What are your tips for creating and communicating a clear career path as a retention tool?

I saw this question posted recently on an HR site and thought it was worth exploring. And then recently I read this post by Deidre Honner, the HR Maven. It’s a classic example of how not to do the above. Here’s a snippet.

Someone doing it wrong

I was contacted by someone who works outside my organization, asking for some career advice… I asked her about her current employer.  They are a large area employer with several locations. Seems there would be lots of opportunity and availability to move up the ladder.  Or at least try another ladder.

Before looking externally, I suggested that she look internally. And I asked her about opportunities for promotion.  What she said stunned me.  She didn’t know.

I thought my hearing failed me. Not only did she not know what opportunities there were within the company, she wasn’t ALLOWED to know because she wasn’t a manager or a salaried employee.

Wow. I’m just as shocked as Deirdre. If you are a large organization with various types of operations, it is in your best interest to identify the solid performers and do what you can to keep them on board. If it means transferring them to another job that they want to do, then do it. Moving a talented performer around might cause some extra paperwork, but if the alternative is them leaving the organization for another employer, then you really don’t have a choice, right?

Someone doing it right

My best friend works closely with a company called Bechtel. They are known for finding their A players internally and moving them around every 2-3 years. This keeps the people engaged and knowledgeable about multiple areas of the business and it helps the leadership know that they are filling internal positions with quality people. One of their biggest draws for candidates is the opportunity to grow professionally and to have exciting assignments in different areas of the country (or the world, if they choose to go international). They use the idea of a varied career path as a retention tool, and they do it well.

It’s a mindset issue

Instead of looking at employees as resources to be hoarded, look at them as resources to be shared. Find other areas that they are interested in and look for ways to get them there. Look for their areas of strength and give them more opportunities to use them. You don’t own the people, so don’t try to hold them back from doing what they love.

Anyone else work for a company that values career progression internally? What about a company that doesn’t? How do you think their corporate cultures compare?

This is a guest post by Ben Eubanks of upstartHR. Ben spends his days writing, speaking, and working as an HR generalist in Huntsville, AL. He recently published a new guide titled Rock Your Corporate Culture, and it looks at ways leaders can define and leverage their internal culture for business success.

It was about a half an hour after the event had just ended. Wrapping my mind around it was going to take more time but I felt compelled to answer right away, in a way that showed unequivocal support for what the organizers were doing.

“Great,” I said with enthusiasm. “As always,” I added just to make sure of it.

As I thought about it a bit more, there was something missing for me: a challenge.

As funny as it sounds, I’ve never attended HRevolution as a practitioner. Call me what you like (and certainly, I’ve been called a lot), but I’ve never come to HRevolution with an actual HR problem on my table.

I’ve been challenged in previous sessions by other attendees, by some of the subject matter we tackled or some of the more visionary ideas we talked about. As my friend Gerry Crispin would say, I would have liked to tilt at windmills a bit more. And, just to be clear, that’s as much my responsibility as it is the organizers. Fighting some of those mushy areas of people management where there is no easy answer gets me fired up.

Here’s the kicker though: I don’t know how important that feedback really is to the overall success of HRevolution.

I was fortunate to be challenged at the last two events but I don’t think HRevolution is really about challenging guys like me. I hope HRevolution serves as inspiration to HR pros who attend. I hope it inspires people to move up in the HR ranks, get budget and shake shit up. And I hope it serves as a resource for those people who are laying the foundation for the next great iteration in HR management.

Me? I can be a resource. I can connect people. I can bring to light great stories that need to be told. And I am happy just going to a cool event that attracts people who are smart as hell.

Does that mean I was unhappy with how the event went? No. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. My cup ran over.

When I was leaving Las Vegas on Wednesday last week, I received a text message alert that Steve Jobs had died. Not surprising news but I was more curious about the response from the media and from the social networks I was a part of.

Both of them blew up. But there was also this little side story about those memorializing his death that fascinated me.

People were posting post-it notes on the windows of Apple stores across the country.

Credit: CBS/Dan Farber

The reason I found it so fascinating is because Jobs did so much to digitize our connections and lives. You might be reading this on your Apple laptop, in your iPad’s reader or on your iPhone. You could tweet to me right now how much you enjoyed or hated this post. Or connect with me on Facebook to see what other things I was up to around the same time I wrote this.

