Thursday, February 11, 2016

Why is There Such Low Esteem for Human Resources Departments?

            Why is There Such Low Esteem for Human Resources Departments?
Most Corporations treat HR as the wicked stepchild, it is a goldmine really!
by Nick Ashton, CEO/CTO, CommSmart Global Group of Companies
Conversation after conversation, opinion after opinion and written ‘Blah’ keep HR locked away and ill-informed in most cases.  Of course there are some that shine, sadly very few!

Since the HR inception in the Industrial Revolution they do the same thing day in and day out.  Hire, fire and deal with staff issues, normally connected to health insurance questions.

As I was informed the other day, software and algorithms will not solve the issue on their own.  Correct, if it was a ‘run-of-the mill’ program, typically written by a software house with no knowledge whatsoever of the subject matter or never asked the right people, the right questions in the first place, then that would be true.

ZoooMeee © is totally different and is not a toy from the 1980’s!  I was told the other day that they did not like the name of our Employment and HR tool, ZoooMeee, it reminded them of a ‘Pet Rock’ type of name.

Facebook, Twitter, Google, Hertz and Walmart are just names…

Call it what you want, it is not the name that does anything, it is the application and the proven solution!  As we speak, it is in use in Europe and runs a nation’s unemployment programs successfully.  Reducing the welfare rolls and putting people back to work. It has changed corporations in understanding what they have been missing all these years, with companies who are matched with applicants with their passions and competencies for the vacancy. 

They are telling us it is a Millennial Revolution and they are making up over 38% of the workforce.  With their solid social media skills they know what they want and certainly think outside of the conventional HR box.


That is why the standard issue resume is not for them, they socially and business wise live and breathe the Internet of Things.  It is more about their softer skill set, though still understanding that hard skills are important. 

The stats show they would rather work for a smaller company of around 100 employees.

Searching for jobs is an everyday occurrence for them, it has proven that the old ways just does not work for them!  These are different people with skill sets to match and it is the employer that must search for them. 

ZoooMeee is an evolution and has turned job seeking upside down. 

You, the employer find the candidates for your vacancies with ZoooMeee sending their ‘Smart Bio’ details directly to you, in an exceedingly easy format.

By 2020, Millennials in the workforce will have grown to 46%.  Having a far better understanding of this generation evolution of workers will assist you to enhance the attraction of the best and brightest amongst them.

With employment prospects shaky, Millennials are not feeling comfortable in searching for full-time employment with the same job tools that have been around for a long time: job boards (like Indeed or Monster), prospective company's websites, recruitment events, and college career services.

Sure ‘word of ‘mouth’ still works, sadly it has shrunk and the ‘who you know’ factor is less and less.  The change is in!  That is the operative word, CHANGE!

It is not just the availabilities of vacancies and how companies are searching for employees with archaic means, it the ability allow HR to have the ‘real knowledge’ of the growth and future of the corporation, the goals and aspirations.  This enables the inner change that is necessary to occur.

Human-capital/talent issues are top-of-mind for CEOs around the global — but their regard for the HR function remains hazardously truncated: CEOs feel that HR isn’t ready for the task ahead. When asked how well prepared the major functions in their business were to capitalize on transformational trends, only 34% felt that HR was well-prepared and 9% said it was not prepared at all.

In a Harvard report it states, that sadly, chief executives aren’t the only ones with this negative perception. It’s pervasive in organizations — and to make matters worse, HR practitioners have inadvertently played into it. In its “State of Human Capital/Talent” that people in HR still largely have “a support-function mindset, a low tolerance for risk, and a limited sense of strategic ‘authorship’” — all of which has led to “low status among executive peers, no budget for innovation, and a ‘zero-defects’ mentality.”

I must admit, that many HR managers would take exception to those findings, they do, overwhelmingly, want more of a strategic voice than they have now. Look at any HR discussion forum, and you’ll find some version of this question: How can HR get a “seat at the table” and become a strategic business partner?

Simple, let the C-Level and Board understand that without change, the corporation will not move forward with the interests and demands of shareholders in mind.

