There have been many times in my life that I need to apologize for. Too many to fit in a blog. The ones that I made at work… some of them… were really bad and I think about them often. I was just on a work call where a colleague said “the quiet part… out loud!” That means that he said what was on his mind without thinking first, that stirred me to say… if I have made anyone feel badly… if due to my actions, words, or both… I am truly sorry. It dawns on me that I have hurt many people, it’s not woke to say… I have behaved badly, poorly, in the past and I feel horrible about it and beat myself up about it often.
BTW, it’s not his fault that he said what he did. This isn’t about him. It’s about me and how what I have done, or not done… may impact others.
So, no matter what I did. Recognize, that I am paying my penance every day. I try to live my life better, by being nicer, volunteering my time, and donating blood and to charities. Also, I am trying not to be as selfish as I have been in the past. I am trying.
Words are sometimes hollow. That’s why I am trying to live the words, not just type or say them.
So, if I have wronged you, know that I am trying to be better and I am trying to change.
It fills my heart with joy watching Oliver and his newly adopted brother, Ripley, playing. They are a match made in heaven. One, a larger than life puppy and a large dog who thinks he’s a small puppy.
From the moment they first fought, they set each other straight how this relationship would work. They cuddle, share the same crate (after I bought a new one for the addition), share food, and sleep so nicely together.
The two of them are usually inseparable. It’s a beautiful thing to see.
Yesterday, they played a bit too rough and Oliver got hurt. Ripley felt bad and immediately rushed to Oliver’s aid.
In a few minutes, all better.
It’s so beautiful to have these two amazing souls in our lives. Huge thank you to Pug Rescue of New England.
This has not been a great month for me. Let’s just say that things have not been going well. Then the heat hit. Yes, it is summer, but because I live in an old house. Heat seemingly gets trapped here, especially at dusk.
Last night, a nightmare scenario. Got back from only 1 hour away from the house and returned to find the house hotter inside than outside. What makes this a problem is that my dog was in his crate and doesn’t care that there is a fresh water bottle there for him to drink. He didn’t.
When i let him out of the crate, he took 3 wobbly steps and passed out on his face. It was incredibly scary. Immediately, I brought him upstairs to my bedroom which has AC. BUT, the AC wasn’t on yet and the room was HOT. I put on the overhead fan… nothing helped.
So, I brought him to the shower and gave him a luke warm shower. He HATES the water, but couldn’t fight me. He got out of the shower and fell face-first into the floor. I dried him off and brought him to the bed and never left his side.
Later, I knew he was ok because he wouldn’t let me stop holding him. He wasn’t panting as much now, but coughing weakly sometimes. We fell asleep and I prayed he would wake up in the morning.
We awoke and he was fine. Back to his old self. I am going to keep him with me all day in the AC and never leave his side. If I leave today, I will put him and his crate in the office which has the AC.
For as horrible a month that it has been, nothing could have made it worse than losing my best friend and companion… Oliver. Thank goodness you are ok.
I have been a fan of Marillion’s since I heard their popular love ballad “Kayleigh” in 1985. Ever since, I have lived for each new release. While they never really reached a broad following, several of their releases were significant musical accomplishments. Not until this week (3/12/2022), did they achieve the UK Chart Ranking as high as Clutching at Straws in 1987. Kayleigh’s Misplaced Childhood hit number 1 in 1985. But that’s a lifetime ago.
An Hour Before It’s Dark achieved a ranking of #2. For many the Marillion fans like me, it is shocking that their work, in the Steve Hogarth era hasn’t been more popular. Then again, progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Rush, always fought for success and shunned pop songs in favor of fan pleasers. Yes, many progressive rock groups published “pop songs.” Genesis found a ton of success with many poppy treats. However, Marillion has mostly held true their prog roots. This album is NO deviation. Yes, there are tunes to rock out to. Yes, there is some preachiness, but… WE just survived a global pandemic. We are also still in the midst of a climate crisis. Argue amongst yourselves and then get over it.
The standouts on this album (my opinion), are Murder Machines, Be Hard on Yourself, and Care. They are powerful, emotional and moving pieces of music. Bop, sing and cry lately? In the same song? Try NOT crying during Murder Machines. Watch the video and tell me that the imagery that your love could have caused a loved one to perish due to COVID transmission. I dare you!
