Creative Chaos Consultant

Finance, PR/Marketing, and Internal Communication has been covered thus far in this HR 101 series of posts. While all are worthwhile, this next topic is of paramount importance to any organization. It's time to discuss Law.

As you'll see, I've not given our guest contributor, Joan Ginsberg, any questions to answer. Prior to her participation, we spoke over the phone and her agenda was so well thought out that the idea of guiding the discussion via a question-and-answer session seemed pointless. Joan knows her stuff; further, she knows how HR pros can be better at working with lawyers and within the legal landscape.

So without further delays, let's have Joan start, okay?

Everyone who is a human resources practitioner in the United States has their professional life impacted by employment law. In fact, the smaller your HR department and company, the larger your direct role in legal compliance probably is. Even VPs of HR, whose entire job may be to determine strategic initiatives, don’t move without considering if those initiatives are legal.

So how does HR learn the law and become the company employment law guru? How can HR use existing employment law – often seen as a liability – as a leveraging tool for positive change?

Each one of those questions require a lot of words to discuss and answer in any meaningful way, so there will be a full blog post devoted to each topic.

HR and LAW – Part 1

People just don’t play together nicely sometimes. That’s why laws exist. Think of your company’s internal “laws” – the rules, policies, and procedures. Why do you even have them? You have them because the long history of the human race shows us that people, as a species, can’t always be trusted to behave the way they should. Laws and rules are based on evidence of bad behavior. Back in the Industrial Age, when the USA was moving from an agrarian society into an industrial/commercial giant, employers were not playing fair. So state and federal legislators began requiring or prohibiting certain behavior from the employer. And that legislative push is not stopping anytime soon, because people – and the companies they run – are still not always good sandbox buddies. So my first rule for the HR practitioner who wants to be legally compliant (and keep their company out of expensive employment law trouble) is:

PLAY NICELY AND BEHAVE

Change your organization's behavior if you need to; don’t force lawyers to make you treat your employees fairly.

It’s too late to make that your total strategy, though, because there are already tons and tons of laws on the books that you have to adhere to, no matter how nicely you are playing today. This means that you actually have to KNOW some law, as much as it may hurt. But how do you get that legal knowledge?

Many HR departments are totally dependent on counsel, either outside or in-house. I’m not against that strategy (I am, after all, a lawyer), but I don’t recommend an attorney as your exclusive source of legal knowledge unless your company is large enough to have in-house employment/labor counsel (more on this subject in a minute). For most HR practitioners, and particularly for those HR Generalists working in a solo environment, I say:

GET A MANUAL

You heard me. Get a comprehensive manual that is written (1) by lawyers in your state, (2) for an organization that represents businesses, (3) is updated at least every two years, and (4) covers both state and federal laws. Yes, they are usually a little pricey, but they are far cheaper than calling outside counsel every time you have a question. If you have in-house employment counsel, go borrow theirs, because I guarantee you they have one.

I can’t recommend a specific manual because you need one that covers your own state as well as federal law. I’m located in Michigan, and I prefer the manuals published by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce (The Employment Law Handbook), and the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (Employment Law in Michigan, An Employer’s Guide). No one paid me to say that.

I don’t recommend doing legal research on the web, because the information is far flung and often informal, and you need to ask a really pointed, specific question to gain anything valuable. It also takes a long time to sift through all of the noise. Use the manual first, and then supplement the details on the web if you need to. If you insist on using the web, try the official government site for the bureau that monitors the specific law, like the federal Department of Labor.

Unfortunately, a manual is only going to go so far. It will give you some sound guidelines for your company behavior and requirements, but there may be issues or specific problems that need a more knowledgeable take, because I know you are not going to memorize that entire manual. So dealing with an attorney is not only inevitable, but often desirable. I have words of caution on this subject, though:

GET AN ATTORNEY WHOSE WORK YOU LOVE

Most people and companies spend far more time agonizing over what type of computer to buy than what type of legal services to buy. If you have actually used your manual and have some knowledge of the law, buying your legal service will become an easier task. Repeat that: YOU are the buyer. Your company pays the attorney, and they provide service to you. If you are not happy with that service – CHANGE IT. It’s a lot easier than changing your HRIS.

