employee morale while continuing to grow competence?ASP: I believe monetary compensation such as merit increase or bonus could cause overheated competition among employees. Therefore, DI focuses more on other types of supports that can help employees find their vision within the company and enhance their value, rather than the monetary support. For example, we have every employee establish their own development plan and support their activities for self development or enhancement of job competency. We also dispatch competent talent to our global entities so they can learn not only global business processes but also foreign culture and foreign languages.

C: Have you read any helpful literature or other company profiles/case studies for benchmarking and knowing how to respond to challenges you face?ASP: Doosan currently has in place the policy that includes Doosan’s unique philosophy, which has been developed based on know-how and best practices Doosan has accumulated over the past 100 years. However, if necessary, we benchmark major competitors in the industry or other businesses to address important issues, or use external consulting services to obtain expertise in a certain field.

C: How do you deal with growth issues? How much growth is enough?ASP: Growth of business naturally comes with the growth of an organization. In this process, various issues could arise. We are solving these issues through cross-team communication and cooperation at the leadership level.

If you ask my personal view, I believe we cannot define the proper extent of an organization’s growth. A business entity

has something in common with the human body. In order for the human body to mature, it requires nutrition, which would enhance its bones and muscles. Nobody can define the proper extent of the growth of the human body.

C: How do HR challenges evolve or change during the lifetime of an acquisition?ASP: As far as I remember, the biggest challenge we had was different languages and different cultures between the Western world and the Eastern world. We’ve had a hard time helping Bobcat employees understand Doosan’s philosophy and HR system and overcome the gap. However, we have made a lot of progress in becoming one Doosan by adopting a globally feasible people program, embracing diverse cultures and actively communicating about Doosan’s culture.

C: How do you manage cultural adversity? Is there a cultural gap at times? How do you manage communication?ASP: One of the actions we’ve taken to minimize the gap between different cultures and the resulting errors and mistakes is to assign non-Korean executives to the leadership posts of global business organizations and HR of these organizations. We also have the internal communication process where HQ frequently communicates with overseas regional heads and function leaders and visits them if necessary to help them clearly understand and spread Doosan’s philosophy and culture.

C: What piece of advice would you provide to a U.S. employee going to Korea? What advice would you provide to a colleague from Korea coming to the U.S. to help them better understand the culture?ASP: I don’t want to provide any advice on “Dos & Don’ts” regarding cultural differences. What I’d like is to ask those employees to have a “sponge mentality” and be eager to learn something new. This refers to the sincere attitude that embraces different cultures and tries to put oneself in another person’s shoes, not only about understanding and recognizing different cultures. �

Andrew Sungkwon Park is corporate chief human resources officer of Doosan Infracore, managing all HR functions on the global presence of the company. Park joined Doosan Group in 1993 and was transferred to the corporate HR team of Doosan Infracore in 2005. He was promoted to the executive level in 2010 and was put in charge of the corporate HR department of Doosan Infracore in 2011.

Established Chosun Machine Works

1937

Listed on the Korea Stock Exchange

1966

Announced corporate values, Doosan Way, for a new era

2012

Acquired ATL, a German forklift maker and Moxy, a Norwegian large size dump truck company

2008

Established legal entities in Suzhou, China, India and in the USA. After acquiring Bobcat, Doosan Infracore rocketed to 7th place in the Construction Heavy Equipment Industry

2007

Reborn as Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd. after acquiring Daewoo Heavy Industries and Machinery

2005

Established legal entities in Germany and the USA

1998

Established legal entities in the U.K. and in Shandong, China

1994

Established a Europe entity in Belgium

1990

Started mass production of the excavator model developed in-house

1984A World

www.HRCI.org Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 54 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 www.HRCI.org

First in FlightIn an industry that literally takes people around the world every day, Paula Cooper, SPHR, at Southwest Airlines keeps her HR department grounded by keeping pace with the whole business.

Certified: What sets your industry apart in terms of human resources?Paula Cooper: From an industry perspective, I believe what sets us apart is the fact that airlines connect people all over the world. Because of those connections, HR professionals in this industry must understand the challenges of working with different cultures and backgrounds from all over the world. I believe what sets Southwest apart is the culture and the job security its employees have had since the inception of the company. Employees do come first at Southwest, and it shows in the way we take care of our customers.

C: What are the current and future challenges you see for HR professionals who work in the airline industry? PC: Ensuring that HR has a good understanding of the business challenges we face and being prepared to assist the business units in meeting those challenges. In the last few years, Southwest has focused on embedding an HR business partner within each business

LEADING THOUGHT

By Margaret Brown

unit to assist the business unit and align HR initiatives relevant to the business needs.

Southwest places a strong emphasis on leadership development and training. Unlike some companies who have cut most of their training programs in this industry, Southwest understands we must equip our leaders with the tools needed to lead a workforce in an operational environment where leaders have little control over such things as fuel cost, weather, air traffic control, etc. We treat each other like family at Southwest and that mindset is embedded in everything we do. Leaders are expected to know their employees, recognize great customer service and performance and rally the troops in times of need.

C: How does certification help you in your job or field?PC: Although the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) wasn’t a requirement for my role at Southwest, I was given great advice many years ago to always be certified or educated to the

best of your ability in the role you are in, or the role you aspire to be in. I made the decision to set myself up for success as an HR professional by studying for the certification and maintaining it since 2005. I also maintain my connections and network with those I have met through HR organizations to ensure I am up to date on relevant issues. It is much easier to tackle challenges we face as HR professionals when you have a network that may be facing the same challenges. I appreciate the ability to reach out to other HR professionals through the SHRM member network.

C: Does your company have offices outside of the United States? If so, what special situations does this create for you in human resources?PC: Southwest does not currently have offices outside of the United States. However, with the recent acquisition of AirTran, we are in the early stages of learning about the challenges and opportunities of operating outside the United States. �

Paula Cooper, SPHR, is the senior manager of Employee Relations at Southwest Airlines, where she provides leadership on strategic initiatives to prevent harassment and discrimination in the workplace. She also serves on the Diversity Council at Southwest on initiatives including Southwest’s award-winning annual Diversity & Inclusion Summits since 2010. Prior to joining Southwest, Cooper worked at American Airlines. She began her career as a paralegal and spent her last 10 years at American in human resources. She also was the Diversity Advisory Council Representative for the Women in Aviation Employee Resource Group at American. She holds a bachelors of Business Adminstration, with honors, from Northwood University.

Hafeez’s main office is based in Cairo, and during the inception of the Arab Spring nearly two years

ago, he and his company’s executive committee helped 20,000 employees working in the Egypt branch to continue to thrive in a tumultuous environment that gripped the world and unleashed chaos throughout the Middle East. They successfully implemented crucial social media policies to reach out to their younger employees, fostered an environment of open communication to allow colleagues to voice concerns and worked with teams to analyze the health of surrounding communities where the company was operating.

It was no easy task, given the scale of the Arab uprising and the size of his sprawling company. As the executive vice president of Human Resources and Management Development for Americana Group, Hafeez is a top executive at the largest food conglomerate operating in the Middle East and North Africa. The company continued to operate its

Keeping Cool

Mohamed Farouk Hafeez knows how to keep his company operating through the heat of a full-blown political and social crisis.By Archana Mehta

restaurants and manufacture its food products for consumers even as the region became paralyzed by political upheaval.

“If you look at the global scene right after the Arab Spring, there were work stoppages and strikes everywhere,” Hafeez recalls. “It was a boiling pot, and all of a sudden someone took the lid off. But we were lucky because that didn’t happen with us. Nothing was boiling.”

No doubt Hafeez’s experience helped guide his company through an uprising that would change the course of history.

Based in Cairo, Hafeez began his career with the Americana Group more than 27 years ago. He was initially in charge of training but slowly transitioned into human resources, where he has played an integral part in the company’s success. A Kuwaiti-founded organization that began more than 50 years ago, Americana Group understands its biggest asset.

“The real asset of any business is the people,” Hafeez says. “This is the belief the company started off with.”

With more than 55,000 employees of

21 different nationalities operating in 18 countries, Hafeez recognizes the value of diversity training, calling it an “area of strength.”

“Every nationality brings something to the table,” he says. “When we on-board our managers, we educate them on how to understand and appreciate the differences and teach them to effectively manage the differences. It’s very critical.”

In addition, succession planning is embedded in the company’s culture. Hafeez says that over two-thirds of the workforce of Americana Group is under the age of 30. The company places an emphasis on recruiting, training and retaining their talent. “We aren’t just offering jobs,” he says. “We’re offering careers.”

The company’s principals have always wanted to be seen as an organization that invests in its people. And according to Hafeez, that means viewing development and training its employees not simply as a course of action, but as an investment.

“We reserve as much as 80-85 percent

IN THE NEWS

in the Arab SpringPhoto courtesy of Southwest Airlines


of all internal mobility for our workforce,” Hafeez says of his company, with many regional and corporate levels across the 18 countries. “This provides ample opportunities for people to grow within the organization. In fact, we have people who have grown from front-line operators to regional CEOs. We’re proud of that.”

Perhaps the success of Americana Group stems from the fact that the company’s HR strategy has a very business-centric slant, saying that a firm

must truly understand what’s happening – not just with its competitors but in the political and economic arenas – in order to stay ahead-of-the-curve.

“You must understand the business and figure out how you can add value from an HR perspective,” he says.

Critical to understanding business needs is also being acutely aware of what is happening in the outside world – such as the political climate and instability of a region, like during the Arab Spring. Hafeez points to regular strategic planning meetings his company undertakes to discuss these factors.

In addition to asking the right questions, the company conducts SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses/Limitations, Opportunities and Threats) analyses to ensure they understand their external climate. It’s an analysis he says helps the organization, “achieve what it has set out to do,” and determine the skills necessary to translate those needs into action.

This exercise was especially critical before the volatility in the Middle East nearly two years ago during the Arab

Spring. After they conducted their strategic meeting, Hafeez said the company determined that they should be conducting more social and digital communications in order to keep younger employees engaged and informed.

“Almost the number one communication tool that the youth, which is the profile of our employees in most cases, was using was digital.”

According to Hafeez, one of the critical decisions that came as a result of their strategic meeting was to restructure their HR department to ensure there was an individual devoted to social media – well-

“We are business people doing human resources. In effect, human resources is at the heart of change.”

supported by IT – who would represent each business unit in chat rooms, on Facebook and through Twitter. He says it served the company well.

Indeed, it was necessary to create policies and regulations to guide communications to ensure the social media tools were not misused. “It was all a new phenomena so we needed policies to both protect our people and encourage them to speak their mind,” he says. “We looked at it positively. We created a few policies to govern how we would be using social media and how we would be launching it.”

Hafeez credits the calmness within Americana Group during this period of extreme volatility with the fact that the company’s employees always had an outlet and were able to speak openly about their concerns. To their credit, the Americana Group did what they could to address concerns but were also candid about what the company could and could not do.

Hafeez says the company built a level of trust and credibility during that time. “Digital communication was the only tool during the Arab Spring,” he says. “It was the only platform people had to communicate. So we keep asking this question ‘Are we engaging our people enough?”

IN THE NEWS

8 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 www.HRCI.org

The Arab Spring has created new challenges and opportunities for companies within the Middle East. Hafeez says there’s a new phenomenon: People can now experience freedom of speech in a way they had not been able to before. Because of that, Hafeez says, people can now speak up and that countries that did not have unions before will need to be prepared. He also says his company’s exercise in meeting and analyzing the external landscape is now even more critical. “I guess our exercise will need to be done more frequently so we can be prepared.”

Americana Group doesn’t just stop at listening and communicating with its employees. Corporate social responsibility is a priority for the company. In fact, the company has been practicing social responsibility for years. “We don’t see corporate social responsibility as charity work,” says Hafeez. “Our definition of social responsibility is capacity building. We would rather build capacity with individuals – certainly inside of the organization – because that is the cost of doing business and is the prerequisite to be able to seize opportunities and grow, but we also believe that this needs to be extended beyond the organization’s borders to include our surrounding communities.”

Driven by the desire to effect Egypt’s youth in a positive way, in 1998, Americana Group, along with other business leaders, founded the largest non-governmental organization in the Middle East. The organization, the Professional Development Foundation (PDF) and formerly known as the Future Generation Foundation, was created to bridge the

gap between the education system and the skills needed to address the growing needs of the business market.

The PDF boasts over 100,000 graduates, with an employment rate of

93 percent. Many of the graduates are offered jobs through employment fairs organized by PDF, thereby creating a sustainable model for impacting the community while also creating a highly trained talent pool for the entire business

community.While it is important to recruit and

train a talented workforce, a factor just as critical to Americana Group’s success is retaining employees. Hafeez says that employee satisfaction within the company is highly valued. “We create opinion surveys for everyone - all the way from employees on the front line to the management team, and we take this survey and the results very seriously,” Hafeez says. “We want to know if someone is being mistreated. And equally as important, we reward managers and leaders who take care of their people.”

According to Hafeez, one of the biggest reinforcements at Americana Group is the reward and recognition culture. “We spot those who are going out of their way, who believe in the company culture and who ‘walk the talk’ as we say,” he says. “People development is in the heart – we have the firm belief that we will go as far as our people capabilities will take us. If we invest in people, that will serve as an enabler and allow us to meet all our business challenges and seize the opportunities before us as an organization.” �

“People development is in the heart – we have the firm belief that we will go as far as our people capabilities will take us. If we invest in people, that will serve

as an enabler and allow us to meet all our business challenges and seize the opportunities before us as an organization.”

“Our definition of social responsibility is capacity building.

We would rather build capacity with individuals – certainly inside of the organization – because that is the cost of doing

business and is the prerequisite to be able to seize opportunities and grow, but we also

believe that this needs to be extended beyond the organization’s borders to include our surrounding

communities.”

Mohamed Farouk Faheez is the executive vice president for Human Resources and Management Development of Americana Group, the largest food conglomerate in the Middle East operating in 18 countries with 55,000 employees. He has effectively contributed in qualifying over 100,000 graduates and helped them get employed through his role as the vice president and board member of the Professional Development Foundation (formerly Future Generation Foundation “FGF”), one of the largest social foundations in the Arab world. He also serves on the board of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and Injaz Al Arab (the Arabic version of the Junior Achievement Worldwide).

organization who practice and complete training are considered experts in the different L6S methods.

At the time that it implemented L6S, Kraft Manufacturing was seeking to drive productivity through improved reliability and elimination of waste and redundancy, add value to the business by reducing cash flow through manufacturing and supply chain efficiencies, as well as raise vendor performance and drive out supplier waste. It also wanted to free up trapped capacity and reduce capital spending while eliminating non value-added activities in manufacturing processes.

When investigating solutions to assist the company, Kraft decided on the L6S system as the best route to bring science and engineering to the lines. Kraft wanted to be the first in the industry utilizing and benefiting from world-class manufacturing capabilities. Witnessing first-hand the implications and initial success of L6S when it reached her facility, Shaw stood up and agreed with senior leadership that this was not only a great resource for the company’s manufacturing process, but could also be extremely beneficial if utilized by her HR department.

The HR department at the Lowville facility had a number of complex processes in place for serving its internal customers in operations, including staffing that helped deliver on plant initiatives as they related to productivity. One of the more challenging processes was the hiring of temporary labor at the plant. The HR department had a great rapport with a temporary services supplier that assisted in this effort, and both companies agreed that the speed in finding temporary staff and the quality of

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. – Mahatma Gandhi

This is a key standard and philosophy behind the HR credentials offered by the HR Certification Institute (the Institute). Developed and created to validate an individual’s

know-how, skills and experience, certification goes a step further with recertification requirements that challenge HR professionals certified by the Institute to keep growing, developing and flexing their professional muscles beyond new limits.

Here at the Institute, we have the opportunity to hear and see how our certificants are using continuing education and training to become better professionals. Tayari Shaw, PHR, from Kraft, is a great example of an HR professional who believes in continued development for personal and professional success.

Shaw is the HR business leader for the Kraft facility in Lowville, NY, which houses the largest Philadelphia cream cheese plant in the world. Approximately 300 employees work at the Lowville facility, and many of them have been with the company for more than 20 years. Shaw has been with Kraft since 2008 and has more than 18 years of HR experience.

The company made the decision to implement Lean Six Sigma (L6S) into its manufacturing process to drive productivity through improved reliability and elimination of waste and redundancy. L6S is a business management strategy that is put in place by companies to identify areas of improvements within their manufacturing process and to remove any defects within that process to increase quality and productivity. There are sets of quality management methods used to provide data identifying where improvements can be made. Individuals within the

Moving Up by

The pursuit of continuing education for recertification has led HR professionals like Tayari Shaw, PHR, of Kraft to think outside of the box. She found that the same process improvement strategies that maximize manufacturing efficiencies can be adapted to the needs of HR — with dramatic results.By Nona Chigewe

CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT

Reaching Out

IN THE NEWS

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To be a true business partner (and) to be viewed as a valuable business partner, Shaw felt she had to raise her hand and say she wanted to be

involved... HR can no longer wait to be invited to the table; the profession must now take their seats for themselves.

Shaw finds that if quantitative data exists, the L6S tools and methodologies can be used to analyze and problem solve. If a team member or colleague approaches her with a situation, her first response is, “Do we have data? If so, let’s go to the data and see what it is telling us.” This also allows for easier conversations with senior leaders. The HR department no longer has to go to them with subjective solutions or a “gut feeling.” Data eliminates the guesswork and provides facts and figures which better grab the attention of company leaders. They are now aware that human resources is not coming to them with what they think is going on, but with what actually is occurring and offering solutions to better the organization.

Shaw felt a strong desire to get off the sidelines and join the game on the field because, “the field of HR is definitely changing, and the trend is evolving to HR as business partners and leaders and less as the administrative persona.” She felt it was imperative to be learning the same new set of skills and gaining the same new knowledge as the company’s leadership team.

To be a true business partner, Shaw knew she needed to support the change that her plant and organization as a whole was going through. Her goal was to have the capability to be in a meeting or take part in a conversation and speak the same language around “streamlining processes, eliminating waste and looking at productivity and ways to continually improve.” To be viewed as a valuable business partner, Shaw felt she had to raise her hand and say she wanted to be involved.

This is one of the best ways to take a seat at the executive table. Human resources can no longer wait to be invited to the table; the profession must now take their seats for themselves. How can human resources make this bold move? Shaw recommends becoming involved in new initiatives and learning the language of the executives of your organization and how to speak it. This will allow human resources to insert itself into the conversation so its valuable input can be heard. Furthermore, find out what additional training you need. If training is not in reach, request one-on-one sessions with your leadership.

When change is coming, learn how you can play a role. Human resources must have something to contribute in order to be invited. Human resources must show they have value to add and can contribute positively to the organization. Show interest in what the company is embarking on and demonstrate how your input can bring incredible worth to the current plan and soon executives will seek human resources out for your thoughts and contributions.

The greatest lesson Shaw learned from this experience is that as HR professionals it is time to think outside of the box, the profession “can find value in tools not used traditionally in HR.” Keep in mind that there are other ways of doing things. There are tools, systems and processes that can assist human resources in its endeavors. Human resources is now in a place to challenge the norm. It is time to couple what is comfortable and familiar with what is innovative and pioneering.

Shaw earned recertification credit for engaging in such a difficult and complex

project, which is what recertification is all about. It is about going beyond your comfort zone and tackling the unknown. It is about growing and strengthening your current skills by participating in activities that take you into realms you may not have experienced before. It allows HR professionals to better position themselves as business partners.

The more human resources includes itself in the world of business and becomes more aware of what is on the minds of business leaders, the more human resources can prove its value. It is also less likely that human resources will be overlooked. HR professionals can begin and continue to show they are more than people managers, but that they are ingrained in the business structure.

Certified professionals should use recertification as an opportunity to learn, develop and improve their skills, all while demonstrating why human resources is vital to the business. You may not be with an organization that can easily see the need for human resources and the importance it brings to the business the way Kraft does. It is your job to change the minds of your organization’s leaders.You have been tasked with changing their perception and giving them a new view. It can be done; it is happening today at companies across the globe. Human resources is taking its well-deserved seat at the table. You can do it too. Take it from Shaw, “You can do and you can achieve anything. If you can commit yourself to it, you can do it.”

Not only did she learn this about herself, her leaders learned this about her as well! �

Tayari Shaw, PHR, is the HR business leader at Kraft Foods Group at the Lowville, NY facility. She has 18 years combined HR management experience in the manufacturing, information technology services, e-commerce, clinical laboratory testing, telecom and grocery retail industries. She has a bachelor of science in Biology from Hampton University. Shaw earned her Professional in Human Resources (PHR®) certification in 2001 and earned her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification in 2011. She has served on the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors since 2009.

CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT

labor found could be improved upon. Shaw felt carrying out L6S, specifically using the DMAIC (Data, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) data-driven improvement cycle process, in her HR department could not only be used to identify what wasn’t currently working in their hiring process, but also could offer solutions for tightening up the process and allowing human resources to better serve internal customers in operations. In addition, she felt that is was essential and necessary to be trained and certified on the L6S methodologies in order to support the company’s new journey and “to be able to speak the same language as senior leaders to be a better business partner and leader in my facility.”

A key factor to note is that when she presented her project to her plant leadership team, they not only supported, but also encouraged, her actions. At Kraft, human resources is a highly valued department within the organization. The company understands and expects engagement from all sectors and looks for

all employees to support new direction or initiatives being undertaken. Shaw’s actions and project work pleased her facility leadership and made a positive impact in the full scheme of the changes that were occurring.

Shaw got the “green light” and joined other plant staff to begin her L6S Green Belt certification training. The L6S certifications demonstrate an individual’s command or skill level of the different methods incorporated in the L6S tools. There are several levels that are identified by belt colors, similar to identifying the techniques and skill sets one has when studying karate. Green Belt, Black

Belt and Master Black Belt are a few of the certifications available. Individual requirements for each level of certification are usually determined by the organization implementing the system and will vary from one organization to the next. Shaw went through 80 hours of training over a course of three months. The entire process from the beginning up to receiving the certification was 11 months.

During that time, she learned two software programs specific to the L6S DMAIC process and had to identify and focus on a project that was based on an ongoing opportunity the facility was facing for which L6S could provide improvements. To complete the training, Shaw had to present her project and outcome to her plant leadership team. She chose to focus on the aforementioned challenges human resources was experiencing with relation to the hiring cycle time and quality of temporary labor.

Training did not stop with Shaw. As an individual who took part in the 80 hours of learning and project development,

she was responsible for sharing her newfound knowledge and experience with her colleagues who were not involved in the initial L6S training. She had to ensure that this new way of thinking, its highly technological language and the new methods of problem solving were passed on to the employees on her project team. She needed them to grasp the L6S concepts and know how to use this new set of tools. They also needed to understand the purpose and what Kraft was trying to accomplish by utilizing this new way of doing business.

To take it a step further, Shaw also had to provide a clear message around why

the HR department had become so greatly involved and what goals they were seeking to achieve. It took time and dedication, and Shaw eventually saw “people fall in line and learn as they went.”

In the end, both Kraft and the Lowville facility’s HR department found the execution of L6S to be a success. With regards to Shaw’s project, HR was able to break the current temporary labor hiring process down into integral parts. They found bottlenecks in the process and isolated and removed non value-added steps. L6S also provided alternatives to speed up the process and turn around the time it took to hire temporary staff. The quality of the labor also improved.

One unexpected factor that L6S uncovered for Shaw’s HR team was the start time at which the search for temporary labor began. The Lowville facility traditionally hired the same amount of labor around the same times every year. Since this was a routine occurrence, Shaw realized that human resource’s search for labor should begin sooner and that planning for this should include added time for the search. Even though some solutions may seem obvious, it sometimes takes stepping outside of ourselves and the situation to truly evaluate all roads that can be taken.Shaw attributes L6S for opening her eyes to a whole new world that revealed the different roads available to her.

Shaw also had entered a new world of data. The system reconfirmed how much data and technology is transforming business, providing business leaders with information and assessments that may not have been accessible to them in the past. Human Resources is benefiting from this technology revolution. Today, Shaw finds that she is able to track more data more quickly than ever since the L6S deployment. The different types of data available seem to be endless. Now when confronted with a problem or opportunity, “I look at problem solving through a completely different lens.”

“...Recertification is all about going beyond your comfort zone and tackling the unknown. It is about growing and strengthening your current skills by participating in activities that take you into realms you may not have experienced before.”

“The more HR includes itself in the world of business and becomes more aware of what is on the minds of business leaders, the more HR can prove its value.”


Digital content is now being measured in zettabytes — that’s 1021 bytes of data that could well be carrying sensitive information about you, your company and your employees. Securing private data is becoming a growing concern in a global marketplace and one that HR professionals can’t afford to overlook.

By J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP | President and CEO of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)

PRIVACY IS A GROWING CONCERN IN THE marketplace and around the world as advances in technology are allowing more

sensitive data to be stored and collected than ever before. In fact, global market intelligence firm IDC predicts digital content will grow to 2.72ZB by the end of the year, up almost 50 percent from 2011, and on its way to 8ZB by 2015. (Gens, 2012) The new outpouring of data is providing us with great value, including new ways to connect with friends and family as well as to enjoy anytime, anywhere access to information.

Like all technological advancements, these benefits don’t come without risks. If you look at our Daily Dashboard, the International Association of Privacy Professionals’ (IAPP) free daily e-newsletter that summarizes top privacy news stories, you’ll find instances of data incidents being reported in the headlines

almost every day. Often the data incident is caused by an employee either losing or unknowingly misusing information — a lost laptop with unencrypted data, sensitive information being sent to the wrong email address or fax number — resulting in a data breach, personnel issue or other privacy incident. Worse yet, these data incidents have significant impact on business operations. According to the Ponemon Institute, in 2011 the average cost per record of a data breach was $194, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now requires all publicly traded companies to disclose any data protection incidents that could hurt business operations.

Central to managing this issue is the need for an organization to have the expertise in its workforce to identify potential problem areas before they become an issue. Companies have

Protecting Privacy in the Information Age


taken up the challenge and are hiring privacy professionals at a rapid pace. However, the need for privacy knowledge extends beyond those people in the organization who constitute the core privacy team. For every privacy professional in your organization, you may have hundreds or thousands of employees touching data, ranging from sales executives, marketing managers and information technology(IT) managers to HR associates.

As an HR professional, you are on the front lines when it comes to privacy. We’re hearing from more and more of our members that integrating privacy knowledge throughout their organizations is becoming a key risk management tool and a business differentiator. They are making privacy a top issue for HR teams who typically have access to the most sensitive data in the company. It’s critical that HR leaders and teams have a fundamental understanding of how technology and privacy intersect — what it means for handling and securing data through the offices of human resources and making sure the right training is available for all employees. It’s critical that people in your organization who touch data are aware of privacy so they don’t make unwitting mistakes.

PEOPLE ARE YOUR BEST AND WORST ASSETSWe hear from our IAPP members who work in the HR industry

that a company’s employees are its most valuable resources. It’s a key role of the HR team to develop and manage practices that maximize employees’ contributions.

Every day, there are people making decisions about how to handle, manage and use data. They make key decisions around defining processes and selecting technology. They make privacy-impacting decisions in both business and technology. They drive an organization’s culture around privacy. And people are involved in most data breaches.

