Don’t Miss Thursday’s HRchitect WebMingle with Charles Coy of Cornerstone OnDemand

December 3, 2011

The HRchitect WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The WebMingle has truly redefined how people get information about vendors, trends and really anything related to HR technology and we are very proud of that.

This week’s guest is Charles Coy, Senior Director of Analyst and Community Relations. Charles previously appeared on HRchitect’s WebMingle in early 2009.

Cornerstone OnDemand is a leading global provider of a comprehensive learning and talent management solution. We enable organizations to meet the challenges they face in empowering their people and maximizing the productivity of their human capital. Our integrated software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution consists of the Cornerstone Recruiting Cloud (early 2012), the Cornerstone Performance Cloud, the Cornerstone Learning Cloud and the Cornerstone Extended Enterprise Cloud. Our clients use our solution to develop employees throughout their careers, engage all employees effectively, improve business execution, cultivate future leaders, and integrate with their external networks of customers, vendors and distributors. We currently empower over 7.1 million users across 179 countries and in 29 languages.

As Senior Director of Analyst & Community Relations, Charles serves as the “voice” of Cornerstone, discussing company vision and momentum with analysts and evangelizing the company through social channels and speaking opportunities. He has worked in a variety of positions at Cornerstone since the early days of the company more than a decade ago.

Visit www.HRchitect.com/Knowledge/WebMingle to listen live this Thursday, December 8 at 2pm CST. If you missed any of our previous 85 or so WebMingles, you can also access them from that page.

We look forward to welcoming Charles Coy with Cornerstone OnDemand to the HRchitect WebMingle and hope to have you join us as well.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on an upcoming WebMingle, please contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Posted by mattlafata

HRchitect’s Influence in the HR technology World Is Far Reaching

December 3, 2011

I take a lot of pride in what we do at HRchitect. Day in and day out we make a difference in the lives of many leading organizations and the people that are at those organizations today and those who will be there in the future. We do this through the HR technology services we offer around strategy, software selection and implementation.

After 14 years, and well over 800 clients, including many of today’s most successful companies, many who keep coming back for additional services, we have developed a leadership position. This position comes from trust and a definition of trust that I like is “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.”

Something I absolutely love about what we do, and the companies we serve, is that I see reminders everywhere I go, and with everything I do. It is almost impossible to go anywhere or do anything, without using a service or a product from one of our customers.

I wrote about this last December, as we were in the midst of the holiday season where you just can’t go anywhere without being subjected to holiday commercials on TV and holiday music every time you enter a store. I thought this would be a good opportunity to expand on that because it really is something we are extremely proud of.

Think about some of the constant reminders about the tremendous influence that HRchitect has in the HR technology world…

Chances are you are going to do some shopping for friends and loved ones this holiday season. You will likely visit a company in person or online that HRchitect has performed HR related technology services for – Best Buy, Target, OfficeMax, L.L. Bean, RadioShack, Nordstrom, JCPenney, Lowe’s, GAP, Wal-Mart, Dell, Totes, Fossil, Barnes and Noble, Blockbuster, Kodak, Dollar General, Sony Playstation, Sur La Table, Crate and Barrel, Family Dollar, Finish Line, Levin Furniture, Orchard Supply Hardware, or numerous others. Yes, chances are very high you will shop at a store that is an HRchitect client.

Don’t you need some money to visit these stores? Chances are good you will get money from an HRchitect client – Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Bank of America, Bank of Oklahoma, U.S. Bank, Capital Bank, Capital One, TD Bank, First Citizens Banc, OMNI Bank, or many others. Then of course it’s time to use a credit card that might come from Citigroup, First USA, American Express, or Visa.

Maybe you will need to check with your credit union such as Texans Credit Union, BMI Federal Credit Union, Boeing Employee Credit Union, First Community Federal Credit Union, Space Coast Credit Union, or Mountain America Credit Union. Or maybe before that you need to talk with your financial advisor at Northwestern Mutual, Fidelity, Charles Schwab, or Barclays Global Investors before you spend any money.

Naturally all this running around will make you hungry or thirsty so why not visit one of HRchitect’s clients. Grab a Dr Pepper Snapple product to quench your thirst, or maybe Pepsi is your thing. Or chow down on a Burrito at Chipotle. Maybe something from Panera Bread or Yum! Brands? How about having Domino’s Pizza or Papa John’s deliver to you? Or how about something from Nestle, maybe some hot chocolate to stay warm? Chances are pretty good you will eat or drink something from one of HRchitect’s clients.

