My original HR consulting work involved meeting facilitation and training. I was recognized as a leading voice and practitioner of experiential learning. Basically, I leveraged the activity-based therapeutic work I did as a counselor to create corporate-friendly learning experiences that effectively addressed communication and collaboration challenges, especially for teams. I continue to provide fun meeting facilitation and training classes, but I also still teach some more pragmatic classes: process mapping (from as-is to to-be) and project management (for non-project managers).

During my advanced I/O psych studies I invested a lot of time evaluating competency-based leadership development and talent management models and platforms. I still deliver a number of leadership development services and classes, including competency validation, multi-rater assessments, development planning, and high potential assessment and discussions. The more pragmatic training classes that I still teach include: communication and change management strategy and planning; performance management with behaviorally-anchored rating scales; and a series of classes covering how to lead and manage (the right people doing the right work the right way at the right time for the right reason).

I frequently provide advice and consulting related to making HR a strategic asset (or fixing problems created by HR mistakes). While I enjoy consulting engagements that address employee engagement and employee experience, I have been getting more calls about HR damaging those than wanting to learn how to make it better. (When I have a decent number of clients who agree to let me anonymously publish stories about HR misbehavior, I write another book.) I am also getting more requests about teaching HR how to effectively and carefully leverage AI. That became all the rage once the DEIB requests started dying down.

The talent management and talent acquisition areas are the HR teams that I spend most of my time improving. When a company has hired ‘farmers’ as their recruiters instead of hiring ‘hunters’ - I get involved. I teach these teams about their internal customers and make it clear that they can and should have a measurable impact on the company’s overall performance. I teach them how to facilitate the development of position profiles (from objectives to tasks to competencies), how to convert those profiles into a source/attract/select/onboard strategy and plan, and how to build the selection process and tools that will have a positive impact.

When you ask me to overhaul your HR/People Team, my approach might include:

• Audit the policies, processes and procedures, technology, communications, and talent on my team and identify key stakeholders and their desired outcomes from my area(s)
• Identify what is truly important through critical incident methodology, design behaviorally-anchored rating scales that align to the desired culture, map the employee journey, survey actionable friction points, and launch root cause analysis/continuous improvement initiatives
• Design (collaboratively with your executives and Human Resources) and implement a people strategy and plan that drives the organizational objectives, design, metrics, and communication
• Build position profiles that differentiate the best from the rest in key roles and leverage the resulting competencies for price of admission and developmental activities (i.e. build valid selection tools and new hire training) – as well as drafting a simplified guide to help leaders manage those roles
• Assess bench strength (usually starting with Lominger's Cultributes™), implement multi-rater feedback and development plans, provide supplemental development on learning agility, and then hold leaders accountable for their own successor
• Increase diversity, inclusion, and belonging by sourcing and attracting across a broad spectrum, providing developmental education and assignments to all employees, then always hiring for readiness and job fit; allowing the creation of affinity groups and encourage the business to leverage them (e.g. marketing feedback or policy reviews); encourage employees to tell their story; conduct stay interviews; and create fair and desirable total rewards that support effective KPIs and celebrate success
• Refresh the policies and procedures so that they are commonly-understood, plain English, common sense, and flexible (yet consistent); and they must reinforce the vision and values
• Define and measure the employer brand using Glassdoor, Indeed, LinkedIn, Comparably, Fairy God Boss, and other sites where candidates and employees talk about their experiences (and measure net promoter score as well)
• As a noted expert on learning agility, competency-based assessment and development, performance improvement, employee and customer journey mapping, behaviorally anchored rating scales, employee engagement, heuristics and cognitive biases, position profiles, and performance metrics, I invest significant time into training HR team members and others who would benefit from increased knowledge and skill in these areas; I also leverage a deep pool of friends who are culture and Human Resources subject matter experts to help keep myself and team members current on best practices

This approach has consistently resulted in measurable gains in key metrics related to employee engagement, customer satisfaction and loyalty, productivity, quality, cost, and readiness. And because I deeply involve the members of the Human Resources, they grow and develop their knowledge, skills, and experience.

Let me know how I can help you or your organization.