No matter where privacy lives in an organization or who sets the strategy, some things don’t change: People are always a key part of a privacy program’s success, and those people need to be aware of privacy so they don’t make preventable mistakes.

Lusinè Meeks, HR executive and privacy practitioner, has seen various ways to handle privacy policies and breaches in her career working with several large corporations both in the United States and in Europe. “Privacy is a hot potato that folks are passing around the organization, but ultimately each stakeholder in a company needs to examine the role they play in protecting the company and their best assets – their employees,” she said. “Human resources sits in a unique arm of an organization and can play a powerful role in ensuring that employees are ready to handle potential breaches.”

When privacy is not considered in this holistic manner, the threats are significant. For example, both the IRS and the Canada Revenue Agency have made headlines in past years for breaches involving employees who were misusing computers to browse confidential tax returns of relatives and friends. By investing in privacy education, employees would have the knowledge necessary to make better decisions about how to treat private information.

SETTING UP FOR SUCCESSWhat role can an HR executive play? It’s critical for

stakeholders to be connected to set up for success. Depending on the size of an organization, there may be a full privacy team, a single dedicated privacy pro or a few people who count privacy as just one piece of their job.

Andrew McDevitt, CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPP/G, a longtime privacy strategist who has counseled several companies on their payroll privacy practices, has found that human resources can be a key driver and champion for understanding privacy in a company. “The HR department is where a majority of employee data flows to begin to execute on employee background and work authorization checks, payroll, benefit administration and employment tax filing processes,” said McDevitt. “It’s important to learn how to protect this information at the source and ingrain privacy awareness and practices into the DNA of organizations.”

One of the best ways to gain that knowledge is to have a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) on your HR team. Achieving a CIPP designation demonstrates a

comprehensive knowledge of privacy principles and practices. The program was launched in 2004, and today there are nearly 5,000 CIPPs across 33 countries. The CIPP is the only global certification program solely focused on privacy and data protection education and industry advancement, and there are five different privacy and data protection certifications built around relevant knowledge and practices in the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as for the U.S. Government and IT.

Protecting data that flows through the HR office is just one piece of the puzzle. In examining how to protect your people — and your organization — it’s essential to have the right training programs in place. As McDevitt has seen firsthand and noted, “Teams need to expand their toolkit and educate their entire workforce on data handling. As the volume of data collected grows, so does the risk.”

While there are myriad process and privacy enhancing technology solutions that an organization can use to manage privacy, investing in your people’s privacy knowledge is the most fundamental component of risk management, compliance and governance. By investing in privacy training for employees, companies can give them the knowledge to make better decisions about privacy in their day-to-day jobs. Showing staff how to spot issues and elevate questions appropriately can help prevent privacy incidents in the future.

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been hearing from our members that there is a growing need for education that reaches beyond the core privacy professionals in the organization. What we’re seeing is that at one end of the spectrum there are people who need the heavier weight knowledge of certification: internal auditors, compliance manager, legal counsel. At the other end, there are people who only need 30-minute general privacy awareness training. But in the middle, there are others — marketing, finance, IT, product managers — who need to have enough privacy knowledge so that they don’t make a mistake when they are making a decision about data in their day-to-day jobs.

The first step in determining the appropriate training program for your company is to understand what employees have access to sensitive information. After making that determination, teams can begin to assimilate a plan. Identifying the people who have data handling as part of their daily job is absolutely essential to

the success of a program, especially in larger or geographically dispersed organizations. And while those who touch sensitive information may not need to be privacy pros, they should have the basic knowledge to know when to flag an issue to the privacy department.

We regularly conduct privacy training to extend privacy knowledge to staff who may not want or need to pursue a certification in privacy, but who still need to have a solid understanding of privacy principles and practices. We’ve already seen enormous traction with some of the organizations we’ve worked with that are implementing formal certification and training programs to reduce risk and build trust with customers and employees. They are using our programs to help employees gain the knowledge to:

• Understand how to identify privacy issues and when to elevate questions to privacy leaders

• Establish a common dialogue across the organization

• Create a more privacy-aware culture

Microsoft has leveraged IAPP training to enhance its culture of privacy and build customer trust. They make online training available to all their employees via their corporate intranet and encourage them to go on to test for their CIPP credential. Many

Microsoft employees voluntarily go through the CIPP program to help them understand the value of privacy, even if it’s not their primary responsibility. Of the more than 100 CIPP-certified professionals at Microsoft, only half are privacy managers; the other half are in adjacent professions, including developers and engineers. The result of fostering this company-wide commitment to understanding privacy is that processes have become more fluid, and employees are better equipped to make critical decisions and identify privacy risks.

Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace firm, has used training to reduce risk and create a competitive advantage. Their employees are required to handle a significant amount of personally identifiable information (PII) within their program, which means their knowledge of privacy is crucial to reducing risk that a data incident could occur. Lockheed Martin worked with the IAPP to implement in-person, on-site training sessions for more than 250 employees at several locations around the country.

What is the IAPP?As the largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community and resource, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) helps practitioners develop their careers and organizations manage and protect their data. Founded in 2000, the IAPP is a not-for-profit association with more than 11,000 members in 70 countries. The IAPP helps define, support and improve the privacy profession through networking, education and certification.

The IAPP is responsible for developing and launching the first broad-based credentialing program in information privacy, the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP). Developed and launched by the IAPP with leading privacy subject matter experts, the CIPP is the world’s first broad-based global privacy and data protection credentialing program and remains the most sought-after and acknowledged credential in the profession.

If you are interested in learning more about IAPP membership or certification, visit our website at www.privacyassociation.org or contact our member care team at +1 603.427.9200.

While there are myriad process and privacy enhancing

technology solutions,.. . investing in your people's

privacy knowledge is the most fundamental component

of risk management, compliance and governance.


Moving forward, they plan to expand the number of privacy-trained employees and have IAPP-certified professionals working on every program that involves PII.

Creating and opening the lines of communication across teams — as Microsoft and Lockheed Martin have shown — is what will enable a company to truly be prepared to face their privacy risks. Whether the campaign is initiated in the office of the chief privacy officer or in human resources, everyone needs to align on common goals. There is an opportunity for the HR teams to be the catalyst for change within their organization. Whether it’s making sure privacy policies are disseminated during an employee’s onboarding process to regular training and educating of privacy ambassadors throughout the company – HR teams provide a touch point to all employees.

In addition to paying attention to your employees, McDevitt also warns that companies need to strictly examine their relationships with vendors who have access to data, from HR, payroll and tax processing vendors to benefit administration service companies. “If the origin of a data breach event impacting your organization is a result of one of your third-party vendors, you must ensure that you can hold them accountable in some meaningful way by incorporating data breach, privacy practices and security standards provisions within your initial contractual agreement,” he said.

In fact, in a report created by the Ponemon Institute and Accenture, they examined the increase in data collected and stored by organizations in relation to the increased risk of breaches. According to their survey, 55 percent of organizations outsource the collection or processing of personal information about customers to a third party (Accenture, 2009). Data must be kept in the safest hands possible, and therefore trust and confidence in outsourcing providers is absolutely crucial. At every stage in how data is processed and handled, a team needs to understand the consequences and vulnerabilities that are presented.

BENEFITS FOR ALLBaking in privacy policies can make your organization more

intelligent and cost-effective. It can also help guide a common dialogue with colleagues in related practice areas, providing employees with the confidence to understand when and how to elevate potential risks. The costs associated with a security breach have been rising year after year, and while implementing privacy policies doesn’t make a company untouchable, the

Ponemon Institute and Accenture report indicated organizations that exhibit a “culture of caring” with respect to data privacy and protection are far less likely to experience security breaches.

In today’s regulatory environment, there are no clear answers, but when a regulator comes knocking, if they see that you have made significant investments, they will find good faith. Above all, enacting privacy policies can ultimately help protect a company’s most important asset – its people. By protecting people with the right training and the right knowledge, teams can sleep a little easier knowing they are actively addressing this critical issue.

BEST PRACTICEA look at Highmark, Inc., and its dedication to enact privacy

policies and trainings that reaches all employeesHighmark, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is

an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. As one of the largest health insurers in the nation, they serve 4.9 million health plan members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware. Nationally, they employ more than 20,000 people and provide health, dental, vision and supplemental health products and services to 34.4 million customers.

As you can imagine, the amount of sensitive data that flows through Highmark’s doors is massive. The company is committed

to serving its customers to the best of its abilities, which means making sure private data stays private. Tasked with this job is the chief privacy officer at Highmark, Lisa A. Martinelli, CIPP, JD, MA. Martinelli has a long history in the privacy industry, and with her team they are dedicated to taking an integrated approach across the company, instituting several best practices that any company (large or small) can learn from.

Beginning on day one, Martinelli’s team has access to all new employees. They provide a training course and are available in person to underscore the importance of understanding privacy. Her team also works hand in hand with the HR team to develop policies from social media use to acceptable use of corporate assets.

Martinelli has found privacy policies aren’t just something you put into place and walk away from; they need to be revisited regularly and addressed as technology continues to alter how we all access data. Throughout the year her team leads various trainings targeted at different verticals of the company. She chooses to hold these trainings in person (and some video conferences) to encourage open dialogue. The classes are

mutually beneficial, as her team is constantly learning how to effectively communicate the importance of privacy to employees. For example, through open dialogue Martinelli’s team heard from an employee who saw some information that wasn’t secured and actually raised a new corporate process due to the employee’s alertness and astuteness.

As part of her ongoing commitment, Martinelli’s team has regular meetings with HR representatives to examine privacy practices to secure paper and online data. This relationship and open exchange takes the surprise out of any potential data breaches. If or when there is any type of breach, the HR team is part of the incident response team and always has a seat at the table, particularly if the incident involves an employee or a vendor, which is all too often the case when companies experience an issue. The team at Highmark has developed an efficient incident response policy, with core stakeholders in an incident meeting within 24 hours.

While data security and privacy often evoke thoughts of online data, Martinelli warns that securing physical data is just as important. Her team regularly (with the support of human resources) does walk-throughs to various areas to ensure that documents and files are properly secured. Doing those physical walk-throughs is often invaluable — for example, it’s an opportunity to allow teams to identify cabinets or closets that weren’t documented and ensure they are protected.

Martinelli’s entire privacy team has been certified through the IAPP’s CIPP program. While that approach may not work for all companies, there are various resources provided by the IAPP that can benefit anyone involved in privacy. For example, Martinelli ensures IAPP publications with current industry news and updates are distributed to the privacy task force throughout the organization. At the end of the day, it’s about being prepared, knowing your risk and getting policies in place taking the surprise out of any potential breaches. �

Data must be kept in the safest hands possible,

and therefore trust and confidence in outsourcing

providers is absolutely crucial.

J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP, is the president and CEO of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the world’s largest association of privacy professionals. Hughes, an experienced attorney in privacy, technology and marketing law, has provided testimony on privacy issues before the U.S. Congress, British Parliament and EU Parliament.

We have great tools to ensure a successful recerti� cation. Be certain to take advantage and remember we are here to help you recertify your HR credentials.

Visit www.hrci.org/ResourceLibrary.aspx and go to “Recerti� cation Resource” to � nd resources you can use to recertify. Contact our recerti� cation team at recerti� [email protected] or our direct phone line. You may also chat with us on our Recert Connection blog.

YOU WORKED HARD TO EARN YOUR CREDENTIALS.

DON’T LOSE THEM.

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To say Zahid Ali Mubarik has led the evolution of the HR profession in Pakistan is hardly an

overstatement. Two years ago, Mubarik was one of just four people who held the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®) certification in the entire country.

Mubarik has been on the front lines as more and more Pakistani companies are seeing the value of certification and requiring crucial credentials for advancing in HR careers. “There is a growing realization within organizations that people make a difference,” Mubarik says, “and that their performance should be optimized.”

Work in ProgressZahid Ali Mubarik, GPHR, HRMP, keeps pace with Pakistan’s developing economy through continuous personal and professional growth, and he encourages companies to follow his lead.

By Archana Mehta

EMERGING HR PROFILE

“HR is the subset of a business, and anywhere that the business growth is higher, the human resources

field will grow at a more rapid pace.”

It hasn’t always been this way. Mubarik started his career in the public sector, where he developed a strong passion for learning how human behavior could have a meaningful impact on an organization’s performance. In 2006, after 15 years in the public sector, Mubarik made a shift: He was hired by a Pakistani bank as an assistant vice president responsible for hiring, training and organizational

development. Since then, Mubarik has led the effort to build the HR profession and advocated for the benefits of certification.

It was Mubarik’s passion for learning the latest trends in the industry that led him to explore certification. Ultimately, Mubarik concluded that to add meaningful value to an organization and to become more proficient in the global landscape, it was imperative to maintain a currency

of professional expertise. He decided to pursue the GPHR certification and says that the certification has proven to be critical in his own professional growth. Mubarik additionally credits certification with accelerating his appetite for continuous learning.

Now his certification and added market credibility has proven critical in his own company, HR Metrics and Consulting in Islamabad, which focuses on research and using analytical tools based on HR metrics to provide strategic advice to organizations.

“Certification has provided me with a competitive advantage and knowledge that is not just anchored in my own experience, but with a broader orientation to global, aggregate market practices,” Mubarik says.

Indeed, companies in Pakistan are realizing the value of human resources and of certifications. Mubarik says that in Pakistan, many companies are linking HR promotions with certifications. In addition, the growing prominence of HR groups is helping to increase the importance of human resources in the country, something that is not lost on professionals in the industry.

Indeed, when Mubarik recently held a forum on certification for 150 people, he was stunned to witness 700 people show up to the event. “We had to turn people away,” he recalled.

But there are still significant challenges in Pakistan, namely its struggling economy. When Pakistan looks to its neighbor to the east, it sees an Indian HR field more advanced than its own, a byproduct of an Indian economy that is growing more rapidly than Pakistan’s. “HR is the subset of a business, and anywhere that the business growth is higher, the human resources field will grow at a more rapid pace.”

Moreover, in developing countries

such as Pakistan, the talent tends to gravitate to more developed countries in pursuit of better economic returns. In turn, there are fewer people who have the highly coveted experience that companies are seeking. And as that talent moves from one market to another, HR professionals are left grappling with keeping their organizations well-staffed. As more job opportunities present themselves, the life cycles of employees within an organization tend to shrink.

“More and more, organizations want people with hands-on expertise, and recruiting skilled employees is becoming increasingly difficult for companies,” says Mubarik, adding that it’s paramount for Pakistani companies to stay focused on learning and growth for their employees.

That was precisely the issue that has bedeviled the Pakistani banking industry, even though it’s one of the few sectors thriving in an otherwise struggling economy. Looking back at his time in the financial sector, Mubarik said once the investment is made in hiring key employees, the crucial challenge is employee retention, particularly at junior- and middle-levels.

“Staff turnover and market growth are directly proportional,” he says. “When I worked in HR in the banking industry, I found the availability of a talented employee pool a great determinant of business continuity. Competitive organizations are always on the lookout for top talent in their industry. Organizations that develop people but do not focus on retention strategies lose their competitive advantage.”

Mubarik helped address the talent management issue through effective reward management strategies. Providing a tangible financial compensation package is a key driver of employee retention. But that’s not the only thing that makes huge differences in the lives of

employees, Mubarik says. “The intangible components, such as an employee’s engagement in the office and work-life balance, along with ensuring their job is challenging and providing ample learning opportunities, can play a meaningful role in optimizing retention and performance,” he says. “In addition, proper recognition of employees’ successes is also very important.”

Mubarik also says that in some organizations, talent management is disconnected from organizational productivity, which is a faulty proposition and needs correction. He believes that organizations need to focus on the clarity of job roles at individual and department levels by aligning them with organizational objectives.

“A well written job description with explicit competency framework, key responsibility areas and key performance indicators are the basis of business-focused HR,” he says. “Job role clarity can pave the way for effective hiring, training, appraising, rewarding and even disciplining employees.”

Mubarik also says that the younger workforce in Pakistan is quite attuned to their own career growth. Those younger employees prefer to work at companies that have highly structured processes in place that will benefit their own careers and foster their own personal growth.

“Organizations are made of people, and people make the difference,” Mubarik reiterates. “You can buy the building, plant and inventory overnight but you cannot buy the skillsets. That requires long-term investments in attracting, hiring, developing, supporting and retaining of employees. HR hence has a great role in the strategic transformation and sustainability of an organization.” �

Zahid Ali Mubarik, GPHR, HRMP, is CEO of HR Metrics. Before HR Metrics, he served in senior management positions in the banking and public sectors. He is the founder and leader of SHRM Forum Pakistan. Mubarik is a member of the ISO Geneva Technical Committee 260 on HR Standards and chairman of the National Mirror Committee on HR Standards in Pakistan. Mubarik introduced Human Capital Measurement Metrics in Pakistan and leads learning sessions for HR leaders from a cross-section of global, multinational and local business entities. Mubarik has spoken extensively at global and national conferences. His analytical publications and expert talks have been featured by international and national media including Microfinance, Gateway, the World Bank Washington, CNBC, Daily Dawn and Business Recorder Pakistan.


From traditional corporations to innovative technology companies to international organizations, Michaela Oliver has run the gamut of human resources. The one thing that stays constant is her enthusiasm and eagerness to break tradition and think outside of the box to make human resources work best for the situation at hand.

MICHAELA OLIVER, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF HUMAN

Resources at Rosetta Stone, has a mischievous gleam in her eye that betrays her intense curiosity and driving

desire to find unorthodox solutions. These often work exactly because they are not based on tradition. Her office is sparse, lean and does not rise above the others in her corporate headquarters. It is all whiteboard on one wall. Each time I visited, someone else’s innovative ideas were drawn there, often with comical characters or provocative statements. I came away with the impression that her people come in and share cool ideas there regularly.

I chose Oliver to be one of our keynotes at a recent Strategy+Innovation symposium. She refused to do a traditional presentation because, in her words, ‘They don’t work!’ Instead, the two of us had a conversation that involved the audience. The day of the event I arrived, my tie not yet tied but draped around my shoulders. ‘You’re not going to wear that,’ she told me. ‘But it’s my tie,’ I said. Instead I ended up with it stuffed in my jacket pocket and worked alongside her with an open collar.

Ordinarily that might not seem like a big deal, but what I have discovered is that when you are by her side you soon find yourself


dealing with the environment in nontraditional ways that at first seem awkward but ultimately work. She herself was wearing reptile skin shoes that bespeak the wildness you feel when you talk to her, like something exciting is about to happen, something not at all expected. And she delivers. When it comes to strategy and innovation, she knows how to bring the two together in an unconventional game plan that delivers on results. Here are some excerpts from our conversation that day:

Seth Kahan: Michaela, I know you spent some time in Kazakhstan. What did you learn there that influences your work today?Michaela Oliver: I went to Kazakhstan with Mobil Oil. An opportunity came up with my husband. He was offered a position there, and it just so happened I had previously been working with someone who worked in Kazakhstan. I talked to my boss and many other bosses until I ended up in front of the general manager of our former Soviet Union countries. He asked, ‘Why would I want someone as junior as you?’ I thought that was a good question. I told him, ‘I have a lot of energy. I like to learn and I learn fast. I move fast, and I know people here in the U.S. I can help get things done and help you with your business.’ It must have worked because I worked for Mobil Oil for about two years in Kazakhstan.

It was an eye-opening experience. I was in a different culture. I didn’t speak the language. I was in an industry that is over a hundred years old. They think they know exactly what they are doing when going overseas. However, I saw how we could do things better.

An opportunity came up to do a joint venture with other companies, but we had to figure out how to work together. They would come in and say to me, ‘These are the policies, this is how we are going to do it.’ Very black and white. I shared with them, ‘There are better options. Oh, and by the way, I just heard that Kazakhstan is trying to change their labor code that’s based on the old former Soviet Union labor code; shouldn’t we be talking to these guys about how to change it to make it more business friendly, which would lead to more businesses interested in coming over and bringing more money, which would help Kazakhstan? Shouldn’t we help them figure out how to do that?’ This was a surprise to my people. They had not thought about it

and agreed it was a good idea. We ended up getting all the other oil companies to work

with us as well as some of the consulting firms there. We started working with their department of labor on helping them get input from outside, from their customers, from people who might be coming in to invest. We took their perspective into consideration. This was not typical of an HR person; it was more similar to a government relations job, but it was fun and I put myself into it.

I wanted to learn Russian. I learned it mostly by running around. Mobil wanted to put me in the compound with everybody else, and I would not go. I did not want to be isolated. I wanted to be in the community. I wanted to be with people, learn the language and understand the people. So, I was a rebel and didn’t live in the compound. I agreed to have a driver to and from work but not on the weekends. I would then take taxis by myself. It is how you learn a language, meet people and learn about the culture.

At the end of it all, I had a real influence over the country’s labor policy. I learned how far I can stretch in service to my organization, and I can do it without going through the expected channels.

SK: Michaela, the more I get to know you, the more I appreciate your way of doing things, often not by the book. Tell us how you view human resources.MO: I look at HR as being right there in the middle of the business. It’s about the people. So much of the time companies think about HR from an administrative standpoint. They don’t think about it being key to the business, so they operate that way, with HR as administration.

I start every assignment by talking to people about their business to understand the drivers. I seek to understand what is shaping the success of the business. You then can identify the opportunities and challenges that matter most to the business. The interesting thing is that it almost always comes down to the people involved. HR is in the middle, the very middle. HR is core.

SK: In some of your previous incarnations, you were part of very large organizations doing business strategy: Mobil Oil and AOL. Your work was not always about the organization’s overall strategy. Instead it was a way to accomplish ends for a piece of the organization. But now at Rosetta Stone, you are responsible for the organization’s human resources strategy, and your impact is at the corporate level. You are up there in the captain’s cabin, and you’re looking at the way forward. How is that for you?MO: It is exciting and fun. What I found is that there’s always someone else to report to, and now it’s the CEO and the board. Even though I am the head of HR working closely with the CEO, I serve the board and the investors.

Yet, I am still digging into what the business needs, what drives our success. It is very situation-dependent, and it comes down to finding the right people for today’s challenges. I never thought I would be a recruiter. But what I have found is that I am

constantly recruiting. I am recruiting internally. I am recruiting externally. It is constant. And it is not just me, not just HR. It has to be done by all our business leads. This is critical to understand. I am teaching our other leaders how to find and develop talent even as they are teaching me about their business drivers. We are involved in a partnership here.

It is critical to get the right people in place, the right talent at the right time. We must ensure we have the talent. We first had the right people who could get us to the IPO. Then we had to think ahead about who is going to take us forward, find them, and give them what they need to succeed.

I often wish we had more time to develop and get people exposed to new experiences, but sometimes in life you are handed a crisis, a fire, and you have no option but to change people out completely and fast. Everything comes back to the people.

Audience Question: What do you do when employees go too far? How do you create policies that anticipate the guidelines you want to establish in the workplace?MO: Let’s take a seemingly innocuous dress code policy. People are in charge of their own dress at Rosetta Stone. If they are not meeting anyone and want to come to work in flip-flops and shorts, we are fine with that approach. On the other hand, if they have a meeting with a client, I expect them to dress appropriately for the type of client they are meeting.

But I do not have a policy; that is how we dealt with it. I take a different approach. If someone were to cross the line, we would have a conversation. It happens, and it is typically someone who is junior who may not be thinking about it. They think, ‘Oh, there is no dress policy, I can wear whatever,’ but then all of a sudden they are going in with a client and their manager sees them and gives them feedback that is not how they want them to dress with a client.

AQ: So, if you don’t have a policy, I would assume somewhere along the line, lawyers may get involved and say that’s discriminatory. You told someone they can wear such-and-such, but they can’t. Have you encountered that at all?MO: No, because it comes down to, you have to wear what’s right for you and for the business. If someone does not get that, it is an opportunity for feedback from the manager. They are not in trouble. Instead it is time for them to reorient towards work. I would ask, ‘Do you want to be successful?’ That is a

good conversation to have. If your client does not relate to them and does not give them the business, then they will not hit their performance targets. Focus the conversation on performance and results, not what is someone is wearing.

We work in Washington, D.C., and it can be more conservative than New York. We have to wear ties and suits when we meet with certain people here in Washington. And so, you come back to a business perspective. We don’t get into a situation where we are penalizing. HR should not be in the policing business. Believe me, you do not want to be in the policing business.

When I came into this role, that was how HR was viewed, as the police. I was not about to be the police. I blew up as many policies as I could get rid of that did not put me at risk from a compliance standpoint. I reviewed them with my team, identifying what was mandatory, and eliminated others that did not add value to our business. For us, the dress policy was not an issue.

I think there is a balance. You need courage to find the balance, not play it safe. If you are playing it safe by being the police, you will find that people adopt an attitude of not needing you. Instead you’ve got to figure out how to communicate in a way that makes sense to the business and makes the right things happen. Then, all of a sudden, people start inviting you into their discussions and earlier in the conversations at the point where you can make a real difference, a substantive difference. That is when you find yourself involved in strategy at all levels, big and small.

SK: Do you see what is going on here? Other people look at this and think this is about compliance; Michaela looks at it and sees this is an opportunity to have a conversation, get clear on what Rosetta Stone is about and build in a mindset that will consistently lead to success even outside the issue being

discussed. It takes deep inner clarity and a desire to work the organization. It is much easier just

to write a policy and give people a hard time. Instead Michaela is jumpstarting important

conversations.

AQ: How do you work with a new CEO? Do you have any experience doing staff surveys and sharing the results with a new leader? MO: We have done employee surveys and exit interviews. Our previous leadership did not want to hear some of it. When our new CEO came into place, he was much more open to hearing from our people. We launched a new CEO feedback survey, followed by an engagement survey, and after it went out he met and talked to people to understand

the results more deeply and to let

gives them feedback that is not how they want them to discussed. It takes deep inner clarity and a desire to work the organization. It is much easier just

to write a policy and give people a hard time. Instead Michaela is jumpstarting important

Do you have any experience doing

with a new leader?

and exit interviews. Our previous leadership did not want to hear

We launched a new CEO feedback

“I blew up as many policies as I could get rid of... There is a balance... You

need courage to find the balance, not play it safe.”

“I seek to understand what is shaping the success of

the business... It almost always comes down to the people

involved... HR is core.”


everyone know that he had heard their feedback. At the time, we were struggling with our product. But our

employees loved our product. Even though there were some issues with it, the employees didn’t want our new CEO to go off in a completely different direction.

At the same time, there were other things wrong with what we were doing. I began to think it had to do with our values, and maybe we needed to update them. But when the survey came back it was clear that people loved our values, they wanted to keep the values but wanted to ensure that leaders were actually representing our values.

The survey pointed us toward making sure that everybody was in alignment. As a result, our CEO did a number of roundtables to listen more deeply, and that generated tremendous alignment. I attribute a lot of our recent success we are having today to those being open to feedback from our people.