Are you traveling to visit relatives this holiday season? What if you don’t want to stay with them, because they don’t have room or they drive you crazy? Not a problem. You can stay at Hyatt hotels, or a Starwood Property, Marriott, Wyndham, Choice Hotels, Sea Pines Resort, Hooters Casino Hotel, Atlantis Casino Resort & Spa, or one of many other fine locations.

What if you get sick with all the stress and germs that are in the air this time of year? No problem. HRchitect clients can help you such as Mayo Clinic, Kindred Healthcare, BJC Healthcare, Tenet, Texas Health Resources, Legacy Health System, Moses Cone Health System, California Pacific Medical Center, Austin Regional Clinic, Beth Israel Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and dozens more. No matter where you are, we are sure you can find a healthcare system that has relied on HRchitect.

You might also utilize an HRchitect client to get your oil, gas, electric or some other form of energy (either directly or indirectly) to keep you warm or get you where you need to go. Companies such as Aera Energy, Cenovus, Conoco Phillips, Baker Hughes, Oklahoma Gas and Energy, Peabody Energy, Regency Energy, Westar Energy, Pride International, or many others.

Let us not forget how you will communicate with loved ones this year. I can almost guarantee you will do that through a product or service from Sprint, AT&T, Motorola, Verizon, Virgin Mobile, Qwest Communications, T-Mobile, L3 Communications, or use that shiny new iPhone or iPad. You got it, all clients of HRchitect.

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. HRchitect clients are everywhere, every industry, and of every size. You can see some of them here.

If you are reading this and are one of our clients, we’d like to give thanks to you for making us the leading HR technology consulting firm. If you are not yet one of our clients, let’s talk as we would love to add you to the list and share our wonderful experiences with companies just like yours. Join our growing list of over well over 800 clients who made the decision to get the best risk insurance policy and peace of mind that any organization can buy.

HRchitect will help to ensure you select the right HR technology product (talent acquisition, talent management, workforce management, HR/payroll, etc.) for your unique needs and when you do get that right HR software product, we will make sure you get the most out of your investment by ensuring a sound implementation.

This leadership position you have helped us achieve is not to be taken lightly, and simply makes us strive to do more. Watch for some exciting blogs, reports, webinars, and WebMingles (our radio show) in the coming weeks and months.

2012 is going to be another very exciting year in this industry, and no doubt another very puzzling year in the world of HR technology. Don’t go it alone. Seriously. HR technology decisions are not to be taken lightly. In one way or another, they have an impact on your most important asset – your people! Utilize HRchitect’s services today and you will have the peace of mind you, your employees, and your company deserve.

To learn more about how HRchitect’s HR systems strategy, selection and implementation expertise visit www.HRchitect.com.

Happy Holidays!
Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Posted by mattlafata

Don’t Miss The Annual HCM Technology 2011 Recap/2012 Predictions From the Experts at HRchitect

December 2, 2011

The world of HR technology continues to puzzle many people. Fortunately, HRchitect, the industry’s leader in HCM technology consulting, is on its continuing and never-ending mission, to go where no one has gone before, and help make sense of it all.

If you do nothing else this December as it relates to the HR technology world, attend the annual special edition of the HR technology WebMingle with HRchitect on December 14 at 1pm Central Time. It is THE live event of the year that looks back on all the big events of 2011 AND looks forward to 2012 and the Integrated Talent Management (ITM) trends that matter to you.

While we certainly don’t have a crystal ball, we have been doing this long enough to know we have the pulse on the HCM community. This helps us to weed through all the hype to talk about what is really happening while keeping YOUR best interests at heart. Our leadership position and tenure in this industry brings with it an obligation to share our knowledge and thoughts with the community at large and we hope you can join us at this special event.

Listen as members of HRchitect, including Matt Lafata, President; Ron Hanscome, VP of HCM Systems Strategic Consulting, John Hinojos, VP of Consulting Services; Alex Tellez, VP of Implementation Services, and Rick Fletcher, VP and Founder, give their thoughts on a number of items facing us today. These include:

  • Recap of merger, acquisition and funding activity that took place throughout 2011
  • Market Dynamics
  • Evolution of ITM
  • Executing ITM
  • Assessing the Vendor Landscape
  • 2012 Predictions
  • …and more

Clear your schedule and don’t miss this event! Seriously, do it now. It’s THAT important! The registration link is below.

