1.  “The Future of HR” from a shareholders’ perspective -  from Dr John Sullivan

What would HR look like if it were redesigned by shareholders? This is a really interesting perspective on the role of HR from Dr John Sullivan.

2.  The Future Of HRM Software: Embedded Intelligence - from Naomi Bloom, at the In Full Bloom blog

This provides some great insights into the future of HRM software from one of the most knowledgeable experts in the industry.

3. DIY for HRO – from Mark Stelzner, at Infexion Advisor

4.  10 Lessons Learned in the Quest to Become Strategic in HR- from Cathy Missildine Martin at the Profitability Through Human Capital Blog

Great learnings expressed clearly and without jargon.

5. The Holy Grail…Human Capital Development Aligned to Strategy - from J. Keith Dunbar at the DNA of Human Capital

6.  Lynda Tyler Cagni, ex Ermenegildo Zegno on HR 2.0 – from Jon Ingham's Strategic HCM Blog

This is a great case study providing useful insights.

7. HR Technology Trends for 2010  – from John Sumser on HR Examiner

8. Government sets up efficiency hit squad – and warns HR to prepare for a storm – from Rick at Flip Chart Fairy Tales

9. Could the Whitehall reshuffle lead to one massive government back office?  – from Inside Outsourcing at Computer Weekly

10.  Met chief: HR could be “priced out as an expensive overhead” – interview with Martin Tiplady, HR Review

1.  Two superb videos charting social change next generation social media -  from Andy Headworth, Sirona Says Blog

Social Media is important in transforming HR and people management. This article has two superb videos on next Generation Media, from an excellent blog. Andy always has a finger on the pulse of new developments in social media and recruitment.

2.  Interview with David Ulrich – from Sharlyn Lauby, HR Bartender

It is great to see Professor David Ulrich using social media with an online Q&A with Sharlyn at the HR Bartender blog. David is promoting his new book written with his wife, Wendy, called the “Why of Work”.

3. If you only had one source to find candidates – from Boolean Black Belt

The question is “if you were limited to only 1 method/specific source for identifying candidates to contact, engage and recruit, which would you choose, and why? “ Follow the link to find out the responses which say a lot about how social media is transforming People Management.

4.  Go Lean: Minimize customizations and reduce overall TCO in Oracle ERP implementation (Part 1) – from Infosys Oracle Blog

IT project implementations do not have a good record of delivering on time and to budget. Here are some good tips about minimising ERP customisations and reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This team are Oracle experts, but the lessons apply to other applications.  Also of interest, check out our Top 5 Reasons HR Projects Fail.

5. HRO Market update – from Linda Merritt, HRO Insights – Nelson Hall

6.  New SaaS/HRO service from Caliber Point – from Information Week

A new SaaS/HRO Service has been launched by the techies at Caliber Point. Rupublic is a multi-tenanted HR Platform, available as Software as a Service (SaaS), based on the latest Oracle HR Software, with a HR Outsourcing service. For some organisations this could be a dream solution – no technology maintenance overheads or systems administrators plus variable costing. Contact us if you want a more detailed view of the pros and cons of this new service.

7.   Top 50 HR Blogs to watch in 2010 – from Evan Carmichael
For those who have read the HR Transformer Blog and still want to read more interesting articles on HR and Talent, we add two links to recent Top HR Bloggers lists, put together by Fistful of Talent and Evan Carmichael – some good reads here including links to our favourite bloggers. Spot any HR Transformers?

8.  Managing Tomorrow Today – from Mary Ann Downey at i4cp

9.  10 career management tips in the age of job fear – from Lance Haun, Rehaul
Here are 10 Career Management Tips from Lance’s Rehaul blog, it’s always worth reflecting on where we are heading in any economic environment. This includes the intriguing advice "Don’t be a lurker or a slug"

10.  One FTE
And finally – we have to end on a funny one which brightened up our day, thanks to Laurie @PunkRockHR for this tip on Twitter. 1.00 FTE - a very dry look at corporate life, check out their Top 10.

April has been a bumper month for a good selection of HR Transformation related articles, from using 6 Sigma in recruitment, optimising your HR Shared Services, to how the iPad can help HR.
Here is a a leading question, 'Are Performance Management appraisals the Great Evil?'  Election fever is gripping the UK and the main political parties are locking horns in a final show down.  The last three articles here deal with UK Government policies including a comparison of the main parties manifestos on skills and training.

