Career Development Archives

How to Create Learning Paths that Align with Company Goals

June 15, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 1 Comment

A learning path is a sequence of activities that allows a person to build knowledge or skill. For instance, an employee who wants to become more proficient in project management might have a learning path that includes: proposal writing, budgeting, scheduling, critical evaluation, and project management. The idea being that each topic builds upon the previous and makes the employee better at project management.

Learning paths are different from talent pools, in my opinion. A talent pool is often used as an alternative to succession planning. Organizations that aren’t ready to make the definitive statement “We’re grooming Leonard to be our next chief financial officer.” can instead identify future talent needs and provide career development opportunities.

And that’s the difference to me. Learning paths address the organization’s current needs and talent pools take more of a future approach. Any employee can have a learning path. In fact, every employee probably should have a learning path. And an employee’s learning path should help them achieve their goals.

I’m a fan of cascading goals. The idea that the organization’s goals are the department’s goals. And the department’s goals are employee’s goals. It all flows downhill…in a good way, of course. The idea being that if companies want to achieve their goals then employee goals should be aligned. Employees should understand how their goals help the company accomplish their strategy.

So how do companies create learning paths? Consider these six steps.

Educate employees on how to develop relevant goals. Employees need to know not only how to state the end result (i.e. the goal) but outline the individual steps toward accomplishment. They also need to know how to establish priorities along the way.

Train employees on self-learning. For learning paths to really become a part of organizational culture, employees need to buy into them. That means emphasizing from hire to retire the concept of learning. Being a lifelong learner isn’t some trend du jour. It’s how individuals and businesses stay competitive.

Use SMART to develop learning action plans. You guys know I’m a big fan of the SMART acronym (specific, measurable, actionable, responsible, time-bound). One of the reasons is because, once you learn it, it’s very adaptable. Teach employees how to use SMART and they can create their own learning paths.

Allow employees to learn using different learning styles. In #2, we talked about self-learning. Part of self-learning is having a self-awareness of how someone likes to learn. In addition, knowing when to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and learn a different way because it will benefit us in the long-run.

Create an environment that encourages feedback. All learning involves feedback. The feedback might occur before, during, or after the learning takes place. The goal of feedback is to improve performance. Train employees at every level how to deliver feedback to their peers and their manager.

Allow employees to fail. This is probably the toughest part of a learning path. Organizations have to be willing to let employees make mistakes…and learn from them. Managers should play the role of coach and truly help employees learn from missteps.

Learning paths can provide employees with educational opportunities to achieve their goals. When employees achieve their goals, organizations can accomplish their goals and strategies. But it means that organizations must make an investment in training – at the employee and manager level – so learning thrives.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after speaking at the SHRM Annual Conference in Las Vegas, NV

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Give Your New Managers the Tools to Succeed

June 13, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Managers have one job – to find and train their replacement.

When managers are focused on that one job, they hire the best talent, train for success, coach for high performance, and retain employees. They can take a vacation or attend a conference with confidence, knowing that the department isn’t going to fall apart. Managers who are focused on their one job can participate in that super-secret special project that will get the attention of senior management. They can do cool stuff that will enhance their skills and knowledge.

Managers who focus on finding and training their replacement aren’t dispensable. They’re promotable. And, organizations that want managers who will hire, train, and retain the best talent need to set those managers up for success.

Unfortunately, many organizations hire or promote the most technically competent person into management. The new manager gets training on-the-job, which isn’t bad. On-the-job training can be very valuable. But too often on-the-job training happens after the new manager makes a mistake. A mistake that could have been avoided if the new manager had received proper training in the first place.

One way to give a new manager the tools they need for success is with onboarding. Think about it – companies currently provide onboarding to new hire employees. Why not onboard new managers?

I believe onboarding managers isn’t the same as management or leadership development. Those programs offer skills that employees can use immediately like communication skills, decision-making, and problem-solving. A manager onboarding program includes skills that managers need the minute they become a manager such as workforce management and employment law. There’s a place for all of these programs.

Creating a manager onboarding program doesn’t need to be expensive or time-consuming. In fact, I have a resource that can help. “Manager Onboarding: 5 Steps for Setting New Leaders Up for Success” is a practical guide for designing and implementing a manager onboarding program. It’s available at the SHRM Store (and on Amazon!) I’ll be signing copies on Sunday, June 18 during the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference and Expo in New Orleans. I hope you’ll stop by and say hello!

