By Elaine Varelas

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away, yet many of us are struggling to find reasons to be thankful. The economy has us feeling stressed and worn out. Yes, we’re all thankful to have jobs, but the worries brought on by the economy can be overwhelming. With the holidays quickly approaching, many people are getting anxious about the expenses of the season (gifts, parties, travel, oh my!) And we haven’t even mentioned the looming flu season, which is predicted to be one of the most aggressive yet. It’s no wonder employees are feeling a little down at work.

While there isn’t a way to seal off the building to make sure negative thoughts or feelings don’t sneak in, HR managers can curb negativity so that it doesn’t take over the workplace and undermine productivity. It is possible to keep people positive without piping endorphins through the ventilation system

By Elaine Varelas

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away, yet many of us are struggling to find reasons to be thankful. The economy has us feeling stressed and worn out. Yes, we’re all thankful to have jobs, but the worries brought on by the economy can be overwhelming. With the holidays quickly approaching, many people are getting anxious about the expenses of the season (gifts, parties, travel, oh my!) And we haven’t even mentioned the looming flu season, which is predicted to be one of the most aggressive yet. It’s no wonder employees are feeling a little down at work.

While there isn’t a way to seal off the building to make sure negative thoughts or feelings don’t sneak in, HR managers can curb negativity so that it doesn’t take over the workplace and undermine productivity. It is possible to keep people positive without piping endorphins through the ventilation system

By Elaine Varelas, October 1, 2009

We’ve all been there. We have that one last position to hire for, and despite sifting through what seems like a MILLION resumes, not one candidate’s qualifications seem to be a good fit. Then, all of a sudden, there it is among the papers destined for the recycle bin, almost as if it is being surrounded by a halo of light (cue the heavenly music here). There is that one perfect resume; the right match of education, skills, and experience, and YES, a salary requirement way below what you were expecting to pay. But before you rush through that phone interview and set up face-to-face meetings with the CEO and all five vice presidents, wait! Like our mothers always said, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

In a down economy HR managers may only be trying to fill a handful of positions, but they are still getting bombarded with resumes—as many as thousands for each position. With jobless rates approaching 10% nationwide, if people aren’t qualified for a post or don’t have suitable experience, they may send along a resume anyway. HR managers are left to weed through countless inappropriate resumes to get to the one or two that may be worth a second look. At the same time, HR managers are under increasing pressure to make every hire count.

Some candidates, in their desperation to land a job, may also be stretching the truth a bit on their resumes. HR managers must be able to peruse resumes and determine what’s fact and what’s fiction. Look out for these common exaggerations to avoid wasting time chasing after that “imaginary star employee.”

Time warp—This resume shows a candidate jumping from freshman year in college to CEO in a 6-year span. Watch out for unusual leaps in education or work experience. Also pay attention to a high number of jobs in a short period of time or big gaps in work history.

Show me the money—Be wary if the salary requirements don’t match up with the purported level of experience. Some people hope to get an HR manager’s attention by inflating their experience and keeping their salary request true to their current level, or giving themselves a significant cut in pay to get in the door.

Master of none—People who say they are experts in all areas of business (finance, management, marketing, IT) probably haven’t mastered any.

Do as you say, not as you do—If a resume boasts that a person is an expert in technology, the resume should include an email address and a LinkedIn profile, not just a landline and fax number. Resumes that state that people have led teams and projects, but the job titles don’t say “management” should also raise red flags.

Beware of resumes bearing gifts—If the resume is attached to an expensive gift basket, or tickets to a hot event, the giver may be trying to distract you from the resume’s content (and hope that you’ll feel indebted enough to at least call for a phone interview).

These are some of the more apparent examples, but how can you protect yourself against less obvious deceptions? The resume may look good, but before you invest your time and effort at the interview stage, do a little fact-checking of your own. It’s possible to get a better idea of people’s backgrounds, experience, and level of advancement without even talking to them. Here’s how:

Six degrees of separation—How did this person get to you? Was the resume forwarded by a colleague or employee, or is it in response to an ad? Resumes that landed on your desk through a reference should hold more weight than those that arrived “cold.”

