Author: Tiffany Rowe

Tiffany is a leader in marketing authority, she assists Seek Visibility and our clients in contributing resourceful content throughout the web. Tiffany prides herself in her ability to create and provide high quality content that audiences find valuable. She also enjoys connecting with other bloggers and collaborating for exclusive content in various niches. With many years of experience, Tiffany has found herself more passionate than ever to continue developing content and relationship across multiple platforms and audiences. When Tiffany is not researching, editing or submitting content you can find her doing Yoga, photography, D.I.Y crafting and dog training. “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

Engaging Executives: HR’s Responsibility to the Higher Levels

On 15.09.2017 By Tiffany RoweIn HR, Leadership, Management

When experts talk about employee engagement, most people imagine lower-level employees and middle managers. These workers have minimal authority over their daily tasks, they are the least job-secure, and they tend to receive the lowest pay and worst benefits packages, meaning they are most likely to be disengaged from their work. As a result, the web is filled with engagement solutions to keep lower-level employees around.

Yet, while HR professionals devote the bulk of their energy to engaging this portion of the workforce, executives are suffering. Though they have greater responsibility and greater remuneration for their efforts, executives can still disengage from their work, lowering their productivity, and endangering the entire business – including those workers at lower levels. However, the engagement solutions that work for lower-level employees rarely apply to higher-level business leaders. Therefore, HR professionals need an entirely different strategy for executive engagement.

Understanding Executives

HR typically doesn’t pay much attention to executives for a couple reasons:

Executives already earn high salaries, and they generally have more control over their schedules and tasks. Therefore, the monetary rewards and engagement strategies HR is most familiar with don’t work.
Most HR reps can’t relate to executives.

Most HR professionals have more in common with low-level employees than upper-echelon executives. Most HR reps earn respectable salaries and average benefits; they complete daily tasks that have little bearing on the greater goals and direction of the company; and only the CHRO and similar top-tier HR workers ever interact with executives. Thus, few members of HR comprehend the lifestyle and struggles of working in the higher levels of an organization.

The first step to engaging executives is understanding executives. It is important to consider that although executives might boast different responsibilities, they are still human. As such, they experience stress and concern for their jobs, their subordinates’ jobs, and their families’ well-being. Further, executives have interests and hobbies, they consume media, and they take pleasure in small joys like the rest of us. Remembering this, HR reps should find it easier to empathize with higher-level workers.

It might also be useful to know what executives discuss with one another – which is not nearly as disparate from the lower-levels as HR reps might expect. Alongside infrequent discussions about business direction and organization design, executives lament their full schedules and intrusive meetings, gossip and chat about mutual acquaintances and people within the organization, and generally talk about what work needs to be done. A savvy HR professional will note that their discussions are nearly identical to those of lower-level workers.

Engaging Executives

Aside from their wealth and authority, executives aren’t terribly different than anyone else within a business. Therefore, HR reps only need to determine what motivates individual executives to develop effective engagement tactics for the upper echelon. Some common higher-level motivators are:

Need. Executives have finely honed talents, and they want to know their talents are integral for business success.
Passion. Like everyone else, executives want to like what they do.
Chemistry. Workplace culture is important; even executives want to like the people they work with.
Challenge. Executives tend to be competitive. If a job isn’t challenging enough, most will disengage.

It isn’t difficult to develop engagement programs around executives knowing how simple and common their needs and wants truly are. To stimulate their need motivation, HR reps can institute a “thank your boss” day, where higher-level employees receive executive gifts. To improve chemistry around the office, HR can organize team-building exercises that are mandatory for the C-suite.

Another useful tactic for engaging executives is to connect them more closely with their subordinates. While some high-level managers are naturally proficient at seeking out and befriending low-level employees, most executives maintain a boundary between themselves and the grunts. HR should strive to coach executives in their behavior toward lower levels, revealing their blind spots when it comes to leadership methods and results. HR should lead by example, placing people first and exemplifying how executives should interact with other members of the organization.