I put my arms around her
I put my arms around her
I put my arms around her
And I killed her with love
I killed her
Marillion, An Hour Before It’s Dark – Murder Machines (2022)
Be Hard on Yourself is preachy, yes. But, the heart of the song is that we waste resources on excess. That is definitely true. I didn’t need the Apple Watch 7. The 5 was fine, but why did I buy the 6? I blame marketing. The song is right. Cause of death: lust for luxury. That may well be my epitaph.
Strap in
Get Ready
Foot Down
Press the Button
Blow it all up and be hard on yourself.
Marillion, An Hour Before It’s Dark – Be Hard on Yourself (2022)
They are instructions on how to consider a different life. It is essentially what people are doing now, during “The Great Resignation.” It is an anthem for 2022. How many of us have taken new jobs? Blown up our lives that we knew before the pandemic.
With Care, we live through the way healthcare treats those of us to suffer through disease. If you have ever taken a pill or been diagnosed with ANYTHING, can you not listen to the words of this song and not be moved? BULLSHIT!
Whether you like it or not When it’s gone, it’s gonna take you with it
Marillion, An Hour Before It’s Dark – Care (2022)
The other songs do not lack for anything. They are moving, beautiful songs as well.
Reprogram the Gene is a love song to the Earth. It is fascinating, fun and will have those that go… climate change again? Yes. Just deal with it.
The Crow and the Nightingale is just beautiful. It is melodic, full of just amazing lyrics. I can’t really describe it otherwise. I just love it.
Then there is Sierra Leone. It feels like a story. It could be. It may describe many people’s stories. Could be a modern day parable. It is a multiple-part song that Marillion has been perfecting over the last few albums. It is just beautiful.
As I mentioned before, there are many that will react to this album differently. That is nothing new to Marillion. There is always dissent even among the fan base. What cannot be disputed is the mastery that Steve Rothery, Ian Mosley, Mark Kelly, Pete Trewavas, and Steve Hogarth put forth on the album. They are amazing. The engineering from team Marillion is spectacular, thank you Michael Hunter. Even the album art is intriguing, thank you Simon Ward.
To me, their 20th studio album is a masterpiece. Written and recorded during a global pandemic. While many were suffering, lost jobs, sick, fighting, trying to survive or all of the above, Marillion were writing powerful words, melodies, and chords. Yes, I love this album. Maybe their most complete work ever. Marbles? Yeah. Brave? Yeah. AHBID… Yes!
Marillion is at the top of their game. Thank goodness that 2022 has some good in it.
Wednesday Feb 16, 2022 was a typical packed day of meetings, a webinar and a podcast recording or two. That as before the typical day became a disaster.
My 14 year old son’s school called my ex and told her that our son was at the nurse’s office and needed to go to the hospital ER. My ex is on a business trip out of town.
NIGHTMARE!
So, the lists started to build in my head… what do I do first? Kids? Dog? Work?
I took it on faith that my son, who was in danger was surrounded by people taking care of him. The youngest? I needed to pick him up from school. Oldest kid was with my middle son at the nurse’s office, so they were ok.
The dog? Easiest… goes to the crate.
Work? Nightmare.
Missed an interview… will reschedule it. He’s my friend anyway, I hope he will understand.
Webinar at 2? UGH! So many people were waiting for my presentation. GUILT!
Client meetings? My team has them. They are awesome.
Podcast at 3? We will have to reschedule. I hope they will understand.
As I am driving to the hospital… guilt about the meetings, webinar and podcast. I joined the client call as much as I could. Maybe it was a distraction from the fact that my kid was on his way to the hospital. Whatever. GUILT.
Then when I got to the hospital, they couldn’t find my son at the ER. Did I get wrong hospital? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME AND MY PRIORITIES? Then, they found him. One person is allowed with the patient at a time. So, they had my oldest leave so I could be with him. Gave them a big hug before I went in.
Left my backpack with all of my work, computer and other stuff in the lobby. GUILT. I wasn’t working.
The good news was my son is fine. He was released an hour (or two) later. The damage was done. It took much of the night and the next day to fix the issues that were created to the work day. GUILT.
In March 2020, I left a 16+ year career job at ADP. I loved ADP and still do. The leaders, colleagues, and associates there are and will always be my friends. Also, I love helping ADP’s clients. They are special people with incredible stories. But, what does this have to do with the HR Data Labs podcast…
Well, all of those years, and all of those client interactions gave me a ton to talk about. It gave me experiences that provide me with stories, thoughts and opinions on lots of things in the world of HR data, technology and analytics. Also, look at the guests that have joined us on the HR Data Labs podcast. They mostly came from Workscape, ADP, and other companies that I met while a part of ADP.