And yet, there were thousands of mourners who sojourned out to their local store to post a little note on the window. They could have tweeted an update or simply wrote an e-mail to Apple (they even setup a special e-mail address). Millions did just that. But there was something special, very analog, about hand writing a note, or leaving a flower on the doorstep.

In a world filled with digital connections (and certainly when you’re working out of your house every day, that can be amplified), having an analog connection with someone else is an innate need. I was able to connect (or reconnect) with more people than a month or two worth of phone calls (or a bunch of tweets). Getting introduced in real time and making that instant connection is better than that LinkedIn introduction. Someone saying to me “I’m with you” is worth more than a retweet. Having a laugh together is better than having a lol together.

Corny? Sure, whatever. For the easily cynical like myself, that only lasts so long.

HRevolution is the perfect event to make that analog connection though. It beats everything else out there.

In a perfect world, HRevolution would be almost all of those next big HR folks and the only way a guy like me would get in there would be by the side door (probably by accident). I’ll try to help make that happen whenever the next big HRevolution pops up. Those social media accounts are great but there is something about the tactile feel of a handshake, discussing something in real time or even posting a note on a store window that feels more real. I can always count on HRevolution to always bring me back to real.

Lastly, special thanks to Trish, Ben, Steve and Matt. Doing an event like HRevolution right four times in a row is a challenge beyond comprehension. I know.

The standing desk I'm using to write this right now

I mentioned a year ago that I hurt my back. I was lucky enough to have health insurance (through my wife) and I received a lot of medical care. I went through various pain medications, physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractor treatments that still left me in pain. If you saw me in the first half of 2010, you might have noticed but been too polite to mention anything.

After getting back home in May, I talked to a doctor who told me I would never get better if I sat down all day. Even with various exercises, strengthening and getting up from my chair every 20-30 minutes, the best I could do was eventually level off and be generally free from pain. My back would still be weak and be prone to relapse, even for minor slips.

That wasn’t an option. Hobbling around like a octogenarian wasn’t a great thing. Furthermore, being able to exercise was a top priority for me (I could stand to lose a few (dozen) pounds).

The doctor, knowing what I did for a living, asked me if I would be able to get a standing desk for my office. Given that I was the one in charge of my office, absolutely I could. The ones I saw from stores were thousands of dollars but I bought my simple unit at Ikea for a cool $150. Completely adjustable in four inch intervals, it could be raised to a height that would be comfortable for me to type while standing. Since you can’t really go from sitting all day to standing all day, the doctor recommended I get a hard stool to take breaks on.

About six months later, I can tell you that I’m a believer.

Am I going to be doing 300 pound squats or running a marathon? Nope. But I am happy to get much of my flexibility and my ability to exercise back. Being able to do simple things like picking up things off the ground and putting on shoes and socks with ease are major accomplishments. Being off pain medications is a major thing too.

*     *     *     *     *

Of course, my mind started wandering to work and how this would have been handled at a corporate office with standardized desks. I couldn’t imagine going to a workplace that didn’t allow me to stand at my workstation. Similarly, my ability to get a desk wasn’t hampered by process or politics. It also makes me thankful that I’ve often been lucky enough to work in places that cared about our employees posture.

When we talk about overall health and wellness, I wonder how many of us gloss over workplace design? While it has taken me a while to adjust to typing in a standing position, I can only imagine how many countless hours I could have lost to dealing with multiple medical appointments, difficulty in sitting at my desk and pain and what it can do to productivity.

Are you able to switch things up at your office to help your employees?

Then they go after my employer. A week before my membership expired. It was sitting on my desk.

Look, I understand why they might be unhappy with us (exhibits 1, 2, 3, and 4). None of it warranted legal threats of course but sure, they’re not happy. Of course, they could have published a single word to their 250k members about any of the above issues and made it moot for 99% of those concerned too. They chose their action though.

But that’s not my point.

My faith in HR isn’t tied to membership to that organization. You aren’t a hero for sticking with an organization and “changing” it from within nor are you one for choosing to leave and changing it on your own. This isn’t some test of loyalty or leadership. Nobody is going to call you up and give you a pat on the back for choosing to give SHRM $160. SHRM’s lack of a permanent CEO isn’t hampering your ability to get your end of year HR work done.

What matters is what you do with the things you do control. Do you execute great HR work every day? Are you encouraging your fellow practitioners? Are you giving back in some way? Do you use your influence for good?