We’ll even have a great holiday gift for you – a fresh off the presses copy of our latest edition of our report, “Integrated Talent Management Technology Trends”.

To add this exciting FREE event to your calendar, please visit http://gurl.im/3ad12eG

To learn more about how HRchitect’s HR systems strategy, selection and implementation expertise visit www.HRchitect.com.
Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Posted by mattlafata

Pending Reschedule: Today’s HRchitect WebMingle with Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana Talking About IHRIM

September 15, 2011

Editor’s note:  Due to a last-minute scheduling conflict, IHRIM’s appearance on the HRchitect WebMingle is going to be rescheduled for a later date.  We’ll update this post when a new date has been confirmed.

 

The HRchitect WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The WebMingle has truly redefined how people get information about vendors, trends and really anything related to HR technology and we are very proud of that.

This week’s guests are Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana, representing IHRIM (International Association for Human Resources Information Management.

IHRIM was formed in 1980 from informal gatherings when HR and IT professionals found themselves needing mediators, IHRIM has become the world’s leading clearinghouse for the HRIM (Human Resource Information Management) industry. Today, IHRIM is a community of experts – a dynamic group of practitioners, vendors, consultants, students, and faculty that continues to grow, not just in numbers, but in its scope of knowledge and information.

Lynne Mealy currently serves as the President and CEO of IHRIM, inc., a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to education and inform its members on the use of HR information technology.   Lynne holds an MBA from Suffolk University and achieved her Human Resource Information Professional (HRIP) Certification from IHRIM in 2010.

Nov has been in the HR Technology arena for over 35 years.  He is known for his thought leadership, his understanding of combining and leveraging technology in new ways, and his strong knowledge of the vendor community surrounding HR technology.  His reputation is “connecting the dots” between technologies to create new solutions and solve business problems. Nov is currently on the International Human Resources Information Management (IHRIM) Board of Directors (Chairman), IHRIM Educational Foundation Board (Vice Chair), an advisor to the Oracle HR User Group Board (OHUG), ClearView Management Advisory Board, and EpicHR’s Advisory Board.  Nov also is a certified Human Resources Information Professional, HRIP, since 2010 and winner of the prestigious IHRIM Summit award in 2007.

Visit www.HRchitect.com/Knowledge/WebMingle to listen live today, September 15 at 2pm CST. If you missed any of our previous 80 or so WebMingles, you can also access them from that page.

We look forward to welcoming Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana to the HRchitect WebMingle and hope to have you join us as well.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on an upcoming WebMingle, please contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Posted by mattlafata

Don’t Miss Thursday’s HRchitect WebMingle with Dan Hilbert of OrcaEyes

September 1, 2011

The HRchitect WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The WebMingle has truly redefined how people get information about vendors, trends and really anything related to HR technology and we are very proud of that.

This week’s guest is Dan Hilbert, Founder and CEO of OrcaEyes.

OrcaEyes is the innovative leader in workforce planning an analytics. It’s unique ability to tie employee activity to business outcomes sets it apart in a the analytics and metrics market. Over the past year to 18 months, OrcaEyes has experience a surge in activity as more and more organizations look for ways to become more strategic in the way they manage their human capital and communicate workforce issues and impacts to business leaders. Today, OrcaEyes markets 3 unit products…SonarVision On Demand, a reporting tool for companies looking to get their feet wet in workforce planning, SonarVision Insights, it’s talent supply locator and research tool and, of course, SonarVision Enterprise for organizations ready to implement a full workforce planning and analytics software system. All of these can be found on their website at orcaeyes.com

Dan Hilbert founded OrcaEyes in 2007 with the vision of helping organizations run more efficiently and productively through the use of workforce intelligence and planning. Having been hailed as Visionary of Workforce Planning by HR Magazine and the Bill Gates of Recruiting by Jobster, Dan Hilbert is indeed a trailblazer in the world of workforce intelligence. He gained his impressive knowledge of recruiting and workforce impacts while serving as Manager of Global Recruiting at Valero where he managed the organization’s hiring processes as the company grew from $2 billion to $95 billion in revenue. He did so by combining his extensive knowledge and experience in supply chain management with workforce planning and strategy. He then productized his ideas and analytics to form OrcaEyes’ flagship product SonarVision and has since been the recipient of multiple awards from industry analysts and media outlets.

