Federal HR Labor Relations Pro Wanted

Does FLRA, FMCS, arbitration, demand to bargain, negotiation and anything and everything about the Federal Labor Management Statute catch your attention?

In a good way?

Have I got a deal for you! I am looking for a federal labor relations professional to join my human resources staff.

Take a look at the vacancy announcement, apply and we have a chance of working together.

The USAJobs vacancy announcement and how to apply information is linked below. 

Lead HR Specialist (Labor Relations), St. Cloud VA Health Care System

We're taking applications through May 31, 2012.

We have fun. You'd like it.

The Coffee Break. Is It the Next Thing to Go?

One tired HR woman, I quickly opened my copy of this month's Harvard Business Review to take a closer look at the article, Coffee Breaks Don't Boost Productivity After All.

What? Are coffee breaks counterproductive?

In the companion interview, Boost Your Productivity with Microbreaks, Charlotte Fritz defended her finding that taking short breaks during the workday doesn't revitalize you - unless you do something job related and positive, such as praising a colleague or learning something new.

I read through the article and the interview and what struck me more than her findings on coffee and microbreaks, which I agree with BTW in terms of my self and my workday, is the idea of mentally disengaging from work.

"We have that time where we really engage in the work intensely, but then other times that we really let go of it."

Letting go is where I lose it. I have a hard time shutting down at the end of the day. During the work day, not a chance. It's a marathon from the start to finish and no cup of coffee (even with all the co-worker praising in the world) is going to give me the recovery I need.

Charlotte says she wants to "keep focusing on the idea of recovery at work. . . really looking at the things that we can do within the workday that help us keep or stay energized."

Recovery during the work day so I can come home with energy to spare is something I can get behind and I'll be waiting - with coffee in hand - to see what she finds. In the meantime . . .

What do you do to recover during your work day?

A Lesson in Aging: Day in the Life Sunday

I don't know when the comments stopped, I just know that I don't hear them anymore.

Whether they came at the kid's elementary school functions, after describing my 9+ years in the military, or discussing the latest hot flash situation, I often heard one the "wow, you-definitely-don't-look-your-age" comment in one form or another.

Not anymore. No more fishing for compliments or hoping for the unexpected comments. They are not coming.

Wiser <but still slightly bummed>, here are a few things I've come to know over the years:

• You have to keep me and my face away from orange. If you give me a blush mosaic with even a touch of orange in it, my cheeks will look like a pumpkin.

• Metabolism really does slow down after 40. Long gone are the days of eating what I want when I want. I want my personal trainer back!

• The sun is not your friend.

I remember the lazy teen summers on the beach with surf, sand and baby-oiled skin. Yes, baby oil. Sunscreen? SPF? Pshaw!

I'll always have the hit the beach before the sun comes up and don't leave before it goes down Daytona Beach memories but I don't want to wear them on my face.

Timeless beauty, beautiful at any age, feel young = be young, it's what's on the inside that counts, yada, yada . . .  all well and good for the big picture of life but for the here and now, I want to look the part too.

Enter my new favorite skin care line, DermaDoctor. It's amazing to watch my complexion even out and the sun spots fade away. Too bad we can't burn fat and build muscle as easily, eh?

What one product do you swear by?

Photo credit: iStockphoto

Human Resources, Complacency and Making Mistakes

There's no room for complacency in my HR.

In a recent Fast Company article, Why RIM Lost Its Crew, Its Groove, the author writes that complacency was one of the factors killing RIM. That's big. {If you weren't aware, RIM makes Blackberry. No worries, I own a Blackberry and didn't always know that either.}

A complacent satisfaction with present knowledge is the chief bar to the pursuit of knowledge.                                                                                     B.H. Lindell Hart

Complacent HR is content with the status quo and (did I say this already. . .?) there is no room for complacency in my HR. It threatens progress, it threatens growth and for HR leaders, it could threaten your very existence.

Let's take a look at an employee relations action you worked on and lost. You actually didn't lose it, you pulled it back before it was decided upon. You actions are good. Your odds are better than good on appeal.