These are things that make a difference. Choice of membership in SHRM didn’t make that list.

People choose to stay with SHRM for a wide variety of reasons and I’ll accept any of them except ignorance of another option. But let’s stop equating SHRM with HR (or at least with good HR). You can be great at HR with or without SHRM. There is more access than ever to resources, best practices, legislative updates, networking and HR news. And if you ever really need that copy of HR Magazine, you could always subscribe for free.

There are great people in SHRM at all levels. None of the head-scratching moves SHRM does takes away from their hard work. And I guess that’s my point: no matter how screwy SHRM gets, there will always be great HR people out there doing the tough stuff, giving back to the profession and making a difference. The sooner we can stop attaching our fate as a profession to an organization that still only represents a minority of practitioners, the better we all will be.

As for me, I’ll continue doing what I’ve been doing for 4.5 years and keep writing both here and on TLNT regardless of whether I’m a member or not.

While Eubanks has been in HR for less than two years, his impact has been felt thanks to an online community that democratizes influence, content and respect. So how does one get to this spot?

When he was looking at careers, he thought management might be the way to go. He had seen the way people issues had impacted businesses and knew that it would be a lingering challenge so he thought management might be the right track. But after a professor assigned a paper on HR, he found his match. “As I started researching the profession, I realized that this was what I had been searching for,” he said. “I knew right then and there that I wanted to move into HR once I graduated, and that’s where I’ve been ever since.”

An HRevolution

He has co-organized two HR unconferences known as HRevolution (along with a third one coming in April 2011(=). As an attendee, I can tell you these have both been fantastic (and different events) and definitely a grassroots movement among some of the more involved HR pros online. A one day event, it brings together people to discuss HR issues in an informal setting. There are planned tracks and preparation but most conversation is on the fly.

What has always been interesting to me is how much the experience changes with changes in participants. Unconferences put an enormous amount of responsibility onto the participants and it makes HRevolution a dynamic event. The two events put on in the last year were different from each other but had a common purpose of exploring HR from all kinds of angles.

Eubanks says about the coming HRevolution, “This event will be better than ever and we can’t wait to get it rolling.” True to its name, HRevolution has continued to evolve and has even inspired another event in Omaha happening this week.

Project: Social and More

He is also working on a project I mentioned before with Victorio Milian called Project: Social. As I described last week:

The core of the program is to match up current social media users with professionals who are looking for help. With so much interest in social media from HR professionals and typically only 60-90 minutes to talk about issues in a large group format, it is great to be able to give HR professionals a next step to take in the process of learning. What I’ve found from mentoring is that it isn’t time consuming and people just need a nudge to do what you do automatically.

And when he is not working on all of that, he is pumping out resources and content for his excellent blog Upstart HR. Everything from PHR study guides, ebooks and other resources that have helped Eubanks excel early in his career.

My hope is that Eubanks continues bringing enthusiasm, sharing knowledge and being a contributor to the HR community. He’s figured out the magic sauce that I always try to share with people who are interested in increasing influence and visibility: you have to give without the expectation you’ll receive and your stuff has to be good. It’s great for the entire HR community that he is involved and willing to give. And a great example that you don’t have to spend 10-20 years in the industry to make a real contribution.

The HR Stars Series is sponsored by Rypple, social software that makes feedback easy and fun. Our software is built around people, not process, which means teams actually get things done. Managers don’t waste time. People get the useful feedback that they want. Teams stay on track, learn and adapt faster, and get recognized for great work. Learn more at http://rypple.com.

There’s always this light that goes off in my head when someone digs what they are doing, does great things in the space and was willing to share some things along the way. Those are big pluses for me but what was really cool about Milian is the commitment to traditional HR people.

Going From Retail Management to HR

Milian is a 20 year veteran of the retail industry. That’s not an easy gig for many folks (including yours truly) but he took a liking to it. After holding various management roles, he was asked to do a little work in recruiting. He said, “In retail you’re always hiring people so I started on the recruitment side, working on a few small to mid-size projects.”

From there, he took a run at in-store HR supporting 200 employees as a generalist and after that, he moved up into a corporate role implementing automated time and attendance software throughout the chain. Since then, he has spent most of his time in corporate HR as an employee relations generalist. “I handled policies, procedures, investigations, expat assignments, employee handbooks and other communications,” he said. “You know, the sexy stuff.”