Visit www.HRchitect.com/Knowledge/WebMingle to listen live this Thursday, September 1 at 2pm CST. If you missed any of our previous 80 or so WebMingles, you can also access them from that page.

We look forward to welcoming Dan Hilbert with OrcaEyes to the HRchitect WebMingle and hope to have you join us as well.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on an upcoming WebMingle, please contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Posted by mattlafata

HCM Evaluation / Selection: Decision Drivers, Part III

August 18, 2011

This post is the third in a series discussing decision drivers for HCM Technology software selection. Decision drivers are key decision making criteria (beyond feature/function) that are the cornerstone of effective HCM technology selections. Parts I and II gave some definition to the eleven additional decision drivers commonly used by HRchitect in client engagements:

-Vendor Viability               -Package Usability        -Cost/ROI

-Technology                         -Ease of Integration/Interoperability

-Configurability                   -Scalability                      -Service & Support

-Business Segmentation   -Global Capability        -Operational Effectiveness

It is critical for the client project team to gain consensus on the relative priority of these drivers as early as possible in the selection process; doing so provides an “anchor” that will help keep project team members from being inordinately influenced by a particular package’s “bells and whistles.” Therefore, a decision drivers ranking exercise is one of the early stage deliverables in HRchitect’s selection methodology.

The ranking process generally takes place during a short series (generally 1-3) of on-site meetings or conference calls. Once the team understands what is included in each decision driver, the concept is to divide the twelve decision drivers into four main “levels” for consideration:

  • Exclude – these criteria are not at all relevant to the business (e.g., Global Capability may not apply to a US-only retail organization, scalability may not materially affect a midmarket company)
  • Level 1 (Knock-out) — these criteria are so critical that they drive whether or not a vendor is even sent an RFI or RFP (e.g., Technology requirement is for a SaaS vendor, vendor must have HCM revenues in excess of $100M)
  • Level 2 (RFI/RFP/Demo) – these criteria are best assessed by evaluating vendor written responses and by viewing product demonstrations. All criteria in this level are weighted, usually on a 100 point scale.
  • Level 3 (Due Diligence/Purchase) — due to the need for the team in this phase to uncover more detailed information via reference calls, detailed financial discussions, and other due diligence tasks, there may be some initial Knock-out criteria repeated here. This level is also weighted on a 100 point scale.

Here is a generic example of how a project team might rank the decision driver criteria:

Because ABC Company is based in the US, the project team excluded Global Capability from further consideration. Next, they determined the Knockout crtieria (high level, but specific enough to drive the vendors to be selected). Level 2 criteria focused mostly on the capabilities of the software itself, with allocation of 100 weighting points. Finally, Level 3 criteria were defined – note the return of Vendor Viability and Cost, as more specific information is now available as a result of due diligence activities; note also that a number of other decision drivers appear here, as a more accurate assessment can be made based on the results of customer references.

This approach is typical of the majority of decision driver ranking exercises that HRchitect does with clients, although the base process is often modified to include more or less detail per the desires of the client project team. The most important thing is that there is some form of decision driver ranking process conducted as a part of any HCM technology selection, and that it be completed early in the project in order to keep the team focused on the most important selection criteria based on the needs of the organization.

Please contact me if you have any questions on the decision driver process, or want to discuss this topic in more detail. You may also access the slidedeck from HRchitect’s Decision Drivers webinar here.

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Posted by Ron Hanscome

“Mixing Things Up” for Better Results

August 9, 2011

Two years ago (with just a little encouragement from my doctor during ye old annual physical) I took a hard look at where my vital signs were heading, factored in family history (my dad had a heart attack at age 52) and didn’t like the trends one bit. That inevitable “pound or two” per year had added up. Although I was always at least somewhat physically active, a busy travel schedule and meals on-the-go had taken their toll. Sound familiar? Well, I set a date for a follow-up appointment six months out, and swung into action. By making some fairly major adjustments to diet (reducing carbs, eating less processed food) and ramping up exercise (no, I did not do P90X – a little too Xtreme for me – who has an hour + per day to exercise?) I was able to shed 28 pounds by the time I saw Dr. Dryer again. I had broken the 200 lb barrier, and felt a lot better. I committed myself to losing the last 10 pounds or so to get to my goal weight of 185, figuring it would take another 3 months.