Your manager is an important part of your organizational success. Give them the tools to meet their goals. Starting with Day One onboarding.

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SHRM Certification: You Can Get More Than 60

June 11, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

You might be looking at today’s post and thinking “What is the ‘60’ she’s talking about?”. Well, I’m referring to the number of recertification credits required to maintain credentials with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). To me, recertification is the most important part of the SHRM certification process because it reinforces a commitment to continuous learning about human resources competencies.

If you’re not aware, SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP credential holders must earn sixty (60) professional development credits (aka PDCs) within a three-year period. Or retake the exam.

Many certified professionals do opt to retake the exam as a way to recertify. I get it. Retaking the exam allows a person to participate in the rigor associated with studying and preparation – which I admit is challenging. But I also know that not everyone will want to follow that path.

As a SHRM-SCP, one of the things I do is turn the process of recertifying into a game. What I mean by that is I set goals for myself. For example, it’s always a goal of mine to get recertification points in each of the three PDC categories.

Advance Your Education – continuing education including conferences, seminars, eLearning, webinars, etc. It also includes programs held at local SHRM chapter meetings and reading HR books that have been pre-approved for credit.

Advance Your Organization – work projects that support organizational goals like designing a training program, revamping the company’s performance management program, and implementing a new technology solution.

Advance Your Profession – volunteer activities and thought leadership that contribute to our profession such as professional membership, speaking at events, and writing (including writing on blogs!)

In fact, to add a little extra challenge, I use the SHRM Recertification Handbook to set goals within each category. For example, under advance your education, I might include:

Attend one webinar program a month
Listen to one podcast each week
Read one HR book for credit each quarter

The reason I’m mentioning my recertification goal-setting process is because, even though the requirement is 60 credits, we shouldn’t stop learning once we’ve entered 60 PDCs. It might be tempting to say, “Whew! I’m done. I’ve got my 60 credits.” The truth is we still always have learning to do. We can’t make decisions about our professional development based on the number 60.

In addition, we shouldn’t stop tracking our professional development once we fulfill our “60” obligation. We can use our recertification documentation for more than PDCs. It might be something to share with your boss. Or use in developing a competency.

The SHRM Certification team has made it very easy for us to keep track of PDCs with their app (FREE on iTunes and Android). The app allows you to enter PDCs as you earn them. According to Cornelia Springer, director of SHRM certification services, people are enjoying the app. “Of the 52,000 individuals due to recertify in 2018, 12 percent have entered 60 or more PDCs. We attribute some of that to the ease in online and mobile tracking.”

Getting and maintaining a certification isn’t easy. On some level, it’s supposed to be challenging. But we can’t confuse our certification with our professional development. To stay relevant in our careers, we need to be learning all the time. That can make the process of recertifying a piece of cake.

Image of Sharlyn Lauby captured during her SHRM Annual Conference presentation in Orlando, FL. SHRM Certification seals used with permission.

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How to Reduce Individual Stress Levels at Work

May 14, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

During this year’s BetterWorks Goal Summit, closing keynote speaker Srikumar Rao, author of the book, “Happiness at Work: Be Resilient, Motivated, and Successful – No Matter What”, shared with us his views on stress and goals. I must admit, it was a great way to wrap up our day.

I don’t know about anyone else…but I love going to conferences for the learning and ideas. At the same time, I also find myself creating massive “to-do” lists for myself – things I want to look up or read, projects I should start, and overall reminders of habits that I need to start doing again. Of course, this means I’m learning and adding to my own stress.

Stress continues to be is a major issue for employees and organizations. And there are many reasons for it. Rao shared several and I found they fell into three buckets: individual, work, and life.

The “me” issues.

I’m putting in this category financial stressors such as not having enough money or savings. Or if you’re a freelancer, not having customers pay on time.

Health issues like not feeling well and the stress associated with trying to resolve health insurance issues. Fighting with insurance companies can really take a toll.

We love our family and friends, but sometimes they get on our nerves. And we get on theirs. Dealing with misunderstandings, gatherings, and holidays can be stressful.

The workplace stuff.