Here are some of my feelings about the type of lawyer to hire (both in-house and outside counsel):

• Find an employment/labor law specialist. Don’t hire or use your cousin just because they are cheap and available.

• Find a “can do” attorney. One of the biggest complaints of HR pros is that the attorney always tells them what they CAN’T do, instead of helping them DO it properly. It’s an entirely valid complaint. Yes, there are attorneys who help companies find a solution, instead of always telling them “don’t”, or “you can’t”. They’re out there – look harder.

• Have a voice in hiring your labor/employment attorney. This may be the most critical component of all. If you need someone to help YOU with your human resources legal compliance, why would YOU let someone else decide who that person is going to be? You would not let someone else take away your decision on other HR resources to purchase or use. Don’t do it with this most valuable of all your resources.

Thanks Joan for the great advice. And for the readers out there be on the lookout for Part II-coming soon!

Good day class; it's time for another 'HR 101' lesson!

So far we've discussed two subjects-Finance and PR/Marketing. The Finance posts (part 1, part 2) showed how money keeps the business vibrant, while PR/Marketing demonstrated the importance of proper brand management. Both topics are important so I'm going to ask that you refresh your memories by re-visiting them again in the near future. Learning is for a lifetime, remember?

Today's post is about internal communication. Our guest contributor, Fran Melmed (from context communication consulting) will conduct today's class. And I can tell you, it's going to be a good one!

Let's cut straight to the chase-Why is internal communication so important?

I’ll cut right back: Do you want your employees to be with you?

Sassy. Please describe some of the components of successful communication strategies.

A successful communication strategy needs to identify what you’re trying to accomplish (objectives); whom you’re trying to reach (audience); what you want them to think, feel, or do differently (messages); how you’re going to reach them (medium); and most important, how you’re going to know whether you successfully accomplished what you set out to do (measurement). The answers to these questions will differ from organization to organization, but these elements should be part of every communication strategy for any communication effort.

How is this different from Public Relations or Marketing, aside from the target audience?

Personally, I wonder if the lines are blurring, and not only between PR and internal communications, but between PR and marketing. We’re all after more dialogue, more sustained relationships, more connection. What about mashing up those responsible for internal and external communications with HR?!

Corporate communication strategies are usually driven from the top and filtered downward. Is this the best method?

There are some instances where it’s absolutely necessary for strategy and implementation to come from the top. Think of mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and other cases where information is tightly held due to legal reasons. In cases like these, communication really needs to filter downward as information is able to be shared. (Note: I am not saying there should be no communication! When things are in transition—in ways that have a direct impact on employees—companies can and should communicate what’s known, what’s not known, what can’t be communicated and why, where to go with questions, etc.) But there’s no reason not to incorporate methods to encourage and facilitate dialogue. Here you’d have strategy, developed at the top, identifying and using a method to foster multi-directional communication.

To achieve this, you need internal folk weighing in at some point. That can take lots of different forms. I’ve held corporate positions in HR and corporate communication, as well as consulting positions in communication and talent and organizational change at Hewitt. And I’ve been an independent communication consultant for more than seven years. Budget, available resources, and political realities all play a role in how work gets done.

Where does social media (SoMe) fit into this conversation?

Much as there’s lots of chatter among HR folk about the use of social media, communication professionals are also chattering. You’ll hear some wax euphoric about the tools at the same time as you hear some decry this enthusiasm.

I’ll be frank. With just over one year’s experience, I’m relatively new to social media. I’m still playing, learning, doing. What I do believe is that social media can help communication professionals achieve what we’ve been determined to do for a long time: move past delivering information to effecting the desired behavior change. With the social media tools available to us now, I think we can become facilitators versus doers. I personally think that’s exciting; I also believe it’s frightening to others. I equate it to the conversations HR has about being strategic versus being tactical. These conversations continue long past the point of being healthy or productive and, in the end, keep us from doing the work.

I think the only way to understand how social media fits into the conversation is to try it out and determine that for yourself.

Let's talk some more about your idea of communication pros becoming "facilitators versus doers." What does that state of being look like?