Fast forward to the summer of 2011. Despite a number of attempts and other programs, I still hovered around 195, and my body fat % was still significantly higher than I liked. I had hit that plateau point where it was very difficult to continue to make progress. Discouraging, to say the least. After checking out a number of different options, I settled on a six week program called Shapeshifter that focused on reducing body fat and building muscle by combining specific types of diet (low carb, slow carb, moderate carb, good carb, and even fasting) with different forms of exercise. The idea is that different types of exercise work better from a fat burning perspective, while others build muscle; by doing some form of exercise every day, but varying the type and duration, the body is much less likely to adapt and plateau. I’m currently on week 4 of the program and pleased with the results so far. I’m shooting to not only get rid of those pesky 10 pounds, but reduce my body fat by 10% as well by the end of the program.

So, what does this story have to do with HCM? Hopefully the analogy isn’t too much of a stretch…but I believe that many HR functions have gotten into a rut in terms of their programs, and doing the “same old, same old” is no longer getting results. Most organizations could stand to  mix things up – retire some programs, change others, introduce new ones — to deliver greater impact and drive better business results. Here are some specific areas you may want to take a look at:

  • Measurement — are you continuing to track the same old HR metrics? If so, you’ve fallen into the same trap that I did…focusing on a “standard” measure (weight) and ignoring others of equal or greater importance (body fat % and muscle mass). To shake things up, try this rule of thumb – around 70% of your metrics are common across all HR functions, 20% or so are relevant to your organization’s industry sector, and the remainder are unique to your firm. Look to measure some different things – perhaps develop a subset of metrics that will become a focus area for the next year. Experiment. Always try to link back to business results in some way. Become a “Data Freak” (see my previous post on the subject here).
  • Methodology — it usually doesn’t turn out very well to take semi-random actions according to what makes sense to you (remember that conventional wisdom is often wrong). I would not be reaching my body and fitness goals without a specific set of actions laid out by an expert resourceFind a process that is best fit for your HR function and organization, then adapt it to meet your unique needs.
  • Goal Setting — go for something big, with a specific timeframe and identified results (for example, how about increasing both user adoption and user satisfaction for your new career planning process to 90%+ by the end of 2011). Try to make a major difference, and use your measurement acumen to figure out how well you’ve done. Make sure your goal is visible (for accountability purposes) and tied to business results.
  • Effort — It will probably not be easy to mix things up. In fact, it’ll probably get really hard at some point. I was not a happy camper after the two solid weeks of low carb diet (needed to prime my system to burn fat instead of carbs). I was really not happy when they threw in intermittent fasting (including some 24 hour periods) combined with double exercise. But it’s amazing what can happen if you manage to keep your “eyes on the prize.”

If you’ve reached the point with your HCM processes and technology where results have hit a plateau, take heart! Take a shot at mixing things up…construct a thought experiment or two…and you may very well be on your way to improved business results!

If this strikes a chord with you, please let me know — I’d love to participate in any thought experiments you may have about how to make changes in your HCM function!

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Posted by Ron Hanscome

HCM Evaluation / Selection: Decision Drivers, Part II

August 5, 2011

At long last, here are the rest of the decision drivers that any organization undertaking an HCM software evaluation should consider. See part I for the descriptions of the first set of decision drivers (Vendor Viability, Package Usability, Cost/ROI, Ease of Integration/Interoperability,and Technology).

Package Configurability — This criteria addresses the ability of the software to make changes in application panels / pages, workflow, user-defined fields, and reporting without customization. How robust is the system administration “workbench” for end users, and how self-reliant can the client ultimately become from vendor resources? Prospects should assess the comprehensiveness of the configuration parameters for the system in order to determine how much of the system can be tailored to their requirements without impacting system upgrades. This criteria is predominantly assessed in the RFP/demo phases (ultimately by hands-on demonstration) and confirmed by reference calls.

Package Scalability — Does the software and vendor operational environment have the horsepower to meet the current and anticipated future processing volumes of your organization? Depending on the particular functionality being selected, specific measures range from requisition and applicant volumes to the number of worker records and user counts. Prospects should also look at the bandwidth of the vendor hosting center as well as the performance of the software to identify possible bottlenecks.