It is about CHANGE!

Our employee, employer and H.R. solution prepares all for the key battlefields ahead.
It is time to view potential employees, job descriptions and the future strategic motivation and labor trends of the corporation from a solid H.R. perspective.

First let’s look at talent acquisition. It’s critical to bring in the right people to drive the business forward. The thing is, the labor markets and relevant skills vary widely from function to function. Smart recruiting requires an intimate understanding of the work to be done and the hard and soft skill sets desired, as well as the function’s business plan (to forecast that demand). That’s the specialized insight required to develop the right sourcing and recruiting strategy. HR often centralizes talent acquisition in order to minimize costs, and that’s absolutely short-sighted. Saving a few hundred dollars per hire may seem like a quick win, but a bad hire can cost more than $50,000.

For its part, learning and development should enhance employees’ ability to further the company’s mission, mold future leaders, and build strong teams. But companies aren’t seeing it as the strategic opportunity it is — and that’s because of its placement in HR.

It is the passion and competencies of the prospective employee.  That is why ZoooMeee, using a ‘no resume’ approach is successfully.  The applicant answers some fifty-two questions, simple ‘like’ or dislike’ answers and our over 1,500 algorithms do the rest.  No it is not a robotic process, the application is simple and straight forward for HR to understand in seconds, no long pages of a resume that was specially written with the job in mind by the applicant.

ZoooMeee looks at all the applicants ‘Smart Bios’ and select them for your open vacancy, sending the top candidates which you then decide on who you will interview.
For the applicant it goes even further with additional information on how they can improve their skills with education course and training to better suit their employment desires. 

This continues with your corporation as now, you are using ZoooMeee H.R. and each employee takes the same Q/A.  You will find that in many cases existing employees match your wants and needs of new hires for other departments.  It is your own talent pool that find the growth of the company and even assist you and for them to understand that further education, matching the vacant jobs are available.

By reorganizing HR activities along the lines of the ZoooMeee model, companies can free their cost-focused services to provide excellent support without having to grapple with illusions of strategic grandeur. And they can empower the truly strategic services — talent acquisition and learning and development — to create value without having to view every decision through a cost-cutting lens. At the moment, business leaders are searching for a strategic partner to help them navigate the critical human-capital/talent issues that will make or break their companies.


Millennials get ZoooMeeefied!


copyright 2016

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

TELL ME ‘BOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS, WHEN WE COMMUNICATED!

TELL ME ‘BOUT THE GOOD OLD DAYS,
WHEN WE COMMUNICATED!
By Nick Ashton, CEO/CTO, CommSmart Global Group of Companies.

Take me back to when things were virtuous. I believe that since the so-called improvements in our technology to speak directly to each other from anywhere in the world, we have gone downhill faster than a kid skateboarding down the steepest hill in his city on a longboard and breaking all the city ordinances you can think of. Including smiling and having fun in his mind and forgetting that it is a deadly sport and could harm others.

We are told more about the weather than life itself and do not get me started on sports coverage! If only we took the same amount of time on those subjects in our business and social life, we would not be in the mess we are in.


Lack of communication is the cause of conflict. We lack the ability to talk as if we are always losing the service on our cell phones. I think it was twenty years ago, the BBC give audio recording devices to  a family, each of them recorded all that they said during the day and then it was analyzed for the amount of communications that took place between members of the family.  It was less than ten minutes in total on a daily basis.  I now believe it is even less!

In this speedy developing society, some people leave less time to communicate with their family members at home and work, then when they order their special mixed up latte at the coffee shop. This phenomenon has been seen all around us from our friends or work colleagues, that are doing the self-same thing and getting deeper in the vortex of anger, as we are ill informed on everything, except the niche we, have decided is ours.  It is then taken into the workplace among our co-workers and becomes a vicious circle of negativity and disaster.

In my opinion we can find a way to avoid it and should do something to reduce its negative effects and maintain our happy life as well as survival in this business world.

Furthermore, this phenomenon is a result of social development. We produced this problem for ourselves and it is up to us to take the bull by the horns and restart the social change.