What really keeps him engaged in an HR role are the people. As he says, “When you get people right you can do some amazing things, whether it’s through hiring, training, or motivating them in the right way. I’m a direct product of people’s faith in my abilities and potential.” He counts colleagues and other HR professionals as friends in the field with a little help from social media. Speaking of social media…

Project: Social

One of the things that’s inspiring about Milian is his devotion to action. For example, we had a conversation late last month about resources for HR people who want to learn more about social media. I was doing a presentation about social media to a group of about 60 people the next day and was continuing to find inadequate resources to help people out. What sprang from that was Project: Social, a mentoring program spearheaded by Ben Eubanks and Milian.

The core of the program is to match up current social media users with professionals who are looking for help. With so much interest in social media from HR professionals and typically only 60-90 minutes to talk about issues in a large group format, it is great to be able to give HR professionals a next step to take in the process of learning. What I’ve found from mentoring is that it isn’t time consuming and people just need a nudge to do what you do automatically.

I’m looking forward to seeing more about this project as it takes place.

Looking forward

Another thing that keeps Milian in the game is mobile learning. As he so eloquently puts, “As someone who won’t be going back to college anytime soon, I recognize the need to stay up to date. Almost everything I do now when it comes to learning (reading blogs, podcasts, videos, conversations with thought leaders and creatives) I do through my phone.” He is working on developing a version of his HR101 series for the Blackberry.

Milian is inspired by other leaders in the online HR space such as Jessica Lee (of Fistful of Talent), Kris Dunn (of the HR Capitalist) and Lisa Rosendahl (of Simply Lisa) as they spent time to reach out to him early in his blogging days. In his HR career, he credits those who have doubted and underestimated him to help drive him to become a better practitioner and gain his SPHR certification.

Sounds like Milian is the Michael Jordan of HR. Though at your Hall of Fame induction, you might want to leave off the list of all the people who have doubted you.

The HR Stars Series is sponsored by Rypple, social software that makes feedback easy and fun. Our software is built around people, not process, which means teams actually get things done. Managers don’t waste time. People get the useful feedback that they want. Teams stay on track, learn and adapt faster, and get recognized for great work. Learn more at http://rypple.com.

Your job might not get blown up but you still need to work

Then there are harder stories. People selling houses, losing things and even marriages and other family ties being dissolved.

There is a lot of hand wringing that happens in HR circles over this stuff. I don’t think a meeting of HR people has gone by without talking about how many people have been laid off. HR people sharing war stories of prepping layoff papers. As if we need another personal reminder about how grim the picture is for some of these people. What it feels like to layoff a guy who is 50 years old when you’ve heard the stories about what many of them have to do to find work. Or single mom’s. Or young people. Or minorities.

I consoled myself with the fact that we offered severances, that I would offer to look at their resume or help connect them with people in my network. But it’s not enough. A pat on the back and a reassuring smile worked in good times. You know the guys and gals who worked hard and were smart would get picked up. Not anymore.

We need to do more. As a group of people who know what it is like out there, we have to do more. The people that read this blog, the HR pros, the business leaders and the folks in the know, we all need to do more.

Now some of you may be stepping back and thinking, “Hey, wait a second. This isn’t my responsibility. Remember you said HR is all business. How is this business?”

This is all business, baby. This is about going from the dying/surviving cycle to thriving. It’s about believing in something greater and seeing the bigger picture. You want to talk about some stupid seat at the table? Get out of here. That singular focus on ladder climbing has made HR people lose sight of their biggest customer: employees. If you want to talk about getting strategic and thinking about the future of your workforce, the key will be folks that know how to learn and apply new knowledge, have vision for where they want to go and have the fundamental skills to do both.

Career Competency

An administrative assistant who can type 75 wpm and answer a multi-line phone but can’t do a page layout in Microsoft Word or know how formulas work in Microsoft Excel has little chance of getting a job later down the line if he or she doesn’t up their skill level in these areas. A mechanic that has no idea about the computer based tools that can be used in his or her field needs that opportunity to learn about it. In some instances, they simply just need to know about something bigger than their day to day jobs.

And it isn’t just about teaching raw skills. That’s the fundamental part that HR folks should all be doing anyway (for our own company’s benefit if nothing else). It is about teaching people how to investigate new things, research their careers and other interests and learn about the world outside of their cube, workbench or corner office. It’s about thinking that the way to personal fulfillment might not be through their career at all but (gasp) the things outside of work. And if they are looking for career fulfillment, helping them achieve it (whether it be at your company or the next one down the line).