Be a cybersleuth—Go online and do a search for the person’s name. You can use a search engine like Google or a web-based research site such as Zoominfo. You can also see if the candidate has a LinkedIn profile or a presence on another social networking site.

Missing Link?—If candidates do have LinkedIn profiles, examine them closely. Do you know any of their contacts? Do their connections have job titles similar to what they are seeking at your organization? For example, if the candidate is applying for a CFO post, their contacts should be other executive-level people, not just assistants and junior professionals.

Match game—Once you’ve completed your online research, compare that information to what was provided by the candidate. Does it match up? If there are several discrepancies, that person may be bluffing.

Just ask—If the candidate was referred by a colleague or employee, contact that person to get additional information. You can also utilize your LinkedIn connections to see if any of your contacts overlaps.

It’s a competitive market, so people are using attention-getting maneuvers to get noticed (yes, even stretching the truth). Be sure to do your due diligence so that you can be confident that the person who eats up your time (and your team’s time) is the person represented on paper, and that the resume is not a deceptive, albeit attractive mask.

By Elaine Varelas, 09/07/09

Gazing up at the sky on a clear night can give you an appreciation for stars. It almost looks as if they were strategically placed, and they shine even brighter because they are offset against the dark nighttime sky.

As an HR manager, you can think about the “stars” in your organization in a similar fashion. If you are deliberate in choosing and placing your top talent within the organization, those people will also shine and create a more brilliant overall organization.

When you look at developing strategies for recruiting and retaining stars, you will of course be looking at people, not celestial bodies. And when you do, you shouldn’t begin by asking, “Who do we need?’” you should first ask, “Where do we need our stars?”.

It isn’t realistic or economical to have a goal of filling every post in a company with a star. It wouldn’t even be a sound strategy if money were no object: those with star-potential would easily become bored in some entry-level positions, and would leave the organization in search of a more challenging role. Managing the resulting turnover would be a nightmare! And just as stars would be unfulfilled in certain positions, there are many working people who just don’t want to be stars! They are looking for stability, security, or even good health insurance and two-weeks of paid vacation. What they don’t want from work, is a high-stress job.

Instead of looking to crowd an organization with stars in every post, HR managers should direct leadership teams to consider where top talent is most needed. If you can’t have superstars everywhere, where does it make sense to have them? In what posts will high-potential people have the most impact? Of course, organizations want to have the best talent, but it is more important to have the best talent in the best spot.

The identified positions will be different for every organization, even those in similar industries. For example, a high-end hotel chain may focus on hiring friendly and knowledgeable concierges, while budget hotels may need speedy, efficient housekeepers. The needs of a company will also evolve over time. A role that is vital in a troubled organization may not be as important during more stable times. The positions where stars are required are also not always C-suite jobs. An organization may have a need in a mid-level post. There are also, most likely, positions within the company where it just won’t matter if you replace an average performer with a star, so these key positions must be identified with care.

Once the leadership team identifies the most crucial positions, HR managers can help the team define the role. Why is this position important? How does it align with the company’s vision and long and short-termed business goals? What skills and experience are needed to properly fill this post? What will this person “look like” on paper and in person? Defining the position will help organization pinpoint the right people for the job—and can alter the recruitment and retention strategies. An organization that is poised for a turnaround might need a CFO who has helped pull other companies from the brink of bankruptcy, but that experience might not be necessary in a company that is steadily growing by 5% each year.

Once you start looking for the people to fill the roles, beware of the “shooting star.” This person might look glorious on paper (“I’ve never seen such an impressive resume!”), but if the experience and skills don’t match what is required for a top position, that “star” may just fizzle out at your organization. This is especially important during lean fiscal times when every hire counts.