AQ: You have had some significant changes: a new CEO and an IPO. How were you rolling this out on a global level? How did you include the offices in Asia and Europe? How do you ensure that everyone is on the same page with the culture changes and advancements?MO: All our surveys have been global, and they have all been translated to the local languages to ensure that there was not any confusion. Afterward our CEO went on the road. I went on the road. Other leaders have been on the road to talk to employees in the different offices overseas to understand any disconnects. We put in a real effort to connect everyone, to provide a cohesive message, to include everyone. We also recently relocated our head of Global Consumer to Tokyo, Japan, as a way of messaging that Asia is central to our business and not all of our leadership sits in the U.S.

AQ: I work with a firm that recently went through a CEO change that went through a similar exercise gauging what are some of the issues within the firm. And what we found is that there were some suggestions shared that the firm does not wish to carry through on. And so I am wondering how you address it when an issue is identified, but a change won’t happen?MO: I would start with conversations that include the CEO and leadership team to get clear on the rationale. Then I would engage employees, be up front with them. I would say something along the lines of, ‘We have received your feedback and leadership is choosing not to act on it.’ Rather than ignore it, acknowledge it. It is okay. People would rather hear why than be ignored. If there is a business reason why you won’t be changing, let them know. Maybe there is a core cultural issue the leadership does not want to change. That is fine, too. Make it known.

By all means share that information. Then your employees know where they stand. They may not like it or even appreciate it, but you are starting from a common ground. You may wish to kick off continued feedback about it, conduct employee engagement surveys and include information about it in exit

surveys. All of these can help leadership see it from an employee’s point of view. That does not mean they will change their minds.

While exit surveys are good, they are lagging indicators, so it is too late to address concerns for a particular person. But you can feed that information back to leadership. With engagement surveys and new hire surveys, you have leading indicators so you can be proactive. Whatever the decision, sharing the data is the way to go. At the end of the day, it is the CEO’s decision about what he or she wants to do.

AQ: It occurs to me that three organizations you have worked for, Mobil Oil, Rosetta Stone and AOL, have very different cultures. I am curious if there was a different receptivity to HR being a strategic partner in each of those organizations? And did you have to make adjustments either for yourself or for your department to really be perceived as a strategic partner in each of those three places? MO: Definitely. The cultures are different. With Mobil Oil, they were going through a staff function transformation, and so HR, finance and some of the other groups were going through changes. I would say they were more accepting. Although from a business standpoint, they operated for a very long time in a certain way and so changing things was a lot harder. When I went to AOL, it was accepting of HR as a partner, but we had churn from a business, leadership and people standpoint. We were constantly changing our business strategy, bringing in new leaders and thus starting from scratch constantly. It was hard, challenging but fun. Now at Rosetta Stone, I am fortunate to be working in a smaller organization with a CEO who is fully aware of the power of HR to contribute to strategy.

AQ: How do you choose to structure your Human Resources department so that it best aligns with the initiatives of the business?MO: That’s a good one. I actually just shifted things around to more of a global perspective. I had people who were more regionally oriented. I am in the middle of shifting, so, for example, I am not having the head of Korea HR just focused on Korea. She’s going to be working on performance initiatives as well so that she brings in the global perspective. She now reports directly to me. Before it used to be a dotted line to me and a hard line to the country director. These things change, though; it is cyclical. I tell people, ‘Don’t get worried about it. This is just a normal thing for HR functions.’

I like to keep people from feeling stuck in the local mindset. They can lead some of the global initiatives that we’re doing, and if they do something we haven’t done in the U.S., let us look at it and share it. I would say this is essentially my approach in other key matters. I want people to contribute to the overall culture as well as the local one. I don’t want anyone to get stuck in a particular mindset. It is that cultural openness that makes it possible for innovation, which directly contributes to strategy. �


Later retirements and earlier career launches combined with rapidly changing values in our society have created a jumble of generations in the workplace. HR leaders face big challenges in managing the distinct cultural differences among all these age groups and helping them to communicate and collaborate effectively in a common workplace. Understanding the generational mindsets and how they best interconnect is crucial to the functioning of any organization now and into the future.

By Nona Chigewe

THE ROLE OF TODAY’S DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION MANAGER HAS

expanded to include more than ensuring that the mix of culture, ethnicity, race, sex and employee background

in the workplace is accepted and seen as a benefit versus a disadvantage. If these ingredients weren’t enough, now age must be included in this enormous melting pot. Seen on the horizon since the approach of the new millennium, the generational gap in the workplace has gradually grown in the last decade, and employers can no longer ignore its potential impacts.

Most employers today have three very different generations working in their organizations. They include Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and1964), Generation Xers or Gen X (born between 1965 and1979) and Generation Y (Gen Y) or Millennials (born after 1980). This wide age range of employees has introduced new challenges for HR managers and leaders. For

example, each generation perceives the employer differently and defines good work ethics in its own way, due to the environment and the values that were emphasized when they were growing up. The impact: everyone is speaking a different language, and this miscommunication has increased the number of workplace conflicts.

There are several factors affecting the rise in the number of generations an employer may have under one roof. Our current economy makes it nearly impossible for Baby Boomers to retire as planned, so many who are eligible to do so have decided to work a few more years to ensure a comfortable living once they have called it quits. Since this generation has decided to stay put, many of them are now today’s organizational leaders and hold decision-making power. Therefore, it is essential for them to understand the perception and point of view of the newer generations


entering the workforce in order to continue to run a successful organization. In addition, there is an influx of Millennials in today’s workplace, and they are arriving in numbers similar to the Baby Boomers. They too must take the time to appreciate the manner in which the generations before them think, communicate and perceive organizational structure in order to be successful, contributing employees. Without taking the time to understand one another, employees unwittingly and unintentionally create an invisible distance between each of the generations that can impede the business from forward movement.

Human resources’ role is to encourage the need for understanding and helping each generation learn to “play nice” together, so to speak. The first question that human resources can answer is, “Why and how are these generations different?” Individuals, organizations and a community as a whole all evolve, grow, develop and make new discoveries that impact the world around us. Each generation has had the privilege to grow up in a different world than the generation before it. These different worlds shape our thinking and perceptions. When these generations collide in one work environment, we bring these worlds together, and, while asking employees to work as a team to fulfill the organization’s mission, we also are asking them to overcome differences to work collectively. That can be difficult if the generations are not understood by company leadership, human resources and by one another.

Let’s take a closer look at the world that each generation experienced and the influence it had.

The period and events that were occurring in each of these generation’s worlds developed the type of worker they are and what they expect from their employer. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, United States and Canada all experienced significant increases in birth rates post World War II as young soldiers returned home to their families and began expanding their “nests.” The Baby Boomer generation changed drastically how the world operated up to that point in time. The peak in population led to a rise in consumer products,

automobiles and roads. The need for more space brought about suburban homes within new and developing neighborhoods. To accommodate this generation as they became older and began entering the workforce, new government policies had to be created, and reform was necessary to meet evolving needs.

The workforce itself was completely transformed as Baby Boomers took their seats in the workplace. Corporations grew larger and became significantly more profitable. The labor pool offered a great deal of options to employers who wanted to increase organizational strengths. Due in part to the availability, the variety and the affordability of consumer goods, individuals were not intimidated to buy. The Baby Boomer movement turned the economy around, which translated to prosperity and, in turn, provided healthy salaries for this generation, which they continued to watch increase throughout their years in the workforce.

Outside of the workplace, the Baby Boomers’ world was filled with individuals and groups fighting for justice and equal rights. For those historical figures that left a footprint in the sand for leading the fight, recognition and celebration of their efforts was widely seen by this generation. This same attitude is brought to work. As an employee, Baby Boomers will question the norm and examine the rules and the standard way of doing things to ensure that they are indeed the best and right way for getting the job done, and they expect praise for a job well done and reassurance that their contribution was not overlooked.

Generation Xers are seen as more resilient and tough. They have learned to be independent and won’t need as much direction as their predecessors. Micro-management stifles this generation. It is usually unnecessary, because they are highly committed to their work. In fact, they are more committed to their work than they are to their employer. The layoffs and divorces that affected their parents have eroded their belief in the value of loyalty. Generation Xers may find it safer to be loyal to themselves, rather than to trust in another entity that could possibly disappoint them in the long run. As a result, they see their work as a reflection of

themselves.The newest and future leaders of our organizations are

Millennials. The world of technology has dominated this generation’s thinking and has defined the way in which they live every aspect of their lives. Millennials have grown up in an age where everything they need and want is at their fingertips. It fosters an environment of accessibility. This accessibility includes an abundance of information. Expect this generation to be well informed and up to date on current affairs. This ease of access has made them accustomed to instant gratification, so they see no reason to wait, and they expect to have their needs met as soon as those needs are identified. As you can imagine, this generation has redefined the word “patience,” and it’s not a virtue. It does not fit or truly belong in their vocabulary. This accessibility and promptness of information sets the high expectation that career growth should happen more rapidly and that employers should be investing and taking an interest in the development and growth of their employees.

Technology has also decreased the size of Millennials’ world. You are dealing with one of the most globalized generations in regards to reach and connectivity. Social media, web, email and other high-tech tools, such as Skype, have brought individuals face-to-face in ways that previous generations would never have imagined. Millennials understand how to be personable with others, even if they are not sitting directly in front of them. They understand how to communicate across an array of platforms in a manner that is well received. Technology has allowed the world of Millennials to be more flexible. Due to the accessibility and the speed in which technology allows them to get things done, there isn’t much that this generation doesn’t expect to do just about anywhere. Millennials believe their employer should respect this aspect of technology and allow for more flexible schedules and independence. They no longer work within the boundaries of the 9-to-5 schedule or the expectation that they must be in the office to get the job done. For them, technology has evolved to make life more convenient and allows them to work more efficiently while balancing their professional and personal worlds.

Each generation has impacted and changed life as it was known for the previous generation. Within the technology sector alone it is apparent how each has contributed in some way to the

evolution we see today. Baby Boomers Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the technology giant Microsoft, which has completely changed the way we conduct business, dominating almost every corporate office in the United States. The company is best known today for its operating systems and the ability to form incredible business ventures to ensure its products are as visible and widely used as possible. Generation Xer Jeff Bezos introduced the world to Amazon.com, the game-changing online retailer. At a time when consumers were seen as only being comfortable with brick-and-mortar shopping, Bezos offered them access to an array of books and additional products at the click of a mouse. Amazon.com is now paving the way for how we research, read and purchase books along with thousands of other products.

The social media phenomenon Facebook has completely revolutionized how we reunite with old buddies, connect with our current friends and establish new personal and professional bonds. The Millennials’ very own Mark Zuckerberg is the founder of Facebook, who created the entire concept of “social networking” that is now reshaping the world of business. Facebook averages 900 million users in over 200 countries and

Occurring in their World Expect from Employer

Baby Boomers Post World War II, rebuilding of countries involved in war, Civil Rights era

Recognition, praise, ability to redefine traditional values, loyalty

Generation X Economic down-turn, parents go through lay-offs, less job security, high divorce rate, single parent homes

Independence, a voice and input on major decisions

Millennials Technology boom and convenience Flexible schedules, professional growth, opportunities to climb the ladder, interesting work, the ability to allow technology to shape their work

knowlege transfer leader development

communication

Overcoming the Generational Gap

Social media and other high-tech tools, such as Skype, have brought

individuals face-to-face in ways that previous generations would never have imagined. Millennials

understand how to be personable with others, even if they are not sitting directly in front of them.


allows individuals to connect and network beyond country borders in an instant.

This information is beyond informational or interesting, it is vital to understand and act upon. With Baby Boomers moving out and Millennials flooding in, organizations must begin to look at two very important aspects of this transition. This includes the transfer of knowledge and the shaping and development of new leaders. Baby Boomers have been leading and driving organizations. Since this generation is also known for sticking with employers for longer durations, they hold a vast amount of knowledge and experience that must be shared with successors. Yvonne McIntyre who holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®), Americas Region HR manager of Chevron notes, “It is critical to capture that knowledge and transfer it to the younger generations.” Therefore, it is imperative for organizations to begin to think about succession planning. If not already in place, companies need to take the time to begin to develop and create a succession plan that clearly defines who the next leaders are and how they will move into their new roles. The plan should make certain that key information does not walk out the door and retire along with those who hold that information. It is important to outline and specify what needs to be shared and how it should be stored. Communication of that succession plan includes understanding the audience to which the communication

is sent, which aids in ensuring that the message is framed correctly. This is even more of a reason to know the generations within the organization and how they think.

Once the plan is in place, companies must focus on preparing and molding their future leaders so they are ready to take over seamlessly and lead with no interruptions. The one hurdle companies must overcome is the fact that Gen X in general has less company loyalty than their predecessors, and Millennials expect expedited promotional advancement and will go where they can receive it. Organizations want to avoid investing in and expending developmental energy on individuals who may take their skills elsewhere. This will result in having to reinvest and begin the process of development over with new expected company leaders with no guarantee that they will not leave the

company as well. Continuing this vicious cycle can mean never seeing a reduction in the company’s learning curve and ending up with under-prepared leaders.

Future leaders will need to know — sooner rather than later — that there is room for them at the top. Organizations must incorporate in the succession plans a career path program or mapping for them. There must be a way to track and visually define how to move along the company’s career path for those who have been identified as tomorrow’s leaders. McIntyre highlights that at Chevron the company has adjusted succession plans to aid with identifying exceptional leaders in the younger generations. Employees also are “encouraged to manage their careers with their supervisors and understand the value they bring.” Often mentors or sponsors are provided as a part of the company’s plans for developing employees. When additional attention is given to high-performing employees, it is a clear and strong statement that management sees their potential and is aware of the value they add to the organization. The message also states that the company intends not only to advance these employees, but also to go the extra mile to provide the tools, support, education and experiences necessary to accelerate leadership development.

To ensure a successful knowledge transfer process, employees must be willing and able to speak to one another with clarity and understanding. The job here is to remove the different generational languages spoken in the workplace and head toward more organizational acumen. Tearing down the walls of miscommunication is essential. Employers are finding that individuals are tripping over the different avenues used to communicate and how communication is occurring. For example, email messaging is used frequently in the office and even more so among the younger generations, but it can be misinterpreted due to the significant amount of non-verbal cues included. Email can increase the guess work for the recipient, who must determine the tone of the message, what the message is truly saying and any short-hand or abbreviated words being used. John Greene, SPHR, HR director, of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), finds that many times this increases the challenge individuals encounter when truly understanding the actual message, because, “What was said is not what was heard or wanted to be heard.” Communication barriers have indeed increased the gap amongst generations, and human resources has to step in to build bridges.

In order for succession planning, knowledge transfer, mentoring or any other company forward-moving initiative to be successful, employees must be able to talk to one another in a way that ensures comprehension. Just as individuals have different learning styles, each employee sends and receives messages in his or her own manner. One way to make certain that the same language is being spoken, no matter the form of communication being used, is to offer the message in different forms. Greene suggests over communication: “Use opportunities such as all-staff meetings, one-on-one meetings, intranet and memos.” Chevron uses Yammer, a Facebook-style Internet tool

for corporations, as one way to help employees stay connected. Yammer is used like an internal social intranet to “exchange ideas, network and connect with others in the organization,” McIntyre explains.

Another way that human resources is bringing workforces together is by tightening generational gaps in the workplace. Chevron has 11 employee networks with 23,000 global members, the largest group being the XYZ Network. Comprising colleagues from all divisions, locations and generations, the group meets and discusses a variety of topics. In addition to best-practice sharing, McIntyre states, “We talk about similarities and differences and openly discuss solutions to help multiple generations work well together. What we are finding is that we have more in common versus differences.” In any situation, it is important to acknowledge and identify challenges and not to be afraid to address them. Defining hurdles or roadblocks makes it that much easier to conquer them. It is almost impossible to remove roadblocks if there is no awareness that they even exist.

Human resources also has taken individuals outside of their comfort zones in order to bridge the generational gap. Cross-functional work teams are a bridge used by the HRC. “Organizations would benefit by cross-training individuals and establishing mentor programs benefiting multiple generations, while enhancing relationships and passing knowledge down throughout the organization,” explains Greene. Allowing different departments and employee groups to work together can encourage connection opportunities to take place that may not have been present with just the day-to-day work occurring in the company. Even executives and managers can benefit from the input and ideas that come from their junior staff. The collaboration that occurs on cross-functional teams can assist with inviting the different generations within the workplace to open up with one another and begin to allow each other into their worlds. The result gained is greater understanding and a deeper view of another colleague’s perspective.

The generational gap is nothing to shy away from or be intimidated by. To tackle it, human resources should continue

to do what is already being done today to ensure that their organizations have a strong and thriving foundation of diversity embedded into the culture. This diversity should speak to respecting differences, taking the time to learn about and understand colleagues and employees, to value culture and all employees and to work with integrity. McIntyre finds that, “age differences should be built into diversity training.” As with any other diversity and inclusion element, companies find that welcoming a variety of ages is beneficial. Organizations that accept and nurture their multigenerational workforces find great success from the valuable insights being brought to attention surrounding procedures, as well as services and/or products offered. “Organizations who don’t see value in including different generations in their workforce ultimately are missing a significant segment of the market who will understand their work and product,” warns Greene. A company’s level of creativity, flexibility and reach increases by ensuring that there is a great mix of generations on board.

Without the different voices from the different generations, organizational leaders won’t be able to hear the multiple perspectives and may miss the opportunity to view challenges, solutions and initiatives in a manner that is fresh and innovative. A generational mix adds new energy and new ways of conducting everyday business. McIntyre finds this is just one method that companies can utilize to avoid, “going stale and continuing the status quo. The challenge is to influence folks to do things differently, because change is hard for everyone but eventually you get there.” For those employees who are more skeptical of change, Greene finds it is helpful to try suggestions on a trial basis. At HRC, suggestions are considered proposals that the company will, “try for three months, and if it doesn’t work, then we can return back to the former way of doing things.” Fear of change can’t stop organizations from incorporating value gained from a multigenerational workforce. It is not only good, but also is smart business.

As we look at diversity overall, remember that employees still are very much individuals. Defining employees by generation is just a generalization or one category a person can fit in. It is still extremely important to understand the individual needs and expectations of employees, as well as who they are and how they work. “The generational gap shouldn’t be viewed as an issue or feel like a new phenomenon. Avoid stamping an individual based on their date of birth and treat these groups of individuals as such,” recommends McIntyre.

The role of human resources is to teach employers the significance of understanding each and every one of their employees and the business impacts of doing so. Once this is in place, the gap among generations will no longer be such a daunting force to be reckoned with. �

“Employees must be willing and

able to speak to one another

with clarity and understanding...

Tearing down the walls of

miscommunication is essential.”

“Diversity should speak to respecting differences, taking the

time to learn about and understand colleagues and employees, to value

culture and all employees and to work with integrity.”


With today’s hyperconnected marketplace, working globally can be as simple as selling

your goods on the Internet. Conversely, today’s global marketplace includes large multinational corporations that have offices all over the world. A multinational corporation is commonly defined as one with facilities or assets in at least one country other than its home country, where they have a centralized lead office from which they coordinate global management.

For HR professionals in multinational companies, there are many unique challenges, from long-distance management and creating a common workplace culture that is supported and embraced throughout the company to ensuring that labor laws in satellite countries are understood and followed.

Thomas Belker knows about these challenges. He holds both the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) and the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®) certifications and is the managing director of corporate

One World,

With the shrinking globe and expanding reach of corporations, HR professionals like OBI Group’s Thomas Belker, SPHR, GPHR, can easily see the benefits of a global certification to unify diverse workforces and multinational HR departments.

By Margaret Brown

HR for OBI Group, a German-based home improvement retailer operating more than 580 stores in 13 countries. As one of the leading European “do-it-yourself” brands, OBI Group has more than 43,000 employees and generated revenues of €6,67 billion (about US$8.2 billion) in 2011.

Belker is in charge of an HR staff of approximately 160 and the cross-border HR practices of OBI. According to Belker, OBI experienced a rapid expansion into new international markets in the last decade. “Speed was the decisive factor, and the consolidation of the group required the development of an HR community able to understand and apply forward-thinking employment practices and policies.”

During the expansion, talented HR managers with very diverse backgrounds joined OBI, but Belker knew that he needed a way to ensure that his HR team had a common foundation of professional knowledge from which to practice. “At the time, there was no cohesive global HR education available to teach the missing

links in our rashly assembled team,” Belker said.

Looking for a solution, he discovered the HR Certification Institute’s (the Institute) GPHR certification and became one of the first HR professionals to attain the certification in its first year. “The certification provided me with the problem-solving skills to address our seemingly larger-than-life situations,” he adds.

The GPHR is specifically designed for HR professionals like Belker, who have HR responsibilities that cross national borders and must create the policies and practices that support an organization’s growth beyond geographic boundaries. A GPHR understands the strategies of how globalization affects an organization’s HR policies and programs, has core knowledge of his or her organization’s international activities and designs organizational HR programs, processes and tools that will help the organization achieve worldwide business goals.

The GPHR was a perfect fit for Belker. “I wanted to calibrate my own knowledge

One Certification

GLOBAL PROFILE

of global human resources and its relationship to the business and also wanted to fill any gaps in knowledge that I may have had,” he shared. “During my studies for the credentials, I felt that the whole picture was revealed, so to speak, and for the first time, I got a comprehensive understanding of the global human resources picture from a very high level.”

Going through preparation for certification, Belker found that his studies covered two key areas of global human resources. First in the process was a review of the basic tasks and approach to human resources for those in contact with global and cross-national issues, according to Belker. Then, he also found that he got a more thorough understanding of global HR issues at a leadership level.

“The HR professional who holds the GPHR needs to be able to anticipate issues, such as potential changes to labor laws or just the way a certain country’s labor laws may affect an organization’s policies, and be prepared to create systems to ensure that those issues don’t derail HR or the business,” said Belker. “Certification enhances this understanding and competence and reinforces the right behavior, process and next steps the HR professional should be aware of in their HR world. For me, the GPHR helped me in many instances to streamline the HR processes and standards within the OBI Group.”

Belker approaches his role with a deep appreciation of the value of certification. He knows that other HR professionals who hold a Professional in Human Resources (PHR®), SPHR, GPHR, Human Resources Business Professional (HRBPSM) or Human Resources Management Professional (HRMPSM), have a solid foundational understanding of the HR bodies of knowledge and that they are passionate about their careers.

“I deal with numerous HR colleagues on the phone, as do most people, and sometimes I may not ever get the chance to meet them in person,” Belker said. “As a result of our long-distance business relationship, I don’t necessarily know

them, their work ethic or their base of HR knowledge. Engaging with someone who holds certification, however, gives me insight into him or her as an HR professional. It shows me that they are engaged in the field, that they care about human resources and that they want to be proven experts who stay ahead through education in their professional field.

“For someone who’s in a position to take responsibility for decisions, knowing I am engaging with someone at that level gives me some relief. It shows me that they understand the HR body of knowledge and that I can rely in a greater way on decisions they make and their guidance,” Belker continued. “I don’t have to check the background of decisions they make, because they are up to date on regulation and legislation.”

Based on his comfort level with, and respect for, HR colleagues who hold credentials from the Institute, Belker was very enthusiastic when he heard about the HRBP and HRMP certifications. The new credentials were developed to validate core HR knowledge and skills for those professionals who focus on globally relevant HR concepts that are common across geographic locations.

The HRBP validates professional-level core HR knowledge and skills and demonstrates mastery of generally accepted technical and operational HR principles. The HRMP is designed to validate management-level core HR knowledge and skills and demonstrates mastery of generally accepted HR principles in strategy and policy development as well as service delivery. Both are distinct from the GPHR

“Certification enhances this understanding and competence and reinforces the right behavior, process and next steps the HR professional should be aware of in their HR world. For me, the GPHR helped me in many instances to streamline the HR processes and standards within the OBI Group.”

certification, which focuses primarily on cross-border HR practices.

Before they were introduced, Belker had tried to get members of his staff to sit for the GPHR exam, but found their reaction to be a bit skeptical. “It took me a while to fathom out the real reason behind the hesitant attitude,” Belker shared. “But I discovered that members of my team felt that the GPHR was too encompassing. They saw it as great for those who do business on all continents but didn’t feel that it focused on their needs in a smaller office that is part of a greater whole but focuses on one country.”

Therefore, when Belker was approached to have members of his team take the pilot exam for the new HRBP and HRMP credentials, he felt they were important enough to support as many members of his staff as wanted to take the exam.

Belker said he found that after the pilot was announced and the HRBP and HRMP were explained, the mood of OBI’s international HR community shifted dramatically. “Because the new, globally relevant HRMP credential demonstrates mastery of generally accepted HR principles in strategy and policy development as well as service delivery, independent of geographic region, the general feeling was that it directly supports the daily work effectiveness of the HR community at OBI.”

Four HR managers opted to take the exam during the pilot phase. One of those was Andrey Boroditsky, HRMP, head of HR for OBI Ukraine, a local subsidiary of the company. Boroditsky joined OBI in 2003 and has led the HR efforts in the

“Engaging with someone who holds certification, however, gives me insight into him or her as an HR professional. It shows me that they are engaged in the field, that they care about human resources and that they want to be proven experts who stay ahead through education in their professional field.”

Photo courtesy of OBI Group


Thomas Belker, SPHR, GPHR, is managing director of human resources with the OBI Group Holding, a German-based home improvement retailer with over 500 stores in 13 European countries, where he oversees all aspects of HR management for the company. Before joining OBI in 2006, Belker held diverse executive HR positions with several major corporations in various industries, including banking, telecommunications and health care. From 2005 to 2008, Belker served on the GPHR Exam Development Panel of the HR Certification Institute, and he has been a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors since January 2009. He is a graduate of Ludwig-Maximilians-University Law School in Munich, Germany.

Ukraine since 2009.

“The common framework laid out with the new credentials helps me to set direction within my own HR team as well as having a common understanding regarding all central HR issues,” Boroditsky said. “This common language makes us faster and much more efficient. When I was offered to participate at the pilot HRMP exam, I said ‘yes’ immediately.”

Another OBI HR leader who was one of the first in the world to earn the HRMP credential is Viola Grosse, an HR business partner. Grosse said, “The participation in the HRCI pilot program for the HRMP helped me and OBI. The standards and practices conveyed offer a great starting

point to build a common basis and understanding within OBI’s international HR community.

“By participating, I showed that I am committed not only to the HR profession but also to increasing or keeping my HR knowledge up-to-date regarding standards and practices around the globe,” Grosse shared. “The learning material provided a valuable and comprehensive reference. I am grateful that I had the possibility to participate in the pilot, and I am very proud of having obtained this new credential.”

Belker and his team are using that common basis and understanding to increase their effectiveness as HR leaders and business partners at OBI and look

forward to the education they will gain as they recertify going forward.

“I look forward to even more of my team making the commitment to becoming an HRBP or HRMP,” said Belker. “As more of them become credentialed, I can only see greater opportunity for collaboration and knowledge sharing across our HR department.

“I plan to maintain my GPHR and SPHR through recertification because it keeps me current and able to be a more effective leader to my dynamic team. Credentials create a common knowledge and a base of understanding that will benefit all of us for years to come,” Belker concluded. �

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Podobnik says he’s been lucky enough to have a number of mentors and sponsors who have provided him with career direction over the years. He credits formal and informal mentors for helping him and being cognizant of his development. These mentors have also given him the opportunity to work on new challenges within the organization. In addition to mentors, sponsors can also be of value. Podobnik says that sponsors differ from mentors in that sponsors are high-level employees who advocate for you. Having both can be incredibly helpful when you are making strategic decisions about your career.