1.  6 Sigma Recruiting – from Jason Buss, The Talent Buzz

6-Sigma can work in HR when used in the right context, with the right skills. It works really well with higher volume for repeatable processes like recruitment. In the right hands, the results are dramatic and can pay for your Black Belt many times over.  This article also includes a useful slide deck.

2.  HR Shared Services Optimisation: Attaining the full potential of HR Shared Services – from Outsourcing World

This is a good post about how to get the most out of HR Shared Services. You have gone through the blood, sweat and tears of getting the model working, so what do you do next? Here are 10 excellent ideas and suggested initiatives. Find out more about “leaner, not meaner HR” and “HR orphans”.

3.  5 ways to torpedo your next HR sale – from Mark Stelzner, Inflexion Advisors
We often facilitate vendor evaluations for HR Services and we've seen lots of pitches over the years ranging from the incredible to the incredulous, to the downright dreadful. This is a candid post which outlines the ways HR vendors can “fail spectacularly”.   Do you recognise any of these “torpedos” ? We do too.

4.  Workday and the unspoken benefits of SaaS – from Phil Wainewright, ZDNet
This is a good article about Software as a Service (SaaS).

“Our estimate is Workday is at least 25%, perhaps 50% cheaper than on-premise competitors Oracle or SAP, mainly due to the simpler implementation and process configuration of the Workday solution.” according to Aviva.

Cost is one of many issues when considering future HR Tech options, but the above statement is a powerful claim.  What does your IT Director think about SaaS ?

5.  How the iPad Can Change HR – from Jason Corsello, KI OnDemand
Is an iPad a big iPod or a laptop with a big screen? I am not sure because I am still waiting for my evaluation copy. (subtle hint to Apple)

Large proportions of the workforce in retail & manufacturing industries have limited access to PCs.  In the design of HR Operating models a big challenge is how to get these employees to access HR service channels, including self-service HR applications and tools to manage vacancies, book courses and update personal info. 

We need to use all the ‘pull factors’ we can to get employees to use HR services and providing a few iPads could be worth considering for certain groups of.  Jason outlines examples from streamlining mundane and repetitive forms, interactive training, performance management and perhaps the area with most potential ‘mobilising HR’.

6.  Performance Evaluations: "The Great Evil"? – from Mike Haberman, HR Observations Blog
Is Performance Management The Great Evil? Systems Thinkers think so and it would seem that many employees think so too. Does the effort pay off and should HR focus their efforts on other initiatives to improve employee performance?

"This corporate sham is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities. Everybody does it, and almost everyone who's evaluated hates it. It's a pretentious, bogus practice that produces absolutely nothing that any thinking executive should call a corporate plus." Quoted in the article from authors Samual A. Culbert and Lawerence Rout.

Strong words indeed, but a thought provoking article and interesting discussion which represents different views on the subject.

7.  If eLearning is still not seen as effective – how will social learning take off?- from Martin Couzins, XpertHR
eLearning has proven to be a cost-effective way to deliver training in  certain areas and the potential for Social Learning is great given the tools, connectivity and knowledge we now have at our fingertips.

However a recent survey by CIPD, on UK Training methods, found that eLearning was floundering at the bottom of the pile on 12% (it was 7% in 2009).  Martin asks a really good question, if eLearning is still not seen as effective – how will social learning take off?
Another question for us is :- if eLearning is a cost-effective way to deliver training, why isn't it used more by organisations?

8.  Election 2010 Briefing – skills and training – from CIPD
The UK election is on May 6th, but when choosing which party to vote for, how important are their policies on Skills and Training?

To grow the economy, enabling the workforce with the right skills and training is absolutely key.   This is a useful three page summary of the main parties manifestos on skills and training. It includes apprenticeships, youth unemployment and internships.

9.  Don’t bank on efficiency savings – from Flip Chart Fairy Tales
The Conservatives say they can get £12 billion more efficiency savings out of the UK public sector than the government has claimed.    “Back-office efficiencies” are proposed by all politicians to reduce the deficit to a more manageable level.  Rick points out the problem with efficiency savings is that they are "probably unachievable".  Developing a realistic business case is difficult work but Rick suggsts the politicians need a reality check.  For more on HR efficiencies in the public sector, see our article about Government Benchmarks – a Government Health Warning.