Our careers don’t always move as fast as we would like. It can be frustrating. We think we’re ready for a promotion (and more money). Or we want to be on a special project that will get us noticed.

Too much work! We never seem to get a breather to get organized and focus on our goals. We no sooner get done with one project and another one is dropped on our desk.

And let’s face it…sometimes our boss, co-workers, and customers can be a PITA. I’m sure there are days they feel the same about us. It’s all part of work.

Life in general.

Regardless of your political affiliation, it’s hard to escape today’s political environment. It’s on our Facebook pages and everyone wants to share their point-of-view. Whether we want to engage or not…

Time is precious and we don’t always have as much as we would like. We’re thinking there’s no such thing as work-life balance, or work-life integration, etc.

As you can see, these examples aren’t mutually exclusive. Politics at work = stress. No work life balance = hard on relationships.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “Yep, I knew all of these things are stressors. I don’t need someone to tell me what I already knew. Tell me how to make the stress go away!” Well, that’s the interesting part. Rao says that the reason we have stress is because we have a rigid idea of what the universe should be like and the universe isn’t cooperating.

Stress is the result of control. And the key to reducing stress is realizing that we aren’t in control. And we never will be. But we can learn how to manage control better.

Stress – How to Manage our Need for Control

Rao outlined three activities we can do to manage our need for control.

Practice appreciation and gratitude. This could also be in the form of mindfulness. Rao pointed out that we tend to spend more time focused on the things that are wrong around us instead of focusing on the things that are right. He suggested that things are only bad if we say they are. It’s important for us to reframe change in the context of the things we appreciate versus the stuff we can’t stand.

Become aware of mental chatter. Speaking of focusing on positive messages, that also goes for the messages we send to ourselves. I refer to this as self-talk. It’s that little voice inside our head. Does it send us positive messages or negative ones? We should make sure our mental chatter doesn’t wear us out. It will take some time and activities like mindfulness could help.

Invest in the process, not the outcome. Rao shared his view that we are a goal obsessed society. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Goals are important because they set direction. What we need to change is the mindset that if I meet the goal, that’s great and if I don’t, that’s bad. The experience is equally as important as the outcome. Rao suggests, “The more detached you are from the goal; the higher the probably that you will achieve it.”

Think Like a Civil Engineer

Rao compared the steps for managing control to being an engineer. You have a road to build. How are you going to handle the obstacles (i.e. stress)? Because we know the project will have some speedbumps along the way (pun intended). But the road still has to be built. So, we need to learn ways to manage those obstacles.

Managing the stress in our personal and professional lives isn’t easy. But I can definitely see how trying to control everything adds to our stress. And learning how to manage control could be helpful.

Thanks to Author Andrea Beaty for sharing this image (and others!) with the March for Science organizers around the world.

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Kids Need Career Development – Friday Distraction

May 5, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

I know I’m a little late with a reference to “Take Our Kids to Work Day” but I believe the concept is one we should embrace year around. It’s important for us to expose kids to work. Because someday they’re going to enter the workforce and we want them to be prepared.

In career development, that first level – often labeled entry – is where we learn those key attributes of being a good employee. You know, like showing up to work on time, professional behavior expectations, and teamwork. Those skills we take with us to every other job we will ever have.

Activities like “Take Your Kids to Work Day” let young people see those career development behaviors in action. They get to witness first-hand how work happens. Kids might decide they want to be an accountant, sales person, graphic designer, or HR professional based on their exposure to the workplace.

Today’s Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos is also a good reminder that sometimes an outsider can bring a level of clarity and creativity to the work problems we deal with every day. Not every problem can be solved by an outsider but, there are times when the answer is staring us right in the face and we can’t see it. When we need to refocus, here are a couple of things to consider:

Put the problem aside. I understand this isn’t always possible, but even going out for lunch or a walk around the building, can allow the mind to wander just enough. You can return fresh and ready to refocus.

Brainstorm new ideas. Bring a group together to brainstorm some new thoughts. Creating some diverse ideas could be the breakthrough needed to jump start the project.

As part of our career development, we need to be able to step away and refocus on issues when they occur. But we also need to be prepared to educate young people on what it takes to be successful in today’s work environment. It’s a win for everyone involved.