Imagine being able to bring your pet to work. A recent Virginia Commonwealth University study published in the March edition of International Journal of Workplace Management found that bringing dogs to the workplace can decrease stress levels while improving employee satisfaction. While visiting Amazon, we saw many a well-behaved four-legged companion enter the building. In fact, Amazon’s reception area even provides dog treats for furry friends. REI has an outdoor, fenced-in space for employees to bring their dogs to work. Employees can visit their pets during the day, and there is even exercise equipment for employees to exercise their pets. These pet-friendly work environments seem to be the recipe for many a satisfied employee.

In our discussions, we consistently heard that it’s about the people, and that human resources is in the people business. Human resources connects the dots: talented, passionate people connect the business and, when nurtured, can grow and impact the bottom line. The definition of “business” can also differ within specific company cultures. In a meeting with the City of Seattle’s HR team, we learned that “business” is about achieving the city’s mission and that business objectives can be achieved by preparing for the future. In Seattle, the HR team is optimizing its impact by creating that desired future through capacity building and competency building with certification. �

MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN MENTORS AND SPONSORS CAN HELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREERHELP YOUR CAREER

of trust, and can be relied on. Being a trusted advisor helps HR professionals have positive personal relationships.” Podobnik affirms Ulrich’s finding and says it’s important to earn people’s trust so that you can advise them on people matters. Luan Collisson, SPHR, also holds her Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®) and is an executive recruiter at Microsoft. She says the core competencies that make an executive leader successful are strategic thinking capabilities, being a visionary, the ability to collaborate across teams and thinking and working on a global scale. Being curious also helps.

Charles shares that success depends on many skills. At Amazon, they have coined the term, “fungible,” referring to people they hire who will be able to move around and grow within the company. Especially in fast-paced, high-growth environments, an employee’s ability to adapt is most important. Charles says, “You want to be a self-starter and take initiative. It’s not enough to hire someone who can do the job today; we’re hiring for tomorrow.” This means looking for traits like problem solving, innovation and flexibility, rather than a specific technical skill set. Speaking of being adaptable, Haydamack shares that at Intel, as many as 80 percent of the HR team focused on operations comes from non-HR backgrounds. Intel HR sees this as a benefit as they can blend diverse skill sets together to “operate like a business” and deliver better HR services. Many companies create their own expressions to match their culture. Fungible is one example; Starbucks calls their employees “partners;” other companies are trying to change and get away from vernacular like “personnel.” What unique terms define your company’s culture?

marketing group, has grown up with The Boeing Company. She started her career outside of human resources at Boeing, but found her passion within human resources. And 20 years later, Colello still has a passion for what she does. She says that people who work for the company have, “love and passion for the aircraft industry.” Clearly she carries that same passion within her own heart. Colello’s passion comes through in other ways, when asked about the company’s culture: “People are our number one resource. Many of the leaders of our company started as engineers.”

At REI, the focus is on the employees. Stephanie Garretson, SPHR, manager of organizational development at REI, says that everything they do at REI has an indirect impact on the customer. “How do we help the employee so they can help the customer? How do we help them feel empowered and develop and grow? How do we contribute to the business? These answers help our employees grow.” Starbucks shares the same view; in fact, CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, shares the following philosophy with his employees: “We are in the people business serving coffee.” In addition, we learned that every employee at Starbucks is considered a business partner, creating a feeling of inclusion in the success of the company. Powerful indeed.

There are core competencies that make you successful in business. Dave Ulrich and Wayne Brockbank’s recent Human Resource Competence Study shows that one of the six competencies that matter most to high-performing HR professionals is being a “credible activist.” The study goes on to state, “Credibility comes [when] HR professionals do what they promise, build personal relationships

SEATTLE ROADTRIP TIMELINE monday tuesday wednesday

1971: Starbucks opens first store in Seattle’s Pike Place

Market.

1994: Jeff Bezos incorporates Cadabra in the state of Washington in July. One year later, the site goes online as amazon.com.

thursday

1968: Bob Noyce + Gordon Moore found NM Electronics

in Mountainview, Calif. Later that year they change

the name to Integrated Electronics, or Intel, for short.

1869: Named New York by early settlers. Later renamed as Seattle. The City of Seattle was incorporated in 1869.

FOCUS ON THE BUSINESS OF PEOPLE

BE A TRUSTED ADVISOR

IT’S ABOUT BEING FUNGIBLE

BRING YOUR PETS TO WORK

LEAD THE BUSINESS

The HRCI’s own Archana Mehta and Rubens Pessanha hit the road to see what the big deal is out in the far corner of the United States. What they found was energy, innovation, really great coffee — and some lessons for HR professionals looking to stay ahead of the latest trends in our industry.By Archana Mehta

@HR CERTAIN

away with innumerable insights. We share a few of them with you here.

To have a voice at the executive table, HR professionals agree that you need to align your goals with your company’s business objectives. When Mike Podobnik, a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) holder and senior human resources manager at Microsoft, saw a need for refining the process of talent management for university recruits at his company, he and a colleague jumped into action, meeting on weekends and after work to determine the best plan to optimize recruitment. They pitched their plan to senior managers and saw it successfully adopted. Podobnik says, “Our goal is to be relevant at the C-table. We can do this by impacting the business strategy. We need HR to be seen as a trusted partner.” Kristin Charles, SPHR, senior program manager at Amazon shares the same insights, “We [in HR] need to stay close to the business and the different needs of our different business groups.”

A dynamic company culture of innovation means that not every project or idea will make it to fruition, but that’s okay. Charles shares that at Amazon — as with any growth-oriented company — there is a cultural acceptance of failure. It’s all about the ideas. She shares, “If you have a good idea, you can get some really great traction. There’s so much excitement and opportunity around what we are doing and what we can do.” Company growth is about expanding, and that means plenty of out-of-the-box thinking. Craig Haydamack, SPHR, human resources manager at Intel says it’s challenging to remain innovative and relevant when faced with disruptive change. He cites an example of how Intel must move beyond its traditional server and PC markets, and deliver new products for much smaller and lighter tablets and smart-phones.

Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Having passion and enthusiasm for what you do is critical to job satisfaction. Laura Colello, Professional in Human Resources (PHR®), who provides HR support for the Boeing Commercial Airlines sales and

In July, Forbes ranked Seattle as the fifth coolest city in the nation to live in, beating out regulars like San Diego,

San Francisco and New York City. What makes Seattle such an appealing city for heavyweights like Microsoft and Boeing while also drawing in entrepreneurs? We think the answer is that Seattle is a highly energetic, dynamic city oozing with brainpower.

Mark Emmer, president of University of Washington, sums it up when he says, “We only have two products here: smart people and great ideas.”

The HR Certification Institute’s (HRCI)very first client engagement road trip provided us with the unique opportunity to visit with both certified and non-certified HR professionals in Seattle. We visited a number of dynamic, innovative companies, each with its own unique culture. We traveled from Alexandria, Va., to the Pacific Northwest, landing in Seattle and taking our road show north to Bellevue and Redmond and south to Kent; we even ventured so far as Portland, Ore., for a day. We toured many a Seattle institution, drank a lot of coffee and came

Seatt eSecrets of

1916: William E. Boeing founds Pacific Aero Products Co., later to be renamed The Boeing Company, in Seattle.

1938: Lloyd + Mary Anderson found REI in Seattle, and set up a cooperative with 21 mountain climbing friends to enable enthusiasts to buy quality climbing gear at reasonable prices.

1979: Paul Allen + Bill Gates move their newly created company, Microsoft, from Albuquerque, N.M., to Bellevue, Washington.

ALWAYS LOOK FOR A BUSINESS JUSTIFICATION

A CULTURE OF INNOVATION ACCEPTS AND LEARNS THROUGH FAILURE

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www.HRCI.org Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 3938 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 www.HRCI.org www.HRCI.org

Fighting a deadly disease affecting millions of people — including far too many children — is inherently challenging. Adding political and cultural turmoil complicates the mission. Fortunately for millions of people in Africa, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has a remarkable team of HR professionals committed to overcoming those challenges — and any others that should arise.

By Archana Mehta

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Hopeamong

By Archana Mehta

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decisions to protect the staff’s safety and security, all the while encouraging them to keep up the organization’s crucial mission.

After the country’s infrastructure began to shut down — including all banks and airports — the HR team sought to stay in constant communication with the staff. Even though many in the country could not access cash, the team ensured that staff continued to get paid and helped them to avoid dangerous commutes to work by instead allowing them and encouraging them to work from home, where feasible.

“We are constantly keeping an eye on conflict,” says Moir, who is based in Kenya. “From an HR perspective, we are the organization’s direct point of contact for safety and security issues.”

As international human resources director, Moir is in the first cohort of the HRMP. He provides HR leadership, advice and support to country programs in Africa. In addition, he focuses on strengthening HR policies and practices, capacity building, audit and compliance and leadership development. Moir says that since Africa is the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, most of the active programming work is done there.

But with a team spread out across different countries with their own languages and cultures, HR professionals in Africa and Washington play a paramount role in creating as smooth a working environment as possible. It is an especially crucial role as political upheaval and instability reigns in some of the areas where the virus is most prevalent.

The foundation has a country office in 12 countries within Africa, each with a management team and on-the-ground staff. Over 80 percent of the countries in Africa have a full-time HR manager who oversees the day-to-day issues of the country office like employee relations, recruiting and contracts. Each HR manager responds to a director of operations who in turn reports to a country director.

“Each human resources manager dotted line reports to me in a functional capacity,” says Moir. “We call them country HR partners, and we form a pretty tight network.”

Moir, 48, gravitated to the HR world after attending university and has never looked back. Having been with the foundation for close to four years, the work presents a welcome challenge, he says, and the extensive experience that he’s gathered over the years, working in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, helps him effectively manage a diverse set of in-the-field HR managers spread across the African continent.

“In effect, human resources has an impact on every person in the company, and the work of the human resources team helps the foundation achieve its goals,” he says.

To keep up a continuous stream of communication and to ensure compliance, Moir and his HR colleagues in Washington, D.C., interact regularly with each country’s HR team through monthly calls, quarterly global calls and an annual conference, which allows the global HR team to work with one another in person. In addition, Moir visits each country twice a year to foster relationships and conduct HR compliance checks.

While most of the foundation’s staff is on the ground in Africa, the staff in Washington handles communications, advocacy and development for the foundation, as well as corporate services and medical and scientific affairs. Two additional offices operate in Los Angeles (where the foundation began nearly 25 years ago) and in Geneva. The organization also has U.S. staff who are full-time telecommuters.

In addition to country HR managers and Moir’s role, the Washington office has a HR team that oversees both U.S. and Africa’s operations.

Ward-Dahl is responsible for creating and managing the overall strategy for all HR systems, practices and approaches to support the foundation’s organizational growth and development.

A key to EGPAF’s success is getting people to bring their children to the clinic for treatment.

OVER THE PAST DECADE, THE IVORY COAST HAS EXPERIENCED A

bloody civil war. After the country split into two factions – the rebel-held north and the government-controlled south

– French and United Nations peacekeepers tried to bring stability to the region, even helping the country hold national elections to defuse a growing political crisis.

But in 2010, the country plunged back into civil war when the presidential incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to concede to the recognized winner, Alassane Ouattara. This political situation presented enormous challenges for the international HR team at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF).

Tami Ward-Dahl, vice president of Administration and Human Resources for EGPAF holds both the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) and the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®) and discusses how crucial the HR team was to staff during this period of instability and fear: “HR played a critical role in providing flexibility and creativity to our staff so that they could deal with the reality of trying to stay safe and care for their families during this challenging time.

“Working closely with our country HR partner, we continued to reassure our staff that we were looking out for them, that we would not abandon them and that we would keep our team together.”

It’s not a situation the HR team could afford to take lightly. The AIDS epidemic is rampant in Africa, and according to the foundation’s website, approximately 450,000 people are living with the deadly disease in the Ivory Coast alone — including 63,000 children under the age of 15 — with millions more throughout the subcontinent.

The foundation’s work, along with its partners’, is making a substantial impact. The foundation states that in the Ivory Coast, the organization has enrolled more than 182,000 patients into HIV care and has started more than 89,000 people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV/AIDS, including more than 15,000 children under the age of 15. And the foundation has another ambitious goal: to prevent new HIV infections among children and to be a driving force in the elimination of pediatric AIDS by 2015.

Founded in 1988, the foundation works in 15 countries around the world and has its largest presence in Africa. More than 90 percent of the global staff of 900 are in the field, furthering the foundation’s life-saving mission to work with governments and businesses to eliminate the spread of the deadly disease through a variety of advocacy, education and prevention and treatment programs. While awareness of the disease is growing, the challenges to stopping its spread continue, especially over maintaining a steady stream of resources to target the epidemic.

“The technology, drugs, knowledge and know-how are available to solve the problem,” says Andrew Moir, international HR director for the foundation and a Human Resources Management Professional (HRMPSM) certificant. “But the lack of money, resources and the infrastructure to roll out programs on a large enough scale limit our capabilities. It’s a question of creating the capacity to provide everyone with the drugs they need and to get people to bring their children to the clinics.”

Whenever there’s serious instability in the region, the foundation’s already challenging mission becomes that much harder. So in 2010 when the Ivory Coast descended into a full-blown crisis, the leadership team had to make some swift

The AIDS epidemic is rampant in Africa. Approximately 450,000 people are living with the deadly disease in the Ivory Coast alone, including 63,000 children under the age of 15.

EGPAF is working toward the ambitious goal of eliminating pediatric AIDS by 2015.



42 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 www.HRCI.org www.HRCI.org Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 43Winter 2013 42 www.HRCI.org

She also oversees a team of seven staff based in the United States who work on all domestic HR issues, support the HR team in Africa and address any additional issues belonging to international assignees around the world.

Ward-Dahl, who spent much of her career in the for-profit world before arriving at the foundation, agrees that communication is critical among her staff. She says that although communication can be an ongoing challenge, the teams are not limited to working within their respective groups and are encouraged to work cross-functionally.

Since most of the staff is on the ground in Africa, Ward-Dahl and her colleagues travel to the continent to attend an annual global HR strategy conference, allowing the teams across the world to meet in one setting, such as this past year’s conference in Swaziland, which brought together more than 25 HR colleagues.

“The conferences allow us to come together face-to-face, conduct trainings and bring in external speakers, providing us with an opportunity to strengthen our capacity as a team,” she says.

Ward-Dahl also says the foundation is very supportive of furthering the skills necessary to help each employee reach his or her personal goals. She says that the organization was especially supportive of the HR Certification Institute’s new Global Credential Program.

“There is an appreciation here for increasing the reputation of HR and for moving the profession forward through certification,” she says, adding that 10 international HR staff members sat for the exam this past summer.

Ward-Dahl believes it’s important for her to be supportive of the individual HR partners who are in the field. “We look for opportunities to bring colleagues together and then we maximize those opportunities. We also strongly believe in the

value of working together. HR colleagues in one country are quick to provide support to one another; we are all part of the same team. For example, when our Rwanda program needed HR assistance with our performance management program, our HR partner in Côte d’Ivoire traveled there on fairly short notice to help out.“

For EGPAF, communication is critical, since staff members are working in a culturally diverse set of countries that also may be dealing with conflict or political crisis. On top of that, consistent access to the Internet can be a challenge in many of the foundation’s countries.

In an effort to keep up a constant stream of communication, the Washington HR team conducts bi-monthly meetings with its counterparts in Africa. The intent of these meetings is to connect with colleagues there and allow HR partners in Africa to touch

Technology

WebEx

Skype

Email

Telephone

Communication

Annual HR Conference

Quarterly Conference Calls

Bi-Monthly Teleconference

Monthly Conference Calls

4

44 CERTIFIED June 201244 C IED June 2012ER June 2012June 2012CCCERTIFIEDRTIFIEDRTIFIED

Countries

1 Cameroon

2 Côte d’Ivoire

3 Democratic Republic of the Congo

4 India

5 Kenya

6 Lesotho

7 Malawi

8 Mozambique

9 Rwanda

10 Swaziland

11 Tanzania

12 Uganda

13 Zambia

14 Zimbabwe

Languages

English

French

Portuguese

Swahili

60+ local languages

Country Offices

Country Director

Director Operations

HR Partner

Kenya Office

International HR Director

U.S. Offices

VP Administration & HR

1

2

3

9 5

6

7 8

12

13

14

11

10

Local Services, Global Reach

Washington, D.C.

Geneva

“Conferences allow us to come together face-to-face, conduct trainings and bring in external speakers, providing us with an opportunity to strengthen our capacity as a team.”

Andrew Moir, HRMP, is international HR director for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, where he is responsible for HR leadership and lending support across 12 country programs in Africa. He has over 20 years in the non-profit sector in a variety of leadership, managerial and HR roles, and prior experience in the corporate HR sector. Previously, Moir was the HR director for Africa and the Middle East with SOS-Kinderdorf International, supporting seven regional offices in 51 countries. He is currently based in Nairobi, Kenya.


lax with respect to time, but in most cases this is an outdated view that is quickly changing.

As the AIDS epidemic continues in Africa, the foundation’s need for resources grows. Awareness of the epidemic also continues to grow globally, and the foundation relies heavily on private and institutional donations to supplement its U.S. government funding. Organizations like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) continue to provide the organization with crucial resources to work towards the elimination of pediatric AIDS.

“For several years, there was a huge sense of denial, and the world was ignoring the problem of AIDS,” Moir says. “Over the last eight to 10 years, there have been huge awareness campaigns, huge volumes of literature published, and the epidemic has been emphasized in school curriculums.”

Moir also credits the additional awareness and political support for bringing down the infection rates in Africa. Moir says the foundation is well known and well respected as a key player in the industry and among healthcare workers.

“The name is also a draw when we’re recruiting people like technicians and those with medical backgrounds to work in the public health sector,” Moir says, “and we’re seen as an industry leader.”

While Moir acknowledges that when recruiting for HR managers or financial managers, the group’s name alone may not amount to a major advantage, it’s clear that people resonate with the mission. “People want to be part of the solution,” Moir says, “and we have a huge retention factor.”

Providing HIV/AIDS support in conflict-torn countries is still a significant challenge, partly because donor funds are not always available for these countries. But the foundation is constantly exploring new opportunities to widen its impact, even in war-torn regions. In fact, the foundation just started a new project in late 2011 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The conflict there is mainly in the eastern part of the country, but the foundation’s work is primarily based in the capital, Kinshasa,

near the country’s western border. While Moir says that the conflict in DRC is

not directly impacting their work yet, ensuring the safety and security of the staff in Kinshasa is something that falls to human resources, so the risk levels are constantly monitored.

The biggest challenges in the AIDS prevention battle in Africa lie in the lack of resources: funding, staff and the infrastructure necessary to roll out programs on a large scale.

Moir says that “motivating people to come to clinics and be tested, keeping them on the antiretroviral drugs and ensuring they have the discipline to come to follow up for check-ups” is one of the foundation’s key challenges.

“There used to be a stigma around being HIV-positive, but the cultural stigma has been greatly reduced, and people are much more open about HIV.” He says that people are starting to open up about their HIV status, and it’s a big change. “There is less stigma and discrimination in the workforce; however, it does still exist.”

To ensure they are constantly assessing the AIDS landscape and discussing issues that impact the group’s work, the foundation’s Global Leadership Team convenes twice a year. Every country director and the senior leadership team attend these meetings, which are held once per year in Washington and once per year in Africa, including this year’s session in Zambia.

Ward-Dahl says these meetings are an opportunity for the foundation’s leadership to ensure alignment with strategic priorities as well as an opportunity to discuss some of the critical challenges facing the foundation.

So what are the future HR priorities for the organization? Moir says that the international NGO community in general is driven by short-term projects, posing challenges for staff retention and succession planning. The HR team has been successful in finding talented employees to help the organization succeed and placing them in new positions within the organization after a project ends. However, over the next two years, the HR team will be enhancing its efforts around succession planning, talent development and more proactive workforce planning, along with strategic leadership development to ensure the foundation is fit for its future challenges. �

Tami L. Ward-Dahl, SPHR, GPHR, CPP, serves as the vice president of Administration and Human Resources at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She has more than 20 years of experience in the HR sector. Ward-Dahl oversees a global HR team of over 20 and is responsible for developing and managing the overall strategic HR systems, performance management, hiring and retention strategies and creating effective practices and approaches to support the foundation’s global organizational growth and development. Ward-Dahl also oversees all administration activities for the foundation.Prior to joining the foundation, she held executive positions in human resources at Ruesch International, IOMEGA Corporation and OTC Division.

base with one other. Chrissie Shea is the director for human resources in the

Washington office and holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR®) certification. She runs these meetings, calls them crucial opportunities for “virtual networking.”

Shea, who is instrumental in facilitating each meeting from the United States, uses WebEx, web conferencing and online software that enables materials and presentations to be shared. In addition, the software encourages more interaction between participants than just a single phone call.

Each call focuses on a different theme, such as safety and

security of employees on the ground and staff retention and motivation. In addition, staff is asked to provide their input during each call to share ideas and best practices within each country.

Moir says the leadership team wants to get away from a “top-down approach” and avoid employees’ feeing like the suggestions and advice given are “too U.S.-centric.” He argues that they are also trying to involve countries in more new initiatives, create multicultural teams and involve HR partners in the creation of new policies.

During meetings, Moir says, they try to leverage each other’s practices. “For example, I may need a job description, and so I may ask if anyone else has one already created one,” Moir says. “Or maybe we need a new policy, and someone may be able to share theirs.”

In addition to WebEx, Ward-Dahl says the team uses Skype every day as an instant communication or chat tool for calls and quick messages. She says, “We try to use technology to our advantage, and flexibility is key. If we need to be on a 5 a.m. phone call to provide support to an HR partner, we do it.”

The team is so flexible that they are not afraid to jump on a plane to Africa to assist with any number of situations on the ground.

“It is so important for us to build relationships and establish a level of trust with our colleagues on the ground,” Ward-Dahl said. “Our focus is providing support whenever our partners need it. As an example, we determined our partners in Mozambique needed help, and within two weeks, Chrissie [Shea] was on the ground there and will be there for a month to provide hands-on human resources support.”

Indeed, managing multiple cultures within 14 different countries is no easy feat. With more than 60 languages represented, including French, Portuguese, Swahili and local languages, there can be plenty of cultural challenges. Moir says that they try to create a “common language” with each other to facilitate a good working environment since English often is an employee’s second, third or even fourth language.

“We have to make sure that everyone is speaking and understanding one another in straightforward vocabulary terms,” says Moir. “We use global English and avoid using idioms and slang.”

Moir says that Americans are often more informal in their language and sometimes use expressions that not everyone understands. “For example, when Americans say, ‘Let’s hold the retreat in the fall,’ not everyone follows as the seasons aren’t the same in Africa; they are reversed, and in much of Africa fall is called autumn.”

In addition to language, different cultures may share different perspectives with respect to time and deadlines. According to Moir, there are certain stereotypes around Africans being more

“We try to use technology to our advantage, and flexibility is key. If we need to be on a 5 a.m. phone call to provide support to an HR partner, we do it.”

“It is so important for us to build relationships and establish a level of trust with our colleagues on the ground.”

Chrissie Shea, PHR, is the associate director of Human Resources at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Shea has more than 10 years of experience in human resources. In her role at the foundation, Shea provides oversight and strategic implementation of global performance management, compensation and benefits planning, and employee relations. Prior to joining the foundation, Shea worked in the biotech and technology market research industries with companies such as the J. Craig Venter Institute, The Institute for Genomic Research and Forrester Research.



The HR Certification Institute (the Institute) has introduced two new credentials to expand its

global portfolio of offerings. The Human Resource Business Professional (HRBPSM) and Human Resource Management Professional (HRMPSM) credentials were officially launched in September 2012 and offer HR practitioners outside of the United States an opportunity to display their HR knowledge and skills.

The new HRBP is a globally relevant credential designed to validate professional-level core HR knowledge and skills. The credential demonstrates mastery of generally accepted technical and operational HR principles. The HRMP, likewise, is global, but validates on a management level and acknowledges mastery of HR principles in strategy and policy development as well as service delivery. Both credentials complement local HR practices independent of geographic region and enhance the credibility of HR professionals and the organizations they serve by certifying knowledge and skills.

Before October 2012, the only certification option available for those outside of the United States was to test for the Professional in Human Resources (PHR®), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) or the Global Professional in Human Resources

On a Global ScaleAfter years of development and a strenuous pilot program, the Institute has met the demand for global certification with new credentials for HR professionals outside the United States. By Ikoie Norman

(GPHR®), all of which include a heavy focus on U.S. employment laws.

Occasionally, the question of offering a credential for those outside of the United States was raised, and in 2009, a team convened to start the process of developing the new global credentials.

CERTIFICATION GOES GLOBALThe interest in a global credential

dates back to 1999 when a team convened to develop what is now the GPHR. With a focus on HR skills and knowledge for success in an international marketplace, the GPHR is best suited for HR professionals with cross-border responsibilities. There were many requests from all over the world to develop exams like the PHR and SPHR, but without reference to particular U.S. laws. Many times the request was to create exams that were specific to each country’s laws. However country-specific exams would be difficult to develop and maintain.

In 2009, a second team joined together to develop a “global credential.” The team quickly determined that the scope was too large and decided to focus on a credential for those HR professionals who worked in cross-border HR – essentially for multinational companies outside of the United States. Of course there is a much larger group of individuals who work

for small, medium and large companies primarily within the borders of one country – and their needs were not really met by the GPHR.

Before the Institute could introduce the new HRBP and HRMP, it had to develop a pilot exam program to validate the exam questions as well as test critical components for a global audience.

Following certification industry best practices, the Institute solicited HR professionals from around the world to participate in a practice analysis study for both the HRBP and HRMP credentials. Through the work of a dedicated task force and surveys that were distributed electronically, the Institute’s development team created and validated bodies of knowledge that item writing panels then used to develop exam questions. Item reviewers took those exam questions and checked them for accuracy and proper coding. Finally, the forms review panel reviewed the pilot exam forms to ensure that questions reflected the body of knowledge and conformed to established criteria.

Volunteers were an essential component every step of the way, according to Linda Anguish, GPHR, the Institute’s director of credentialing products and services. “As with all of our exams, the participation of volunteer subject matter experts was critical to

#GET CERTIFIED

Certification the success of developing the HRMP and HRBP credentials. These individuals generously provide their time and expertise in order to give back to the HR profession.”

Anguish also noted that a major challenge in developing exams for a global audience is creating questions that will translate globally and are applicable all over the world. “Terminology used in one region may not be familiar to people in other regions, so we needed a robust question bank for the pilot,” she said. “Since there would be questions that would not perform acceptably in certain regions and would need to be removed from the test bank, the number of questions developed was doubled for the HRBP and HRMP pilot exams.”

RECRUITING FOR THE PILOTOnce the bodies of knowledge and

exam questions were created, analyzed and finalized, it was time to launch the pilot. To properly analyze the success of the pilot, the Institute needed a set number of people from various regions to agree to participate in it. In addition, computer-based exams do not allow for the level of analysis needed for a pilot program, so the exams had to be taken with a pencil and paper.