It’s about providing the tools that drive conversations to help the business, whether that’s R&D, finding talent, or finding motivation to lose weight or quit tobacco. For instance, I'm working with a client who's going to pilot a blogtalkradio show to help volunteer employee wellness champions learn from one another. They started with an online discussion forum and are expanding from there. We are also exploring adding commenting and rating to their online wellness success stories, as well as personal stories submitted by employees about their efforts and achievements.

If communications is a separate function from HR, how should they work together to achieve the common goal? Who should own the message?

That’s a good question. Placement of the HR Corp Comms function has been a longstanding discussion. Should communication professionals who support HR be in HR? Should they be in corporate communication? Again, I’m not sure there’s one “right” answer here—as long as there’s integration and communication between the functions. Truly, I think there needs to be joint ownership. I see HR and employee communications folk as two sides of the same coin. We are there to serve the business and to do it through one of its main differentiating components: its people.

One thing that could make us work more effectively together is to respect what we each deliver. I’ve partnered with benefits and talent consultants (internal and external) for many years, so I’ve a fairly good grasp on these subject areas. That does not mean I’m a subject matter expert in any of them, and I know that. I need to spend my time staying a subject matter expert in what I do: communication. It’s important to understand that we each have our areas of focus and expertise. They complement one another—but neither of us can adequately do the others job.

Humor me here. I need to throw in this plug: The communication function must be involved at the design phase. They’ll ask the questions that’ll raise consideration for how the new initiative, tool, what-have-you will be used within the organization. They’ll hone in on the barriers to success and identify solutions that HR may not see. They’ll ask about what change you want to see and how you can measure it, so you can go back and prove your value to the business. It’s a bit of myopia that comes with being the designer; you stop seeing the potential problems because you’re simply too close.

What resources are available for understanding, crafting, and implementing great communication strategies?

On the surface, this may be a simple question. I feel like I’m going to over-complicate it. To be good at what we do, communication folk—again, like HR—need to be knowledgeable in several different dimensions: our craft, behavioral economics, and business.

I can tell you some books I like, old and new: Nudge, Communicating for Change, Grown Up Digital, Predictably Irrational, Managing Transitions. I can also share a list of organizations that provide resources and networks for communication professionals in their early or more experienced career days: IABC, Ragan, Melcrum, the Arthur W. Page Society, and Council of Communication Management, to name a few. (Disclosure: I’m currently on the board of Council of Communication Management).

Obviously, lots of great folk are out there doing the work. Twitter’s been a boon for me in terms of introducing me to people nationally and internationally who are interested in and passionate about internal communications. I haven’t created any Twitter lists yet, but more and more communication-related lists are popping up. You can also follow most of the organizations I just named and search “internal communications.”

Then there’s getting out there and trying things out, as I mentioned earlier related to social media. There’s just no way to understand, craft, and implement great communications these days without knowing how social media works and could contribute to what you’re trying to accomplish.

Finally, there’s knowing your craft. Then there’s knowing the business—and business, in general. You can’t devise and implement great communications without this knowledge. The conversations you have in HR—and that I’ve followed on Twitter, HR Happy Hour, and elsewhere—are not unlike the conversations we have. To be valuable to the business, we need to understand the business. Communication folk could really benefit from reading your HR 101-Finance series, enrolling in finance and business classes, and carving out the time to talk with finance and line folk.

There's a lot of discussions going on about the state of HR. Some are outside opinions but most are generated from HR professionals questioning the future of what we do. It's enough to think that we have an inferiority complex. I think a little self reflection is a good thing so I encourage you to check out the interweb and join in the discussion.

My opinion will be brief-HR should be about art, not business.

Artists create bodies of work with little or no obvious monetary value. They often work against unpopular opinions of who they are or what they do. Their relationship with their business partners (e.g., patrons, art institutions, government agencies) and the public are often less than ideal, if not downright antagonistic. Most die under-appreciated and it's only afterward that they may become recognized for their contributions.

Sound familiar?

So my challenge to you is this-make your work an artistic endeavor. Let other people's perception take a backseat to your certainty that you're creating something of value (monetary and otherwise). Time and perspective will be the best judge.

And to get you further motivated here's a personal favorite of mine when I need to stay motivated (hat tip to Crystal Peterson and Kris Dunn for the inspiration):