Hau'oli Makahiki Hou...

The last day of 2012 is upon us...WOW, the year went by really fast!  I started this blog with the intent of posting decorating, gardening and quilting photos and thoughts, and memories of my 20 years on Maui however never got around to it, ended up using it for my HR Technology class.  BUT, maybe 2013 will go in that direction!

My baby girl graduated from University of Montana (see photo below), my son transferred back to Hawaii to finish at University of Hawaii Manoa (he's much happier here than at UM)...

and their mom is almost done with her Human Resources certificate program thru UC Berkeley Extension...I guess this will be noted as the year of education!

Aloha 2012...!

Class 7...

WorkDay was presented tonight, another great looking product. They have the ability to use projects, talent management, financials, expenses, payroll (US and Canada, separate engines), absence management, all setup globally based on local culture and laws. Can show employees and contingent worker data. “File cabinet” for each worker profile, shows notes, salary, location, etc. Starts with new hire and onboarding for each employee; forms, welcome message, etc. “worklets” on employee desktop! Easy and intuitive for ease of use.

Case study...

Case #5

You are an HR Technology consultant, and you have been asked by the client, a large nonprofit employing over 700 people, to implement an HRIS system by the end of the year (that means you have over 60 days to do it).  You were referred by a trusted individual for this engagement, and you have an opportunity to talk to the Executive Director tomorrow over coffee regarding this engagement?

How are you going to approach this engagement?

First of all, I would thank him/her for the opportunity to discuss their options and then I would ask a lot of questions to find out the following information:

What’s the rush? (perhaps this ED knows nothing about HRIS and the implications of setting one up)

What problem(s) are they trying to solve?  

What, if any, HRIS is currently in place, and if so, what’s not working?

Who will use it?  What types of reporting is needed?

Is there an experienced HRIS/IT person on-board?

Who will help to implement and train? 

Is there an existing System of Records?

Are they looking to save money or productivity time?

What is their budget? (being non-profit probably not much)

Arrange for Demos of various programs?

This should be treated as a process, rather than a project with a deadline as based on what currently exists, if anything, this could be a huge multi-faceted project that to try and implement in 60 days would be quite challenging, if even possible to be successful.

Class 6...

Success Factors...WOW, I like this system a lot!  Sooo much detail and information at your fingertips, of course that is assuming the source data is entered correctly and completely.  This would be overkill for my company at this point as the majority of the information available is not used on a regular basis.

I also thought the calibration was cool...this was taught in our Performance Management course, it seemed a bit confusing by listing all the facets out on paper however this would calculate all the available employee data and ratings to be readily available to manipulate and maneuver through.  I also liked the "localization" feature as we have employees in Canada, this could readily accommodate their data and statistics.

Maybe one day...

Class 5...

Catching up as I wasn't there...I learned Class 5 showcased Success Factors and Job Score presentations.  I watched a 1-minute video of SF's BizX Suite, it didn't really give you much detail and was not very informative, but then again, is one minute really enough time to "catch" your attention?  Who knows...that's what I get for missing class!

Maybe one day, should my company ever centralize our HR functions, perhaps an ATS would be relevant...for now it's just basic Excel!

Thoughts on Class 4...

ADP Workforce Now was presented tonight...we use ADP for our payroll however I did not know they have this service available since we don't use an HRIS program.  It would be great to have this product for our system of record, however the powers that be aren't focused on updating this facet of HR.

Oh, the pain of change...!

Thoughts on Class 3...

I am new to HRIS systems/programs as our company does not use one.  Many of the typical HR functions are delegated to the Regional Manager in each one of our 19 offices.  I have heard of Taleo but didn't know anything about it.  As I handle the HR for our Calgary office, I do a little bit of recruiting, mostly as part of global hiring.  This program would be better suited for a company that has a lot of volume for many positions to fill.  Our company would not be a good fit with the very few applicants we have apply for jobs. I liked the various steps in work flow to keep track of where candidates are in the hiring process, I'm sure this task would be overwhelming if done the old conventional way.

My Brand (or lack thereof...)!

"A brand is the promise of an experience" says writer Erika Andersen, so she read somewhere and decided she liked that definition best (and one of her favorite "branding" experts is Dan Schwabel, our "tweet" friend!)

So, with that said, my "experience" of living in paradise is how I came up with my blog name.  There is a song called "It's Aloha Friday, No Work Til Monday" (check out youtube)...this translates to TGIF Hawaiian style, a laid back way of life.  Weekends are for relaxing, surfing, hanging at the beach with family and friends, enjoying the land of aloha during your days off (hey, tourists pay big bucks to come have this experience for a week, we can have it every day!).  When I moved back to California after living on Maui for 20 years, I had MAJOR culture shock (WHERE was the aloha spirit?).  Having lived on an island, which is like living in a bubble, and being self-employed in a small business in our home, well you can imagine how the transition went...even at my new job, I had "Corporate America" culture shock...I couldn't just show up to work in my pajamas and "talk story" whenever I wanted!  In an effort to feel more at home and spread that aloha spirit, every Friday morning, I would walk around the office singing my "brand" song, and always made sure to say good morning and good night to everyone I passed on the way to my office.  I got some really funny looks and heard some even funnier comments ("Don't quit your day job!") but hey, I was creating that "promised experience" and who knew it would come in handy for a future HR Technology class that I didn't even know I was going to sign up for!  And you know what...now on Fridays I hear quite a few "Hey Carol, it's aloha Friday"!

I realize this might not be the branding that most professionals describe as successful however in my company, it works for me!

PS...I've yet to wear a muumuu to work, I'm sure THAT would really push them all over the edge in laughter...but wait, tomorrow is Halloween.......hmmmmm????!!!!

Technology in HR...

So much for a vacation update...the computer keyboard in Switzerland was all hemajang...letters and symbols switched all over the place!  Facebook got a daily photo and update, it was the best I could do!

Now, I get to blog about Technology in Human Resources...I plead blonde!  Thought I was dialed in however this is NOT the case!  Twitter???  Hmmm, it makes no sense to me...YET!

HR in my company is pretty much an admin position...lots of new knowledge and no where to use it...YET!

Aloha, au revoir, aufwiedersehen (take your pick!)...

To celebrate this...

the baby girl and I are going here for two weeks...

we leave Friday morning...SFO to Chicago to London to Geneva where we will be greeted by and staying with long time family friends.  The aloha spirit is international!  Stay tuned...