If necessary, HR should encourage executives to enroll in leadership training courses; just because they’ve reached the higher levels doesn’t mean they can’t acquire new skills and knowledge. If an organization invests in its people, its people will invest in the business – even executives understand the value of that.

About the Author:

Tiffany Rowe is a leader in marketing authority, she assists Seek Visibility and our clients in contributing resourceful content throughout the web. Tiffany prides herself in her ability to create and provide high quality content that audiences find valuable. She also enjoys connecting with other bloggers and collaborating for exclusive content in various niches. With many years of experience, Tiffany has found herself more passionate than ever to continue developing content and relationship across multiple platforms and audiences.

If you want to share this article the reference to Tiffany Rowe and The HR Tech Weekly^® is obligatory.

Is HR Responsible for Web Security?

On 17.08.2017 By Tiffany RoweIn Business, HR, Technology

It is safe to say that cybersecurity should be among a business’s top priorities. While malware like WannaCry spreads around the globe, ruining company after company, small and large businesses alike should be focused on strengthening their digital defenses and building a workplace culture focused on security. Undoubtedly, most HR professionals will wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment – but many won’t lift a finger to address gaps in their employers’ cybersecurity.

There are often concerns over who should build and maintain cybersecurity within a business. On one hand, security software is installed on tech devices, which belong in IT’s wheelhouse. Then again, a security breach affects customer relations, so perhaps the customer service department should ensure every device is protected. However, the truth is that HR should take the bulk of the responsibility for keeping a business safe. Here’s why.

HR Protects the Business and Its People

Through incentivization efforts, behavior-monitoring, policy-setting, management of resources, and more, HR departments work to reinforce the integrity of the business’s foundation: its people. Furthermore, HR provides support for the business, its employees, and ultimately its customers, assisting in the achievement of personal and organizational goals that benefit everyone. Because security should be a primary goal for modern businesses, web security measures should be a top concern for HR departments, too.

When a cyberattack is successful, it isn’t just the faceless company that suffers. Often, employee private information, perhaps including payment data, is leaked as well as business-related financial information. Conversely, a business’s tech assets are hardly imperiled by hackers, who are rarely interested in destroying software or able to impact hardware, so the IT department has little to fear from cyberattack. Because HR serves the business and its employees, who are most threatened by cyber-dangers, HR should work to ensure such data is well-protected by comprehensive web security software.

HR Influences Corporate Culture

Yet, effective security software is just one piece of the cyber-protection puzzle. Security experts assert that more often than not, a business’s employees are responsible for data breaches and successful cyberattacks. After all, it is the employees who visit questionable websites, who open shady emails, who click suspicious links, and who fail to install timely updates. Because HR is responsible for employee behavior, HR professionals should actively work against these unhealthy and insecure practices by influencing the culture of the workplace.

HR already has a massive impact on corporate culture. Recruiting efforts can target certain personalities, which form the foundation of a workplace culture. Additionally, HR designs policies and guidelines which shape how employees behave. HR departments should use this sway to establish a culture focused on security. Hiring security-minded workers, hosting regular security trainings, and instilling the idea that security is everyone’s job are ways to ensure employees are aware and alert to security.

HR Understands Compliance Rules

There are all sorts of laws and regulations outlining how businesses should behave, and HR should be familiar with all of them to keep the business safe from fines, litigation, and worse. Often, these rules concern payment minimums and structures, mandatory vacation time, and termination means and methods – but increasingly, the government is turning its attention to online behavior. Already, seven major industries have compliance obligations for digital data. Because HR professionals are already well-versed in adhering to compliance rules, it is hardly a stretch for them to understand burgeoning security regulations. Instead of trying to manage compliance and action in different departments, businesses can streamline the process by giving HR total control over web security efforts.

HR Relies on Technology

These days, every aspect of a business relies on technology – including the HR department. HR professionals use all sorts of digital tools to manage their workforces, from payroll platforms to internal messaging services to online recruitment processes. Should a business’s network be compromised by cyberattack, HR will be as unable to complete their tasks as any other department. If for no other reason than this, HR should be concerned about internet security.