Why would you do such a thing? You missed things. Things that, on appeal, could be problematic. More than that, you could not let your boss decide on an action that was anything less than complete.

Replace an employee relations action with a strategic workforce plan, a new recruitment initiative or an incentive award program proposal that misses the boat and it comes down to one thing: you got complacent.

Are these signs of complacency familiar to you?

• You utter,"good enough" in the face of unanswered questions.
• Your meetings on key issues end with without commitment or decision.
• Your candor is lacking and your support goes to the loudest bidder.
• You stick to what you've always done even when it stops working.

What else? You base your decisions solely on past actions, you begin to believe your own press, and you do not stay current on the legal landscape.

The good news about complacency is that it can be killed easily and the first step is admitting you have a problem. Then, you collaborate.

You speak with others. You seek feedback. You listen. Signs of complacency are more obvious to outsiders than insiders. You don't hold back. You do whatever it is you do to exit your funk. You get back in the game with both feet and even though it sounds counterintuitive, you make mistakes.

Mistakes cure complacency. Trust me, I know.

Photo credit: Jessica Hagy, Indexed

Primula, Présumé and Tactile Learning: A Day in the Life Sunday

Nothing like a shot of Baileys and coffee made in my Primula Coffee Press to start off a lazy Sunday morning.

We have the requisite coffee maker for guests but the husband and I don't use it. Grinding, scooping, smelling, brewing, and pressing our way to the perfect cup of coffee is so . . . tactile.

Sharing my love for Moleskine, my friend Trish McFarlane wondered in a recent post, "Miss Being Tactile? Is There an App for That? 

I have Evernote at home, on the Blackberry and on the iPad (complete with wireless keyboard) but given the choice, I reach for the kid's 24-pack of ultrathin Sharpies and a blank sheet of paper and mind map my ideas. Circles here, arrows there and a splash of color to draw the eye into the main points - does it get any better than that?

I struggled with my Nook 1st Edition, barely used my Kindle and am now just getting ok reading with the Nook for iPad. If I could only dog-ear a virtual page or two, I'd be golden.

You see, I am in my element when I can see if, feel it, and touch it.

Although I am the first in line to want to make a good first impression when visitors come knocking, I am also the first to blow past the gloss to see what's really behind the curtain. This may be why I question the wisdom of job seekers who put the shine before the substance with creative resume displays like  Présumé.

Take a look at this Présumé. I hate it. Actually, I love it (what I hate is that I lack the creativity to do this.) This was the absolute perfect approach for the job she was seeking but it would not work for everyone in every situation, like applying for a position with me.

This very cool presentation would lose it's appeal when I printed it off so I could hold it in my hot little tactile hands and mark it up with my yellow highlighter as I read for evidence of proven #trenchhr experiences.

It's me, not you. Sometimes a traditional dry, black and white, no more than 2 page resume with no life but a ton of hand-on organizational human resource practitioner experiences it just what this HR Director ordered.

Now, who's going to bottle up a touch of that creativity for me?

Photo credit weevermedia.com/services/app-marketing

Top 20 HR Mentors for Students

It all started with a conference and some construction.

There I was, making my way through Minneapolis construction to the 1st ever MN Bloggers Conference and I met Josh Braaten holding up a sign directing attendees to the parking lot.

One thing lead to another and Josh unofficially became my official Big Picture Web Squarespace connection.

Josh introduced me to Grant Tilus via an offer to guest post and Grant developed this list of Top 20 Mentors for Students to Learn from on Twitter.

It starts off like this:

"As a student studying to become a human resources professional it is important to realize that not everything can be learned within a classroom.  In order to help you bridge experience gap prior to graduation we’ve put together a list of the top 20 HR mentors for students to learn from on Twitter. This list of human resource professionals will help you learn and understand current HR related issues while further preparing you for a successful career within the human resources field."

Got your interest? It should. There is a ton of experience on that list. Check out the entire list here.

Not any one list can capture the greatness so who would you like to add as a resource for students aka the future of HR? I'll start with Steve Brown, @sbrownehr.

Your turn!