Pie in the sky? Of course it is.

Being better educated about themselves, about their career and about the learning skills that make a person employable in the 21st century is a lofty goal. And putting that on employers is a tough sell. But you’ve seen it out there in the field if your employees have to leave. It is brutal.

Your employees deserve to know that it is brutal. And instead of fear, they have to be empowered by someone who knows what they need to be successful.

We all come from an interesting place

As a whole, those of us within the profession come from many backgrounds. From what I have read and the data I have seen, very few of us within Human Resources come from a background of finance, accounting, operations or business administration. While not a fairytale, it is rare to see. This is not bad. Not being born and bread in the education of business can allow us to step outside of the typical ‘numbers’ and ‘quotas’ that often are focused on by the business and pay attention to the people that essentially drive the ‘numbers’ and ‘quotas’ of the business. The funny thing – if you see someone going into HR from an area of business – the reaction given are often puzzled faces and questions. Ummm why??

The thing is, we need to have the understanding that comes with an MBA or what any degree in business holds.

What we’re good at

We are good at policy, procedure. Human Resource professionals are intelligent on benefits, compensation. Mitigating a certain level of risk. We can identify talent and create great recruiting strategies. We can align development opportunities with the gaps that may exist. We also have the PHR, SPHR, or GPHR to prove it! Overall we are good at these things (of course we all know some people within the profession that suck. However, I don’t want to argue that point).

What we are not as good at

Numbers. Aligning strategy to business goals. Developing formulas and equations to define return on investment for our departments and the programs that connect to our internal clients. Communicating. Coming up with that strategic plan. All the buzz words that are out there now.

I’m not implying that we are not good at all of these items. What I am saying is that a large percentage within our profession have never had to do it. So the practice and strengths are not so strong.

The Business MATTERS

If anyone knows this – human resources, recruiters, payroll and all the other functions within HR – should and do know that the business matters. We serve and define strategy in order to enable us to provide the best and brightest. We also do what we can to deliver on practices that will improve the competencies and people within the business. Yet when it comes to the crucial conversations – many do not often speak the language that operations and the business understand. In this, we need an education!

Practice what we preach

We hear it all the time. Talk of becoming, being and taking the role of a “Business Partner.” We even see titles changing from traditional HR to having them include ‘Performance Consultant’ and ‘HR Business Partner.’ Great but if all you have is a title and you do not posses the nerve or competencies to be a “true partner” who cares. We want to go beyond just the title and move into a true understanding of what the business needs, we as HR professionals need to step out of our own box of understanding, get out of our own surroundings and step into the box (terms and practices) of the businesses and industries we are in. This means sitting one on one with the VP’s. Talking with individuals whom work in the field (come on, who uses the term ‘whom’), front lines and shop floors. Even shadowing and rotating throughout various parts of the functions in order to get an idea of, not only the true culture of a company but also, the sub-cultures of the company.

WHY HR needs an MBA

One reason is for the common language and jargon. We in HR need to be skilled in translating our own jargon to all departments. Another, to have practice, practice and practice within the all areas of business. To tie our strategy effectively to the strategy of the organization.

What we truly need is to build and be willing to earn the knowledge, trust and power from and for the business. These traits could be earned by obtaining that type of degree or certification. However, it can also be earned by spending the time within the areas that focus on the business and its relationships.

Do what you will

I am not saying that you HAVE TO HAVE a degree in business. I’m just saying that YOU SHOULD HAVE some understanding and credentials within your business. Whether that be an MBA, B.S. in Finance, Associates in Business or a certificate in operations. If you can do it then do it, it will only make you more well rounded.

Unlike many I am open to criticism no matter how sweet or dirty. Bring it on

I’ve always thought that workplaces that incentivize workplace safety with money, prizes or a drawing don’t understand how workplace safety works at all. They think they can treat it like any other business problem but they can’t. There are other factors in play. Paul Hebert over at I2I explains some of his reasoning from a motivation standpoint and I wanted to expand on what he had to say.

All rewards are either too small to matter or too big to not cover up minor injuries or issues. Neither one of these outcomes are acceptable if you want a truly effective workplace safety program. A tote bag or $25 isn’t enough to impact your decision making. If it were $1,000, you would be likely to cover up minor injuries to keep the bonus. Safety is one of those things where there is no happy middle.

