14 August 2011

Today’s TabbloidPERSONAL NEWS FOR steveboese@gmail.com

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STEVE BOESE’S HR TECHNOLOGY

Metric of the Day - $10M inRevenue per EmployeeAUG 12, 2011 09:17A.M.

Ten million in revenue per employee? How can you possibly get there?

You’re thinking revenue per employee comes in at around $150,000

maybe $200,000 in a good year.

One of the ways you approach $10M in revenue per employee is by

outsourcing relentlessly everything that you consider non-essential to

your business, thus significantly reducing the number of people you

directly employ, and allowing you to focus more fully on those critical

differentiators for your business.

The details behind this story are taken from a piece on Bloomberg

Business Week about privately-held electronics manufacturer Vizio and

their purposeful strategy of outsourcing most every function that they

perceive to be not core to the design of their high tech products and to

the customer experience they are trying to deliver. Vizio controls product

design and customer support in-house, and just about every other

function in the manufacturing and distribution process is contracted out

to a large network of partners and suppliers across the globe.

By shifting the employment relationship from in-house to contracted

out, Vizio has managed to rack up close to $3B in annual sales while

directly employing only about 300 people. Sure, there are tens of

thousands of workers scattered across the partner ecosystem, and Vizio

has to skillfully manage and coordinate this partner network to ensure

production standards and shipping obligations are met. But I wonder if

supply chain and vendor management for a few dozen, (or even a few

hundred), key partners is in the long run a more manageable and

profitable task than trying to directly recruit, employ, compensate,

manage, develop, and do all the other ‘people management’ tasks

that are often so hard to pull off well.

Sure someone else, in this case the partner and supplier organizations

still have to do all those pesky ‘people’ chores, but for a company set up

like Vizio, it has to be seen as an entire set of challenges and problems

that are not worth undertaking. They can maintain a really small but

focused core team, can concentrate on the design and support processes

they see as fundamental to their success, and can likely move and

respond more rapidly to changing market conditions over time.

And they probably have a lot less drama than naturally occurs when

trying to get 50,000 people to all row in the same direction, play nice in

the cube farms, and not leave a big mess in the break room microwave.

What do you think? Are these kinds of ‘networked’ organizations the way

of the future? Would it work in your business?

Have a great weekend!

STEVE BOESE’S HR TECHNOLOGY

We’re all in this together.Unless your Business Unitstinks...AUG 11, 2011 09:19A.M.

I’m sure you have heard something in the news about the current strike

at Verizon Communications, notable for not only the sheer numbers of

workers involved (about 45,000), the seemingly irrational timing of

calling a stike in this economic climate, but also for the nature and

nuances behind the dispute.

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR steveboese@gmail.com 14 August 2011

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The striking Verizon workers represent and support Verizon’s landline

business, a business that according to the company is in decline.

Whether it is due to more consumers choosing to simply forego a fixed

home landline in this age of mobile telephony, or the simplicity and low

cost of services like Skype, the facts seem to be clear that the landline

business is not where growth and increased profitability for the company

will lie.

Most of us these days when we think of Verizon, see it only as a

wireless/mobile company, with a national presence, constant broadcast

advertising, (Can you hear me now?), and retail locations popping up all

over the nation. In fact my local Krispy Kreme establishment was closed

recently and now has re-opened as a Verizon Wireless store. Sadly, the

conveyor belt that used to carry the tasty donuts for their sugary glaze

coating is gone as well.

But the 45,000 striking workers from the landline side of the business

point to the overall growth and success of Verizon Communications (the

consolidated landline and wireless sides), to argue against management’s

insistence on concessions and increased contributions to health care and

retirement plans. Why should we, they argue, have to ‘give back’ when

the organization overall is performing so well?

I don’t really know enough about the details of the contracts and the

proposals to come down on the side of either the striking workers or

Verizon management as to the specifics of the dispute, but to me the

interesting angle is the internal division at play here. While most of us

have not been caught up in a strike like this one, I bet we have all been

part of organizations with variations in performance (and contribution to

profits and growth), across lines of business, regions, product lines -

whatever.

Once the enterprise achieves a bit of scale there are bound to be some

parts of the organization that simply perform better than others. And

while sometimes individual contribution to the success of these better

performing business units is recognized (unit specific bonuses or

awards), often it really isn’t singled out, particularly when for many

organizations it can be difficult to fairly and accurately allocate shared

corporate overhead costs to product lines or business units.

So while compensation might be tied to business unit success, things like

benefit plans, retirement programs, PTO policies and the like are almost

never variable inside and across competing business units within a larger

organization. Whether or not you are a high-flying sales rep in a growing

product line, or a administrative support person in a declining business,

most companies treat you the same way with respect to benefits. After all

we’re all in this together, right?

The Verizon situation is certainly complicated by the fact that the

declining landline business is unionized, and the growing and more

exciting wireless business is not, but the larger issue that seems to

position one side of the business against another is certainly fascinating.

