[MUSIC] At the onset of our course together, I'd like to share six helpful tips that guided me in my many years in human resources. I'm was really fortunate to have some wonderful mentors that gave me creative advise. And some of this is just tried and true tips, I guess. That I used when I worked in HR. So, really helpful things that helped guided me and I hope they help you as well. Years ago I heard the phrase, hire slowly, fire quickly. And I have to say, it stuck with me. It stuck with me for a few reasons, one, it's a catchy little phrase. But number two, it's also something that I found in my years of experience working in HR to really be descriptive of what you need to do in employment. So here's what it means. It means take the time upfront to find the right person. It doesn't mean unnecessarily hiring slowly but we shouldn't rush the process. To often we try and rush to get someone to fill an open spot and we don't take the time to make sure we're getting someone with the right knowledge, skills, abilities competencies, cultural fit, whatever it is. Do we even know as an organization what job we're hiring for? Maybe we don't have to hire at all. In this course, we're going to look at options, for instance, to fill a labor shortage that don't necessarily require bringing on a new employee. So hire slowly, fire quickly. It means, we need to make smart decisions from the beginning. And by the way, just to be sure, so it's clear, fire quickly doesn't mean be risky and take chances or do anything illegal or discriminatory. It means that when we realize we don't have the right fit, we don't hold on to that employee indefinitely. We acknowledge the lack of fit, which is often good for both the organization and that employee. Moving forward in this course, we will examine how to tie our corporate strategy to our recruitment and selection processes. It is the theme of the class. This means, you really have to have a good handle on your company strategy and a foundational understanding of the organization's environment, internally and externally. So ask yourself. Can you speak the language of your business? How do you make money? Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? Could you tell me your revenue goals? Your efficiency goals. What does each function do and how are these systems interdependent? I personally feel it's very helpful to partner with finance. Have a contact in finance so when you are working a new program or whatever it is, you can see from another perspective. You can have a good dialogue with a coworker, and learn the processes of the organization outside of your own department. Higher for your weaknesses. Well, my weakness is cookies. But what I really mean that, as a manager, HR professional, whoever you are in business, you need to determine what is the gap between your current state and your desired state. And then you hire for that. So maybe it's a personal gap in terms of. For instance, if you're someone who's very visionary and creative, but details aren't your thing. Then don't hire someone just like you. Hire for the thing you don't do well. Again, if it's a team. Is there a shortage that you have in terms of a competency on your team? Hire to fill that competency void. Look to learn from others. Acknowledge what you don't know. Build networks. But then I say, don't reinvent the wheel if you need to create a program or a process. because you can spend a lot of time doing a ton of research that someone's already done. And so, if you have networks, you can turn to these people within your network and say, hey have you ever encountered this problem before? Have you ever created a balanced score card before? How do you do these things? And so you have a lot of people, if you build these networks who can help be your mentors. So I owe a lot to the people in my companies and in my profession who gave me terrific insight and guidance. I joined local organizations. I joined national organizations within HR. There are some wonderful, great resources out there for HR, like The Human Capital Institute, The Society for Human Resource Management, and I'm going to provide links for you as well. I use these, actually all the time. But don't forget to pay it forward and serve as someone else's mentor too one day. In the last segment of this course, I discussed how we can move from metrics tracking simple dashboard numbers to analytics. Actually using information to provide insight. So, this tip is something that goes hand in hand with technology. Not only will backing your decisions with data make you more credible, it's just helps you make better decisions. Okay. So, here's my last tip. Tip number six. Set people up for success. And I often say, set people up for success not failure. Have you ever started with a company and no one knew you were coming that day? They didn't have your desk ready, your computer. That can be really frustrating. But it happens a lot and not only do those things may keep of you unwelcome, they can effect turnover and long term job satisfaction. Now, not having your computer isn't great. Not having a computer ready isn't great, but making sure that we set people up for success goes beyond basic office needs. Of course it starts by making sure you have the right person in the right job, that's number one. But really analyzing what tools, resources, information that people need and giving it to them is critical. Analyze this in advance. What does it take to be successful and then act? For instance, if the new hire needs to work closely with another division, set up a meeting, be proactive, make introductions. Help facilitate the new person's transition. Here's another one that's often missed. The language of a company. Wouldn't it be helpful if you gave a new higher list of acronyms so they know what people are talking about right away? The language of an organization can be very confusing. Help set people out for success from the very beginning.
