Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Jillian Miles Massey

  • The Volunteer Venn

    The Volunteer Venn

    Q: How many volunteers does it take to plan and host a statewide HR conference? 

    A: Whatever number you’re thinking, add 10 more! 

     

    Volunteers are absolutely critical to the success of all organizations, not-for-profit or otherwise, but they are often overlooked and undervalued. Knowing this to be true, why do we volunteer? 

    I am absolutely certain that I owe much of my professional (and personal) success to volunteerism. I have been equally – if not more – challenged, encouraged, and developed in volunteer roles in comparison with paid roles. Some of my most significant growth moments were from volunteer projects. I literally would not be working in my current paid role without a volunteer connection. Every member of our professional team has served in volunteer leadership roles for community-based organizations and professional/trade associations, and each of us has gained invaluable interpersonal skills, project management experience, and so much more, specifically through volunteerism. 

    I just had the great pleasure of planning a conference with a committee of six for a statewide volunteer-led organization. We start with six for planning purposes, but on the day of, six becomes forty. Every year, almost the entire event is staffed by volunteers who give up work or personal time to stuff conference bags, hand out boxed lunches, direct people to restrooms, or whatever other tasks pop up. Mixed in with operational responsibilities, we talk and laugh and commiserate about life and work and dogs and sports. We refresh. We make connections. We learn. 

    So, the answer to the question about why we volunteer when we’re often overlooked and undervalued is really a three-part answer. I like a good visual, so here’s my homemade Volunteer Venn: 

    Through volunteer roles, we explore ourselves and grow as individual people, we experience the good and the human connection separate from paychecks and performance evaluations, and we also create and facilitate career opportunities for ourselves and others. We are better leaders at work, better family members, and better friends when we’ve learned to give of our time and resources freely and without strings. 

    Volunteers are a community. Some of my best relationships, personal and professional, were cultivated through volunteering, and I will forever be thankful for them. 

    What positive, life-changing volunteer experiences have you had? How can you start today? 

     

  • Innovations in #CareerAdvice and Recruiting

    Innovations in #CareerAdvice and Recruiting

    Unemployment rates in Alabama are slowly falling and are on track to reach numbers from the pre-pandemic job boom. In the Huntsville/Madison area, there are more jobs than there are people to fill them. As a result of a volatile job market and the workplace changes in the last year, recruiters are working through some innovative ideas for 2021.

    Would you be surprised to learn that videos with the hashtag #careeradvice have reached over 80 million views since the start of 2021? TikTok has evolved into a recruiting marketplace, where job seekers and potential employers connect in a creative way. Businesses are turning to TikTok for brand visibility and as a way to reach a broader candidate pool. 

    Organizations are also working internally to redesign jobs to be more adaptable and allow for built-in upskilling and cross-training. According to a Deloitte study, “41% of executives said that building workforce capability through upskilling, reskilling, and mobility is one of the most important actions they are taking to transform work”. Looking for some resources for upskilling and reskilling? Here are three:  

    Forbes – Why Employee Upskilling And Reskilling Is So Important Right Now

    theHRDIRECTOR – Why Upskilling and Reskilling is essential to business survival

    Indeed – Upskilling Your Employees: A Guide for Managers

    We see these two questions as critical components of innovation for recruiters and organizations this year: 

    • How can we introduce new brand visibility and recruiting strategies to reach a larger candidate pool?
    • How can we reimagine our organization chart, job descriptions, and talent management strategies to build in upskilling and reskilling? 

     

    We are currently working with an organization that found itself with fewer applicants and a low applicant-to-hire ratio. We looked closely at the hiring process, we looked at job descriptions, we looked at hiring best practices in the local market, and only then did we start to ask these same questions above. 

    You can get started now by mapping out your current strategy, reach, and impact. What’s working? What worked pre-pandemic, but doesn’t work now? How can you and your team innovate recruiting practices? Dig deep, then take the leap!

  • 3 Ways to Boost Intercultural Competence

    3 Ways to Boost Intercultural Competence

    Here’s what we know (and have known for a long, long time): a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce drives exponential business growth, organizational development, and continuous improvement. Intercultural competence can serve as both a critical performance management dimension for employees and a meaningful competitive advantage for the organization. 

    What we don’t always know is how to act on this understanding. In 2021, our team has locked in on the mantra, “Be impatient for action and patient for outcomes”. Here are 3 actions we’ve taken that you can take today to boost your intercultural competence: 

    1. Understand yourself and your organization first. Consider these questions: 
      1. What is our preference for problem-solving, delegating, motivating, or managing time?
      2. How do we view relationships, laws, and leisure time?

    2. Learn from others whose preferences and perspectives are different from yours. Interact “… with people who are different from yourself, who do not share your interests, or who think differently than you do. …Find out more about them. … Concentrate on appreciating and showing respect for others…” (Cultural Competency Doesn’t Happen Overnight)

    3. Search for and acknowledge shared values and respect and acknowledge differences. A boost in intercultural sensitivity and competence can only happen with authentic engagement, learning, and understanding of commonalities and differences. 