I am sure we have all had different times in our careers when we looked

at a business line in our organizations and thought - ‘Man those guys

are killing us‘. But I doubt we ever as HR or Talent pros advocated for

whacking their benefits or PTO because of it. Seems kind of a tough

position to defend.

What’s your take - should non-compensation related items

vary inside organizations according to contribution to

success?

STEVE BOESE’S HR TECHNOLOGY

Relax, your 401(k) bouncedback - time to make plans forLas Vegas in OctoberAUG 10, 2011 07:00A.M.

This post was more or less completed over this past weekend, and I fully

intended it to run yesterday. But after the bloodbath across global equity

markets on Monday, it seemed a bit ridiculous to run a piece on Tuesday

morning with a pitch to attend not one, but two events in Las Vegas this

October. Sure, they are both fantastic, can’t miss type events, and yes, I

can offer you a really attractive discount to attend one or both of these

events, but let’s be honest - was anyone on Tuesday going to think

seriously about approaching the boss for some travel budget, or consider

a little additional personal investment in their professional development

on such a disastrous financial day?

But then, perhaps shockingly, the markets rebounded yesterday, and

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR steveboese@gmail.com 14 August 2011

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while certainly the uncertainty surrounding US and global economic

conditions are likely to persist for the time being, the sting of Monday’s

sell off has been assuaged at least somewhat, and I figured I’d better

make my case quickly this morning, since who knows what might

happen when the bell rings a couple of hours from now.

So here are the facts, and once I lay them out it will be clear

what the only logical conclusion will be for you, the Human

Resources or HR Technology professional at which to arrive:

1. The 14th Annual HR Technology Conference is set for October 3-5,

2011 and will be held in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Resort. This

event continues to be the pre-eminent event in the world of HR

Technology, and in fact, rivals (and likely surpasses), any mainstream

Human Resources conference for its sheer number and depth of

exceedingly outstanding sessions, the scope and breadth of the solution

providers that exhibit in the Expo hall, and the opportunity to rub

elbows, break bread, and engage with the sharpest and savviest thinkers

in the world of Human Capital Management.

2. If you skip this event, you will lament your decision for the remainder

of 2011, and will almost certainly begin scheming planning to attend in

2012. Why put yourself through a year of regret?

3. At no other event can you attend presentations from executives from

the most important, innnovative, and exciting technology providers in

the space, see case studies from innovative organizations like Facebook

and Groupon, and even get the opportunity to hear from me, your

dedicated servant not once, but twice during the course of the event, as I

have the privilege to co-present a session with the HR Ringleader, Trish

McFarlane, as well as participate on a HR and Social Media panel

moderated by the HR Capitalist, Kris Dunn.

4. If you move fast, (or really before September 19th), you can use the

discount code STEVE11, (all caps), to receive a $500 discount off the

published registration price. Again, the conference information and

registration details can be found here. And you should really take

advantage of this opportunity. Truly.

But wait! There’s more!

If you act now you can double your learning experience in Las

Vegas this October!

Here’s how:

The 4th HRevolution conference for Human Resources and talent

professionals will be held on October 2, 2011, one day before the HR

Technology Conference kicks off. HRevolution has partnered with the

HR Technology Conference to present the latest in what has become well

known in the HR community as a challenging, engaging, informal, and

boundary stretching program of facilitated conversations that is sure to

enhance and support your HR Technology experience. With sessions

from leaders from Zappos and Glassdoor, as well as some of the leading

voices in HR and social media today, the HRevolution - Las Vegas is the

perfect way to get your HR Technology Conference experience started.

And thanks to the partnership with HR Tech, all attendees of

HRevolution will receive a special, top-secret discount code (even better

than STEVE11), that will give you the best value for HR Technology that

you can find.

So here is what I really think you ought to do:

1. Register for the HRevolution event on October 2nd. You can get your

tickets here.

2. Then take your HRevolution discount code and register for the HR

Technology Conference here.

3. Book your room at Mandalay Bay or at any one of the dozen nearby

Vegas hotels offering rooms at half the price.

4. Get ready for the best learning and networking experience you will

ever have.

Take my word for it, or better yet, ask anyone that has attended HR

Technology or HRevolution, you won’t regret it!

STEVE BOESE’S HR TECHNOLOGY

Don’t try to be original...AUG 09, 2011 08:51A.M.

Browsing through the Google Reader early this morning and came across

this piece on the CoDesign blog highlighting a sweet infographic on

typography. Sure I know that infographics are really close to Jumping

the Shark right now, but at least this one is actually focused on graphics

and typefaces, and not just an elaborate and link-baiting way to show

some simple statistics or bar charts that I thought it was worth featuring.

For many, the selection of fonts or typefaces is kind of a random act - we

know we shouldn’t choose Comic Sans under any circumstances (you do

know that right?), but after that if we occasionally wander from the

default Times New Roman font it is usually a crapshoot what choice we

land on. Arial? Verdana? Something something serif?