Some of an organization’s needs may be filled by looking at the people already employed at the company. Make sure managers within the organization know which positions you want to fill and what type of people you want to fill them, and help them to determine who, if anyone, on their teams may be a good fit. Managers should also be schooled on how to identify potentials and high-potentials so HR managers can work to develop this next generation of superstars.

There is a well-known business mantra that states that an organization needs, “the right people in the right place at the right time.” But by focusing first on positions and finding those people who will best meet the needs of the organization and have the greatest impact, HR managers can ensure that they have “exceptional people in the right positions at the right time.”

Elaine Varelas is Managing Partner at Keystone Partners, a career management firm headquartered in Boston, and has over 20 years of career development and HR experience. She also serves on the board of directors for Career Partners International, the world's largest career management partnership. E-mail her at evarelas@keystonepartners.com.

The term performance management has developed a bad reputation. When people hear the phrase, they picture iron-fisted leadership teams squeezing all they can from employees without giving them the tools, time, or guidance to meet their deadlines and goals. Many employees also dread performance review time. The process can feel like a game of “Gotcha!” where managers breeze over what is accomplished and focus on the long list of “didn’t dos” (all with a satisfied, perverse smile on their faces). But many managers would also rather avoid those contentious meetings, especially at a time when the economy doesn’t allow for much wiggle room to reward outstanding work, or to provide the training or development employees need to do their jobs well.

Yet, managing to performance becomes an even more prominent issue during lean times. When companies are flush with capital and growing at a steady pace, they can afford to keep all of their employees—even those who aren’t top-performers. Healthy organizations, subsisting in a vibrant economic landscape, can support under-performers and absorbs their costs. When the economy tanks and cash flow gets tighter, however, organizations must depend on each of their employees to deliver 100%.

Of course, performance management doesn’t have to mean selectively letting go of those people or workgroups who consistently don’t measure up. Performance management strategies can be utilized to help transform under-performers into wholly productive employees.

Performance management can be likened to taking care of your car. Your vehicle will only keep running at its best with regular maintenance. You don’t punish a car when it starts to act sluggish; instead you give it the parts and service it needs to reach peak performance: an oil change, transmission fluid, a tire rotation, or new brake pads.

Similarly, performance management programs also require maintenance. Managers need to look at their teams. How are they successful? Where are there performance issues? What obstacles are in the way of reaching top performance? Managers must meet regularly with members of their teams to set expectations, outline goals, develop a timetable for review, and create an opportunity for feedback. Ideally, the goals and timelines will be so clear that employees will be able to write their own reviews—thus eliminating surprises—or the dreaded game of “Gotcha!”

Employee should be encouraged to be honest about what they need to reach their milestones, and what is standing in their way. In turn, managers must be willing and empowered to help remove those obstacles. They need to work with their teams to determine what is keeping employees from accomplishing their goals and finishing projects on time, and work to solve those issues. Some things may be easy to fix: a new sales person may be struggling because she is still waiting on business cards or another employee may need to trade in his desktop for a laptop so he can be more flexible about where and when he works. Other success-blockers may be more challenging, such as a mainframe that continually crashes during working hours, or a conflict between an employee and a superior. Regardless of the impediment to achieving their goals, employees need to feel that their managers are prepared to give them what they need to be successful.

By involving employees at the start of the performance review process and asking for their input, managers can ensure employee buy-in and accountability. This strategy can also take the stress and anxiety out of performance review meetings, since the outcomes are agreed upon ahead of time, and eliminate excuses (i.e. “I never got Excel installed on my laptop, so I couldn’t work on these spreadsheets at home!”). Employees can also feel confident that they have some control over the process. Instead of walking into a performance review meeting not knowing what to expect, employees can use the opportunity to garner constructive feedback, pinpoint development opportunities, and work on building their careers.

Performance management practices can also help identify those employees who continue to under-perform. If after meeting with their managers, discussing expectations, and being supported with the tools they need to do their jobs well, employees still come up short, the organization may need to act. Organizations can only invest so much in people who don’t return the investment, and it isn’t fair to the rest of the team to carry a person who isn’t a good fit.