It is trying to take a one size fits all approach to something that simply can’t be fitted that way. Here’s how I’ve seen programs successfully done without reward based incentives:

1. Communicate expectations – Amazing how we usually skip over this part. When you clearly define what your expectations are, you can have an immediate impact on the safety.
2. Fix systematic issues and processes – If there is a culture of toughing it out or managers who don’t take action on reported injuries or issues, it is time to fix those sorts of problems.
3. Proactively addressing safety hazards – It seems like a common sense thing but it often gets overlooked.
4. Coach underperformers – Whether it be thoughtlessness, laziness or whatever the reason, managers have to coach the people that propagate near misses and injuries.
5. Safety is its own motivation and reward – Everyone I’ve worked with wants to work in a safe environment. When people aren’t getting hurt at work, people appreciate that.

These techniques, when customized and implemented throughout organizations, have more impact on safety than any incentive scheme you can think of.

Now if your finance department is hassling you about costs, I can’t stress enough that working closely with your workers compensation insurance provider is likely going to save you a lot more money than any incentive program you can dream of. If you don’t have tight oversight of your process already, it is time to buckle down and start examining how the insurance company has handled claims on your behalf.

What safety programs have you seen that have worked effectively?

“Strong people always have strong weaknesses too. Where there are peaks, there are valleys.” — Peter Drucker

Would you take a drug that would cause an uncontrollable gambling addiction? It doesn’t sound very tempting but thousands of people who suffer from restless leg syndrome take Requip because the benefits outweigh the side effects.

The concept of side effects has implications for the way we interview. Most interviewers ask candidates about their biggest weakness and job seekers have been taught that there are three good responses:

1. Admit a weakness that seems beneficial to the company. — “I work too hard.”
2. Discuss a weakness that you’ve almost fixed. — “I used to be unorganized but I’ve really improved.”
3. Pick a weakness that isn’t relevant to the job. — “I’ll be a good cross-country truck driver, but I’m not a good team player.”

These responses aren’t very helpful. So instead of asking candidates about their weaknesses, we should start asking them about their benefits and side effects.

1. What are your benefits? What problems can you help us to solve? — ”If your company is struggling with innovation, I can help.”
2. What are your side effects? — “I often break the rules and reject the status quo.”
3. How are your side effects related to your benefits? — “Innovation cannot happen without making difficult changes to current organizational norms.”
4. In what areas are you average? – “I’m competent when making presentations but don’t really inspire people with my rhetorical skills.”

These questions require more from the candidate than do the current set of questions and offer better information to the interviewer.

How do you respond to the candidate’s side effects?

Some drugs are not for “women who are pregnant or might become pregnant.” Just like not every drug is right for you, not every candidate is right for you. If the candidate’s benefits don’t address a specific problem that your organization has, then there is no reason to deal with their side effects.

If we choose employees who seem to lack major side effects, we will get only mediocre work. Where there are no side effects, there are no benefits.

Similarly, the better the employee is, the bigger their side effects will be. Steve Jobs is widely recognized as a tremendously successful CEO and very influential figure in the business world but he is not without side effects. He is legendary for being conceited, critical and volatile.

What side effects are you willing to accept?

When Vioxx was taken off the market because of the risk of heart attacks and strokes, I discussed the case with my ethics class. One student had taken Vioxx for chronic pain and wanted the FDA to allow Merck to make it available again. She was aware of the side effects but was willing to take the risk if it would reduce the pain that she lived with each day.

A good way to determine what side effects you are comfortable with is to fill in the blanks for the following sentence. “ I don’t care if you ____ , as long as you _____.”

“I don’t care if you are unorganized, as long as you are creative.”

“I don’t care if you are explosive, as long as you are passionate.”

“I don’t care if you break the rules, as long as you get results.”

Cheryl was obsessive about germs. For example, she refused to sit on the chairs in our classroom without first putting down a blanket. But she was the perfect director of health & safety for her organization.

Dwayne lacked empathy and had constant conflicts with his co-workers and managers. But none of this was a problem when he worked in the repossession business.

Every employee has side effects. It is an illusion to believe that we will find candidates with all strengths and no weaknesses. The goal is to find someone with the right combination of benefits and side effects for the condition that your organization is suffering from.