The source
for many of my posts over the years has been the local churches announcing
their upcoming sermons for the Sunday services and this one is no different.
Originally I thought about this in a different context but the events of the
past week have changed my focus.
We are involved in an ever-changing world and these changes require
that we change our focus and approaches in order to successfully deal with
those changes. They require us to change
our corporate culture. Newton’s 2nd law of physics tells us that for
every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The difficulty comes when
those changes are not carefully thought out. We can’t afford not to make the
changes we also can’t afford to jump to a change with out considering the long-term
impact of those decisions. None of us is immune from this formula.
Scenario 1: Organizational
change
We will be the first ones to tell you that in order to create an
organization, that is thinking strategically, is innovative in their actions
and aligned with the business objectives, we need to change the culture of the
organization. But those changes need to
be designed around the voice of the customer. We need to change our culture to
be more aligned with the entities who are paying for our services.
These changes can’t be arbitrary in nature and they must have a
foundation in creditable, verifiable data, which indicates why we are making
the changes. We need to be able to demonstrate how this will make the
organization stronger going forward. As we look at the problems confronting the
organization we take clear steps to define the problem, measure it affects,
analyze the results and improve the process so going forward we can control the
waste that the customer will not pay for.
Part of that analysis segment is that we must look at the range of
solutions and choose the one that will meet the desired output with the least
amount of upheaval to the organization wherever possible. We need to understand the consequences of our
changes.
Scenario “2: The SHRM
announcement
This past week we have been given the opportunity to see the title of
this blog post in action. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
announced that following a three-year review they were going to create their
own certification program in place of the one that is conducted by the Human
Resource Certification Institute. They further have in essence done everything
in their power to exile HRCI from the SHRM membership. Over the past week we
have been exposed to in essence an adult version of the children in the
sandbox.
Lets look at the action. SHRM contends that the changing nature of the
workplace requires the establishment of a certification which judges you as a
HR professional based on your competencies in the HR field rather than the
“knowledge.” They contend that the current certification platform is not
testing competencies.
The reaction has been fairly quick across the social media world. The
action has been met with concerns, multiple questions about the process going
forward and how the re-certification credits will be handled. This is of
special concern to me as I hold the certification and our training programs
carry pre-approved credits for the attendees.
Here is my take on the situation.
First, the current certification process has been accepted throughout
the industry. Just turn to the open HR positions and see how many are asking
for the certification as part of the job requirements. SHRM’s actions have done
nothing to confirm for the corporate world how this will need to change.
Second, the HRCI certification programs have been around for many
years, and are accredited by the various professional certification entities.
Nothing in the statements have indicated that SHRM has taken the steps to ensure
that it made the same efforts to get the new certification accepted by these
same organizations.
Third, from a personal view, my intentions going forward are that I
will maintain my HRCI supported designation. Further in October I will submit
our training programs to HRCI for 2015 credits. As or the new certification
program I am waiting for more expansive details regarding the program. The
contents of those details will decide whether I seek dual certification in this
field. I already have three certifications, so the case for me to take a fourth
has to be really conclusive on how it will benefit not only me, but also the
profession as a whole.
The next time you make a decision to take an action to improve the
organization, it is critical that you explore what equal and opposite reaction.
Whether we are talking about the organization or a profession, while change is
mandatory, be sure that everyone understands the reasoning and the details in
the facts rather than blanket pronouncements of the intended change. With
proper preparation those equal and opposite reactions can be positive rather
than negative , strengthening the organization in the long run.
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