“The question on everyone’s mind was, would the Institute be able to get over 1,000 people all over the world to agree to sit for a pencil and paper exam with twice as many questions as needed?,” said Anguish. “The answer was a resounding ‘yes!’”

In September 2011, the Institute opened the pilot registration window and started recruiting by leveraging relationships with Institute volunteers, partners and cohorts to provide participants to sit for the exam. Over several months, many communications were sent out to recruit pilot participants, and those efforts paid off by the end of March 2012, when the Institute had registered 1,185 people in 49 countries for the pilot exam.

PILOT EXAM DAYThe Institute contracted with several

vendors for administration of the pilot HRBP and HRMP exams, training and preparing proctors in 66 locations for the May 11 exam. Exam materials were shipped to all exam locations and pilot participants were informed of what to expect on exam day.

At the Institute, a command center was set up with a dedicated staff operating in shifts onsite from Thursday, May 10, to Saturday, May 12. The first pilot exam officially commenced at the examination site in Auckland, New Zealand, at 3:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, May 10. It concluded at examination sites in Mexico City and Vancouver at 8:15 p.m. local time Friday, May 11. The staff was available for any questions or inquiries and closely monitored all activities at each exam site.

Pilot participants reported experiencing a range of emotions during the process of preparing to sit for the exam. Many felt strongly that the process was well worth the effort.

According to Japan HR Society Chief Community Officer Jun Kabigting, M.B.A, M.S., HRMP, “The real benefit of going through the certification process is not only the ability to use the HRMP or HRBP designation, but, more importantly, the learning process that one goes through while preparing for the exam.”

After the exam, materials were analyzed and scored. Pilot participants learned of their score results in early July, and successful candidates received their credentials in September. The first HRBP cohort includes 229 HR professionals outside the United States, and the first HRMP cohort includes 344 HR professionals.

“Participating in the global credential program for the HRMP benefits both individuals and companies,” said Viola Grosse, HRMP, HR business partner for the OBI Group. “At OBI, I am mainly responsible for the further development, implementation and realization of the corporate strategy, policies and standards

in the foreign entities in close cooperation with the local HR managers and Corporate Centres of Expertise. The participation in the HRMP benefited both OBI and myself.”

READY, SET, LAUNCHThe Institute’s pilot program provided a

definite confirmation that HR professionals outside of the United States want to validate their skills and proficiency in the profession.

“There were a lot of unknowns before the pilot that now have answers,” said Bennie Johnson, chief global marketing officer and global business development officer for the Institute. “We have proven that HR professionals outside the United States want a credential that will showcase to others that they have mastered the HR body of knowledge and have a set of skills in common with hundreds of others around the globe. We look forward to providing additional exams in the coming years to grow the number of HR professionals who can proudly display the HRBP and HRMP credentials from the Institute.”

Anguish added, “With the new exams, it has been particularly exciting to see how much HR professionals around the world have in common in terms of the challenges they are facing and their willingness to learn from and share with each other. Defining a common body of HR knowledge and a consistent standard of measurement through certification will only increase the opportunities to collaborate!”

The Institute officially launched the new credentials in September 2012. Registration for the first 2013 test window, set for March 2013, for the HRBP and HRMP exams opened in October 2012 and remains open through January 2013. �

The first HRBP cohort includes 229 HR professionals outside the United States, and the first HRMP cohort includes 344 HR professionals.

229HRBP

344HRMP


KEEPING IT Personal

By Archana Mehta

The sun never sets on South Korean manufacturing company Doosan Infracore, which has been expanding consistently for more than a

century — spanning continents and bringing together tens of thousands of employees. This has created a worldwide workforce that requires a very special brand of human resources to manage through language, culture

and time zones.

Trust in people is the foundation upon which Doosan has built its century of success.

DOOSAN INFRACORE’S GROWTH HAS EXPLODED

over the past decade. The South Korea-based manufacturer of construction and

other equipment now has a presence in more than 20 countries, pulls in $7.3 billion in sales annually and has 14,000 employees from the United States to Norway to China.

But while the boom has been a boon for the company, there are inherent challenges with managing a global workforce powering a top multinational company. The HR division — spread across multiple continents — works through cultural barriers, national borders and worldwide time zones to achieve the company’s ambitious vision of becoming one of the world’s top three construction equipment and machine tool companies by 2020.

“The company recognizes that as we grow, too much change within a short period of time is not good, and we work hard to make

each transition as smooth as possible,” says Atlanta-based Jesse Fulmer, who holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) and a Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®), and is the payroll manager of the company’s global mobility team.

Doosan Infracore has a long and rich history, initially opening its doors in 1937 when it was called Chosun Machine Works in Korea. Twenty-six years later, the company became a state-run enterprise and was renamed Korea Machinery Industries Corporation and was the country’s first operation to produce diesel engines, forklift trucks and other machinery products. Nearly four decades later, after numerous changes and innovative firsts in Korea, Doosan Infracore Company Ltd. was established as a part of Doosan Group.

With more than 100 years of history, Doosan is Korea’s oldest and fastest growing company. Photo courtesy of Doosan

MAKING IT

BIG

50 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 51

of our employees’ adaptability with a one-time cross-cultural training.”

Similarly, because of the multinational nature of Doosan Infracore, cross-cultural training for employees occurs at company sites as well. Martha Bartlett, PHR and human resources and talent acquisition manager at Doosan Infracore International, Inc., a U.S.-based subsidiary of Doosan Infracore based in Atlanta, shares how important it is for employees in the United States to understand the company’s Korean culture. In fact, Bartlett moved to Atlanta from Charlotte to work for the company, citing her desire to obtain global experience.

“Western cultures and Korean cultures have differences, and it’s important for employees to understand how to best communicate with their peers overseas,” Bartlett says, adding that employees participate in cultural diversity training, including live training onsite as well as online training modules.

The 80 employees at the company’s Atlanta site alone represent more than 11 countries, including Russia, Cuba, Italy and India. To help bridge the cultural divide, employees participate in events like Korean Thanksgiving, the Lunar New Year and Taste of Doosan, where people from different cultures within Doosan share insights into their cultures and food.

Fulmer, who also is based in Atlanta, works on global payroll for employees who work in 14 different countries, a challenging task he’s enjoyed immensely. Fulmer says that working for Doosan Infracore allows him a unique opportunity to at a global company in the United States with an Eastern business approach.

Korean company culture differs from Western culture in that the business is more methodical, Fulmer says. “In the U.S., oftentimes our business decisions are made within a short period of time, say six to12 months, and then we’re on to implementation,” Fulmer says. “The Eastern approach takes more time to approve business decisions. Each piece of the decision is reviewed and analyzed individually, and then the whole idea is approved. This is unique because a high level of research and detail goes into every decision with the idea of looking at the bigger picture. However, the overall decision-making process can be a longer cycle.”

Fulmer credits the GPHR credential for helping him to better understand the Korean culture, sharing that Western cultures are more individual in nature and that Eastern cultures are more collaborative. “The GPHR helped me bridge the culture shock,” Fulmer says.

With Doosan Infracore having operations all over the world and continually expanding into new regions like Brazil, India and the Middle East — all areas with unique cultures and customs — Fulmer says that it is important to be able to adjust and stay open-minded.

Debbie McGee, global mobility leader for Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment (DICE), a global alliance of Doosan Infracore’s construction equipment business and its affiliates, is a proponent of running an HR team that is culturally aware, certified and credentialed in HR practices and that openly practices knowledge sharing with each other. “As the global mobility leader for DICE, I encourage my team to get their certifications and stay current on their trainings,” McGee says.

Even as it grows, both Kim and Fulmer agree that Doosan works hard to minimize change as much as possible and make employees feel comfortable during periods of transition. There is a constant decision-making process happening to determine the best ways to reallocate resources within the company.

Fulmer provides an example of the global

nature of Doosan’s challenges, citing a new start-up operation in Brazil where they worked with local workers to find the most effective solution to managing payroll there.

“In Brazil, legislation is very important,” Fulmer says. “There are a lot of requirements to become compliant, and sometimes it’s not easy, but we get it done. We made the decision

Fulmer credits the GPHR credential for helping him to better understand the Korean culture, sharing that

Western cultures are more individual in nature and that Eastern cultures are more collaborative.

Jesse Fulmer, CPP, SPHR, GPHR, has more than 10 years of experience in domestic and international payroll management. He has gained international business experience through global leaders in the finance, accounting and manufacturing industries. Fulmer currently holds certifications with the American Payroll Association as a Certified Payroll Professional as well as with the Institute in both the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®) and the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®). He attended Wilmington University and received dual bachelor degrees in Business Management and Marketing.

The first chairman of Doosan, the late Too Pyung Park, said, “Business is not meant to make profits, but to help people grow.” This philosophy and people-centric approach has been critical to the ongoing success of Doosan’s thriving business.

Having acquired a few giant construction equipment and machinery companies like Bobcat and Geith since 2007, the Seoul-based company is now one of the world’s largest purveyors of construction equipment, machine tools and engines.

Tristan Kim, GPHR, international human resources and benefits manager at Doosan Infracore, travels to the United States from Seoul almost monthly to work with his team members in the global mobility group. His team supports all expatriate staff around the world with the goal of providing “global integration” and “regional customization” when staff are working outside of their home country.

A critical piece of assimilating into a new culture is to ensure the families of staff are

also situated within their new environment, according to Kim. He says that the company arranges cultural trainings for employees and their spouses when they are assigned to new countries. Savvy consultants who understand how to bridge cultural divides facilitate the trainings, and Kim says the company is always looking forward to ensure employees truly adapt to their new surroundings.

Kim also stresses to relocated employees the importance of adapting to a new culture. He says that adaptability is a very critical element that allows employees and their families to settle down and quickly assimilate into unfamiliar surroundings and adjust to new tasks. Keeping an open mind to the new culture is very critical in the early stages of settlement, he says.

To continue to ensure employees adapt, Kim says, “We also have plans to develop a new diagnostic survey tool to determine how best to help our employees feel comfortable in new environments. We can’t ensure the consistency

“A critical piece of assimilating into a new culture is to ensure the families of staff are also situated within their new environment.

Keeping an open mind to the new culture is very critical to the early stages of settlement.”

Martha Bartlett, PHR, is an HR professional with over 10 years experience in HR with a strong focus on talent acquisition. Bartlett is experienced in strategic HR partnership with an emphasis on employee relations and talent management. She has a proven record of achieving results in employee engagement and retention by working across functional lines emphasizing communication, coaching, training, team building and performance management. She has proven herself successful in relationship building and influencing skills at all levels.

Photo courtesy of Doosan


Connect with other HR professionals through our new Certification Mentor Program.

Join in on the opportunity to learn from a network of HR professionals. Find out how at www.hrci.org/mentorprogram.

COACH. LEARN. GUIDE. GROW.

MentorProgram2.indd 1 4/25/2012 9:48:10 PM

to use a local vendor for payroll, instead of SAP [business management software], which we use here in the U.S., and instead created a software interface that would make it all work together.”

By working with what’s in place, Fulmer says, the company can more easily adapt to the region, which is more cost-effective for the company and good for the region. He says they’ve implemented the same program in France as well.

Conversations with Kim, Bartlett and Fulmer reveal their belief that Doosan is a leader in communications strategy. The company invests heavily in technology to facilitate communications with global counterparts, like Cisco video conferencing software, and budgets for travel and opportunities for employees across regions to meet face-to-face when introducing new HR policies and procedures. In addition, investments in the company’s intranet, translators (to break down barriers because of slang and idioms) and a good communications team help the company bridge the cultural divide.

Fulmer says that even the global HR team has opportunities to come together to meet face-to-face. “In March we had our entire HR group (within DICE) from all over the world come to North Carolina to meet for a one-week training,” Fulmer says. “Over 50 people attended, and we were able to do a lot of knowledge sharing.”

Fulmer also says that he has teleconferences with the head of human resources in Belgium, calls with peers in China, weekly teleconferences with the HR team in Seoul and nearly daily email correspondence with colleagues in India, Brazil and Dubai. “There’s great communication back and forth between our human resources offices.”

Certainly, having interactions with so many colleagues across the world and with different backgrounds, it’s not uncommon for some cultural misunderstandings to occur. Kim says that in the context of cultural differences, it’s important not to make assumptions. “You don’t want to assume that a process that you are used to, for example in Korea, will work the same way in the U.S.,” Kim says. “Processes include

working, communicating and understanding what constitutes normal behavior [in the workplace].”

Kim also says that his colleagues from the East need to understand that when working with their U.S. colleagues, it’s important to express what you want to say to your colleagues and be direct. “In Asia, it is common that you should be able to read between the lines, but it’s critical to explicitly express your intentions to your colleagues in the U.S.,” Kim says.

Bartlett adds that sometimes even with cultural training and the best intentions, there can still be a communication gap. In those situations, she recommends something as simple as asking a direct question.

“You can ask, ‘What do you mean by this?’” Bartlett said. “Some things get lost in translation at times and it’s important to not be afraid to ask for clarification from your counterparts in other countries. ‘Can you show me?’”

To make a visit or semi-permanent transition easier, Fulmer offers his own advice. “Always visit another country with an open mind,” Fulmer says. “They may have their own stereotypes of you just as much as you have of them. Try and do some research beforehand. For example, certain colors and gestures that are okay in your own country can be highly offensive in other countries.” Fulmer explains that the color red is not a popular color at all in Korea as it is not seen as being lucky. But in China, red is a preferred color, taking on positive meanings.

“Don’t expect that the country will cater to you,” Fulmer says. “Don’t ask for a diet Coke in Europe or assume your favorite products will be available everywhere. Embrace the culture and try new things.”

All four Doosan employees say that learning a few phrases in the language(s) you will be immersed in goes a long way, even simple phrases like “please” and “thank you.” Fulmer recommends a book called Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands by Terri Morrison and Wayne Conaway, which provides strategies for conducting business overseas. “The little things that you do to embrace the culture make a huge difference,” Fulmer says. �

“In the context of cultural differences, it’s important not to make assumptions. You don’t want to assume that a process that you

are used to, for example, in Korea, will work the same way in the United States.”

Tristan Kwangoh Kim, GPHR, GMS, is an international HR and benefits manager responsible for reviewing all assignment business cases, expatriation and repatriation planning and benefits policies. He is the liaison between the home and host units, and assignee and Talent Management. Kim has a bachelor degree in Business Administration from Korea University. Prior to joining Doosan Infracore, Kim gained HR expertise as an HR consultant at Towers Perrin (currently Towers Watson) and Deloitte Consulting. He has served as a professional HR consultant for various clients.


People want to be home when their families are home. This challenge is not unique just to the zoo and aquarium industry.

Another challenge is the physical aspect of the job. Most of the staff in zoos work outside in the elements. Depending on where the zoo is located, extreme heat or cold temperatures can be an issue in addition to rain, snow and ice. Most of the jobs are physically demanding and require you to be on your feet eight hours a day. There is a lot of cleaning, lifting and bending associated with most zoo jobs. As people get older, they start looking for jobs that are not as physically demanding.

C: How does certification help you in the zoo and aquarium field?SL: My Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) certification helped me to assist the senior team in making the zoo a better place. The zoo and aquarium industry, although not-for-profit, operates very similarly to a for-profit business. In essence we have the same HR challenges other industries have. Aligning the HR function with the business objectives is a must. By having a professional certification in the field of

human resources, you become a strategic business partner.

As a certified HR professional, you gain credibility with your stakeholders, peers, employees, volunteers, donors, members and guests. I was continuously using my knowledge and skills to provide a better service to the organization and the AZA. Certified HR professionals share their knowledge with other industry professionals by conducting webinars, presenting posters and participating in panel discussions at conferences.

The zoo and aquarium industry monitors the same key metrics most human resources departments use. We have measurements in place to track retention and turnover, employee engagement, job satisfaction, morale,

workplace safety, cost per hire, vacancy rates, revenue per employee, etc.

C: Does your company have offices outside of the United States or work with non-U.S. citizens? If so, what special situations does this create for you in human resources?SL: We did not have offices outside our area; however, we had people working on international conservation projects around the world. These individuals work with local citizens to help protect the animals in the wild. They help to educate the local communities on their actions and how they affect the natural environment. The HR department contributes by ensuring the employees are properly vaccinated before traveling abroad. �

“Aligning the HR function with the business objectives is a must. By having a

professional certification in the field of human resources, you become a strategic

business partner.”

Wild About HRHuman ambassadors to the animal kingdom are dedicated and passionate, but face some unique challenges. Sheri Lytle, SPHR, says focusing on the care and feeding of humans is what keeps the zoo and aquarium industry safe, accessible and productive.

Certified: What sets the zoo and aquarium industry apart, in terms of human resources?Sheri Lytle: The zoo and aquarium industry is very rewarding when it comes to working in the field of human resources. The people who work in the industry have a strong sense of purpose for what they do. Employees who work in this industry are very passionate about the mission and the vision of zoos. Zookeepers love to share their knowledge with guests and visitors on a daily basis. After all, they are ambassadors for the animals in their zoo and those in the wild. Zoo and aquarium employees have a strong sense of commitment, which makes it easy for us to do our jobs. Employees are engaged in their careers, which leads to higher employee morale and overall job satisfaction.

LEADING THOUGHT

By Margaret Brown

HR professionals in the zoo and aquarium industry must be focused on what is happening within their zoo, the local community and the industry. We are so focused on conservation and the environment that we strive to make the HR function as green as possible by going paperless.

The zoo and aquarium industry consists of a tight-knit network of professionals who share best practices with one another. Knowledge sharing like this doesn’t happen in most industries. Since we are not-for-profit, we are able to utilize volunteers to assist with certain tasks when additional help is needed.

C: What do you see as current and future challenges for HR professionals who work in America’s zoos or related industries?

SL: There are several challenges that come to mind.

Safety is always a concern in the zoo and aquarium industry. Employees are working with wild animals, therefore training and adherence to policies and procedures is paramount. Safety drills are conducted to make sure employees know what to do in the event of an emergency. Following the safety guidelines is important for staff, volunteers, guests and animal welfare. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has published guidelines that each institution must abide by.

Work/life balance can be tough for those just starting out in the industry. Your regular days off are usually in the middle of the week and not the traditional Saturday and Sunday weekend days.

Photo courtesy of Houston Zoo Photo courtesy of Houston Zoo Photo courtesy of Houston Zoo

Sheri Lytle, SPHR, is senior director of human resources for Silver Eagle Distributors. She was formerly the vice president of human resources at one of America’s largest zoos, where she directed all of the HR functions, including training, professional development, talent management, budgeting and policy development. Prior to that, she was a business consultant who provided expertise regarding a variety of business and HR functions to a variety of clients. She also served as a vice president of human resources for Staveley Services and FPM Heat Treating and was the director of human resources for APG, Inc. Lytle holds a master of science in Management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a bachelor of science in Business Management and Administration from Indiana University at South Bend. She also holds a bachelor of science in Information Technology from DeVry University-Illinois.


We are invited to “think strategically,” participate in “strategic decisions,” earn a seat

at the proverbial table where “strategic discussions” take place. Clearly, strategic thinking matters to human resources. Search Google for “human resources as strategic partner,” and you will likely find more than 4 million results.

Unfortunately, HR professionals rarely serve as strategic partners, but primarily maintain an administrative role (Lawler & Boudreau, 2009). This incongruence led us to investigate HR strategic thinking, its barriers and promoters and how it connects to personality and rank.

RESEARCH BACKGROUNDStrategic thinking is a competency, a

complex construct involving knowledge, skills and traits (McEvoy et al., 2005). Reasonably, personality traits support strategic thinking development. Part of our study, therefore, investigated connections between personality types and strategic thinking.

We selected the five-factor model (FFM) of personality to determine personality types. The FFM is a robust personality taxonomy preferred by a large number of researchers and practitioners. The FFM organizes personality traits into five basic factors (Howard & Howard, 2009):

Extraversion (E) is connected to sociability, gregariousness and a general interest in being with others. Extraverts tend to feel

By Libby Ehrig, M.S. and Cris Wildermuth, Ed.D., SPHR

comfortable amidst bustle, noise and considerable sensory stimulation.

Agreeableness (A) measures one’s tolerance to others’ views and positions. People high in A tend to have greater service orientation and concern with others’ needs. People low in A, on the other hand, may find it easier to challenge the status quo.

Openness to experiences (O) governs imagination, tolerance to change and interest in the untried and untested. Some people who score high in openness are highly creative and imaginative, breaking what isn’t broken and rebuilding what does not need to be rebuilt; others are highly efficient and conservative.

Conscientiousness (C) relates to structure, concentration and attention to detail. Those high in C are methodical and good at reaching pre-established goals. Those lower in C, on the other hand, are better multitaskers and are seen as more flexible.

Neuroticism (N) has to do with tolerance for stress, optimism and the ability to recover from frustrations. Low scorers may crave less stability in their lives. As a result, they tend to be more resilient; when trouble hits, they are more likely to bounce back. Further, they seem to succumb less often to anger or extreme worry. On the other hand, high scorers may be better at detecting problems

before they occur; their nervous edge could lead them to sound the alarm when something does not quite seem right.

RESEARCH METHODSIn order to investigate HR strategic

thinking, we turned to Linked:HR, a LinkedIn megagroup dedicated to the HR profession. As of September 2012, the group boasted more than 720,000 members. Our study explored the following questions:

• How does strategic thinking vary according to rank?

• What is the relationship between strategic thinking and personality?

• What are the barriers and promoters of strategic thinking for HR professionals?

We developed our own set of strategic thinking questions based on the work of Ingrid Bonn (2011) involving three strategic thinking components: creativity, vision and holistic understanding. Since the strategic thinking questions were yet untested, we conducted a statistical test called a Principal Components Analysis or PCA. The results allowed us to combine the 11 questions into two distinct factors: holistic understanding and visionary creativity.

We then combined the results for those two factors to generate one comprehensive score for strategic thinking.

DATA POINT

Decoding Strategic Thinking For HR ProfessionalsIt’s easy to get caught up in the daily details and responsibilities of human resources, but to bring their organizations to the next level, HR professionals need to think strategically. What is strategic thinking? An analysis of recent research shines a light on this crucial element of great leadership.

For our readers who are not familiar with research and statistical language, a few explanations on correlations are in order. A positive relationship between variables means that they moved in the same direction. In this case, we can say that our more extraverted, original, agreeable and focused participants were also more likely to see themselves as effective strategic thinkers. The negative relationships reported for neuroticism, on the other hand, suggest that people higher in neuroticism were less likely to perceive themselves as effective strategic thinkers.

BARRIERS AND PROMOTERS OF STRATEGIC THINKING. As we reviewed the responses to our open-ended questions, four primary themes emerged: innovation, interaction, integration and introspection.

INNOVATION. Strategic thinking thrives in an organization that embraces innovation, individual empowerment and idea generation. Traditional cultures involving micromanagement, rigid hierarchies and rules are less likely to support HR’s strategic participation.

Predictably, leadership mattered. Participants expressed concerns about, “an executive or management team that is fixated on one way only,” and, “discouragement of new ideas.” One participant observed, “from my own experience, a manager who encourages

1. Holistic understanding is defined by Bonn (2011, p. 64) as “the ability to take a holistic perspective of the organization and its environment.” Respondents were asked to agree or disagree with statements such as:

• I understand the business of my organization.

• I can see patterns in complex situations.

• I can see how my organization fits the larger market.

2. Visionary creativity is defined as the ability to generate new ideas and a vision for the future. Statements in this section included:

• I generate lots of ideas and I find it easier to create a vision.

3. Strategic thinking is the combination of the two components into an overarching category.

We adopted the short form of Rammstedt & John’s (2007) Big Five Inventory to investigate personality traits. This brief 10-item instrument measures the five personality traits. The evaluation measured such traits as:

• Is outgoing, sociable (extraversion)

• Is generally trusting (agreeableness)

• Has few artistic interests (reversed question for openness to experiences)

• Does a thorough job (conscientiousness)

• Gets nervous easily (neuroticism)

RESULTSWe received 554 responses and filtered

these to remove missing cases, outliers (responses indicating excessively high or low scores that could produce misleading statistical results) and non-HR responses. We also limited our data to only three professional HR groups: senior executives (vice presidents and directors), managers and generalists. The 262 remaining cases were used in all analyses.

STRATEGIC THINKING AND RANK. Senior executives scored higher in strategic thinking and holistic understanding than generalists. These differences were identified through an ANOVA test

(a statistical test designed to identify differences in means among three or more groups). The actual means for each professional category are included in Table 1.

No differences were identified between senior executives and managers or between managers and generalists; only larger differences in rank yielded significant results. Also, the differences were identified only for strategic thinking and holistic understanding; there were no significant differences in visionary creativity among the three groups of professionals.

STRATEGIC THINKING AND PERSONALITY. We uncovered significant relationships between personality traits and both components of strategic thinking. Table 2 includes the actual correlation of results. Here is a summary:

• Extraversion, openness and conscientiousness were positively related to visionary creativity, holistic understanding and strategic thinking.

• Agreeableness was positively related to visionary creativity and strategic thinking, but not to holistic understanding.

• Neuroticism was negatively related to visionary creativity, holistic understanding and strategic thinking.

TABLE 1. STRATEGIC THINKING MEANS

HolisticUnderstanding

Human resources director or vice president

100 4.2375 .56561

Human resources manager 91 4.0412 .71226

Human resources generalist

71 3.9261 .58614

Total 262 4.0849 .63630

Strategic Thinking

Human resources director or vice president

100 4.0254 .56058

Human resources manager 91 3.8530 .67049

Human resources generalist

71 3.7471 .57032

Total 262 3.8901 .61197

N Mean Std. Deviation


adult years, leaders might consider environmental interventions and individual coping mechanisms.

PROTECT CREATIVITY. Natural strategic thinking benefits from creativity, which flourishes in a culture of innovation.

BUILD A COMMUNITY. Strategic thinking is a team sport that requires connecting with and learning from others – both inside and outside the HR field.

SLOW DOWN. Time management can be your best friend. Learn to step back and breathe.

The news is good. One is not necessarily born strategic; rather, a culture of strategic thinking – one that promotes innovation, integration, interaction and introspection – may finally provide HR professionals with the key to decoding strategic thinking. �

wary of getting “too close” to others at work. Indeed, a primary concern for HR professionals is ethics and professionalism, which may hinder their attempts to connect to others (Wildermuth, Vaughan, & Christo-Baker, 2012).

INTROSPECTION. The correlations identified for neuroticism were the strongest. Thus, characteristics related to low neuroticism (i.e, a clear head, a calm disposition, a high tolerance for stress) seem to favor HR professionals’ abilities to think strategically. Low neuroticism could also reduce the perception that everything is urgent. In other words, barriers to introspection could come not only from the heavy workload of typical HR professionals but also from personality-generated perceptions of urgency.

LIMITATIONSFour limitations should be considered

as you review our results. First, our study explored co-

relationships among variables, not causes. We can say, for instance, that higher ranked HR professionals perceive themselves as more strategic thinkers. We cannot say, however, that rank causes an increase in strategic thinking (a third variable, such as experience or tenure at the organization could be a more important factor). One caveat, however, should be mentioned: Personality is unlikely to change during adult years (Howard & Howard, 2009). Thus, one may reasonably infer that personality

impacts strategic thinking, and not vice versa.