So, thank you Carlos R, thank you Don W, thank you David M, and thank you to the other wonderful leaders at ADP. Now, I work for another group of amazing leaders that care about their clients… Salary.com with Kent and Yong. They are smart, insightful and have built a great company with great data and technology… again.
The HR Data Labs podcast was born in a pandemic from a need to have conversations with people about the new world we live and work in. Speaking for the group that works on the podcast, we learn new things with each conversation. We love these conversations.
The good news is that we have already recorded enough to complete the entire third season. Crazy… but we are recording more and have a great backlog of conversations to come. Stay tuned to this channel for more awesome content.
I run 2 miles every morning… or at least I try to. Yesterday, as I ran down my street, something caught my eye. It looked like it was a piece of a rubber wrist band that said “u Will Be.” That’s it. And it stuck with me for a bit. As I ran, I thought about what the other words could be. When I reached home, I was immediately thrust back into my day of meetings, client work and home issues.
It was a very hard day. Troubles were compiling and compounding; one after the other. At the end of the day, I was almost in tears, but I received a message from one of my colleagues. It said: “Don’t worry. You will be fine.” And that was it… I was mentally in tears, but in a good way. The stress of the day finally hit me.
Today, I ran by that wrist band and know what it is all about. The “u Will Be” means “You will be fine.” I listened to my colleague and it fit. So often we try to play the hero; at work and at life. We try to be independent and steady. We rarely accept help, encouragement or kudos. Why?
When we are sick, we listen to our bodies telling us we need help from a doctor, dentist or medication. When we need help with money, we go to the bank (or bank of dad/mom). When we need help at work, we should be listening to the people around us for inspiration, assistance or just nice thoughts. Sometimes we may be surprised at what we hear.
So, my ask of you is simple. First, sit down with your employees, colleagues, customers, managers, and others at work. Next, sit down with your spouse, kids, parents, siblings, or extended family. Sit down over coffee, milk, root beer, or your favorite beverage (water is acceptable too). Next, listen to them. Is there something they need, is there anything you can do to help them. The outcome will surprise you and may help them with what they are going through and you will feel the connection and it may solve your issues too. You will be fine.
The last request is to tweet or comment on this post on LinkedIn, what is your “u Will Be.” Let’s find out how #uWillBe speaks to you.
These days cybersecurity is on everyones’ minds. In May, we watched as the Colonial Pipeline shutdown paralyzed the East Coast after a ransomware attack. Also in May, we felt the impact to food supplies as a Brazilian-based pork and beef processor, JBS S.A., fell victim to a cybersecurity attack, disabling its slaughter houses. Every day we hear another story of various attacks hitting businesses and individuals.
In recent years companies have ramped up their Information Security resources. While this is good, having an Information Security department can lull others in organizations into a false sense of security, thinking someone else has it handled. The cliche picture of hackers is an evil genius in a hooded sweatshirt working away at their computer using sophisticated programming to break into networks and systems. So we think firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems, and network monitoring by skilled Cybersecurity personnel will save us. While this is sometimes the case, the reality is that hackers these days often use unsophisticated, targeted personal methods to gain access to our digital environments; Social Engineering is the number one method:
That alluring email prompting us to click a link.
That call from our “IT Department” asking for our login credentials to perform a necessary system update.
In other cases hackers use massive password databases to repeatedly attempt logging into systems until they gain access.
As technology grows, so, too, do the number of ways our systems can be compromised.
What does this mean for the world of HR Analytics? HR data is valuable. Employee data such as social security numbers, banking information, addresses, and other personal data makes HR systems ripe for attacks. And with numerous external-facing applications, this data does not just sit behind multiple layers of corporate information security infrastructure. All this together means that all HR Analytics personnel must be mindful of Information Security. Though it can sound daunting, there are simple steps that can be taken:
Establish password security protocols mandating strong passwords and password changes at frequent intervals and utilize multi-factor authentication
Never click email links unless the validity of the links can be established
Never give out login credentials when anyone calls, your IT department will never ask you for this information
Require VPN access when accessing the corporate network from the outside your corporate network
Use strong anti-virus software
These are just a few of a multitude of steps to keep yourself and your HR Data safe. Recently Evan Francen, CEO of FRSecure and SecurityStudio joined us on the HR Data Labs podcast to talk about Cybersecurity and the impact on HR Analytics. Evan has worked in Information Security for many years and has seen it all. He says that good security behaviors begin at home. “People are creatures of habit. Their good/bad habits at home are the same habits they bring to the workplace.” As the number of workers accessing corporate networks from home has grown exponentially, so too, has the potential for breaches. So safety at home translates to safety at work. To help safeguard data at home his company, SecurityStudio, has developed a free resource called S2Me that individuals can use to determine potential vulnerabilities in their home environment along with mitigation strategies to decrease these vulnerabilities.