Service and Support — Of primary importance in this category is the breadth and quality of the vendor’s professional services offerings as well as the customer-facing support functions. Prospects should look at the size / tenure / hours of support staff, the vendor’s implementation methodology, and especially how vendor liability is defined within the service level agreement (e.g., issue escalation / resolution process). If the solution is hosted by the vendor, then another set of criteria must be weighed, including the hosting facility security (access to buildings, access to data, extent of background checks of staff), data backup and disaster recovery procedures, and compliance with prospect hosting site standards. Much of this information can be gathered during the RFP phase, but it is essential for vendor references to address these questions during the contracting / due diligence phase.

Business Segmentation — This decision driver refers to the degree to which the vendor’s software architecture can meet the prospect’s multi-company or multi-division requirements. A good example of this would be an organization where some regions require review and approval of performance appraisals by HR, while others require only manager and next level supervisor approval. Evaluation of this criteria should focus on how easily process nuances are accommodated in the application, and how process differences are tracked and monitored within the application. Some information on this can be gathered during the RFI/RFP process, but whether or not the software passes muster in this area is generally revealed during vendor demos and follow-up discussions as a part of due diligence.

Global Capability — As one might expect, this decision driver addresses the extent to which the vendor software supports multiple languages, currencies, and /or country-specific legislative and regulatory requirements. It is important to understand any future plans your organization may have for expanding into additional countries. Also included in this area are Safe Harbor Certification, data privacy regulations, data center requirements, and any country-specific legislative support (e.g., Sarbanes Oxley, Basel II, HIPAA). While statements of compliance can be gathered during the RFI/RFP phase, references from global customers are key to accurately determining the level of compliance.

Operational Effectiveness — Simply put, this driver assesses the impact the vendor application will have on the staffing and running of the HR function(s) covered by the software. To what extent will the system impact staffing (either reduction of those needed to administer the software, or reducing the need to add staff as the organization grows or adds more processes)? The best way to get an accurate assessment of operational effectiveness is via references of customers who have been using the vendor application for awhile (more than a year) in order to avoid anomolous feedback based on inexperience with the new software and/or processes.

So, now you have all the criteria that should be factored into an HCM evaluation. As stated previously, each one of these criteria can have a substantial impact on the success of your implementation, and it is important for your project team to agree on priorities BEFORE the vendors come in for the demo so that they are not inordinately swayed by application “bells & whistles.” But how?

Stay tuned for Part III, where I’ll outline the HRchitect methodology that helps clients gain internal consensus on the relative priority of these decision drivers. In the meantime, more information on this topic is available by accessing the slidedeck from HRchitect’s Decision Drivers webinar here.

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Posted by Ron Hanscome

What HR really needs is more “Freaks” – Data Freaks, that is…

August 1, 2011

by Ron Hanscome, VP HCM Systems Strategy Consulting

Well, it’s been a long time since my last post. The last six months at HRchitect have been incredibly busy with project work. Now that the dust has settled a bit, I’ll be sharing my perspective on what has happened in HCM technology in the first half of 2011 over the next few weeks.

One continuing trend over the past couple of years has been a renewed focus on workforce information management (WIM, aka HR Analytics, Workforce Analytics, etc.). Organizations are struggling to pull data from disparate systems and derive useful insights to drive the HR function and (hopefully) improved business results. While there are many challenges that HR  needs to resolve in order to execute WIM successfully (e.g., data cleansing/integrity procedures, enabling technologies, change management,  internal marketing), I want to focus your attention on perhaps the most  important critical success factor – those in HR responsible for WIM must have the  right mindset.

Two recent events have driven this to the forefront over the past two weeks. The  first was my wife picking up a copy of “Freakonomics,” at a local used book sale. This seminal 2005 work by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner is well  worth a re-read (or an initial read if you missed it the first time), as it is  a fascinating application of data analysis to such diverse topics as incentives  and cheating (by school teachers and sumo wrestlers, no less), the power of  information (using the Ku Klux Klan and real estate agents as comparators),  crime, and parenting.  The central point  of the book is this – knowing what to measure, and how to measure it, is the  key to modern life. The book also advocates a healthy skepticism of “experts” who emerge in a given situation who tend to bend facts to fit their version of  reality (thus helping sell their product, make themselves indispensible, etc.). The subjects addressed also illustrate the extent to which “conventional  wisdom” is faulty and must be challenged. Finally, Levitt and Dubner deliver a great primer on the complexity of analysis needed to move from merely identifying correlation (two elements are related to each other in some way) versus causality (one element drives another element or outcome); often this requires a significant set of accurate, clean data that has been accumulated over time.