10.  HR Transformation in Local Government - from Nicola Grimshaw, director at Digby Morgan writing in Changeboard
This is a good article about HR Transformation trends in UK Local Government.  It picks up on trends in collaborative working, headcount freezes and outsourcing.  Nicola reckons that 75% of all local authorities are in the process of adopting an Ulrich style HR Operating Model.

We hope you enjoyed our latest and greatest HR Transformation Articles for April.

Many thanks for the feedback for our Top 10 HR Transformation Articles from March, as always we would welcome any suggested articles, or follow us on Twitter @AndySpence.

Spring is in the air and the forces of nature are unstoppable, perhaps inspired, some of our favourite bloggers, analysts and writers are in great form.  With talk of revolutions in HR, some systems thinking, the economics of Software as a Service (SaaS) and the use of artificial intelligence in HR.  In March there was also some big news in the HR Outsourcing industry, with Northgate Arinso acquiring Convergys HRO business. It’s always useful to have a peek over our shoulder at what the Finance community are up to. And while we are thinking of numbers (sort of), we get an economists ‘dismal’ view of management.

1 – The Evolution Debate and HR, from Andy Gebavi – Infusion Nation

Any transformation of an organization takes time, but which is better, a revolution in HR practices or a more evolutionary approach? It depends on the context, but Andy outlines the pros and cons of each approach. Our take is that systems and processes can be changed relatively quickly, but genuine transformation involves changing behaviours which generally evolves in step-changes over time.

2 – Some Days are Better than Others, from Glyn Lumley – The HR Maverick

Why are some days better than others? Glyn observes that when things go wrong “Most of the blame seems to be laid at the door of individual employees”.  But organisations are a complex interaction between people, processes, technology and the environment. Could it be something in the system?

3 – CFO = Value Integrator…CHCO = ?,  from J.Keith Dunbar – The DNA of Human Capital

Ulrich and colleagues have often explained that the change imperative in HR is also happening to different degrees in Finance and other functions.  Keith looks over the fence at the finance community with reference to an IBM Global Chief Financial Officer CFO study. The report refers to the CFO as a Value Integrator, so what does this make our Chief Human Capital Officer CHCO (not a title we like) or HR Director?

4 – Building the Perfect HR Team, from Trish McFarlane – HR Ringleader

Do you need a HR background to be in HR? We had a similar debate last year, with Do You Need a HR Background To Be a Successful HR Director. Trish, who during the day works as a HR Business Partner, asks the question, but goes further.  If you were a ‘fantasy HR Manager’, who would you have in your team? A view on HR skills that will be in demand in the future.

5 – The Management Con, from Chris Dillow – Stumbling and Mumbling

What are we doing highlighting articles from the ‘dismal science’ on the HR Transformer Blog. Well, everyone is interested in economics now aren’t they? Stumbling and Mumbling is a good read and Chris Dillow is a financial writer with attitude, who asks the question, What do Bosses Do? A good question, we may not agree with his answer, but always enjoy some NHS number crunching which he uses to illustrate his view.

6 – Top Reasons for ERP Project Delays –from ERPKO

Unclear critical paths, indecisive decision making and unrealistic expectations – sound familiar?   Most HR Transformation programmes involve getting the most out of HR Technology, including ERP systems such as Oracle or SAP. Delays in the roll-out of new systems are a big problem for HR. Loss of credibility, budget over-run, service delivery issues – the list goes on.  By now, we have seen them all, but do we know what causes them and how to prevent them happening? Sufficient planning, right skills at the right time and a robust governance model all help in our experience. (Thanks to @DougLubin and @rfsilva123 on Twitter for this article.)

7 – How SaaS makes a good free option, from Dennis Howlett, AccMan

Fed up with ERP delays? It might be worth reading more about SaaS. More and more  HR organizations are buying Software as a Service solutions such as SuccessFactors and Workday. Dennis considers the economic model and psychological appeal.  You need to understand the different commercial models as well as the fit with your business requirements. Some conversational topics to bring up with the IT Director when you meet her in the lift!  This article was spotted in our HR-Transformers-Techies Twitter Group.

8 – Employee self-service – Can HR keep up with the pace of self-service technology?, from David Woods at HR Magazine.      