Of course, a sound performance review strategy will assure that a majority of people will become top-performers. By taking a proactive approach to performance management, organizations can help employees feel more invested in their work and excited about their jobs so they will want to be more productive for themselves and their organizations.

Innovation or Repetition: The Cyclicality of HR Practices
By Elaine Varelas, June 1, 2009

If you’ve found yourself avoiding the nightly news and averting your eyes from the daily headlines, you are not alone. Yes, the economic forecast is dire, and we are being bombarded with messages of doom and gloom. Unfortunately, we can’t beam ourselves into the future, post-recession, where everyone is happily employed and making money again. We have to live through the downturn until the economy picks up.

If you can’t take one more ounce of bad news about the economy, here is a glimmer of hope: desperation can breed ingenuity. Some of the best ideas have come at the most hopeless times. In fact, many of America’s most famous products were invented during the Great Depression. Scotch tape, baby food, Polaroid pictures, and chocolate chip cookies were all conceived during an era when there wasn’t money to pour into R&D, focus groups, or pilot programs. The good news is that despite the ominous economic predictions—or maybe because of them—we get creative.

What innovations will come out of this recession? What advances will happen at your company? Take a look at your organization’s HR strategies and practices. How are they determined? At many organizations, programs and services are cut or added depending on availability of funds. While this is sometimes unavoidable, basing business decisions solely on cash flow creates a more reactionary approach to planning. It doesn’t allow for vision, inspiration, or a long-term view. The uncertain economy may be forcing companies to make some tough decisions, but it is important that organizations not just have a knee-jerk reaction to economic forces. This is not the first time we’ve weathered a recession and it won’t be the last. The ebb and flow of the economic cycle is a natural part of business.

When it comes to planning and strategy, many of us get stuck in a rut. We do something one way because we’ve always done it that way. Or we flip back and forth between what we’re doing now, and what we did in the past (centralize then decentralize; outsource and then back in-house; report to HR, then report to the business unit). While there are important lessons to be learned from the past, recycling an old method to address a new challenge may not always be the best option.

If the current way isn’t working and the old way isn’t much better, there must be room for fresh ideas. How can organizations discover what that new way will be? If necessity is the mother of invention, we should be seeing some whoppers of inventions these days! Never before have we needed to be more efficient by finding ways to cut costs while providing exceptional service, and doing more with fewer resources. What widget will help us do what we do better?

If ingenuity and creative thinking are the ways to gain a competitive edge in a stilted economy, how does your organization fare? Is there room in the organization for innovation? Are ideas (even seemingly outlandish or impossible ones) rewarded or squashed? Are people encouraged to think differently? Or do people get stones thrown at them for suggesting a new way? It may be the unconventional or counterintuitive idea that will be the breakthrough strategy for an organization to get ahead. HR managers should look at their teams and systems for evidence of this kind of creativity, and continuous improvement. They also need to look to the leadership team. Does leadership foster an environment where new ideas are welcomed and rewarded?

Sometimes innovation happens by trial and error. Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the chocolate chip cookie, ran out of bakers chocolate for her recipe and substituted a chopped-up semi sweet chocolate bar. It didn’t melt like it’s chocolate cousin, and one of America’s favorite sweet treats was born. Are your employees encouraged to take chances and try new ways of doing things?

It can be risky to encourage innovation, especially when resources are tight. It is important to step out of the current crisis and look ahead. What may be a short-term loss could prove profitable over time. By fostering an environment where innovation is encouraged, you organization’s HR function can help promote success today and in the future.

Most of us can’t imagine wrapping a gift without scotch tape or feeding an infant without jarred baby food. We take these inventions for granted. The advances of today will also become ingrained in our everyday lives. What will that invention be at your company? Is your organization ready for the next new big idea? When we make room for and encourage creative thinking, innovation happens.

By Elaine Varelas

Manager of Customer Delight.
Chief People Officer.
Director of First Impressions.