The second event occurred during the recent SuccessConnection meeting in Chicago on Thursday July 21, delivered by SuccessFactors. In the midst of a number of interesting speakers, I particularly enjoyed the presentation by Peter Howes of SuccessFactors’ Inform division, which focuses on delivering analytics projects to the client base. To me, the most interesting of Peter’s client stories involved an analysis of the effectiveness of a specific employee referral program. Of course,  conventional wisdom in the recruiting function states that referrals are the source of the best quality candidates. In this case, the “first cut” review of average data revealed mediocre results for referrals, but more granular analysis indicated that all referrals are not created equal; those given by top performers were of much higher quality than those of medium or low performers.By correlating the performance ratings of the referring employee to the performance of the referred candidate, the organization was able to focus on the best referral sources. Peter used this example to illustrate the dangers of relying on averages (especially when benchmarking with other organizations) and the need to regularly dive to a more granular level of analysis in order to gain real insights from HR data.

How are these two disparate events “correlated?”  I believe that the fundamental principles outlined in “Freakonomics” – knowing what and how to measure, healthy skepticism of experts, challenging of conventional wisdom, and increasing the sophistication of analytical tools / techniques– need to be adopted by the HR function in order to improve the effectiveness of HR programs. In the end, the best starting point for making the needed changes is embodied in the book’s closing pages (206):

The most likely result of having read this book is a simple one; you may find yourself asking a lot of questions. Many of them will lead to nothing. But some will produce answers that are interesting, even surprising.

My challenge to you is twofold – first, give Freakonomics a fresh look. It’s a quick read and manages to deliver a lot of learning in a very entertaining manner. Second, become an HR “Data Freak” by asking questions – lots of questions – and let the data lead you to the answers and insights that are valuable to your organization. Don’t accept conventional wisdom at face value – dig deeper.  Remember that data cited by others can be manipulated, so always push for context and assumptions and be alert for hidden agendas.  View high-level aggregate benchmarks with suspicion; instead, get your HR data to a place where you can “go granular” to gain greater insights. Not only will your job become a lot more interesting, but you are likely to dramatically increase the value of HR information to your organization (and your own value as well). In my opinion, HR desperately needs more “Data Freaks” – will you be one of them?

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Posted by Ron Hanscome

Don’t Miss Today’s HRchitect WebMingle with Derek Irvine of Globoforce

July 21, 2011

The HRchitect WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The WebMingle has truly redefined how people get information about vendors, trends and really anything related to HR technology and we are very proud of that.

Today’s guest is Derek Irvine, Vice-President of Strategy and Consulting Services with Globoforce.

Founded in 1999, Globoforce is the world’s leading provider of SaaS-based employee recognition solutions. Through its social and global technology, Globoforce helps HR and business leaders elevate employee engagement, increase employee retention, manage company culture, and discover the power of real-time performance management. Today, more than 1.7 million employees across the world are living their company values and achieving peak performance through the Globoforce platform. A private corporation, Globoforce is co-headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland. To learn more, please visit www.globoforce.com or the Company’s blog at http://globoforce.com/globoblog.

Derek Irvine is a thought leader at Globoforce.  Prior to Globoforce he’s worked in management consulting for PA Consulting Group, also in international marketing, with Johnson & Johnson and Jameson Irish Whiskey.  An authority on employee engagement and recognition, he last year co-authored a book “Winning with a Culture of Recognition”. He blogs frequently at his blog Recognize this!

Visit www.HRchitect.com/Knowledge/WebMingle to listen live today Thursday, July 21 at 2pm CST. If you missed any of our previous 80 or so WebMingles, you can also access them from that page.

We look forward to welcoming Derek Irvine with Globoforce to the HRchitect WebMingle today and hope to have you join us as well.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on an upcoming WebMingle, please contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

Leave a Comment » | HCM, HR technology, Human Capital Management, Talent Management | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by mattlafata

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