You know us as CommSmart Global Group of Companies, we communicate and say it as it is!  All that we do and our services have one thing in common, communications. This is direct, in your face communications that we wear on our sleeves and in our hearts with a passion we cannot manufacture, it is natural and available to all.

It is with all this in mind that CommSmart Global Group of Companies are announcing that we are expanding our proven Leadership and Communication as part of our services, with ZoooMeee.  

From making the right decisions in hiring and maintaining the massive investment you make in your employees and management, enabling far better leadership on all levels, which changes your bottom line and direct communications between all.  The latter is the last but most vital part of the success of all.

How many of you in the Public Safety sector walk into work and go to that briefing before your shift, having that “I could careless attitude”?  Just another day that will tick by, no matter what you do, or how you care.  How many of you in the workplace are unconcerned, it is just a job?  Do you really feel that bad about your bosses?  Have you lost the will to not just be the best at your job, but enjoy coming to work? 

Let us in the door and assist in your abilities in being the best!  We have a proven keyset that will open the sensible solutions and lock you in for success.

Tell me about the good old days, show me how to progress... 


Call: +1 (330) 366.6860




WE are in the NOW and
KEEP YOU; in the KNOW...

Copyright 2016

Friday, February 5, 2016

THE CORPORATE MIRROR IS CRACKED


The Corporate Mirror is Cracked
MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL WHY ARE YOU NOT REFLECTING THE INNER COMPANY?

Reflections of ourselves are only for the vain.     It is the inner overall reflection that paints the picture and can be a priceless masterpiece.

It is our ability to reflect, create, understand, plan, action and change the corporate portrait, which will only increase the value of all.

It is the people within a corporation that make or break the company.  Knowing who those people are and how they fit within the productive framework is vital to winning the Key Battlefields that are being fought and those that are still ahead of us.

It is all about hiring the right people to begin with.  Ensuring your investment is assured.  It is knowing their passions, competencies and sub conscious that will be the crux of your corporate future.





Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Human Resources is Misfiring on Some Cylinders

Human Resources is Misfiring on Some Cylinders
by Nick Ashton, CEO/CTO, CommSmart Global Group of Companies

Propelling a company forward takes drive, power and understanding.  Take your car, if you do not have the key to control or put fuel to make it run, there is an issue.  Oh, greasing this pistons or making sure the oil level is correct, the right viscosity and it is clean and not old, is vital as well.

If the engine is not running smoothly, say not on all cylinders, you take it to your mechanic to have it checked.  How do you know to do this?  You listen, you have a feeling something is not right, it is the vibrations and you do something about.  This is your transportation and you cannot afford not to get from A to B.

Within corporations you too have an engine room and if the valves and pistons are not in sync, you have an issue!  Human resources is such a department that has those types of concerns and just like a clogged fuel line, the information and understanding is not getting through or they have been adequately informed.

It is time for that overdue overhaul to bring back the drive and understanding that all can be smooth running with an excellent team in all departments.




H.R. has to change! 

Yes, Change, especially when everything informational is in the open. Nowadays most are using Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, etc.  It is a social media age and not always to the benefit of all.

Before Human Resources, it started out as personnel, the personnel department was set up to protect employees during the industrial revolutions. 

The personnel department was created to look into workers’ wages, welfare and other work related issues like record maintenance, housing and healthcare. Many workers where needed to keep up with this new Industrial revolution of information and since then, nothing in the Personnel Department has changed dramatically, whilst the world around them has!

It is the Internet of Things which when just relied on, is a tragedy informationally. 

When the Personnel Department changed into HR management, the HR department became also responsible for selecting and hiring the best skilled people, motivating the employees using motivational benefits.  

The HR department became responsible for a salary framework and appraisals.  This was a radical change without a handbook and down to earth training.

Companies are built by employees and not the other way around.  The superiority of a company therefore, is directly related to its people.  The better motivated they are, the faster and better the company will successfully grow. 

This applies also for the public safety and emergency management, like law enforcement, fire departments, medical services, etc.

Joining a company and or a force, you need to have basic skills to begin with, or you start out as a trainee. 

