Thought Leadership

HR Professionals Create Something!

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I’m passionate about my profession! I want us to be the best we can be at all times. I’m tired of hearing negative stories because we provide poor customer service, our processes are antiquated or we’re incompetent. I want HR professionals to create something. Group-think is overrated and obsolete. Thinking like everyone else in your HR department will garner you a boring life every day you go to work.

Whether you’ve been in the same position for eons or you’re new to HR think of something new to do. Or think of a way to improve your organizations current HR practices and procedures. HR is vital to every organization so doing the same thing the same way for decades doesn’t cut the mustard.

You (your organization) will be as effective as your last invention. If 2010 was the last time your HR department implemented something new, shame on you (your organization). With all of the HR organizations, conferences, magazines etc. that exists there is no reason 2010 should be the last time your organization implemented something new. Technology, analytics, and software are constantly so no HR department can afford to be seven years behind the curve.

In her blog post All About ‘Experiments’ HR professional Ankita Poddar provides the definition of the word experiment and gives a step-by-step how to so you can conduct your own experiment. HR professionals need to conduct experiments on their current practices and processes. Looking at the same thing from a different perspective can provide insight that will improve what you’re already doing. My fellow HR professionals create something!

If you have questions about this and more please contact me at corjoejen@yahoo.com and http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cornell-jenkins/11/476/897/

Self-Care Part 2

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In this second post on self-care I’m going to keep my word and address the emotional and physical health of the employee.

Society as a whole rarely engages in conversations about emotional health. You may not know but anxiety, shyness, and stress are related to our emotional health. This is what the American Psychological Association says about emotional health:

Emotional health can lead to success in work, relationships and health. In the past, researchers believed that success made people happy. Newer research reveals that it’s the other way around. Happy people are more likely to work toward goals, find the resources they need and attract others with their energy and optimism — key building blocks of success.

We see that emotional health can lead to personal and professional success.

I can’t stress enough the affect that life-changing events have on our emotional health. Life-changing events such as: the birth of a child, the loss of a loved one, being recently married or divorced, starting or returning to school as an adult student, going back to work after a long absence, etc. Any of these events can cause someone to go into a downward spiral because of the stress they place on an individual. As a society we need to pay more attention to our emotional health.

You can’t go anywhere and not be reminded about your physical health. You could be watching television and a commercial comes on advertising a weight loss program or gym membership. When you go to the grocery store there are sections dedicated to healthy foods. If you go to a sandwich shop many of them offer baked or kettle chips instead of fried chips. As a society we are very conscious about our physical health.

As a human being I want you to be very conscious about your mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health. Remember, your productivity or lack thereof is dependent upon your health.

If you have questions about this and more please contact me at corjoejen@yahoo.com and http://www.linkedin.com/pub/cornell-jenkins/11/476/897/

Self-Care Part 1

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I intended to write one post about health issues but I realized I was trying to squeeze too much information into one post. However, self-care is an important issue and desirous of two posts.  As human beings we don’t take care of ourselves the way we should.  Overall those of us that live in first-world countries have better health than those that live in third-world countries.  That being said those of us that live in first-world countries can take better care of ourselves than we currently do.

Are you healthy?  Whether it’s personal or professional your productivity or lack thereof is dependent upon your health.  As a Human Resources (HR) professional my concern is for you, the employee.  Every HR professional knows their organization can’t function at a high level if the well-being of their employees is neglected.  A healthy employee is a productive employee.

In the United States (U.S.) many times when people talk about overall health they don’t always include mental, spiritual, and emotional health.  In this post I’m going to address the mental and spiritual aspects of one’s health. In the next post I’ll address the emotional and physical aspects of one’s health.

Twenty to thirty years ago mental health was not as big of an issue in the U.S. as it is today. With the increase in mass shootings and other societal issues mental health has become the topic of many conversations.  These conversations have and are taking place in a broad range of places, from HR departments to state legislatures to Capitol Hill.

It is important for employers to pay attention to the mental health of their employees. As a general health concern you and I should also pay attention to our mental health.  The American Psychological Association says depression is the most common mental disorder.

In the workplace we shy away from conversations about religion or a person’s spiritual health.  When talking about spiritual health we don’t necessarily have to talk about organized religion. I’m aware that everyone doesn’t believe in organized religion and as an HR professional it’s not by responsibility to suggest or recommend that anyone believe in organized religion.  As an HR professional I’m suggesting that you be cognizant about the spiritual aspect of your being.  There are many ways to take care of the spiritual aspect of your being.  Choose which way best suites you.  We should pay as much attention to our spiritual health as we do our physical health.

Your mental and spiritual health is just as important as your physical health. Self-care is the most important care anyone can receive.  If you don’t take care of yourself who will?

If you have questions about this and more please contact me at corjoejen@yahoo.com and www.linkedin.com/pub/cornell-jenkins/11/476/897/

Management and Unions Can Get Along

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Contrary to popular belief it is possible for management and unions to get along. The relationship between the two doesn’t always have to be contentious. The most important thing in this relationship is respect. If management and union leaders have respect for each other the rest is downhill, theoretically.

Management and unions don’t innately distrust each other. However there is always a level of distrust until one side earns the trust of the other. The only way the management-union relationship can be healthy is if everyone in leadership is willing to listen to what the other side has to say. Regardless of how important an issue may be if you’re not willing to listen then there’s no use in the other person talking.

This is where respect comes in. No one is going to take you seriously if they don’t respect you. In the workplace respect is the only collateral you have. Once you’ve lost the respect of someone it’s difficult to regain it. The management-union relationship is one of those relationships where a lack of respect can have long-lasting repercussions.

If management doesn’t respect union leadership the day-to-day issues of rank-and-file union members could be very difficult. Simple things like taking lunch, using leave, working overtime etc. can be problematic. On the other hand union leadership needs to be clear that obtaining the trust of management should be one of their top priorities. Many union members don’t understand or care that their actions can affect the management-union relationship.

Over the years I’ve watched management make decisions that were not favorable to unions. When union representatives clamored about the decision, management cited the actions of certain union members. I’ve talked to union representatives and they’ve said some of their members don’t care how management views them.

This attitude is fine if these employees weren’t affecting the lives of others. As with any group of people you always have those that only care about themselves. Likewise, management has to deal with some managers putting a strain on the management-union relationship. There are some managers that don’t care if the management-union is contentious or not.

Trying to obtain or maintain a good management-union relationship and keeping selfish employees in line is a balancing act. This balancing act can be accomplished when both sides respect each other and keep the lines of communication open.

If you have questions about this post and more please contact me at corjoejen@yahoo.com and www.linkedin.com/pub/cornell-jenkins/11/476/897/

Jessup, MD 301-466-6411 corjoejen@yahoo.com By appointment only.
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