Security failures are bad for business, but they are particularly bad for HR. Because HR departments’ goals align with those of security efforts – and because HR professionals are already well-equipped to handle the intricacies of cybersecurity – HR should be responsible for a business’s web security.

About the Author:

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4 Degrees That Take You Far in HR

On 26.07.2017 By Tiffany RoweIn Career, HR, Talent

You have to be smart to work in human resources. You won’t hear this from anyone outside of HR, but it’s the truth. HR professionals balance all sorts of responsibilities, from administering compensation and benefits to settling disputes between employees to organizing weekly, monthly, and annual events. It’s a tough gig, and it takes diligence and intelligence to pull off.

Therefore, to advance in HR, you need to be even more diligent and intelligent than your HR peers – which means you need to be better educated than they are. Advanced degrees are known to help the ambitious speed up the corporate ladder, and that’s true in HR, too. The following four degrees are incredibly different from one another, but that’s exactly why they are perfect for those interested in being better at HR.

1. Master in Human Resources Management

It shouldn’t be surprising that studying human resources is good for those seeking jobs in human resources. A master’s degree in Human Resources Management targets the field of HR, imbuing students with highly focused knowledge and skills that are exceedingly useful to HR careers. Professionals equipped with the MHRM can typically skip the years of entry-level employment and begin as HR managers, opening up access to better career prospects in the near future.

The only potential downside to an MHRM is the restriction of its material. Students who acquire this advanced degree should be committed to working within HR for their lifetimes, as the information and abilities gained therein hardly apply to other business departments. Fortunately, every business sector requires HR professionals, so graduates with this degree do have some ability to move in their HR careers – though perhaps not as much as grads from the following advanced programs.

2. Master in Business Administration

Arguably the three most familiar letters in business, the MBA is a highly contentious degree program. On one hand, it provides students with essential business leadership skills as well as a foundation in several business fields, including HR. On the other hand, so many schools are producing MBAs every year that employers are beginning to wonder whether that extra education is worthwhile to the workforce.

The truth is MBAs continue to be valuable to businesses – especially in the HR department. The necessity for HR professionals to boast a bevy of skills makes the broad scope of the MBA useful; HR workers can learn the details of all business functions, from accounting to marketing, improving their ability to hire specialized workers and communicate with those teams. Plus, acquiring an AACSB online MBA will give you more flexibility in your career, so you can leave HR for nearly any other business field, if you so desire.

3. Master in Computer Science

Human resources professionals work primarily with people, and secondarily with numbers – so it seems odd that a degree in computer science might be useful to HR. However, like nearly every other business field, HR processes have begun relying heavily on tech, so being proficient in computer science is actually a significant boon to HR workers. With an MS in Computer Science, HR professionals can design and maintain useful programs for HR and other business departments, which can speed up processes, relieve overburdened teams, and help the business become more productive overall. Additionally, it’s conceivable that a tech-savvy HR manager would be promoted into positions like Chief Technology Officer. Thus, computer science isn’t a totally wild advanced degree for HR professionals to obtain.

4. Master in Social Work

Then again, if you entered the HR field for its promise of human contact, you might be drawn to an advanced degree in social work. A Master of Social Work is mandatory for any social work positions, but it is also exceedingly beneficial for professionals looking to become proficient in working with people. Courses on psychology and sociology as well as administrative training provide an unbeatable foundation for assisting people work through issues and reestablish stability. Even better, social work programs teach students about important laws and regulations, which will improve your ability to maintain standards for your employer. Because social work and the HR field overlap in so many ways, this degree program can be just as beneficial as an MHRM.

Whether you would be content with a management position or you want access to the C-suite, you should probably earn an advanced degree to move up in HR. The above programs offer the most applicable knowledge and skills, but you can explore other options by contacting business schools or speaking with a qualified HR mentor.