HR, OD and Training – Collaborative?

Holly MacDonald of Spark + Co. http://www.sparkandco.ca/home/, wrote a blog post http://sparkyourinterest.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/questions-im-no-longer-answering/ that inspired me to write this post.

Holly and I met for the first time over coffee last month, but had some awareness of each other because of our work in HR/OD and Training. We had a lively discussion about the various approaches to HR/OD and Training that we encounter when talking to managers about what those professions have to offer and when talking to employees that find themselves in ‘learning opportunities’ that are required by their management team. I also belong to several LinkedIn groups that are oriented to those professions and have encountered some members that post interesting articles and comments and some that make me wonder if we live on the same planet. Yes, this post is going to talk about my favorite HR, OD and Training competency-collaboration.

In one LinkedIn group the members tend to have discussions that use purely academic information and terminology that is specific to the OD profession but is rarely used in business. The discussions rarely even skirt the very real concept that business executives need to hear specifically and in the language of business how the theories will perform in their business. In other words, how will this affect our bottom line, how will this help us attract and retain the best employees, and how will this aid us in representing our business to the external world.

As Holly mentioned in her blog it is not unusual for managers to tell a Trainer or HR person that their staff or a staff member “needs training” in some area. If the HR, OD or Training Professional starts asking the right questions it often becomes apparent that it isn’t training that is required but something else entirely; or that training is required but it isn’t the training the manager thought was needed. Yet how many HR or Training professionals simply say-okay, and go ahead and organize whatever course the manager first suggested without ever investigating what is really going on? If our conversations with employees who find themselves in not so helpful courses are any indication it still happens more than it should.

Perhaps I have been more shocked by the negativity towards HR Professionals exhibited in some of the online forums on LinkedIn by people who describe themselves as OD Professionals. In my opinion, OD Professionals should be people oriented and that means respectful. Is the HR profession in need of upgrading, sure, and many of you who read my blog know what I think about that-but the vitriol expressed by some of the OD Professionals, often in language that few outside the profession would even understand or relate to, crosses a line. OD Professionals that use elitist terminology and denigrate people who don’t meet their idea of perfection are not, in my opinion professionals at all. One of the key competencies for HR, OD and Training professionals is collaboration and this must cross all cultural and organizational boundaries. From a business perspective, having HR, OD and Training professionals work together, collaboratively, makes sense. Maybe in 2011 we can start to work together and demonstrate respect through the way we treat each other.

The Role of HR and Intra-Organizational Social Media Use

I have conducted extensive research into the use of Social Media in organizations over the past several months. It started out as a bewildering and massive array of information while I sorted out which 'experts' really are experts. I quickly came to realize that the world of Social Media is like many other professions (such as HR) in that one must learn as much as they can in a 'generalist' sense, then choose an area of specialty.

As a person with an extensive HR/OD background the concept of the use of Social Media in an intra-organizational sense is intriguing. I have also read reams of information on using Social Media for marketing and branding. While my future use of Social Media will be in a new business launch later this year, the idea of using Social Media for HR and OD purposes still captures much of my interest.

One thing that is clear is that many organizations still fear opening the gates to Social Media in their organizations. The key is to treat it in a similar manner that you would any other major business process or program. The organization must first hold discussions on what the implementation of Social Media can do for various aspects of the business. Once that is determined the leaders (including a starring role by HR/OD) must develop a well thought out policy for the organization's Social Media strategy. IBM has one of the best I have seen so far and it is easy to find via Google.

The next step is organization wide communication and education on the strategy, the policy, the roll out and the expectations of all employees regarding the use of Social Media in the organization.

This should sound familiar and if it seems daunting it is a little, however the rewards of a well thought out strategy and roll out will be evident within the first six months.

The benefits of Social Media for improving organizational communication, recruiting and training and development programs are significant if the organization takes time to develop and then follow an effective plan first.

What steps regarding the use of Social Media have been taken in your organization? Have you proposed or initiated any Social Media related projects in your HR/OD role?