    The Society for Human Resource Management provides an important distinction between intercultural sensitivity and intercultural competence: 

    Intercultural sensitivity is about appreciating the deeper impact of cultural differences on how we interact with other people and the effect this has on one’s own perceptions of other people. Intercultural competence is a measure of one’s effectiveness in such interactions with other people.

    These concepts apply equally to individuals, teams, and entire organizations.

    The relevance of intercultural sensitivity to interactions with people from different parts of the world tends to be clear to many people. The relevance to working effectively with people down the hall from your office may be less clear.

    What actions are you taking today to boost intercultural sensitivity and competence for yourself and your organization? 

     

    Looking for more content related to intercultural sensitivity and competence? 

    Join Horizon Point and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Huntsville on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, for a virtual workshop on Intercultural Competence: Creating a Culture of Awareness, Acceptance, and Respect. Learn more and register here. 

  • Is It Time For A Workcation?

    Is It Time For A Workcation?

    Research and personal experience tell us that American employees often underutilize or “save up” PTO, sometimes leading to disengagement and burnout. Could the workcation trend be an option for employees who don’t need time off but need a little inspiration and a change of scenery? 

    “Workcation” is the combination of work and vacation, where an employee works remotely from a destination other than home or an office for a short period of time. With the significant expansion of the remote/flexible workforce, are more people taking workcations? How do workcations impact organizations? These questions inspired a research project by Daniela Hodges, which you can read about on The Fit Blog. Here’s an excerpt: 

    I saw mixed reviews from the 135 respondents. Let’s take a look at one respondent’s reason they would not take a workcation: PTO. This respondent was concerned about frivolously using PTO and admitted that they safeguard it for emergencies and then it usually expires before it gets used. This struck me because the point of a workcation is not to use any PTO.

    You can read the full post here. This research has sparked an ongoing conversation about workcations amongst our team. We all work remotely, and we’ve each taken workcations over the years without having a name for what we were doing. In the last six months, I’ve worked from the beach twice. Two big facts about my workcation experiences: 

    1. I am equally – if not more – productive when I’m on a workcation. The change of scenery helps my brain and body feel newly energized. 
    2. I feel a special appreciation for my job, my team, and our organizational purpose when I take a workcation. 

    Workcations are not just for full-time, remote employees. Any employee that is remote-capable, whether or not they typically work in an office, can take a workcation. Even working from the local community park or your favorite coffee shop can provide some new perspective and re-energize employees. So, where are you going for your next workcation? 

     

  • Resources are the Bread and Butter of Career Planning

    Resources are the Bread and Butter of Career Planning

    Take a look at the diagram below of the Career Planning Process. Did you follow this process in your own career? Did you know a model like this even existed when you were making critical decisions in your career planning? At Horizon Point, we use this model to train educators and career counselors as part of a Facilitating Career Development course, and we spend a lot of time focused on the center of the diagram: resources.  

    Source: https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/105650/_PARENT/CC_layout_details/false

    Looking at the basic model, resources are generally defined as materials you can lay hands on, whether print or digital. There are fantastic resource materials available through the National Career Development Association and National Association of Colleges and Employers. If you are a student or educator, there are likely resource materials available through your institution. 

    Resources also include people. Teachers, counselors, coaches, mentors, friends, family. People we learn from, people we live with, people we know through someone else in our personal or professional network. Resource materials are necessary, but resource people bring materials to life and practical application. Who are your resource people? 

    The career planning process follows 7 steps that repeat on a loop throughout our lives. Each step requires the use of resources. Let’s explore potential resources. 

    Step 1: Become aware of the need to make a career decision

    Typically the first step occurs at or after a milestone like graduating high school or college, losing or quitting a job, moving to a new city, etc., and resources are likely heavily weighted in people like our friends and family. 

    Step 2: Learn about and/or reevaluate yourself

    Resources for understanding the self can be both material and people-oriented. There are many formal and informal assessments available in print and online versions, and there are trained career coaches and counselors who can drive critical thought around self-exploration. 

    Step 3: Identify occupational alternatives

    Step 4: Obtain information about identified alternatives

    Step 5: Make tentative choices from available occupations

    Step 6: Make educational choices

    For steps 3-6, the quickest resource is of course the internet. A great, free tool is My Next Move through O*Net. However, the most comprehensive resource is a career coach or counselor who has detailed information and insight about occupational alternatives and which might be the best fit. 

    Step 7: Get a job

    Getting a job also requires the use of resources such as resume guides and recruiter relationships. We know from research that about half of all jobs are filled through relationships, also referred to as the “hidden job market”, as opposed to the “public job market” of online job boards. People resources are equally critical to career planning as resource materials. 

    Repeat 

     

    Every decision we make relies on resources. The questions for you to consider today are: What resource materials do you use or need? Who are your resource people and/or how can you grow your network to include more people resources?