These titles may seem like names for silly jobs you would only find in an offbeat company like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. In fact, these jobs do exist in the real world. You just may recognize them by their more staid monikers—Customer Service Representative, SVP Human Resources, and Receptionist.

But these job titles are anything but silly. In fact, they reflect a sound strategy for inspiring employees and reinvigorating a tired corporate culture. For resource-strapped HR managers (or Chief People Officers) looking to build enthusiasm and cohesiveness among recession-stricken troops, redefining roles and titles can give organizations a much-needed shot of adrenaline to motivate employees in a stilted economy.

Could these unconventional titles work in your organization? Do job titles really matter? Do employees care what their job is called, as long as they know what they’re supposed to do? In fact, titles do matter. While there’s nothing wrong with light-hearted or whimsical titles, company leaders should not just make up outrageous or extraordinary titles just to placate anxious workers. This isn’t just a distraction technique—producing rainbows, teddy bears, and balloons in place of bonuses and promotions—to while away the time until the economy rebounds. This is a legitimate strategy to better define people’s roles and responsibilities in the organization and get them excited about the work they do.

As we all learned in grade school, language is powerful. It can frame the way people look at themselves their careers and the organization. It also sends a message to clients, customers, and leaders. This is who we are, what we stand for, and what we want to be. This is a way to help people take pride in their jobs and their organizations.

If titles are assigned creatively and purposely, people may have an even better understanding of their role in the company. By giving people impressive and directive job titles and descriptions, organizational leaders and HR managers can help improve the company’s culture in an economical way. It can also help boost productivity and morale at a time when the economy has placed many employees on edge.

Redefining people’s titles can also help them hone in on their job responsibilities, especially if the new titles are framed in terms of expectations and results. The titles should explain the roles’ main focus. For example, the title of Corporate Trainer could be changed to Director of Managerial Expertise. Instead of the title describing what the person does (I train people), it can mirror what the person is responsible for accomplishing (I help managers refine their skills). Creating this results-driven type of title can help give employees a renewed sense of purpose in their workdays.

By Elaine Varelas

These tumultuous economic times have caused severe upheaval in many organizations. Some companies are closing their doors, others are laying off huge numbers of people, and many are merging with others just to survive. This type of disruption can stun a company and its employees. An organization is forever altered after a major change, and employees may be left wondering: What happened? Who are we now? Is my job safe? Do I even want to work for this “new” organization?

It can be torturous to be one of the “walking wounded,” those who survived the firing squad—at least this time around. Yes, they are the lucky ones who still receive a paycheck, but their workload may be doubled (or tripled), many of their friends and colleagues are gone, and they could even have a new boss or department. Adding to their anxiety is that they may be working for a different leadership team and may no longer have a clear understanding of what the company does, stands for, or is trying to accomplish.

One way HR managers can help an organization and its employees to recover more quickly from a recession-induced set-back is to focus on the organization’s culture. Oftentimes, company leaders are swift to re-set the direction of the organization. This can even happen as a result of the major change, if a company sheds a department or tightens its service offerings. As the business focus shifts, however, it is imperative that these changes be communicated to employees, and that the culture of the organization also be re-set to reflect the new workplace reality.

By Elaine Varelas

Sometimes it seems as if the economic forecast is so dire that we are willing to try anything-even calling upon our favorite childhood superheroes-to free us from this financial crisis. (Wonder twin powers activate: form of job creation and a surging stock market!) But, sadly, even superhero strength may not be able to pull us out of the current recession. The ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound or fly faster than a speeding bullet aren't exactly the qualities we need to help us endure the challenges ahead. But what are the qualities? What skills and characteristics should today's leaders possess to help ensure organizational resiliency?

The current economic climate is unprecedented for this generation of leaders. Some are even likening this recession to the Great Depression. It is yet to be determined if this downturn will rival the economic disaster that began in 1929 and gripped our nation for close to a decade, but what if it does? How can this generation of executives lead us through this economic upheaval when most of us have only read about the depression in history books?