Second, we used a sample from Linked:HR, the online networking group mentioned above. Participants in an online networking group may possess different personality traits than non-participants.

Third, we only used a survey to gather surface-level information. Future studies could utilize interviews and/or case studies to gather deeper, more detailed information.

Fourth, as we evaluated our qualitative data, we combined responses from HR generalists, managers and executives. A future study could examine that data to reveal rank-specific themes.

IMPLICATIONSWe offer these suggestions to HR

professionals:

ADDRESS THE STRESSORS. Since personality tendencies are unlikely to change during

“The news is good. One is not necessarily born strategic; rather, a culture of strategic thinking

– one that promotes innovation, integration, interaction and introspection – may finally provide HR professionals with the key to

decoding strategic thinking.”

Howard, P.J., & Howard, J.M. (2009). WorkPlace BigFive Profile™ 4.0 Professional Manual. Charlotte, NC: CentACS.Lawler III, E. E., & Boudreau, J. W. (2009). What Makes HR a Strategic Partner. People Strategy, 32(1), 14-22.McEvoy, G. M., Hayton, J. C., Warnick, A. P., Mumford, T. V., Hanks, S. H., & Blahna, M. (2005). A Competency-based model for

developing human resource professionals. Journal Of Management Education, 29(3), 383-402. Rammstedt, B., & John, O. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five inventory in

English and German. Journal of Research In Personality, 41203-212. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2006.02.001.Van Ganderen, P. (2012). The Relationship between the Big Five Personality Traits and the Competencies of Human Resources

Professionals. Unpublished manuscript.

Dr. Cristina de-Mello-e-Souza Wildermuth, Ed.D., SPHR, is an assistant professor for Drake University’s master of science in Adult Learning and Organizational Performance program, where she teaches graduate courses in HR management, instructional design, adaptive leadership and research. Dr. Wildermuth is the group leader and lead editor of Linked:HR, a LinkedIn HR community with over 720,000 members worldwide. Her main research, keynote speaking and consulting interests include employee engagement, personality diversity and business ethics. She welcomes comments to this article at [email protected] or at www.criswildermuth.com.

REFERENCES

strategic thinking, (…) challenging us to come up with innovative ideas that benefit us in the longer term, and applying that in our day-to-day work, helps get my brain in that mode.”

{Key Points: Organizations that develop and maintain innovation are more likely to support strategic thinking. Managers who ask for creative input from their staff, and executives who set a standard of openness, trust and support, also help their employees think strategically.}

INTERACTION. In order to think strategically, HR professionals must engage with others. Respondents connected strategic thinking to collaboration and communication with co-workers. Examples included:

• being around like-minded “free-thinkers” and analytical types

• brainstorming with diverse contributors from different walks of life

• networking with others across the organization and beyond

Building relationships across the organization can help HR professionals see the big picture. One participant noted, “The best environment where I can facilitate my strategic thinking is one where I am allowed to get involved with different areas of the organization so that I can see how different groups interact and affect each other.” Another respondent wrote that his or her ability to think strategically hinged on, “reading and participating in sessions with experts in both HR and non-HR areas.”

{Key Points: HR professionals must venture out of their silo to network, brainstorm and ask questions of those both inside and outside of human resources to facilitate strategic thinking. These conversations can be a catalyst for idea generation and organizational understanding.}

INTEGRATION. HR professionals’ capacity for strategic thinking lies in their business knowledge and ability to see the big picture. Understanding the business and seeing organizational connections and patterns contributes to strategic thinking. Participant responses included:

• “My ability to see issues from a variety of different vantage points and to synthesize seemingly unrelated concepts aids my strategic thinking.”

• “I have a broad knowledge of the business — have worked with and spent time with all levels of the organization seeking input on their views on problems which most impact their jobs.”

• “The more I am exposed to the corporate finance, risk and merger/acquisition aspects of the business, the greater my ability to think strategically from both a broader business sense and from an HR perspective.”

{Key points: Strategic HR professionals have a broad knowledge of their business. They are able to see multiple connections among various business units and understand the impact each of those units has on the organization as a whole.}

INTROSPECTION. The word “time” was mentioned 105 times in the data set, revealing that time can either hinder or facilitate strategic thinking. For instance:

• “The day-to-day activities of running my department get in the way of taking the time to think strategically.”

• “Lacking time to think and consider alternatives is a hindrance.”

• “Taking a breath and stepping back from the minutiae to refocus on the bigger goals periodically facilitates my strategic thinking.”

{Key Points: Strategic thinking is hindered by interruptions, short-term focus and day-to-day administrative tasks. Taking time to reflect helps individuals see the big picture and facilitates effective strategic thinking.}

DISCUSSIONStrategic thinking is not accomplished

in isolation. Instead, it is a team sport involving connections and interactions with others. Accordingly, the portrait of a strategic thinker is similar to that of a team player: extraverted, agreeable, original, focused and calm (Howard, 2009). Following are possible connections between personality traits and barriers/promoters of strategic thinking.

INNOVATION AND INTEGRATION. Openness to experiences was previously connected to strategic and future thinking (Howard & Howard, 2009; Van Ganderen, 2012). Our study, however, did not identify a significant difference in either openness to experiences or in visionary creativity between HR generalists, managers and executives. HR executives, however, ranked their strategic thinking skills higher than generalists. Thus, business knowledge and the ability to make connections — not raw creativity — were key differentiators of strategic thinking among HR professionals.

INTERACTION. Interaction is facilitated by traits such as extraversion and agreeableness. Extraversion relates to one’s general levels of sociability, friendliness and enthusiasm. Agreeableness, on the other hand, may facilitate service orientation and tolerance of differences (Howard & Howard, 2009).

HR professionals, however, may be

VISIONARY CREATIVITY

HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING

STRATEGIC THINKING

E

.207**

.163**

.206**

A

.125*

.131*

O

.170**

.136*

.170**

C

.224**

.244**

.258**

N

-.300**

-.297**

-.330**

Notes. N = 262, * significant at the 0.05 level, ** significant at the 0.01 level.

TABLE 2. CORRELATIONS

DATA POINT

60 CERTIFIED Winter 2013 www.HRCI.org www.HRCI.org Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 61

Certified: Tell us a little about what you do: your title, how long you’ve been in human resources, what you do at United Grinding Technologies, Inc. (UGT), etc.Christine Taylor: I do a little bit of everything. I have created and implemented a formal compensation plan and developed the recruitment process for UGT. I also created UGT’s performance evaluation programs, manager training programs, immigration and Manager Toolboxes. My focus now is on a more strategic level, preparing for UGT’s “generation next.” It is hard to find skills in our niche market, i.e., highly skilled computer numerical control grinding machine applications and service. I am currently working with local colleges, the National Institute for Metalworking Skills and other groups. I also am creating a new manager training program for the company. C: What do you define as your “expertise” in human resources?CT: The voice of reason. Knowledge through experience. Taking a situation and helping the manager look at all sides of the situation from the employees’ perspective, company perspective, cultural perspective and legal perspective.

C: How did you decide to become involved in human resources? CT: In my early career, I was given a position as executive secretary to the general manager of a hotel near Walt Disney World (WDW) after doing time at the front desk, reservations and guest services. Along came the I-9 forms in 1986. ‘Who should do this? Let’s get Christine to do it!’ With that came more personnel responsibilities, for instance helping managers with hiring and other employee issues. During those years and through the ‘90s I worked in the hospitality industry in the WDW area in several roles, most memorably as a director of Owner/Guest Relations, trying to help guests have a pleasant vacation after missing flights, missing rental car reservations, rooms not ready, timeshare unit not what sales person promised, etc.

After I had given up this not-so-glamorous-as-it-looks life to be a stay-at-home mom, my husband decided we should take the opportunity to pack up and move to Ohio so that he could finish school at Kettering Medical College. I was very reluctant to leave my hometown, friends and family in Kissimmee and Orlando, Fla., and I had no idea what Dayton had to offer. I was pretty sure there weren’t a lot of hospitality opportunities and certainly no ocean within a half-hour drive. Before I left central Florida, someone told me about a large company in Dayton I should check out.

We arrived in Beavercreek, Ohio, on a Saturday. On Monday, I looked up the company in the phone book and out of many numbers, picked one (keep in mind this was the late ‘90s and I didn’t have a laptop or Google). I talked to Kay Kaiser, then corporate human resource manager with the Reynolds and Reynolds Company. I sold my administrative, computer and people skills and my limited experience in personnel. I was given the job of staffing coordinator. I quickly learned that dealing with employees and managers was not so different from dealing with resort guests. I soaked up everything. Since this was corporate HR, I had terrific mentors and the opportunity to be exposed to recruitment, compliance, staffing, benefits, employee manuals, etc. After a company re-organization and merger of divisions, I was assigned to the company recruitment center responsible for staffing coordination, new hire manuals, orientation, background checks, assisting the legal department with immigration, college relations programs, rewards and recognition programs, employee referral programs and the company’s intranet. With several years behind my belt in non-exempt and exempt capacities, I

NEWLY MINTED

Moving On Up

Christine L. Taylor, SPHR, has been on the move

in human resources — across the country and up the corporate

ladder — and she credits certification as the key to

her ongoing success.

By Margaret Brown

discovered this stuff is really interesting and, yes, sometimes even fun!

Ready for a new, increased challenge, through a network contact I was asked to join a smaller German-owned company, UGT, as an HR generalist. With approximately 70 employees all over the United States and one corporate facility in Miamisburg, Ohio, I supported them all as a department of one. I was faced with no organized HR department, no HR processes and no HR involvement to speak of. I cleared the table and started from scratch. I created my own HRIS system in MS Access, developed a compensation and performance evaluation program, developed “toolboxes” for managers, created and implemented

the company’s first intranet, UGO (United Grinding Online). I became involved in complex immigration issues and was volunteered to take over the administration of the 401k department. I was responsible for establishing the company’s first self-funded benefits program and all kinds of other neat stuff.

Through the years I became the HR manager (once I obtained my Professional in Human Resources (PHR®) certification) and then recently became the director of Corporate Human Resources after obtaining my Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) certification. We acquired a sister company, and now we have about 140 employees, a second facility in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and I finally have a much-needed second staff member, Debbie Parker, whom I could not live without. Oh, and by the way… I’m still in Dayton after almost 15 years! We love the school systems here in the Midwest and the change of seasons. And my job at UGT is the best gig I could imagine!

C: Why did you decide to become certified? Has your certification provided opportunities for you that may not have otherwise come your way? Was your certification (PHR/SPHR/GPHR) a prerequisite for your current position, or did it help you get your position? CT: I decided to go for the PHR certification to increase my credibility and to be given a promised promotion to the manager position. Wow, what you learn just going through the study process! After I earned my PHR, I was promoted to a manager position. I then received my promotion to director of Corporate HR after obtaining my SPHR certification.

C: Do you think that certification “shows” anything about other HR professionals, your

colleagues or employees, in terms of how they work, perform, etc.? CT: Knowledge! At the very least, certification indicates that the professional has been exposed to and studied all HR bodies of knowledge and more, even if their current job focuses on one area. Certification ensures that you have studied and experienced how these bodies of knowledge relate to one another. Another important point to note is, I have found there doesn’t seem to be a lack of credibility for HR professionals who do not have a college degree in HR. Not that having at least a four-year degree in this profession isn’t important, but because of the widely known high professional standards, qualifications, knowledge and experience needed to obtain certification, with or without a degree.

C: What traits do certified professionals have that you don’t see in others? CT: A competitive edge. Motivation, enthusiasm and dedication to the field of HR.

C: When you work with certified professionals from other organizations, do you notice anything different about how they conduct their work? CT: There is an aura of confidence, a desire to ask more questions and the aptitude to know why they need to know more to the story.

FINAL THOUGHTSCT: I cannot express enough how much I owe my success to my president (and boss), Rodger Pinney. He gets HR. From the day I started working at UGT, Mr. Pinney has supported my HR initiatives. He understands the importance of HR. There has always been a “seat at the table” for me. He understands the credibility and importance of certification and the experience level and knowledge needed to obtain these certifications. He is aware of and takes them very seriously. He has encouraged me to obtain these as an advantage to my personal career and as a perfect segue for promotion opportunities.

I am proud of the successes I have contributed to UGT and will continue to strive for more, but I am absolutely convinced that without the certifications and the support from the top, it would have been extremely difficult to achieve these successes. And you can quote me on that! �

Christine L. Taylor, SPHR, is director of Corporate Human Resources for United Grinding Technologies Inc. She has overall executive management responsibility for defining and managing strategic HR initiatives. Taylor has more than 15 years of broad HR experience, which includes benefits, compensation, employee relations, recruitment and staffing, legal compliance, immigration, safety and organizational development. Prior to joining United Grinding, she held positions in the human resources and hospitality management fields with the Reynolds and Reynolds Company, Sheraton Vistana Resorts and Walt Disney World Resorts.

“Certification ensures that you have studied and experienced how these bodies of knowledge

relate to one another.”

“Knowledge! At the very least, certification indicates that the professional has been exposed to and studied all HR bodies of knowledge and more, even if their current job focuses on one area.”

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Certified: What sets your industry apart, in terms of human resources? Are there any unique challenges you are facing, particularly since you are at such a historic site?Scott McLean: In terms of human resources, the hospitality industry has some definite competitive advantages. Working in an environment where teamwork, guest service and quality are not only valued but celebrated is a terrific foundation for building an engaging and positive employee culture — and it is fun!

Hiring and retaining staff who have a genuine commitment to delivering world-class guest service can have a direct impact on the bottom line and is an essential business function. HR professionals in the hospitality field recognize that employees are truly brand ambassadors, and, in my experience, there tends to be an even greater focus on recruitment, selection and training to ensure that associates are successful in their roles.

As a developmental aside, one thing that I especially love about the hospitality industry is the tremendous diversity of opportunity that exists. At Biltmore alone,

Front Desk as the Front LineFrom hotels to historic attractions to corporate services, the hospitality industry depends on its workforce to elevate business and brands. Scott McLean, SPHR, staffing services manager for The Biltmore Company understands that recruiting, developing and training the right talent is the key to success in his business.

LEADING THOUGHT

Scott McLean, SPHR, is the staffing services manager for The Biltmore Company in Asheville, North Carolina. He manages the recruitment, staffing, and workforce development for Biltmore Estate, one of the Southeast’s premier destinations, as well as its subsidiaries. At The Biltmore, he has developed the award-winning Biltmore EdGE and Goodwill Industries Hospitality Skills Training workforce development programs. He also co-created Biltmore’s career planning workshop and overhauled interview and selection training. McLean holds a master of administration in International Affairs from George Washington University and a bachelor of arts from Davidson College.

the HR team supports a wide variety of businesses and employees from the historic attraction to our award-winning winery, our four-star hotel, agricultural and outdoor programs, corporate services departments, direct selling and licensing divisions and many more. I am constantly amazed by the multiple career paths that are possible.

C: What do you see as current and future challenges for HR professionals who work in hospitality? SM: A flexible and engaged workforce is key in the hospitality industry and, in our case, is a huge part of both our employer and destination branding. Being able to recruit and hire staff capable of delivering the level of guest service we require, day in and day out, when and where needed, is a real hat trick. Without a doubt, recruitment, employee relations and labor management are and will be some of the biggest challenges facing our industry.

Another ongoing challenge that we find is overcoming the perceptions that still exist of hospitality as a “low wage” industry with fewer opportunities for advancement and a transient workforce.

Many people are surprised to learn how tenured some of our associates are and how many of our executives and senior leaders actually started their careers in entry-level positions within the industry. Staff development and talent management will continue to be of critical importance in retaining and growing our future employees.

While not unique to hospitality per se, conversations among HR professionals regarding how to be a strong strategic partner and earn a “seat at the table” are common. Given the realities of doing business in a global community, finding the “sweet spot” between employee, customer and owner satisfaction will likely be a challenge many in the HR field will face.

C: How does certification help you in your job within the hospitality industry?SM: I initially pursued the Professional in Human Resources (PHR®) credential about five years ago as a way to help me gauge the breadth and depth of HR knowledge that I had acquired up to that point. Many of us find ourselves needing to know “a little about a lot” these days, and certification communicates to colleagues and co-workers a level of competence in the field.

What I did not anticipate were the other benefits of certification: The credibility that credentialing brings to my department and company, and the greater confidence I now have in what I know (and don’t know) are just two examples. I have also been very grateful for both the new opportunities and communities of other HR professionals that I have been introduced to as a direct result of certification and the recertification process and that have grown since I I earned my Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) certification earlier this year.

I have also observed that an HR credential is now more likely to be listed as either a preference or requirement for HR job openings. Greater recognition of the value of certification and, by extension, the HR profession is certainly an encouraging trend and one that I imagine is most welcome by HR practitioners. �

By Margaret Brown

Hope Among Chaos

Elizabeth Glaser PediatricAIDS Foundation

Protecting Privacy in the Information Age 14

Mind the Generational Gap 28

Making it Big, Keeping it Personal 50

Remember the Human Side of HR 72

Global Touch 86

HR CERTIFICATION INSTITUTE | Certified | Winter 2013

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CULTURE AFFECTS EVERYTHING FROM HOW A

person celebrates birthdays to how one communicates, so it is no surprise

that culture can play a very important role at work. In fact, we all carry our culture with us, from “deep culture,” which we have learned from birth and may not be readily apparent to others, to our more obvious outward cultural characteristics.

According to the Iceberg Theory of culture, only 10 percent of a person’s cultural characteristics are visible to others, while 90 percent of them are not visible. The characteristics that are “above the water line” are what you can see and touch — perhaps the way a person dresses or the display of a religious symbol. The characteristics just below the water line are those that take a little longer to recognize, perhaps a superstitious belief or a regional idiom. But deep culture, the characteristics that are well below the water line, include the unrecognized thought patterns and values that influence how we communicate with others.

In addition to the cultural norms that affect a particular country or society, other types of culture can determine how one interacts in a workplace. According to Dr. Geert Hofstede, author of Culture's Consequences and founder of comparative intercultural research, there are many types of national cultures that can affect organizations, especially in the context of workplace communication and interaction. In fact, there are as many different types of corporate culture in any country as there are different states and regions.

Hofstede outlined the types of cultures that affect an organization as:

• National cultures

• Subcultures

• Organizational / corporate cultures

• Industry

• Professional or functional

Knowing that, it becomes clear why David A. Ricks, in his book Blunders in International

Cultural differences can be felt between states, regions — even neighborhoods in some cases. It’s no surprise, then, that crossing national borders can introduce a whole new level of cultural issues in your workforce. Fortunately, there are great resources out there to help you navigate the exciting, if sometimes treacherous, terrain of culture clashes in business. Here’s our overview of advice from HR professionals and Models of Cultural Characteristics.

AVOIDINGCULTURE

‘CLASHES’ IN INTERNATIONAL

BUSINESSBy Margaret Brown

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• Typical particularistic cultures: China, Russia

Individualism vs. communitarianism, which focuses on how a culture views an individual versus a group

• Typical individualist cultures: Canada, the U.K, Scandinavia

• Typical communitarian cultures: Latin America, Africa

Specific vs. diffuse, which relates to how much a person’s personal and professional life either overlap or are kept separate

• Typical specific cultures: U.S., Germany, the Netherlands

• Typical diffuse cultures: Argentina, Spain, India

Neutral vs. emotional, which relates to how people express emotion

• Typical neutral cultures: Sweden, Finland, Germany

• Typical emotional cultures: Poland, Italy, France, Latin America

Achievement vs. ascription, which revolves around how people place value on themselves – either by garnering value from their work or their personal lives

• Typical achievement cultures: U.S., Canada, Australia, Scandinavia

• Typical ascription cultures: Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia

Sequential vs. synchronous, which relates to time management and the value placed on time

• Typical sequential-time cultures: China, Mexico, Russia

• Typical synchronous-time cultures: Japan, Norway, the U.K.

Internal vs. external control, which is how people view their ability to control their surroundings

• Typical internal-direction cultures: Israel, Australia, New Zealand

• Typical outer-direction cultures: China, Russia, Saudi Arabia

It is important to remember that Hofstede and Trompenaars are providing general guidelines and that not everyone in a country is exactly like any given cultural portrait. Remember that the Iceberg Theory comes into effect and a person’s family, the area in which they were raised and socioeconomic status can make a difference in the way he or she reacts. Looking at these models can, however, help at a very high level by providing general trends around relationships with employees, attitudes towards authority, the way a certain culture approaches learning, etc. “All nationalities have different characteristics, and these models outline general traits to refer to when preparing to work with other cultures, regardless of your country of origin,” Callison explained.

Learning how to apply what you know about a culture — by either referring to a model or learning from colleagues — can help change a potentially disastrous business situation into a successful one. It is vital to remember that both verbal and non-verbal communication can play a significant role and affect a business situation positively or negatively. As pointed out by Mindtools, a free skills training website at www.mindtools.com, it is essential to learn the basics of how colleagues in a different country communicate. “This is necessary even for the basic level of understanding required to engage in appropriate greetings and physical contact, which can be a tricky area inter-culturally. For instance, kissing a business associate is not considered an appropriate business practice in the U.S., but in Paris, one peck on each cheek is an acceptable greeting. And the handshake that is widely accepted in the U.S. is not recognized in all other cultures.”

In Blunders in International Business, Ricks also shares how differences in non-verbal communication styles can affect a

“Learning how to apply what you know about a culture can help change a potentially disastrous business situation into a successful one. It is essential to learn the basics of how colleagues in a different country communicate.”

Business, said that complete knowledge and understanding of a foreign culture is almost impossible to acquire. But all is not lost. Through preparation and understanding of cultural differences, an organization can not only overcome them, but also parlay them into successes.

Kendal Callison, Human Resources Management Professional (HRMPSM) and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®), is the director of international human resources at Tableau Software, a visual analytics company that excels at helping people to see, understand and ask questions of their data. She has spent more than a decade providing international human resources support to companies that have offices across the globe. She says that cultural misunderstandings can be compounded when a company opens an office in a new location, because many multinationals are so focused on legal and regulatory requirements that they sometimes overlook culture.

“Cultural differences are the most challenging variables encountered by multinationals,” she explained. “They often become the most significant because they are not initially a focus. When many companies enter new countries, they are primarily driven to ensure they are compliant from a legal perspective, they have the right employment contracts in place, they have sorted out their legal entity requirements and they have compiled required tax information.

“The business end of the activities gets primary focus, and although this is critically important, it shouldn’t be done to the exclusion of cultural awareness. Differences from the way we do things in North America present themselves early, as early as when documents are being completed for new entity setup (for example, a business stamp is often requested as part of signing documents in many Asian countries) and when recruiting in-country occurs (for example, candidates in Germany often include their age, marital and/or family status on their CV),” Callison continued. “And it continues from there; the larger the company grows, entering additional countries that then interact with the North American headquarters, the more important it becomes to be culturally aware.”

To help alleviate the potential of cultural differences undermining a company’s efforts, effective intercultural communication is imperative. The Iceberg Theory explains that successful intercultural communication relies on:

• Acquiring awareness or familiarity with explicit culture

• Gaining a basic understanding of a culture’s beliefs and actions

• Striving to communicate in a culturally neutral, inclusive manner with an attitude of curiosity and motivation to learn

Jorge Andres Jauregui, HRMP, is chair of the International Committee of the Mexican Association of HR Professionals, which is the largest HR association in Mexico. Jauregui has worked as an HR professional for 38 years for a number of multinational

companies in Mexico, the United States and in other countries. He focuses on communication as his key to ensuring that employees get to a point of positive and productive collaboration, regardless of where they are located and how far away they may be from teammates.

“We spend 60 to 80 percent of our time at work, and you can’t get to a level of true and productive collaboration if you don’t know your colleagues,” said Jauregui. “It starts with communication and getting to know one another a little better. Once you have created a baseline of understanding and respect, then you can get to a place of collaboration and then — the ultimate goal — commitment to the business, to the team, to the success of the organization. But you can’t get to commitment unless you have real communication and collaboration first.”

There are two models HR professionals can use to help overcome communication breakdowns that may result from merging multiple cultures into one work location or team. The first, created by Hofstede, outlines six cultural dimensions that affect verbal and non-verbal communication methods:

Power distance – the degree to which unequal distribution of authority is accepted by less powerful members of organizations

Uncertainty avoidance – reflects the level of tolerance society members have for uncertainty and ambiguity

Individualism / collectivism – the extent to which people are expected to behave assertively and choose their own affiliations

Masculinity / femininity – the preference in society for “masculine” traits, such as achievement, heroism and assertiveness vs. “feminine” traits, such as cooperation, modesty and quality of life

Long-term / short-term orientation – if a society embraces long-term commitments and traditions or new ideas and change

Indulgence / Restraint – measures the extent to which a society controls or allows gratification or indulgence

A second popular reference tool for HR professionals in multinational companies is by Fons Trampenaars, one of the world’s leading experts on cross-cultural communication and international management, and Charles Hampden-Turner, co-authors of Riding the Waves of Culture, Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business. The model, The Seven Dimensions of Culture, outlines how people in different national cultures interact with each other in general and in business. It also shares examples of countries that reflect the following seven dimensions:

Universalism vs. particularism, which revolves around how a culture approaches rules and relationships

• Typical universalistic cultures: U.S., Australia, Switzerland


on the Italian team was spent talking about family: their family, my family, about family situations and family values,” she said. “I remember having quite a personal discussion with one man in his mid-30s living at home, which is the cultural norm there, looking after his parents as they aged. After this level of sharing, we had established trust on both sides and felt more comfortable with each other. So for the last 10 minutes of the meeting, we started discussing business issues, had a very effective outcome and a good working relationship thereafter.”

In situations where one is working with a culture that is more relationship-oriented, such as Italy, Jauregui recommends that disperse teams meet in person at least once. As he mentions, the typical teleconference, while cost effective and easier to manage than scheduling in-person meetings across borders or even oceans, can be cold in terms of human relationships. “I believe that a team that works together on a long-term project or that shares ongoing responsibilities for the business should get together in person periodically,” he said. “It will really help with the connection of the team, create a greater level of trust and understanding and, ultimately, benefit the business.”

Regardless of the type of communication methods a particular culture displays, entering a new country with an open mind, patience and the intention to learn more about the culture is essential. According to the Mindtools article “Cross Culture Communication: Collaborative Efforts a Must!” this requires a person to recognize and acknowledge “that a person’s own behaviors and reactions are oftentimes culturally driven and that while they may not match our own, they are culturally appropriate.”

Consider that the individuals on your team may observe different holidays, follow a different work schedule or have a different approach to dress in the workplace. Jauregui reminds colleagues who are beginning to do business in Latin America that

not every country speaks Spanish as its first language. Brazilians, for example, speak Portuguese as their official language, and there are at least 14 different idiomatic versions of the Spanish language in Latin America, from Argentina to Mexico, although Spanish is the main language. That has to be considered, particularly in written official communications aimed to go to more than one Latin American country.