Who knows? And does it matter, really?

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Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR steveboese@gmail.com 14 August 2011

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Well typefaces can influence your message - and these handy

infographics might help you to better understand what effect your

choices about type could have upon your content, (these images were

pretty big, click the thumbnails below to view the full-size versions).

What I like about the charts is how the designer managed to simply

connect a style of type, say ‘Modern Serif‘, with a feeling or expression

of the connotation that style suggests, in this case ‘Glamour‘.

In addition to these relational connotations between typefaces and

content, the charts also offer some simple suggestions on the design and

layout of documents and displays of text and graphical information.

But besides all that, and the real reason I decided to post about these

charts here, was the closing statement that wraps up the second

infographic. I’ll repeat it here in case the infographics don’t render fully

for email and RSS subscribers.

‘DON’T TRY TO BE ORIGINAL, JUST TRY TO BE GOOD.’

Sort of a different way of saying, don’t overthink your choices in design

and typography, and it suggests there could be some danger in trying too

hard to create something so new and never before seen that a designer or

communicator could ultimately detract from the message. I think it is

good advice for more than just font choices - it can be really easy to

obsess on ‘original’ or ‘ground breaking’ at the expense of ‘good’. I know I

have fallen into that trap sometimes when designing presentations,

getting caught up for hours on the images and the text alignment and

fonts. Ultimately if what you have to say or communicate is good, really

good, the design stuff probably matters less.

If the message and writing connect with your audience in a meaningful

way, then it probably doesn’t matter too much if the font is geometric or

serif or extra chunky.

Just as long as you don’t choose Comic Sans - no way you are

overcoming that.

STEVE BOESE’S HR TECHNOLOGY

Can Innovation beDepartmentalized?AUG 08, 2011 08:46A.M.

It has been an exceedingly dreary few days (weeks, months, years?), here

in the USA, with the seeming inability of our government leaders to find

solutions for significant issues like the national debt crisis, the ensuing

downgrade of US Treasury debt, and the most recent and horrible loss of

soldiers in Afghanistan.

Unemployment remains unacceptably high, many large organizations

while reporting strong profits, are choosing to sit on cash stockpiles,

rather than increase or expand their labor forces. It is a very uncertain

climate, and in this uncertainty it seems like for many companies,

caution and restraint make a more prudent choice than more aggressive

expansion. Sure, there are still (and always will be) exceptions to this

rule, and we have seen several successful tech companies like Apple,

Google, and Zynga (and more), continue to increase revenue, create new

products, and expand hiring. But for all the high-flying tech successes,

there are perhaps more news reports of organizational contraction and

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mass layoffs, (RIM, Cisco, HSBC, to choose just a few). Image -

smithsonian.com

What marks the key difference that allows some companies to succeed

and thrive in these tough economic times compared to ones that struggle

to survive, or that hope to endure through this sustained period of

economic malaise with exercises in cost-cutting, hiring freezes, and even

workforce contraction?

Might one of your answers be ‘The ability to innovate?’

It makes sense right? Apple wins because they created new and better

ways to buy and enjoy music with the iPad, transformed the mobile

phone experience with the iPhone, and re-invented and continue to

dominate the tablet computing space with the iPad. They have simply

out-innovated (and executed, and marketed, and managed), their way to

success and dominance. Heck, they might still have more cash on hand

than the US government.

So the question is then, if ‘innovation’ is the prime cause or factor for

sustained growth and success, can organizations and nations simply

declare ‘We are going to become more innovative‘, and set up a

department, task force, blue-ribbon panel - whatever; and sit down and

commence innovating?

I thought about this while reading some articles on a new blog on the

Smithsonian.com site called ‘Department of Innovation’, a resource that

describes itself as follows:

“...in the spirit of banging the drum for new ideas and fresh

thinking, this blog will track all things innovative, not just in

science and technology, but also in how we live, how we

learn, how we entertain ourselves.”

And while that sounds like a worthy and perhaps even productive

undertaking, (there are already a few cool articles on the site), I can’t

help but think by (at least by name), compartmentalizing innovation into

its own ‘Department’, might not be the right way to frame the discussion,

and certainly not the right way to try to advance innovation inside

organizations.

My sense (and this is completely unresearched, so if I am off base, please

feel free to bash me in the comments), is that the most truly innovative

organizations don’t try to box up or to departmentalize innovation. They

realize that innovative concepts or even creative ideas can come from

anywhere and at anytime in the organization.

It seems to me that the pre-requisite for improving the chances for

innovative ideas to spring up and take root in any kind of an organization

is to create an environment where people feel free and safe to share

ideas, explore new concepts, and have a real chance to see their work and

effort impact the organization, their colleagues, their customers, and

their communities. The first step to becoming more innovative might

just be granting permission.

For real success today, I wonder if every department in the organization

needs to be the ‘Department of Innovation.’

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