HR departments today are not prepared to think outside the box, to look at the soft skills that today become more important than the hard skills. 

Hard skills can be trained, soft skills are more difficult to define and read. Yes, Hard skills can be taught, Soft skills are hidden in the character of the employee and is very difficult to change or retrain afterwards.

Today, HR should be all about developing the company for the future, being aware of the changes around you and fully understanding how to adapt. 

If you are dealing with people, you need to have exceptional people skills.  
If you deal with machinery you need to know exactly what the risks are, especially if you have never been trained!

Companies are ever changing and therefore your skillsets are changing too. HR departments need to understand and are required to have the mandate to act accordingly on how to keep up or even be ahead of the companies, or entities development. 


Knowing the individual's skillsets, passion, competencies and subconscious.

Companies that are changing from bricks and mortar to digital web on-line companies will not survive without updating their skillsets. 

Law Enforcement or Emergency Management need to understand that crime that is not detected at the earliest stage is impossible to fight. 

It is all about being proactive and not reactive! 

Information is key, gathering street or floor level information is demanded to blend into your employees, or in the case of law enforcement, the community.  It is imperative to have a foot in both camps so to speak.  

You must be part of the community and not above the community.  In the case of policing, just because they are wearing a uniform does not make them different and that is part of the Peelian Principles. 

When part of a community, information will reach you much faster than when you are acting just for yourself. 

CEO’s and Boards have the same issues, they are unreachable and therefore filtered information reaches them only some of the time.  They are making decision without full knowledge and this affects the corporation, customers and the shareholders. 

It’s time to change and it starts assessing your employees today, where are you on the soft and the hard skill scale?  Do we know what people we really need and what the future skillset has to be?
It is having knowledge at your fingertips of all that are within your organization.


Yes, your Human Capital…
The HR Revolution has begun…
Get ZoooMeeefied!

Get ZoooMeee and have all within your grasp to plan successfully for the corporate future, today!













More information

Email: zooomeee@commsmart-global.com

Telephone:
North America, Ohio: +1 (614) 655.1247
Europe, The Netherlands: +31 611.303489

copyright 2016

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Cluedo, Clueless & Criminal - It Was the Mayor and Governor With the Lead Pipes

Cluedo, Clueless & Criminal
It Was the Mayor and Governor With the Lead Pipes
by Nick Ashton, CEO/CTo, CommSmart Global Group of Companies

Never has there been a prime example of Failure of Duty of Care and Corporate Governance under all of our noses and in the spotlight of a changed media!

Flint, Michigan shows the insanity and criminal act of government against its people.  Including the governor of the state! 

The criminal act is simple, knowingly poisoning your citizenry and doing harm. One person dies due to this act, it is murder.

A day after NBC News reported that none of the corroded lead pipes at the core of the Flint water crisis have been removed, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder admitted he has no immediate plans to replace them.  That in itself is a further criminal act.

But he said that removing the pipes — which experts have told NBC News is the only permanent solution to the lead problem — isn't on his "short-term" agenda.

"It's a lot of work to take out pipes, to redo all of the infrastructure, that's a whole planning process," Snyder said at a press conference.

Governor Snyder, the elected mayor and council acted in a dangerous manner in changing the water supply to save money without expert advice.  You sir, have joined their pathetic act and are as guilty as they are.

There are up to 25,000 service lines containing lead that run between water mains and homes in Flint. Starting in April 2014, water from the Flint River corroded the pipes, leaching toxins into the tap water.

The city is no longer using the river water, but the damaged pipes are still a threat and the entire city is relying on bottled and filtered water for drinking, cooking and even bathing in some cases.

The water company is still billing the  residents for water which they cannot and should not use!

This is a typical example of a Failed Duty of Care and is a lesson to the corporate world.  In fact if this was a corporation and not a city/state issue, the leadership would have been arrested.

It is is not just Flint, Michigan and the state's governor who need cleaning up, it is corporations in general.  They have been skirting their Corporate Governance for far too long!

How do you really fair in being honest to your customers, clients and shareholders?




copyright 2016