As Trompenaars noted, there are four steps, beginning with awareness, that can help an organization reconcile culturally related dilemmas:

• Recognize (create knowledge)

• Respect (be aware of diversity)

• Reconcile (settle differences)

• Realize and root (apply solutions)

Jauregui takes a similar approach and stresses that the best way to start a good business relationship in Mexico or in other Latin American countries is to be willing to ask a question or two.

“The most important thing you can bring to a business relationship with people from a different culture is the sincere desire to learn and understand them,” said Jauregui. “If it is your first time doing business in Mexico, you can just ask, ‘Can you help me to understand the best way to go about this meeting?’

“People will respect that and will try to help you,” he explained. “You can also refer to the many business books on the topic of cross-cultural business and communications to find valuable information about the culture with which you will be working. Just remember that we are all human beings, so approach any new cross-cultural relationship with respect, and you will more than likely be successful.”

How to improve effectiveness when doing business outside of your home country

• Seek local advice and input

• Avoid making comparisons with your home location

• Learn from your (and others’) missteps and/or mistakes

RE F E R E N C E S :

http://www.lib.yamagata-u.ac.jp/kiyou/kiyouh/kiyouh-16-3/image/kiyouh-16-3-069to080.pdf

http://geert-hofstede.com/vita.html

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/seven-dimensions.htm

http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/Cross-Cultural-communication.htm

business situation. As he notes, Americans tend to want to hurry, so they can sometimes try to fix a situation actively when all they really needed was patience. Every culture, as noted above, has a specific power distance and “the ‘improper’ amount of touching or eye contact has left many people feeling so uncomfortable that effective communication efforts have been hampered. The ‘incorrect’ distance between individuals engaged in conversation has led to the false conclusion that the other person is too aggressive and hostile or too cold and distrustful.” [p.11]

By creating a personal toolkit of knowledge about different cultures, an HR professional can prepare himself or herself for meetings around the world. “I refer to both Hofstede and Trompenaars frequently and use them as initial high-level guidelines for doing business in other countries,” Callison shared. “For example, I’ve learned that a way of thinking and learning in Sweden generally tends to be very logical, analytical, rational and objective. Silence is not considered a bad thing. Silence simply means my Swedish business partner is considering and thinking. We Westerners generally tend to want to fill up the space with more talk. Silence makes us uncomfortable and appears unproductive as we are so time-conscious.

“During meetings there, I would make a comment, and it would not be uncommon for a silence for 30 seconds or longer thereafter. To just stay in that stillness, to maintain eye contact and not take the silence as a personal affront was initially a challenge for me. Not to think, ‘Oh no, what did I say wrong? Why aren’t they responding?’ but just to sit in the silence and recognize what was happening, helped me. To know they were thinking and using this logical way of considering helped me to be more effective, not to overreact or try to ‘do’ something to ‘fix’ the silence.”

In the United Kingdom, another example of a non-verbal communication method that Callison encountered was related to post-acquisition harmonization activities. She gave a presentation to a U.K. leadership team on recommended next steps. “The presentation included me sharing my related findings to date and what I recommended as next steps.

“I was seeing lots of nodding of heads and hearing a lot of ‘okays.’ I left the meeting feeling I had buy-in and congratulated myself on a successful meeting,” Callison explained. She went about implementing some of the recommendations, and a week or so later the managing director approached her, upset that she had proceeded without his approval. “I was initially confused because I thought I received buy-in at the meeting. After speaking with a U.K. colleague about the experience, it dawned on me that in the U.K., nodding does not mean agreement; it generally means an acknowledgment of understanding.”

As Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner note in their seven dimensions, another stressor that can affect business relationships is the value placed on time and how misunderstanding those values can create unintentional insult and be considered rude. So understanding how a certain culture deals with deadlines and the value that is placed on time is

critically important to successful business relationships. According to Ricks, U.S. businesses have encountered

problems in other cultures when they try to impose American time values on business dealings. “One U.S. company lost a major contract opportunity in Greece because its managers tried to impose U.S. customs on Greek negotiators. Besides being too forthright and outspoken in the eyes of the Greeks, the Americans tried to set time limits for the meetings. The Greeks…considered time limits insulting…” [p.5]

In Latin American countries, where time deadlines also are not seen as imperative as they are in the U.S. (remembering that these are general statements), it can actually be considered rude to show up for a dinner meeting on time. Dinners in Latin American countries are often scheduled for 8 p.m., 9 p.m. or 10 p.m., which is considered late by North American standards, but they still start even later.

“In Argentina, some restaurants aren’t open until 9 p.m.,” Jauregui said. “Even so, there and in other Latin American countries, it isn’t expected that people will show up exactly at the time the dinner meeting was set. If someone arrives 30 minutes later, he or she still will be considered on time.

“And it is considered very rude to begin talking about business right away,” he explained. “It doesn’t add value to the relationship or the situation to go straight to business. It helps to get to know one another better, to ask questions about family, for example, to create a greater level of trust.”

Italy is similar in that people there are very family oriented, according to Callison. By referring to her cultural matrices and shedding her North American mindset, she was able to set a different framework for her meetings there, which resulted in success with everyone she met.

“I scheduled one hour with every employee in our offices in Italy. About 45 or 50 minutes of that hour with almost everyone

“By creating a personal toolkit of knowledge about different cultures, an HR professional can prepare himself or herself for meetings around the world.”

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Recently, Bryan Wempen and William Tincup, SPHR, welcomed Paul Smith, SPHR, to DriveThruHR, their daily talk radio blog that focuses on what “keeps HR professionals up at night.” His most pressing issue has to do with the collection of people that we call a workforce — people with flaws and misunderstandings and always the best of intentions.

Bryan Wempen: Paul, it’s a good day to be in HR, right? So introduce yourself to our listeners. Tell us a little bit about yourself, and then we’ll kind of jump in to our big question of the day. Paul Smith: I am the director of human resources and operations for an organization called the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. We are a planning agency in the Philadelphia region. That’s a real short synopsis. I’ve been in HR for 14 years now, and I’ve been involved in lots of different organizations from banking to nursing. I started in operations, and I decided to become an HR person from that. Now, I’m going back into the operations role, and HR would still be a component to that.

Wempen: Thanks. Great introduction. You currently hold the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®) designation, correct? Smith: Yes, that is true. I originally earned my Professional in Human Resources (PHR®) certification in 2004. I just recently achieved my SPHR in January of this year.

Wempen: That’s a very tough thing to do! So, hey, you know what? We’re here to know what keeps you up at night. So let’s jump into your world. Share with us what’s top-of-mind with you currently. Smith: One of the things I’ve been working on and trying to articulate is the attitudes and behaviors that people have about the workplace and that, sometimes, our attitudes and behaviors fall in the unrealistic realm. I think that sometimes people limit their thinking about work and how we work, where we work and what we do. They limit themselves in this way because we have a tendency to see our co-workers sometimes not as human beings — and human beings naturally make mistakes, and sometimes we don’t always make the right choices or the right judgments. And sometimes, I see the workplace not viewing the mistakes as actual mistakes. I think we have a tendency to fall back into a role that suggests that the people who are making the mistakes maybe are mean or dumb. I think it’s kind of limiting and that we have a tendency to fall back into these types of roles where we let our emotions sort of rule with that, as opposed to giving people the benefit of the doubt. And so, that’s actually the thing that has been keeping me up at night. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around some of the conversations that I have that involve reminding people that we are human beings and that human

Bryan Wempen

William Tincup

Paul Smith

Remember the Human Side of HR

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about the Apollo mission, for example. The people who put the Apollo missions together actually championed failure because when they first promised to go to the moon, they had no idea how they were going to get there. They just put a bunch of smart people on it, and they needed to fail often so that they could figure out how to succeed. So they actually created celebrations around failures. So as you’re kind of tinkering with this, how much of it comes back to culture, one’s work culture?Smith: I think it has a lot to do with the culture. And I think that, you know, you can have a great culture, but I think a good culture can be undermined, even then, by having these unrealistic expectations. As you spoke about this, this is something I hadn’t thought of for a while, but there is an enormous value in failure. I think when you embrace that value, is when a culture that is good can become great. So the expectations of employees are sort of lowered, and they don’t undermine or dismantle a culture; that’s good, but they don’t see it as good. They’ve got some other types of expectations, and they come into the workplace with a different set of agendas. So they don’t see the forest for the trees, and they just start hacking down the trees. Before they know it, there’s no work; there’s no more forest. I think having taken the value and said, ‘Hey, you know, we’re going to fail and this is okay.’ But I think the key is how much is an acceptable amount of failure before you have to put the brakes on, because otherwise you just have a completely unsuccessful organization.

Tincup: Yeah, you’ve just now made it okay to fail. At that point, you validated on some level, ‘Now, it’s okay for customers to fire us. It’s okay because we’re learning.’ There’s a point where you ask, ‘How much do you want to learn?’ There is definitely a diminished return to this, right? I really love the way that you turned the idea around, how failure has been equated to incompetence or mean-spiritedness, and I think you’re on to something there. Where do you think you’re going to take this? I mean, obviously, you have a very successful blog, Welcome to the Occupation. Do you want to kind of dig into this and become kind of an expert in this type of stuff? Smith: I think just, like with a lot of things, I’ve skimmed the surface and maybe poked through the surface a little bit, and then I move on. I equate it to being like a cicada killer, the wasps that penetrate the cicada, lay eggs and then leave. I kind of look at it like that: I write the stuff, and I plant some eggs, and then I go do something else.

I think that the notion that I would take with this is more along the managerial levels and the employees’ expectation of their managers. That’s actually sort of the focus I’m working on right now. Because I think where this goes is that we see the higher level jobs — whether it be your manager, whether it be doctors, lawyers, etc. — we put more value dollar-wise into those jobs, then we believe that there should be less imperfection. It gets very, very bad when you start looking at CEOs and governmental leaders. It’s just that the attitude toward them gets even worse that they’re almost not even permitted [to fail].

Sometimes there’s too much of the surprise when that does break down. I’ve just started watching the nightly news, like the network news, lately and it’s pretty amazing. It’s almost like this total surprise every time that a governmental leader does something that is a mistake.

Tincup: Wait a minute: They were human! You know what’s funny is we hold on to an unreasonable expectation. If you look at religious and political leaders and even athletes — that was one of the hard parts of the whole Tiger Woods unraveling is there are a bunch of people in middle management that have gone through exactly the same unraveling. In fact, there are books written on people that when they first come into money, they kind of lose themselves a little bit. They just make all kinds of dumb decisions, if you will. I think Tiger’s was epic, but I think no different than probably a mid-level or a lower senior executive at Company X, but because he had built a brand around being perfect — so in some ways it was our expectations of Tiger but it was also the brand expectations that he put on to the marketplace that he was perfect. He really was perfect. He really did have the perfect life, and I think it was that brand dropoff from one to the other that really bothered everyone. We still can’t deal with the two Tigers. How do you, then, inside of a company, start taking out to the masses — to your employees — the message that, ‘Tom or Jane, they’re both great people, but they’re not perfect, right? They’re going to make mistakes, and we’ll still love them, and it’s okay for them to show a multidimensional character and for them to fail.’? How do you think that could actually get done day-to-day from an HR perspective? Smith: I think it gets done by being the person who is centered on context and remembering that other people will fall out of context. You need to be patient with that and allow the group that has fallen out of context to come to you looking for guidance and saying, in not so many words, ‘I need to get back into context. I need to stop thinking about this in such an emotional, visceral way.’

I think that HR has that obligation to try to behave as that agent that can help somebody put these things back into context. We need to examine all levels and say, ‘You know what, this is really just a mistake. This is not a sense of complete incompetency or deliberate insubordination. Those things do exist, but it doesn’t always have to be that way.’ I think HR’s job is to look at all of those different sides and to be able to present that back. It’s being the objective person in the room. It’s sort of like one of the core things about HR that we’re supposed to be doing.

Tincup: This is fantastic. I want to talk about global and all kinds of other stuff, but this is just really meaty stuff because you’re talking about forgiveness. On some level, you’re actually saying a part of our job is not holding people to an unreasonable computer-like expectation. When people fail — because it’s not a question of if; people will fail. They will. Our leaders — all leaders, both corporate and otherwise — will fail us. It is about coming

beings in the workplace are doing the best they can; the mistakes that are made are not always with intent.

William Tincup: You know what’s funny, Paul, as you’re talking about it — this is what we mean when we say we don’t blame the computer. We don’t blame the computer or a smartphone or a car or whatever for being stupid or incompetent when there’s an error. We think, ‘There’s got to be a technical reason, that there is a fail rate, and we can fix it.’ However, with employees, there are kind of two sides to that. As employers, we might have an unrealistic expectation that they’ll never have a fail rate or that the fail rate has to be 99.9 percent non-fail. In addition, the employees may have an unrealistic expectation of each other and possibly even themselves.Smith: I think that’s really an interesting point about the technology piece. There is more forgiveness of that than we have of each other. Moreover, I see that when certain issues come up in an organization that have some opaqueness. Instead of just

seeing its opaqueness and saying, ‘Oh, you know, this is maybe not something that I’m really privy to in terms of information,’ the immediate response is a concern that actually, ‘They’re purposely holding something from me that I need to know.’ And so, as opposed to giving the benefit of the doubt, there is more suspicion.

Tincup: What if this comes down to a personal philosophy around, ‘Man is inherently good,’ or, ‘Man is inherently bad’? How much of this could you attribute, or do you attribute, to just a personal philosophy? Smith: Yeah, it’s like, is the glass half empty or is it half full? That type of thing. And do you see life that way? I think that this could be definitely something that goes beyond the scope of just an article; that it is a form of book about how people are and then how they take how they are into the workplace. And so I think where it comes down to is, there’s a dynamic to every person. Because of this dynamic to every person, there is a dynamic to every workplace. When one person leaves, the dynamic changes; when one person comes in, the dynamic changes. I think the conversation about the human dynamic is not as prevalent. I’m not saying we have to accept everything, but just understand that there are going to be differences.

Tincup: You know, some of this ties back to the type of work that we do. For example, if we’re on Wall Street — if you and I are running a Wall Street hedge fund, our ability to accept failure either individually or transactionally, it could be pretty low. We want people to not fail, and we’re going to pay handsomely for people and for things that just don’t fail, ever. And it’s an unrealistic goal. It was interesting for me, personally, to learn

Bryan Wempen and William Tincup, SPHR, are the co-hosts of the DriveThruHR Show—HR’s #1 Internet radio show focusing on Human Capital Management/Human Resources/Talent Management. They have interviewed more than 350 HR leaders and talk to them specifically about “what keeps them up at night.” During these conversations, Wempen and Tincup uncover some of the greatest challenges faced by HR professionals today. Wempen, founder of the show, is the chief strategy officer at PeopleClues, a global assessment provider specializing in making the candidate experience and HR technology applications better. Tincup is CEO of Tincup & Co., and is one of the country’s leading thinkers on social media application for human resources and an expert on adoption of HR technology.

There’s a dynamic to every person; there is a dynamic to every workplace. I’m not saying we have to accept everything, but just understand that there are going to be differences.


majority of the people work from home or telecommute, you don’t have that emotional connection. So from a global perspective, how different is that? Is there still kind of an emotional commitment or emotional relationship with an office, etc.? Smith: I think that will depend on the country. It depends on the type of industry it is, and it depends upon all the different subsets that get down to that particular organization.

Tincup: The idea that we have an ethnocentric approach — you know, we have an idea of how HR is done. If you ever had to take over global HR, would you take it as you already have a bunch of the answers? You already have some best practices in place, and you would then take those to the new places around the globe, or would you approach that from the perspective of, ‘I’ve got to learn about how HR is done in Germany before I even try to tinker with it’? Like what would be your personal kind of approach to that? Smith: It would be the latter. I can take leading practices in HR that I think are in existence. I can take it from this organization to another organization, and it would be the same thing. I would want to know what is happening inside that organization, HR wise, cultural wise. I would do that inside the United States, and I would do the same thing if I had to start looking at HR in Germany as well.

Tincup: A lot of people, when they take over a new position, they start with the first 90-day list. I think you and I have just struck on something here that when you are looking at a global position,

maybe your first 90 or 120 days is just listening, just learning. There is no ‘to do.’ There is no list other than have conversations and learn. Would you agree with that? Smith: Absolutely. Because you’re thinking about leading practices so you want to lead. How do you lead if you don’t know where they are or where they’re going? So if you’re not listening to what’s happening, you’re going to be leading a group of one, which is you. And that’s not going to get you anywhere.

Wempen: Paul, that’s great. Those are good life skills right there. I think you transcended HR best practices and went to good life skills: listen and learn. How can people connect with you?Smith: On Twitter, you can find me under @Pasmuz. The blog that I write is called Welcome to the Occupation.It’s www.welcometotheoccupation.com. �

to grips with that and asking, ‘How do we forgive them and move on?’Smith: And is it a reflection of ourselves? Do we have such a hard time even forgiving ourselves when we make a mistake? I’ve heard people say, ‘I expect myself to be perfect.’ As we all know, the typical answer to the interview question, ‘What is your worst quality?’ is, ‘I’m a perfectionist.’ That sort of translates into, ‘I hold myself to such a high standard that when it doesn’t work out, I’m actually very hard on myself.’

Tincup: Yeah. I used to answer that question, ‘I have a Herculean work ethic, and sometimes it gets me into trouble because I work too hard.’ Yes, even I barfed a little bit there. Now let’s do a little pivot, if you don’t mind. You are one of these rare guys that actually got your PHR, had your PHR for years, and then decided to go down the journey, prepare, study and take the SPHR. Congratulations on getting your SPHR. First of all, there’s a whole camp, a school of thought that doesn’t go down the path of certifications. You and I both have, so that’s two people who obviously decided that it was worthwhile. So we’re not going to talk about the other camp, but I want to know more about why you chose, after having a very successful HR career, to then go and do the SPHR on top of that. Smith: I think I can break it down into two reasons. I think the first reason is probably part of the reason why many people don’t like to subscribe to it. The first reason is image, and the second reason is the educational element to it. I had a job in operations, and when that ended, I looked at all those different things that I was doing in operations and asked myself what I liked to do the most, and that was HR. But I did have a pretty realistic sense of where I was in the marketplace, and I knew that I was always going to be seen as a “B” candidate based upon my experience. I studied for my PHR pretty intensely, and it was good to go through all the different elements of HR. Passing it then provided me with a certain image that I was able to pass this test. If you know anything about the test, it’s pretty grueling. I think you and I have actually had a conversation about how mind-bending it is.

You study for it, and you start taking it, and you just kind of look at it as some type of foreign language that you’ve never seen before. I knew this person who is really smart in HR who walked out because he just didn’t know what was going on. I think that they do have difficult tests, and it has an image and reputation for being a difficult test, so it has some credence. That was my reason for doing the PHR. You know, I think it helps. You may not need it. Great, if you don’t need it, you don’t need it, but I thought I did.

Tincup: Nice. And you’re obviously happy with the SPHR. Now, you’re going to maintain it. Now that you passed the test, right? Smith: Yeah.

Tincup: In fact, I just met a guy last week who let his certification lapse. It’s funny, you know, because he was recounting how it was so hard to get and he just let it lapse because he got busy. He let it happen, and now he is just looking at pushing that boulder up that hill again. It was too daunting for him. But I encouraged him, I said, ‘You passed it once; you’ll obviously pass it again. It’ll be hard. You’ll have to study, but you can pass it again.’

Let me do another pivot. I want to hear your take on global HR, because I think your view is wise beyond your age in terms of HR. What do you think life is like when you have to manage outside of our borders? You know, people who work all over, a hundred different countries, for example. What do you think that world is like? Smith: The thought that I have about that is that in some ways, it is not too much different from doing HR in borders on the very basic human level. You know, when you are dealing with other countries, there’s a whole set of unique labor laws, and you have to be cognizant of their cultures and their labor laws and how things change and different norms.

But in some ways, that’s not too much different from how we have to operate in the United States as well. It is still very difficult to keep up on common law here. You would be keeping up on cultural differences and different norms, as well as the different aspects and all the different sets of demographics that employees bring to your workplace. And so, when I look at that, I think as an HR person, you really need to be flexible. You need to be adaptable. You have to realize that uncertainty is going to be a given, and you still have to be really curious about people. You have to be open to that. When you presented this idea about global HR, I was thinking that I don’t deal with this kind of thing, but I really wonder how much of a difference there really is between what we are supposed to be doing here in United States and what folks are supposed to be doing outside the United States. I think that there are some very basic core things.

Tincup: It’s funny. I was having a conversation about how outplacement has changed the office. Years ago, we had an attachment, an emotional attachment, to the office. We commuted. We went into the office. It was there, and if you are ever fired, there was this physical thing that you did not go and do, right? But because of the new construct of work, where a

As an HR person, you really need to be flexible. You have to realize that uncertainty is going to be a given, and you have to be really curious about people.

DriveThruHR talks about human resources with HR professionals, HR vendors and thought-leaders who support HR. We’re on every day at lunch time for 30 minutes. Give us a listen at (347) 996-5600 and share your thoughts on Twitter using #dthr or @drivethruhr.

We talk HR along with lots of clever banter and thoughts every day at 12 Noon Central time at “DTHR.”

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in operations, business and international sales, Chandaria decided he wanted to build his confidence in the HR field and develop a deeper expertise, so he decided to pursue a credential in human resources.

“My desire was to obtain a credential for human resources that would be recognized globally,” he says. “Having graduated with a degree outside of human resources, I wanted to intellectually challenge myself through certification and increase my confidence in the field. In addition, having achieved director-level positions at a young age, I wanted to continue to grow in the profession and not be limited in my trajectory because of my age.”

Chandaria decided to pursue the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®) credential, obtaining the certification in 2010. “Certification has helped me become more culturally intelligent, become more legally savvy and has improved my communications and understanding across global teams,” Chandaria says.

After accepting his current position with Suzlon Energy Limited, Chandaria moved back to India. He says he chose to work for Suzlon India because the company’s mission of powering a greener tomorrow through sustainable wind energy choices aligned with his own personal beliefs. He currently oversees human resources, administration, training

and employee engagement for more than 4,000 employees across 60 locations in seven states in India.

Although the GPHR credential still needs to gain more traction in India, Chandaria believes the knowledge he received while pursuing the credential was invaluable – so much so that he participated in the HR Certification Institute’s recent Global Credential Pilot Program, successfully earning his HRMP. “I decided to obtain the HRMP to repeatedly strengthen and demonstrate the in-depth competence around HR policy and strategy,” Chandaria says. “The idea of the HRMP being a pilot offered me the thrill of being a part of creating a new set of credentials.”

Chandaria is proud of becoming a senior HR leader at a relatively young age in a country that traditionally equates age and experience as important to career advancement. He credits the GPHR and HRMP credentials for providing him with additional credibility.

Chandaria sees the field of human resources progressing in India. He says

that companies are becoming savvier around talent management. The value of engaging and retaining employees and tending to their satisfaction and care is gaining importance. Also, companies are better understanding the value of diversity in the workplace and the benefits of hazard trainings and data protection.

Chandaria also is witnessing another positive trend in the industry: the formalization of HR practices and more open disclosures of terms of employment. “The depth of the laws that affect human practices are more pervasive in other countries, but we’re seeing more traction here,” he says.

And Chandaria isn’t opposed to living abroad again. Should the right opportunity present itself, he believes that he is armed with the tools and credentials to successfully tackle the opportunity in an ever-changing global economy. �

Bhavesh Chandaria, GPHR, HRMP, is the general manager and head of human resources for Suzlon Energy Limited, is accountable for all HR deliverables to ensure business success for a workforce of 4,000 employees across seven states in India. His team of 70 HR professionals oversees strategic HR partnerships, employee engagement, compensation and benefits, employee communication and statutory compliance. With more than 16 years of cross-functional experience in human resources across the world, Chandaria brings his leadership skills and competence to companies to maximize their success.

“(The GPHR) certification has helped me become more culturally intelligent, become more legally savvy and has improved my communications and understanding across global teams.”

The last decade has seen India’s rapid rise on the global stage. Slogans like “the new Silicon Valley” have

become a mantra in India, and Fortune 500 companies are investing enormously in resources and jobs on the subcontinent, helping fuel an economic engine powering the world’s second most populous nation.

But with rapid growth comes a serious need for human resources – talent management, organizational development, greater emphasis on labor laws –motivating India’s smartest companies to adjust their business practices in a global economic environment.

Bhavesh Chandaria’s career illustrates India’s changing business practices – and larger global footprint – over the past decade. As general manager and head of human resources for the Business Unit at Suzlon Energy Limited, and a newly minted Human Resource Management Professional (HRMPSM), Chandaria says Indian companies are moving in the right direction, but there is still more room to grow.

“India is still years behind where the U.S. is in terms of human resources, but as of the past eight to 10 years,

India Inc.As India grows into a major player in global business, Bhavesh Chandaria, GPHR, HRMP, has expanded his own career to match the evolving needs of human resources.

By Archana Mehta

the country has made great strides,” Chandaria says. “India is becoming more connected globally, and companies are now recognizing the importance of the HR profession, and the field is transforming.”

Chandaria, 38, began his HR career 12 years ago after graduating from the school of management at Mumbai University with a degree in finance. An Indian sparkling wine company, Champagne Indage Limited, handed him his first job as a management trainee. During this time, Chandaria lived and worked abroad in the United Kingdom for four months, helping him develop a keen understanding of the need for Indian companies to operate competitively in the global market.

Chandaria’s first foray into human resources came in 1999, when he had the opportunity to become dean of a business school in Jamnagar, Gujurat, India. At the business school, Chandaria delved into the field of human resources by teaching a few courses specifically on organizational behavior. He fell in love with the field, even becoming a mentor to graduate students who were pursuing degrees in human resources. Soon enough, he realized he wanted to pursue his own full-

time career as an HR professional. A true globalist, Chandaria decided

to move to Kenya when he came across an opportunity to advance his career. As head of corporate human resources and training for Bidco Oil Refineries Limited in East Africa, Chandaria oversaw operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. He also learned firsthand how advanced the field of human resources was in East Africa compared to other parts of Africa and India.

Having collected substantial experience

GLOBAL PROFILE

“India is becoming more connected globally, and companies are now recognizing the importance of the HR profession, and the field is transforming.”

Photo courtesy of Suzlon Energy Limited


Making a move to international or global expansion is a big step with potential for big rewards if you know where you’re going. Before you pack your bags for business growth, take a look at the most popular countries for worldwide investment.

By Seth Kahan

WHETHER YOUR COMPANY IS INTERNATIONAL WITH KEY

relationships in several countries, a global enterprise with worldwide reach or a local that is interested in

doing business beyond your borders, there are a number of countries that deserve your attention.

As a strategic HR professional, staying ahead of the game means knowing where your organization’s future growth resides and being ready to ensure the human resources are there to fuel success.

When people talk about international expansion, they are quick to distinguish between developed countries, transition countries and developing economies. These three words must be in your lexicon to talk intelligently when it comes to international investments.

Different sources will point you to different countries within these categories, and as countries build their economies they may move from one category to another. That said, it’s easy to understand what the three categories mean. Below I will also spell out which countries are in which categories at this time.

A developed country is one with a strong economy including the infrastructure needed to maintain stability. Its government is capable of managing itself and entering into trustworthy

relationships with other countries. It also provides a standard of living to its people that enable them to experience a high quality of life.