We will never be 100% secure. Hacking is a huge and lucrative industry and bad people and organizations will always be on the hunt to compromise our data. But with simple, concrete steps and resources, we can go a long way in securing our most valuable assets….our people data.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has tracked and reported job openings, leaves, and turnover (JOLT) for the past 30 years. When the pandemic hit there was a historical drop in employees leaving. But, as the country begins to rebound, we’re seeing historically large spikes in workers leaving jobs for other companies and careers. Enter “The Great Resignation”. How do companies get their arms around so much intellectual property leaving before it is too late?
It may already be too late. As defined by The Bureau of Labor Statistics, “separations” includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. The quit rate, which measures the number of jobs quit as a percentage of total employment, reached 2.8% in April 2021, the highest since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began collecting data in 2001. So your intellectual property may have already left your building. Why and what changed this time?
The pandemic has given employees time to think about what they want their careers to look like, and more importantly has empowered them to make work choices that better suit their overall family health and wellbeing. We are entering into a period of time where people are voluntarily leaving their jobs at rates not seen in years. What can be done?
Now your people data becomes critical to tell you the stories you need to know. How confident are you with the state of your data? Organizations fundamentally need to change the way they track and view their people data. They need to look through a different lens on the way they are using technology for insights and how that information is shared within the organization. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the industry gold standard for overall trends – it is the “macro” data. But it is your company’s historical data (the “micro” data) that history modifies. It can get stale and does not have as much trend significance, especially during this unique period of time. A solid data driven approach becomes paramount.
How will your organization adapt to this new world? How solid is your people data strategy? Now is an opportunistic time to revisit how you track, view and disseminate your data and ensure it is actionable and NOT just informational. If you don’t have the expertise to make that transition between informational and actionable, now is the time to find it. It’s a difference that could impact your organization’s bottom line and retain your greatest asset – your employees.
“What metrics should I include in my rollout?” This is one of the most common questions we hear from people building their people analytics content. While we can always point to the “bread and butter” metrics of turnover, retention, etc I think there’s a better way to think about it. Rather than try and list the most important metrics, think instead about the most important business processes. Measuring a business process results in a much clearer story as it may involve several metrics, all related to each other, that paint an overall picture of the health of the business.
Think about the main processes that HR supports and then break that down into pieces that can be measured. One of the biggest business processes for HR has to be recruiting. Thinking about recruiting, what does that overall business process look like? Let’s break it down:
A requisition is opened
We assign recruiting resources to source candidates
We go through the interview process
We rank our candidates
We extend an offer until we get someone we like (or maybe we have to go back to an earlier step)
Great! Now how can we measure these steps in order to learn something about them? A key thing we can always measure is time. How long does each step take? We have our first metric. There’s also a question of volume (number of requisitions, number of candidates, number of hiring managers, number of recruiters, etc). With recruiting there may even be hard cost numbers if your organization uses third parties with recruiting. Now we have at least two, maybe three quantitative measures (time, volume, and cost) that we can count up across at least five steps of the business process. Combining these measures we can also develop some ratios (e.g. time to hire per requisition).
As we build out our metric “story” for a business process we can think about comparisons across the business. In this way we can start to identify outliers and broader patterns. For example, which team has the lowest time to hire? Do new requisitions open up around the same time periods?
Finally, can we bring in more historical data to see how things have changed over time? The disruption of the pandemic may have thrown historical patterns off, or it may have amplified small historical problems into larger ones. For example, if you had slow time-to-hire before the pandemic it is probably worse now; set expectations with your business partners accordingly with real numbers to tell the story.
Following a business process in this way helps keep your metrics tightly bound to an overall story that will be relevant to your stakeholders and make it easier to demonstrate the value of your people analytics effort. It will also lead itself to new business processes to measure. For example, if you have followed through with the recruiting example above, it probably won’t take much time before you want to get more proactive about recruiting and want to dig into the drivers of recruiting, business change, and turnover.
