HR

Happy 2010! Made Top 10 Listened-to Podcast List at “The Proactive Employer”

December 27, 2010
Thumbnail image for Happy 2010! Made Top 10 Listened-to Podcast List at “The Proactive Employer”

Thanks to Stephanie Thomas for the generous mention in her special installment of The Proactive Employer podcast featuring clips from the 2010′s 10 most-listened-to shows.   I’m featured in a clip from the installment on investigating workplace complaints.

Read the full article →

Employers Be Warned: Investigating Employee Complaints

November 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Employers Be Warned: Investigating Employee Complaints

If you are interested in hearing about the top 2 areas of vulnerability for employers — the important reason you DO want to deal with”petty drama” and — the key to avoiding the fallout of employee complaints, then listen to this installment of Stephanie Thomas’s “The Proactive Employer: podcast. Stephanie and I discuss three kinds of workplace complaints…

Read the full article →

Part 3: Relate More Humanly at Work – the Role of Leaders and HR

November 10, 2010
Thumbnail image for Part 3: Relate More Humanly at Work – the Role of Leaders and HR

If  I could create an HR function from scratch…
[Adapted from original post, July 14, 2010]

My first thought would be to clarify what purpose the organization wants HR to serve. Fair or not, organization members have expectations that if HR is in your title, you are expected to do your work in a Human way. [...]

Read the full article →

Part 2: Relate More Humanly at Work – the Role of Leaders and HR

November 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for Part 2: Relate More Humanly at Work – the Role of Leaders and HR

What will HR professionals and organizational leaders need to do differently to adopt “different ways of relating” at work?
[Adapted from original post, July 14, 2009]
First, start with your relationship with yourself. It is easy for me to say, “Remember Human Resources are Human,” and then align all of your behaviors, attitudes and communications with [...]

Read the full article →

Part 1: Relate More Humanly at Work – the Role of Leaders and HR

November 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for Part 1: Relate More Humanly at Work – the Role of Leaders and HR

[Adapted from original post, July 14, 2009]
What I want to say first is that there are a number of Human Resources professionals out there who are committed to carrying out their jobs in an expert, efficient, human and caring manner. These are people, who, when faced with a seeming conflict in what is right for [...]

Read the full article →

Managers: Is it Worth it to Deal With the “Petty Drama”?

August 6, 2010
Thumbnail image for Managers: Is it Worth it to Deal With the “Petty Drama”?

Hello Friends and Colleagues. I know I haven’t written in a while.
The good news is that I have had a busy and productive summer coaching new managers on their exciting new role and training managers to develop the skills to effectively coach their employees. I also took time for some much-needed R&R in [...]

Read the full article →

Yes to Unvarnished Truth, No to “Unvarnished”

April 13, 2010
Thumbnail image for Yes to Unvarnished Truth, No to “Unvarnished”

I’m going to play my 2-year-old self today.  “No-no-no-no-NO.”  What brought that on?  Hearing the proposal for a new website called “Unvarnished.”  It allows for employees to be reviewed anonymously, for the world to see, with no way of removing a negative review.
Like the sites RateMyProfessors or RateMDs, the intention is to reflect a [...]

Read the full article →

Relate More Humanly at Work: The Role of Leaders and HR

July 14, 2009
Thumbnail image for Relate More Humanly at Work: The Role of Leaders and HR

[Re-released Dec. 19, 2009]
If you have seen my interview with Freedom Fighter, Joe Gerstandt, you know that Joe and I have agreed to exchange interview questions regularly. Here’s the latest.

Joe: What experiences in your HR career led you to focus on a “different way of relating” at work?
Mary: What I want to say first [...]

Read the full article →

Interview with a Freedom Fighter

June 29, 2009
Thumbnail image for Interview with a Freedom Fighter

All that time on Twitter is paying off! I recently connected with Joe Gerstandt, self-described Keynote Speaker, Workshop Facilitator and Freedom Fighter; Blogger of: Inclusion/ Leadership/ Innovation/ Culture; Father, Question-Asker, Freak Flag-Flier, and the other Beastie Boy.
Joe got my attention when he immediately got what my work is about (after all, it [...]

Read the full article →

Why “Making People Feel Good” at Work isn’t the Answer

April 20, 2009
Thumbnail image for Why “Making People Feel Good” at Work isn’t the Answer

“…Unfortunately, HR is mired in legalese, labor law, and in a general belief that their role is to make people happy and feel good, no matter what the business reality might indicate;” From the article, “Chief Talent Officer 2020,” by Kevin Wheeler.
The highlighted portion really triggered a button in me.  I think because it’s often [...]

Read the full article →