All the evidence points to self-service saving time and money yet take-up remains low and the technology is becoming ever more advanced. David Woods looks at why HR is dragging its feet. There is also evidence that self-service does not always save time and money but what caught our eye, was that Self-service is moving into artificial intelligence. Early adopter Aviva took the decision to launch an automated Ask HR response service for its 23,500 employees back in 2006.  Aviva employees type in a question and with the help of the language search engine, suitable answers are brought up instantly from the web-based knowledge base. Since installing Ask HR, 69% of all HR enquiries are now handled through the system, reducing telephone calls and allowing HR staff to focus on more complex queries.

9 – Northgate Arinso Buys its way to top spot in enterprise HRO and it only cost them 100m, from Horses for Sources

This was big news for the industry in March. By acquiring Convergys HRO business, Northgate Arinso have acquired US HR Service Centre Capability and ready made clients for its HRIS team. The news shakes up the HR Outsourcing industry and creates a Global Leader in an expanding industry with Headquarters in the UK. This was also covered on the day by the HR Transformer Blog – in HR Outsourcing – The Challenge of Picking Winners.   On the subject of industry news, you might already be familiar with the Horses for Sources blog, this has now spawned a new analyst firm, Horses for Sources. We are looking forward to reading the same quality of thinking on outsourcing trends in HR.

10 – Does HR Outsourcing Really Work? From Deloitte

Before we get too excited about HR Outsourcing, does HRO really work? Our friends at Deloitte say HR Outsourcing works when you do it right. The same answer would also apply if you replaced ‘HRO’ with any complex change programme such as a new IT system or move to HR Shared Services. However HRO has had some mixed results for a variety of reasons. The good news is that in 2010 we have over 10 years of lessons learned, case studies and battle scars to learn from….worth reading if you are considering outsourcing HR functions.
We hope you enjoyed our HR Transformation Articles for March.
 
Please suggest articles and HR Transformers worth following on Twitter @AndySpence.
 
And finally, Happy Easter!

So you are no longer a HR Twitter Virgin, you have got yourself a Twitter username, added your appealing bio and uploaded your best photo. You may also have found your favourite celebrity tweeter, or your favourite magazines on Twitter.

Now it’s time to really dig a bit deeper into your particular ‘thing’. At Glass Bead Consulting , our particular ‘thing’ is HR Transformation , improving people management in organisations by applying various techniques and tools in technology, skills and solutions. This includes a broad group of people including HR professionals, writers, academics, consultants, vendors, technologists and various others who are interested in improving people management.

We have created different lists of ‘HR Transformers’ using a feature called Twitter Lists, primarily so we can read useful and relevant twitter streams. Many of these people have their own blogs and publications and we thought it might be useful to share these with you, so you can benefit from their views, resources and links. The lists are a starting point and new people are joining Twitter all the time – so please suggest others to follow and we will update.

HR Transformers on Twitter

1. HR Transformers-Bloggers Bloggers with a passion for HR transformation

2. HR Transformers-Analysts Industry analysts who have a focus on HR Technology, Human Capital Management or HR Outsourcing

3. HR Transformers-Writers HR Journalists or writers with an interest for HR Transformation

4. HR Transformers Techies HR Technology experts or suppliers

5. HR Transformers-Consultants HR consultants with a focus on HR Transformation

6. HR Transformers HR Outsourcing HR and BPO outsourcing vendors and commentators

7. HR Transformers Change Experts in managing change

8. HR Transformers OD Experts in Organisational Design

9. HR Publications HR Magazines and journals

10. Leadership Experts in leadership

11. Recruiters Those involved in recruitment with an interest in social media

We have also consolidated all of these lists to our own Listorious HR Transformers List which is a useful Twitter resource.

Please comment below on any other HR Transformers you recommend to follow on Twitter and we will add to the lists. Self-promotion is actively encouraged, especially for the shy and retiring Brits.

Apparently, Sarah Jessica Parker is a Twitter Virgin. But, are you a HR Twitter Virgin?

There is a lot of hype about Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables users to send and read messages or Tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the authors profile page and delivered to the author's subscribers who are known as followers.

We know HR do use social media , see our article and the downloadable report on HR Social Networks UK Trends. HR needs to be all over social media trends to understand how its being used and the transformational impact on our organisations. See for example What a Social Media Policy Looks Like and Social Networking What HR Needs to Know

Many people who are interested in people management and HR use Twitter, however, our feeling is that only a tiny proportion of HR Professionals, Consultants and HRO Vendors that we know, for example on LinkedIn are getting involved. We thought we would try and move things along a bit by explaining why we like Twitter and a few tips on getting started.