One thing we have learned from history is that challenging times require a different type of leadership. There are specific core competencies that are required to ensure organizational resiliency through any kind of major change. And this economy is forcing change upon many organizations as cuts backs, layoffs, and restructuring are monopolizing the "to do" lists of CEOs everywhere. HR managers must understand what leadership skills are needed during turbulent times and make sure their company's leaders have what it takes to navigate through these changes. Here are the five core competencies HR managers should look for and help develop in their company's leaders:

By Elaine Varelas

It seems that each day our steadfast network television anchors put on their somber faces to relay the news of yet another massive layoff. Some of the best-known companies in a variety of industries - manufacturing, finance, technology, and retail - are having to make substantial cuts to their workforces. What isn't reported is the small businesses that are also having to let people go, or the large companies that are hoping a smaller reduction in force (RIF) will be enough to help keep the organization in business. But just because these scaled-down layoffs don't make the nightly news, that doesn't mean that don't have an impact. If a "minor" layoff is in your organization's future, here are some things HR managers should consider to ensure it doesn't cause major problems at the company:

Don't underestimate the impact of a small-scale layoff - Many HR managers and company leaders assume (or at least hope) that, because a layoff is small, it will go unnoticed. They believe that by not making a big fuss about having to let "just a few people go" they can minimize the fall-out with those employees who remain. But don't be fooled, people are watching, even when leadership thinks the reduction is tiny. Not publically acknowledging the RIF can cause distrust and a loss of morale.

By Elaine Varelas

We are at the cusp of a new year — a time typically filled with hope, promise, and renewal. But many of us are facing this year with trepidation and some anxiety. Will the economic woes that dogged us in 2008 — the plummeting financial markets, and the threat of home foreclosures and job loss — follow us into the new year?

By Elaine Varelas

‘Tis the season of snowmen, sleigh rides, shopping, and of course, holiday wishes. Despite the wobbly economy, children everywhere are snuggled up in their beds with visions of iPods, cell phones, Hannah Montana gear, and Nintendo Wii gaming systems dancing in their heads.

This time of year, adults have wishes too (and it isn’t just to win the lottery so they have enough cash to pay for their kids’ desires). They also have wishes about their jobs. While children draft a wish list and send it off to a jolly elf in the North Pole, working folk can send their wishes to The Hire Authority right here in Boston.

By Elaine Varelas

The sports world is teeming with famous rivalries: Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazer, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, Venus and Serena, and of course the Red Sox and the Yankees. In most cases, these opponents help bring out the best in each another. They train harder, play smarter, and excel whenever they face their rivals. There is a mutual respect for the others’ craft, and it is apparent to spectators. The competition gives athletes a renewed sense of motivation and a concrete goal to work towards.

By Elaine Varelas

As the school year gets underway, I am reminded of the perpetual quest of eighth-graders everywhere: to just fit in. While the trends have changed, and today’s teens are sporting earbuds instead of legwarmers (or hip-huggers), the need to fit in is just as strong. While conformity may get you through middle school unscathed by ridicule, it can be a little boring. One thing we learn as we bump along the path to adulthood is that fitting in and following trends doesn’t allow you to make much of an impact — especially in the business world.

The same is true for organizations — the non-conformists often catapult to success while followers can fall flat. In fact, the most successful companies are often unconventional — those businesses that pioneer a new way of doing things or are the first to produce a must-have product. They have a competitive edge because they do something completely different than the rest. They strive to stick out from the crowd and reap the rewards because of it.

By Elaine Varelas

When we think about people leaving a legacy, we often conjure up images of the rich, famous, and powerful: presidents, popes, royalty, and celebrities. And we usually only start talking about a legacy after that person has died. In fact, we all leave a legacy, in life and at work — and we can influence that legacy especially if we have many years still ahead of us.

If you gave your notice today, how would you be remembered by your colleagues and company leadership? Would they still be talking about you next week, next year, in five years? Were you the deal-closer, the hot head, the star manager, or the person who instituted a major policy initiative?