A transition economy is one that is moving into a free market. That means that the marketplace determines how much things cost, as opposed to a body of officers with that role. Trade barriers are in the process of being taken away so that the country can deal freely with other countries, but this process is not yet complete.

A developing economy generally has low living standards, a spotty or nonexistent industrial base and inadequate stability in the government to satisfy the needs of its people or wherewithal to engage consistently in trade outside its borders.

Of course there are critics of these terms (developed, transition and developing), as not all countries subscribe to this model or language. Nonetheless, as organizations investigate where to invest their resources abroad, this simple system provides a beginning framework for understanding and categorizing the economic situation in various countries.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),1 these are the countries in each of those three categories:

MOSTPOPULARCOUNTRIES FOR

COMPANIES TO INVEST

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recognize that the top transnational companies and investment promotion agencies believe that strength and development are on the rise worldwide.

Another term you must know to understand which countries are the most popular to invest in is BRIC (pronounced brick). This term was coined by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in a 2001 report3 that predicted four countries would be wealthier than most of the current economic superpowers: Brazil, Russia, India and China.

That is quite a statement, and its implications are so significant that many companies are investing in their relationships with these four countries as a long-term strategy, which indicates they are hoping to build a base that will lead to an extended profitable future rather than simply short-term profits.

You can see from the list above that these four countries plus Indonesia make up the top developing economies expected to be the largest targets of investors in the near future. That makes them worth knowing about and preparing for. If your company is doing business in other countries, it is likely that one of these will be involved. As an HR professional, you must understand what this means in terms of talent and policy. That is why it pays to advance your international financial literacy.

Before we take a look at these countries in a little more detail, it is worthwhile to consider the special needs of your company. So far we have been looking at large, global trends, but statistics fail when it comes to individual behavior. Instead, you must understand the particulars of your circumstances. Here are two recommendations along those lines:

1. Know where the growth is in your sector.Pay special attention to developments in your industry.

Get to know the major players: competitors, suppliers and partners. Listen in to conversations whenever another country is mentioned, then do your homework and find out why. Ask, What role is this country playing in your field?

2. Be proactive in collecting news. There are a variety of free (or almost-free) sources that

you can access to educate yourself on international trade. The Wall Street Journal is a great source and easy to scan. Set up Google alerts. This free tool can bring you remarkable results and breaking news to inform you about opportunities abroad. A simple alert to set up would be one that includes your company’s name plus the word international or global. Go to www.google.com/alerts for more information

Now, let’s take a quick look at the top 10 countries from the list above and see why they are such popular targets for investing:

1 CHINAIn 2001, China officially joined the World Trade Organization.

This marked access to 1.3 billion new customers in the global trading system, over 20 percent of the earth’s population at the time! China had started significant economic reforms approximately two decades earlier, preparing it to participate in the global economy.

China is strong in both natural resources and agriculture, building its base for delivery when it comes to industrial capacity. It has a good infrastructure, making it possible to transport and communicate in a timely fashion with reliable consistency.

At the same time, the government is not transparent, and there remain strong cultural differences between China and much of the developed world. These make it a difficult partner.

Recently Home Depot closed down its U.S.-style do-it-yourself home improvement stores because they did not succeed on Chinese soil due to a major difference in culture. Nonetheless, many companies have successfully partnered and expanded into the Chinese market. It is worth noting that China is the number one foreign investor, meaning that they are partnering with countries on a massive scale globally. So, even if you don’t go there, they may have already come to you.

2 UNITED STATESThere is no doubt that the U.S. economy has been struggling

in recent years. Joblessness still plagues the country, and financial indicators show a slow recovery, which feels unbearable to many Americans. But foreign investors are optimistic, and it shows when it is time to do the numbers as the United States takes the number two slot on the best places to invest in the near term.

Mack Ott, an economist formerly with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, writes this in the Library of Economics and Liberty (www.econlib.org), an online resource for students, teachers and researchers:

The United States attracts capital not only because of lower taxes, but also because of greater U.S. consumer wealth and labor productivity. At purchasing power parity — GDP adjusted for differences in exchange rates and prices — U.S. wealth (per capita GDP) was one-fourth greater than Japan’s in 1990 and one-third greater than Germany’s. Moreover, except for Japan, the other main industrial countries did not narrow this margin between 1980 and 1990. On a production-per-employee basis, the message is the same: U.S. labor is the most productive in the world.4

Developed

Andorra Greece New Zealand

Australia Hungary Norway

Austria Iceland Poland

Belgium Ireland Portugal

Bermuda Israel Romania

Bulgaria Italy San Moreno

Canada Japan Slovak Republic

Cyprus Latvia Slovenia

Czech Republic Liechtenstein Spain

Denmark Lithuania Sweden

Estonia Luxembourg Switzerland

Finland Malta United Kingdom

France Monaco United States

Germany Netherlands

Transition

Southeast Europe Commonwealth of Independent States

Albania ArmeniaRepublic of Russian

Federation

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Azerbaijan Tajikistan

Croatia Belarus Turkmenistan

Montenegro Kazakhstan Ukraine

Republic of Macedonia

Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan

Serbia, The former Yugoslavia

Moldova

Developing

All other countries

UNCTAD conducts the World Investment Prospects Survey (WIPS),2 which is designed to generate insights about foreign direct investment. Foreign direct investment includes money placed overseas either to support activity that is already taking place there or to expand operations into that country.

The most recent WIPS, for 2012-2014, polled 5,000 executives who worked for non-financial transnational companies and 245

professionals who worked for investment promotion agencies. The results of the most recent WIPS point to 11 countries as the most promising source for investments over the next two years. Here they are in order of selection:

1. China

2. United States

3. Germany

4. United Kingdom

5. France

6. Japan

7. India

8. Spain

9. Canada

10. United Arab Emirates

11. Brazil

These are the countries that have the resources to invest overseas ranked according to a best guess at the magnitude of their predicted investment. In other words, China will likely top the list as the chief world investor, followed by the United States and so on down to Brazil. Keep in mind these are the top 11. So even though Brazil is at the bottom of the list, it is still a major player on the world stage when it comes to investing.

Now, let’s look at the most promising destinations for all this money. Here are the top 19 rankings (some are tied, causing the ones that follow to jump in ranking to reflect the proper order — developing countries in bold):

1. China

2. United States

3. India

4. Indonesia

5. Brazil

6. Australia

6. United Kingdom

8. Germany

8. Russian Federation

8. Thailand

11. Vietnam

12. Mexico

13. Japan

14. Netherlands

14. Poland

14. South Africa

17. Korea, Republic of

17. Sweden

19. France

19. Italy

19. Malaysia

It is striking to note the number of developing economies that made the list. Among the top five, four are developing! And among all 21 countries, 12 — more than half — come from that category.

This shows confidence in overall development across the globe in the years ahead. Even though we are rolling through serious financial turmoil, there is reason for optimism. There is no greater sign of economic hope than strong financial predictions across the board that include many of the planet’s rising countries. So, next time you become depressed by current news of world events or global doomsayers, take a look at this list and


3 INDIAChina may have the largest customer base, but not by much.

India is trailing China by less than 150 million with a population over 1.2 billion next to China’s 1.3 billion plus.

A report from India’s National Council for Applied Economic Research’s Centre for Macro Consumer Research indicated the country would have 53.3 million middle-class households by 2015-16, or about 267 million people.5

According to University of California professor Pranab Bardhan, “A potential advantage India has over China in speeding up its economic growth is the demographic shift in favor of young and able working population. This would put India in a higher growth trajectory, and the country could catch up with the economic growth of China by 2020.”6

Just recently the Indian government announced a package of economic reforms aimed at attracting foreign investment in the retail, aviation and broadcasting industries.7 These continuous aggressive moves put India in a favorable position when it comes to foreign investments.

4 INDONESIAIndonesia has the fourth largest population in the world, with

over 248 million people.8 It is viewed as having strong historic growth, less risk than many emerging markets and significant potential for future growth. These factors combine to make it very attractive and popular when it comes to foreign investments.

All of this is a result of sweeping economic and government reforms that occurred after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Indonesia was the hardest hit, but it has come back and it looks now to be a global player.

Indonesia’s growth was second only to China’s in 2011, while Europe and the United States struggled. Investments continue to play a large role in its financial health because of investor confidence and the expectation for continued low interest rates.9

5 BRAZILAccording to the CIA World Factbook, Brazil has the sixth

largest labor force in the world, and is number eight when it comes to purchasing power.10 Wikipedia says, “According to the World Economic Forum, Brazil was the top country in upward evolution of competitiveness in 2009, gaining eight positions among other countries, overcoming Russia for the first time, and partially closing the competitiveness gap with India and China among the BRIC economies.” 11 So, you see, Brazil is aggressive, growing and very attractive to investors.

Brazil has a strong government that has ironed many of the wrinkles out so that it can provide the stability and trust required for international relations and investments. It is solid in exports and continues to post trade surpluses.

Brazilians are already spending $13 billion online with just 40 percent of their population regularly connected to the Internet. More than half of their 200 million people are middle class,12

providing a strong base of spending power.

FROM THIS CURSORY VIEW OF THE TOP FIVE MOST POPULAR

countries for companies to invest in, you get an idea of the factors that make a nation attractive. You can also see that

there is tremendous hope across the world for growth when it comes to the economic landscape with so many factors and such a diverse portfolio of circumstances.

From the list of the 21 countries targeted as the most likely to receive investments you see an even broader panoply of investment choices, over half of which are developing countries. This should serve as an introduction to the widely varied selection your company may choose to invest in.

There are many populations, languages, business protocols, policies and complexities to living in an international world. Human resources connects the dots, allowing us to work together across boundaries both personal and professional, both cultural and financial, playing an instrumental role in the future and enabling growth across the border and around the world. �

1 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2012, http://www.unctad-docs.org/files/UNCTAD-WIR2012-Full-en.pdf2 Ibid3 http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/17/news/economy/goldman_sachs_jim_oneill_interview.fortune/index.htm4 Ott, Matt. Foreign Investment in the United States. Library of Economics and Liberty. http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc1/ForeignInvestmentintheUnitedStates.html#abouttheauthor5 http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-02-06/news/28424975_1_middle-class-households-applied-economic-research6 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/india-to-match-chinas-economic-growth-by-2020-economist/articleshow/9238568.cms7 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-retail-20120915,0,3770140.story8 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html9 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-06/indonesia-economic-growth-exceeds-estimates-as-investments-surge.html10 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Brazil12 http://www.forbes.com/sites/ricardogeromel/2012/05/31/4-must-knows-before-investing-in-brazil/

POST NOMINAL

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As technology makes the world smaller and faster, HR professionals are challenged to adapt to the changing needs of both businesses and their workforces. Conversations with a number of thought leaders bring clarity to what otherwise might be a very foggy new world.

IT IS NO SECRET THAT WE LIVE IN AN INCREASINGLY POLITICALLY

and economically interconnected world. A group of youth with cell phones in the Middle East began a wave of protests

over social media that toppled regimes thought to be ensconced and immovable. Trillions of dollars in investment capital flood into and exit global markets at the touch of a button. And as the European Union and the United States grapple with an entrenched recession, slow growth and political impasses, emerging economies in Latin America, Asia and Africa present new opportunities for existing companies or new ventures seeking to expand internationally.

So what does an increasingly interconnected world mean for corporations and HR professionals? Companies must effectively organize and manage cross-cultural and cross-functional design teams – often virtually – and decipher managerial complexity brought on by generational differences and technological advancement in the workplace. In addition, companies must respond to diverse market conditions or business challenges across the world with increasing speed and urgency.

How a company recruits, trains, manages and empowers personnel has never been more important to a company’s overall survival, much less the advancement of a corporate strategic plan. Navigating and overcoming these unique circumstances requires companies to create and maintain a versatile workforce with a global mindset in an era of talent shortages and increased employee mobility. As such, HR professionals are at the frontlines of creating enduring solutions to these vexing challenges.

Along with my colleague Rubens Pessahna, we interviewed recognized thought leaders at international business schools to get their take on the challenges, opportunities and forward looking trends in global human resources. We interviewed Professor Chris Collins, director of the Center for Advanced HR Studies at Cornell University (USA); David A. Thomas, dean and William R. Berkley Chair of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business (USA); Professor Felipe Monteiro, assistant professor of strategy at INSEAD (France); Professor Donghoon Yang, business consulting faculty at Sogang University’s Graduate School of Business (Korea); Professor Dirk Buyens, academic dean and partner of Vlerick Business School (Belgium) and Professor Peter Cappelli, director of the Center for Human Resources at The Wharton School (USA).

Sitting at the intersection of academic research and global business, they discussed key trends – born out of this dynamic

Global TouchBy Reginald Hubbard

Winter 2013 CERTIFIED 8786 CERTIFIED Winter 2013

Concurrently, the share of the population aged 60 and over is projected to increase globally, raising concerns about lower labor force participation, slower economic growth and the challenge of incorporating these workers into the overall economy.

Organizations must figure out how best to incorporate all workers regardless of age, race or sex to fully embrace opportunities and grow their respective businesses.

Recognizing the competing expectations among older and younger workers, Yang points out, “As the labor force is getting older, the importance of flexible working environments is heightened. Also, workers in younger generations prefer flexible working hours, mobile workplaces and meaningful balance between work and family. They do not want to be limited to standard working hours and will schedule personal learning on their own time.”

According to Thomas, this global millennial generation can be defined by three key characteristics: being tech savvy and more concerned with – and asking questions about –work/life balance and wanting to make a positive contribution in a manner they can identify with. He cited the example of HCL, a leading technology company in India that has been conscious of creating a culture that fosters this desire to make a positive contribution and have a balanced life.

HR ANALYTICSResulting from the ubiquity of IT in the workplace, another

trend affecting global HR professionals is an increase in the adoption and usage of quantitative metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs that enhance organizational performance. This trend affects the core of how the HR function is defined, implemented and practiced throughout an organization.

Buyens sees the entire HR function as becoming more quantitative and noted, “Everything is up for analysis. You have benchmarks, figures, KPIs (key performance indicators) and balanced scorecards, all doing research and trying to analyze in a deeper way so you are able to define how these programs impact

the business.”According to Collins, “There will be a continued push for

data-driven decision making within the HR function. Given advancements and investments in HR databases and the ability to connect this data with operational, customer and financial data, HR leaders have greater ability to use data to better understand how human resources, people outcomes and metrics are impacting the performance of the organization.”

LARGER TRENDS AFFECTING MULTINATIONALSIn light of these demographic changes and the challenge

employers will face sourcing talent in an increasingly competitive environment, Cappelli and Collins discussed a particularly interesting trend. Once highly regarded and unchallenged as a premier destination, MNOs (multinational organizations) now must fight to be competitive and are also dealing with pressure from competitors in emerging markets.

In addressing this trend, Cappelli explained, “What’s different now as compared to previous decades is that multinational firms are no longer necessarily the first choice for employees. Figuring out how to be competitive in the labor market is now a challenge. U.S. multinational companies increasingly find that working conditions and arrangements are better now at domestic competitors – and breaking into those markets is just as difficult.”

Echoing this view, Collins mentioned, “In the past, many multinational companies were able to attract talent in these markets because they were seen as great training grounds, and job seekers in growth markets thought they offered great opportunities. In many of these markets today, young leaders and technical talent are more likely to be attracted to large companies in their native markets.”

Monteiro reinforced this idea, pointing to the fact that global MBA students are increasingly returning to their native countries upon graduation, rather than seeking employment from a U.S.- or UK-based multinational.

2. In our increasingly globalized world, what are some of the challenges facing global HR professionals and multinational corporations?

As a natural consequence of these diverse, concurrent trends, many challenges arise that confront global HR professionals and multinational corporations. We asked our academic colleagues to name some of the challenges global HR professionals and MNOs are currently dealing with or should consider moving forward. The challenges they mentioned center around finding, developing and training talent that understands this new globalized world, creating a culture that translates to all regions where the business operates, mobility restrictions which further exacerbate talent scarcity and reforming the HR function.

MANAGERIAL CHALLENGESFrom a managerial perspective, how do you manage

dispersed, virtual teams around the globe and create a culture

An increase in adoption and usage of quantitative metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of policies in enhancing organizational performance is starting to affect how the HR function is defined, implemented and practiced.

environment – that offer enormous challenges and opportunities to those best positioned to take advantage of them.

1. What are some trends you are noticing in your research and in your market that global HR professionals and multinational organizations should be aware of?

GLOBALIZATIONThis word is often mentioned in business and mainstream

media without the benefit of a more granular definition. Attempting to frame the concept of globalization in the context of current business realities, Monteiro uses the term “semiglobalization” in recognition of two simultaneous market realities:

1) A realization that the world is not flat (referencing Thomas Friedman’s seminal work, The World Is Flat).

2) The world is not totally different.Understanding semiglobalization requires an appreciation for

global intricacies in the business and talent market. “We tend to believe that countries are more similar than they actually are,” says Monteiro. If no one was different, companies could hire one manager for an entire region.

Rather than seeing the world as flat, Monteiro describes it as spiked, citing commonalities among major cosmopolitan areas like New York, Sao Paulo, London, Paris, Singapore and Tokyo. He says, “There is commonality among mega-cities, but to think this commonality translates to entire countries is misleading. If you go into the different countries, there are no indications that there is uniform commonality.” In addition, Monteiro sees no indication that these differences will disappear any time soon.

Also seeing globalization as an important trend shaping HR behavior and priorities, Buyens sees a palpable shift in power and focus to Asia and other emerging markets and more work being done in a diverse, virtual world. In particular, he mentioned that “mother company” thinking, a command and control structure where directives are applied to emerging markets from a central office outside of that market is no longer effective. To support the need for having a global mindset, Buyens says, “English may be lingua franca, but you must know more about local language and culture to make an impact.”

SPEED OF CHANGE IN BUSINESS As a byproduct of increased globalization and technological

advancement, the speed of change in business has accelerated, with companies moving from being innovative to obsolete in record time.

According to Collins, “We are seeing unprecedented changes in external business environments where rapidly changing economic conditions, competitive landscapes and opportunities for growth increasingly require companies of all sizes to be more agile, respond quickly and adapt to these changes.”

Monteiro alluded to this same trend when discussing the evolving HR challenges for telecom operators at a time when

smartphones, wireless networks and new communications technologies have flooded the market: “Twenty years ago, their business model used to be only about making land-line phone calls. Now, the hiring plan for the business must include people who understand software, gaming, web 2.0, Internet and data security. This change has caused companies to expand their business focus, thereby creating more complex staffing needs.”

NEW WORLD OF WORKThe proliferation of these new information technologies has

created a globally connected, virtual world, reducing the need for central offices. Combined with a generational attitude shift towards more open work environments, another trend affecting the global market is the changing dynamic of what it means to work.

“We are in a new world of work,” shared Buyens. “What is work today? What are the notions of being offline or online? We are moving away from the paradigm of ‘If I see you I know what

you are doing…and therefore can control you.’ How do you define trust in an organization and how far do you extend that trust, since trust is no longer based on physical appearance?”

Referring to the role of information technology within this new world of work, Yang said, “IT innovation influences how we work and how we get results. Software as a service and cloud computing are becoming new standard working tools. We are connected virtually worldwide.”

DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDSAlong with this change in the perception of what it is to work,

there are significant generational differences in the concept and expectations of work/life balance.

With the world recently welcoming its 7 billionth inhabitant, population demographics are changing rapidly, compounding the challenges that employers face in recruiting, training and retaining talented staff.

Today there are 1.8 billion adolescents – making up the largest youth generation in history. In fact, nine out of 10 young people live in developing countries. The choices this generation makes will have a direct impact on employment trends and business growth.

As a byproduct of increased globalization and technological advancement... companies can go from being innovative to obsolete in record time.


RETHINKING HRA final challenge confronting global HR professionals is the

increased pressure the HR function faces in light of these major global trends. With an increased use of analytics, a need for increased recruiting, training and development and pressure to respond to market challenges by rapidly staffing up or divesting, human resources as we know it today will surely change.

Focusing on the increased usage of analytics, Collins commented, “As the ability to collect and integrate data becomes increasingly important, it is imperative to build an internal capacity to analyze data and design methodologies to test ideas and explore underlying causes of issues.”

He believes that these internal capacities and responding to other pressures brought on by global trends might force HR

practitioners to rethink organizational structures, employment relationships, delivery models and leadership profiles and will help ensure the organization has the human capital, mindset and capabilities to quickly scale up or down in markets.

Buyens views this as both a trend and a challenge and posed the following question: “How do HR professionals stay ahead of these changes and continue to provide value for the organization?” In his view, HR functions are changing into a more layered structure, with a focus on transactional work and relational work. He called this split the “dichotomization of HR.”

Traditional HR functions such as answering pension questions or providing benefit information require minimal interpersonal interaction. Relational work involves more coaching and advice, where the source of the information is more important than the answer. Though not prevalent now, he mentioned that employee training and other relational work could be more effectively performed by line managers, which could marginalize the need for human resources if done well at that level. He also mentioned that people also tend to need something transactional before thinking about relational matters when dealing with human resources.

3. In the same manner, what do you think are some of the opportunities afforded to global HR professionals and multinational corporations as a result of an increasingly globalized world?

As the old adage says, in every crisis lies great opportunity. This appears to be the case confronting HR managers and multinational corporations. Though the trends and challenges discussed above will require a lot of thought and work, addressing these challenges presents tremendous opportunity for service and management innovation, career progress and organizational growth.

Thomas sees two main opportunities for reinvention and transformation which include recognizing the reality of employee turnover and how companies are moving towards an open-source hiring model and can rethink the way they train their employees and how they use training as a brand differentiator.

He shares, “In an open-source environment, companies may need to market their organization differently. If it is known that an employee will not always stay with a company, or may leave and come back, companies should seek to define the way they train their people as a key differentiator. Rather than worrying about whether someone is going to leave the company and viewing their departure as a waste of training resources, why not adopt the policy that ‘We will have the highest quality training at all times and use that as a recruiting tool?’”

On a broader, macro-strategic level, Thomas sees an opportunity for business to partner with emerging markets and transform areas like basic education and high unemployment and says, “If corporations got serious about developing talent, they could change education in the world. They could partner with universities, leverage technology and create long-term solutions to fix systemic issues.”

Cappelli acknowledges tremendous opportunities for

that fosters inclusion while also ensuring that the needs of the business are met?

Yang cautioned multinational corporations to be vigilant in minding cultural differences saying, “Corporations should be careful in respecting ethical norms and regulations at foreign sites. Because local norms have been culturally and behaviorally established, global HR managers cannot easily recognize and ignore them. Moreover, HR systems in home countries are frequently implanted to foreign subsidiaries with minor modifications.”

Voicing the concerns of HR executives, Thomas stated, “A prevailing question on their mind is: ‘Are we managing our human resources in a way to recognize the challenges of this environment, and are we equipping people to succeed in this environment?’”

RECRUITMENT, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKILLED WORKERS AND MANAGERS

Another major challenge raised by most of the professors is the increasing difficulty for global firms to find talent with the appropriate skills and global mindset to properly manage foreign business units.

Finding skilled workers capable of working in a diverse environment and leaders who are able to manage global operations and comprehend the nuances of working cross-culturally is imperative in today’s global workforce. In addition, creating opportunities for these managers to gain the requisite experience to lead global teams can be challenging.

Monteiro sees an increasing realization among HR professionals that knowledge, technology and talent must be somehow sourced from outside the company. He explains that HR managers must have knowledge of their internal resources and means to fulfill their needs through external sources (recruiters, list servs and advertisements). Having this overall awareness of an organization’s internal capabilities and external needs is very important to long-term success but can also be a challenge to create and maintain.

Though talent scarcity was mentioned by nearly all of the professors interviewed, Yang offered the most succinct statement, sharing, “Talent is scarce everywhere. Developing global talent capable of working with multiple foreign sites is an especially challenging job for HR managers. Foreign language skills are not the only key success factor. Training managers to understand global industry and jobs overseas is one of the more fundamental tasks that global HR managers perform.”

Drawing attention to the specific needs in growth markets, Collins mentioned that organizations he works with have difficulty “attracting, developing and retaining leaders and technical talent in growth markets.” He went on to say, “As these organizations continue to pursue growth in these markets they have to build out the leadership and technical talent pipelines in these countries to support the business plan.”

Both Thomas and Collins address the key challenge of

building a ‘cadre’ of leaders with global experiences and a global mindset. Collins acknowledged the expense of providing such opportunities to all managers but said, “It is increasingly important that the leaders at the top have these experiences and that there is a small pipeline of leaders at the top to ensure that the organization is global in its thinking as they set corporate strategy, make decisions and support organizational structure and culture, creating a vision that is meaningful across regions.”

Thomas highlighted a challenge to current practices, saying that “organizations must find opportunities early in their employees’ careers to provide global exposure to lead a global workforce.”


employees seeking to expand global credentials and career progress. In his discussions, he shares that “the possibility for global development could be very attractive to employees, but not many companies are good at that, and many of the U.S. and European companies backed away from expat assignments.”

There are opportunities for global development – but even more for global HR managers. By incorporating knowledge from diverse sites, recreating the organization and increasing cultural sensitivity, Yang believes they can “develop gradually a transnational HR system that utilizes talented people from multiple foreign sites.” He goes on to say that, “Transnational HR is not limited to a two-way relationship between host and home countries. Transnational HR truly exchanges people among multiple foreign subsidiaries, making more effective utilization possible.”

Tremendous opportunities exist for HR managers to become “knowledge brokers” and use their knowledge of different cultures for the benefit of the company and career advancement. Citing the successful examples of multinationals like Unilever, P&G and Shell, top-tier global multinationals with plenty of experience in global employment practices and staffing needs, Monteiro shares that HR professionals with open mindedness and flexibility can succeed in being international brokers of knowledge, best practices and strategy.

In such a competitive environment for top-tier talent and staffing, HR professionals must recognize companies will not be able to find the talent they need to most effectively compete in an increasingly globalized world only from internal sources. Monteiro also mentioned burgeoning opportunity for those involved in executive search and placement as he thinks the demand for talent with global mindedness will only increase.

Collins says there is an opportunity to remake the image of human resources to address global growth as a tremendous opportunity. “For HR, one of the great opportunities is the continued and increased importance of the function as multinationals think through how to grow and sustainably succeed in new growth markets,” said Collins. “The success of this growth will depend greatly on the ability of the HR function to help attract, develop and retain new talent.”

Referencing the trends mentioned above, Buyens says there are enormous challenges for human resources going forward. At the same time, he sees these challenges as providing a chance for HR professionals to change their behavior, reach out to other functions in the business and engage as true partners for business growth and transformation. He encourages HR professionals to ensure they can prove what they do makes a difference, “Make sure you are an expert in your field. Add value. It’s not about what the business can do for HR, but what HR can do for the business.” �

The old adage says, in every crisis lies great opportunity. This appears to be the case confronting HR managers and multinational corporations.


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HR CERTIFI TION INSTITUTE Hope Among Chaos Cristina Wildermuth, Ed.D., SPHR DIG ITAL DESIGNER: Chris Stein Certified is a publication of the HR Certification Institute and is published