We like Twitter because it provides a constant live stream of information including links to articles, blogs, resources and opinions from around the World. Subjects we are interested in such as leadership, HR, talent management, performance management, employee engagement, technology and outsourcing are well represented now on Twitter. Its a bit like having your own 24-7 live, personalised newsfeed. And its free.

In HR for example, some of our favourite twitter feeds include @HRMagazine , @CIPD , @HRBartender (one of our favourite HR Bloggers) or @MartinCouzins (from XpertHR).

We have noticed how ideas that often start as a short 'Tweet', get shaped from feedback and responses, develop into articles and some might even convert into actions in the real world. That is powerful.

It is reassuring in a way, that Twitter behaviour reflects the real-world. Watch out for the brand promoters, the witty, the controversial, the curious and the helpful. See for example The Six Twitter Types . Ignore the bossy Twitter evangelists who shout 'I tweet therefore I am – if you don't have followers you are in the dark ages'. This is just not true. It is a bit like saying you must read a newspaper every day. If you are interested in reading articles on the web or have lots of things to say and are happy to go public then great, if not don't. It's your choice.

Here is our Guide for HR Twitter Virgins with some useful resources to get you started.

1. Get a Twitter account, choose your username and upload your picture from LinkedIn . Add your bio and include words with which you want to be found with. There is no need to reveal who you work if you don't want to. Many people have more than one Twitter account for 'work' and 'personal'.

2. Search for topics you are interested in with keywords, e.g. HR, OD, Change, Leadership, Sarah Jessica Parker and you will see people who are into the same things as you. Follow them and you will see their tweets on your Tweet Stream.

3. The Twitter web-site is fine, but we use HootSuite which is free and allows you to view subject streams or group your followers. It also allows you to shorten web-links which is useful as you only have 140 characters.

4. There is an etiquette and terminology on Twitter, see for example, How to Tweet Politely but you will pick this up soon enough.

5. Finally, follow me @AndySpence and say hello.

If you need any more help to get started, here is the Mashable guide to using Twitter and Twitter Tutorials on You Tube

When you have your Twitter username up and running, why not join the London HR tweet-up and meet other people, in person, discussing topical issues in HR? If interested, register here Connecting HR: the London HR tweet-up.

When you get started, check out our article HR Transformers on Twitter with lots of lists of interesting people to follow.

Whether you are a first-timer on Twitter, or more experienced, please share your thoughts and tips by commenting below.

Are UK HR professionals the ’social butterflies’ of the online World? Researchers monitored 2000 online conversations in the UK over September and October as part of their research. The conversations included employers, consultancies, and employees discussing HR related topics. The interesting report from CHA, the workplace communications consultancy, was based on research by online specialist Pass It On Media. It found that the tone of conversations was mainly neutral to positive which surprised the researchers who expected more ‘angst’ in the current economic environment. The report is worth a read with innovative research, case-studies from Virgin, E.ON UK and Dell, and some very useful and practical tips for employees and employers alike. Download the PDF "Conversations at your fingertips – How HR professionals score as social networkers"

The findings that stand out for me :-

1. 1. The key venues for conversation are message boards or forums, which account for 54%, followed by social networks such as LinkedIn (23%) and blogs (23%).
2. 2. Broadly, the themes covered are: the working environment & friendship at work, salaries & related issues, how people are feeling, and work/life balance & holidays.
3. 3. The top five are LinkedIn, Facebook, iVillage, Netmums and UK Business Labs.
4. 4. Busiest day for social networking about employment issues are Thursdays and Fridays.
5. 5. Social Networks are now more popular than personal emails.
6. 6. The term ‘human resources’ has been used only 13,000 times on Twitter "HR" has been used a staggering 323,000 times in the life of Twitter.

For trends in UK Social Media usage, the map below comes from Are you LinkedIn in London or Bebo in Belfast? and show the regionalisation of various social networks, as of September 2009. With Facebook and Twitter’s growth leveling off, and Bebo and MySpace continuing to lose audience it will be very interesting to run these again in 2010.

Possible questions for further research is how do other functions compare to HR and what are the trends in other countries?