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Quick Shots for #Recruiting Pros and #JobSeekers – Job References Edition

April 28, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby Leave a Comment

Just because it’s a candidate driven market doesn’t mean job seekers are always steering the conversation. Take job references for example. I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about them. Here’s the latest:

Hello. I’ve had two interviews with a company. A couple of weeks ago, the manager asked for my references and I provided them. All of my references have confirmed that they spoke with the company but I haven’t heard anything yet. When is it appropriate to follow-up?

One of the most difficult and frustrating things for candidates is the waiting after a job interview. It’s so hard to try to second guess the company. And for that reason, I’d suggest not trying to. But there are some things that everyone should try to remember when it comes to job references.

First of all, job references are used for more than getting a job. They can help secure board positions or be used in business proposals.

And there are legalities when it comes to the proper requesting and use of job references. Whether you’re a recruiter or a job seeker, it’s important to have at least a little understanding of the law.

Selecting the best job references makes a difference. Check out this expert advice from Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter on how to select and use them.

A huge mistake is letting your job references get out of date. If that happens to you, here’s how you fix it.

If you’re wondering if your company is obligated to write a reference letter for you, attorney Jonathan Segal gives us the answer.

And I purposely saved this one for last. Recruiting experts Lars Schmidt and Chris Fields answer the question: does providing references mean you’ve got the job?

Job references are a tricky thing. They do more than get you a job, so you should always have them ready. And providing them doesn’t always mean you’ve got the job. I wish I could say that there’s one sure way to respond. Unfortunately, there’s not. Follow-up in a way that you are comfortable with.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby just before exiting reality in South Florida

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8 Steps to Becoming a Lifelong Learner

April 27, 2017 by Sharlyn Lauby 3 Comments

I know the term lifelong learner has become a little stale. Some people are calling it “self-learning”. Regardless of what you call it, the concept is important. We must continuously learn to remain physically healthy and professionally relevant.

Becoming a lifelong learner takes planning and discipline. I tend to think of it as a practice, similar to mindfulness or an exercise program like Pilates. It’s something I’m constantly working on and getting a little better every day. If you’re trying to create a personal learning practice, here are 8 things to consider:

Admit how you like to learn. There are three primary ways people learn something – auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. It’s important to know your preferred learning style. And that it might be different at times. For example, when it comes to cooking, I’m a hands-on learner. But if it’s a theory, I prefer auditory or visual.

Realize there’s a difference between what you want to learn and what you need to learn. This is especially true when it comes to our careers. There may be lots of things we want to know, but what are the new knowledge and skills that will help us accomplish our goals or get us the promotion we want.

Create a learning bucket list. Speaking of wants and needs, find a process that you’re comfortable with for prioritizing learning. You don’t want to take on too many things at once. It will ultimately impact the thing you’re learning at the moment. Create your own list of skills that you want to learn.

Look for learning buddies. IMHO, over half of learning is enjoying the experience. There’s no rule that says self-learning must be done alone. Lifelong learners might find an occasional group meeting to share stories is helpful and valuable to the process.

Discover new and fun ways to learn things. Today’s technology allows us to learn in ways we could have never imagined. I just discovered that, if I wanted to take a cooking class with famous “shouty” Chef Gordon Ramsay, I can. Or I can learn how to code using Apple’s Swift Playgrounds app. Learning doesn’t have to be boring.

Connect with good sources for learning opportunities. The second thing that technology brings to the learning space is new sources. The good news is there are lots of smart, talented people we can learn from. The hard part is sifting through all of the noise to find them. Maybe our learning buddies (#4) can help.

Schedule time for learning. Block off time on your calendar for learning. I do not have to tell anyone what will happen if you postpone learning to when you have nothing else to do. Make learning a priority and it will happen. So, schedule an appointment with yourself to learn. You deserve it.

Regularly reflect on your takeaways. Learning should have a purpose. When you decided that you wanted to learn something, there was a reason. Reflect on your learning experience. Ask yourself, “Am I getting out of the learning experience what I hoped?” And if necessary, make adjustments.

Your age and position have nothing to do with being a lifelong learner. We will never know it all. The best way to manage learning is by developing a personal process of learning because you’re going to be doing it for a long time.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby after attending the Great Place to Work Conference in Austin, TX

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