The 8 Man Rotation: A Look at Sports and HR By Steve Boese Kris Dunn Lance Haun Tim Sackett Matthew Stollak Edited by Matthew Stollak Table of Contents Foreword by Bill Kutik and Laurie Ruettimann I. Introduction II. HR Planning and Strategy “Ultimate Team Rankings – HR Style” by Steve Boese “The Him” by Matthew Stollak “Ceremony” by Matthew Stollak III. Staffing and Career Considerations “Michael Jordan and the Art of Getting the Interview” by Kris Dunn “Want a Great Manager?” by Kris Dunn “Sometimes Mediocrity Won’t Cut It” by Lance Haun “Builder or Custodian” by Steve Boese “Resigning in Protest” by Steve Boese “Ex-Employee or Proud Alumni? The Difference Makers” by Steve Boese “Stop Interviewing – Now!” by Tim Sackett “Dreams Never End” by Matthew Stollak IV. Training and Development “Greg Oden and Training Management Follies” by Lance Haun “What if HR Got a Mulligan?” by Lance Haun “Team Chemistry – It Can Go to Hell Quickly, Even for the Best Teams” by Kris Dunn V. Performance and Talent Management “Moneyball, the NBA, and Putting Your Peeps in a Place to Succeed...” by Kris Dunn “Love Your Workplace Grinders” by Kris Dunn “The Cubs – Getting Rich Via a Workplace Culture of Losing…” by Kris Dunn “To Win the Talent Game in the Olympics, Does it Help to be A Communist” by Kris Dunn “The Errant Pursuit of Quantification” by Lance Haun “Three Ways You Can Fill An Empty Passion Bucket” by Lance Haun “How to Win Over Adversaries and Be A Superstar” by Lance Haun “Quick – Send in the “B” Team” by Steve Boese “The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy – Part III” by Steve Boese “The Story of Garrett Jones” by Steve Boese “The Cradle of Coaches, or Celebrating Your Ex-Employees” by Steve Boese “Free Agent Nation” by Tim Sackett “Sunrise” by Matthew Stollak VI. Total Compensation “Those Who Play Sports Make More Money Than Couch Potatoes” by Kris Dunn “The Free-Agent Machine” by Steve Boese “For Labor Day – An Employee Success Story” by Steve Boese “Long-Term Deals – Are They for Jocks Only?” by Steve Boese “King James New Compensation Package” by Tim Sackett VII. Employee and Labor Relations “Email Signatures and Sneakers” by Kris Dunn “Brett Favre and the Packers” by Kris Dunn “Staff Meetings and Broken Jaws” by Steve Boese “The LeBron Effect: Downsizing at a Company Near You” by Steve Boese “Would You Work With Tiger Woods?” by Tim Sackett “Best Places to Work: ESPN Edition” by Tim Sackett “Guilty Partner” by Matthew Stollak “Ultraviolence” by Matthew Stollak About the Authors Foreword “What morons would write about HR in terms of team spectator sports for an audience known to be 69 percent female with an average age of 47? Not to mention it being somewhat anti-Semitic. When we don’t know a touchback from an in-field fly, what’s the point? Happily, the authors are all such great writers that maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t matter.” - Bill Kutik, technology columnist for Human Resource Executive andwww.HREOnline.com “Human Resources professionals have no athletic prowess. They are the arbiters or work/life balance programs but are so crunched for time that they consume boxes of donuts and drink gallons of coffee for breakfast. They promote wellness programs while shoving polish sausages down their throats for lunch. And they deal with stress in the office by drinking beer as if it’s going out of style. It’s a known fact that if you can run more than fifteen feet without having a heart attack, you are destined for another career path beyond HR. Maybe sales. Maybe marketing. But it makes total sense that this group of HR bloggers was motivated to get together and write about sports. There’s an old saying. “Those who can, do; those who can’t, work in Human Resources and blog.” Basketball. Football. Motivation. Coaching. There isn’t another group of bloggers more qualified to write about sports without actually playing sports. And for that, I’m proud of them. So good job, guys! Go team! Yeah! Whatever.” - Laurie Ruettimann, TheCynicalGirl.com CHAPTER 1 Introduction The 8 Man Rotation. In basketball parlance, it refers to the five starters and three players off the bench who play the primary amount of minutes during a game. Given that most basketball rosters contain 12 or more players, the coach has decided that the combination of these 8 players provides the team with the best opportunity to win. Team chemistry and production are at its maximum. The keys to success with an 8 man rotation and sports is not much different than the keys to success in human resource management. As co-contributor Steve Boese writes, “Where else but in big-time sports can you see the effects of talent assessment, recruiting, leadership, and employee engagement played out, in public, under the spotlight, every day of the year? What players to draft, which ones to develop, which ones to cut loose, and how to build the right mix of personalities and talent to achieve team goals are the primary concern of all sports franchises.” Steve’s quote could just as easily be, “What employees to hire, which ones to develop, which ones to cut loose, and how to build the right mix of personalities and talent to achieve team goals are the primary concern of all managers.” This volume contains 40 posts on Sports and HR from the authors of the HR Capitalist, Rehaul.com, Fistful of Talent, The Tim Sackett Project, and True Faith HR. We hope it is the first of what becomes a yearly edition published each January. CHAPTER 2 HR Planning and Strategy In the current purview of organizations, HR is integrated fully and plays a key role in helping organizations reach its strategic objectives. Similarly, HR Planning involves the flow of people into, through, and out of the organization. What can HR managers learn about strategy and planning from the world of sports? Ultimate Team Rankings - HR Style BY STEVE BOESE ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2009 Every year ESPN ranks the franchises in the four major United States professional sports leagues, (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) according to how much the franchises Gives back to the fans in exchange for all the time, money and emotion the fans invest in them.' You can see the results here - ESPN Ultimate Team Rankings, (the Los Angeles Angels of MLB led the rankings). To me what is most interesting about these rankings is the criteria that are used: Bang For The Buck : Wins during the past three years (regular season plus postseason) per revenues directly from fans, adjusted for league schedules. Fan Relations : Openness and consideration toward fans by players, coaches and management. Ownership : Honesty and loyalty to core players and local community. Affordability : Price of tickets, parking and concessions. Stadium Experience : Quality of arena and game-day promotions as well as friendliness of environment. Players : Effort on the field and likability off it. Coaching : Strength of on-field leadership. Title Track : Championships already won or expected in the lifetime of current fans What if you, as a Human Resources professional, applied those same criteria to your organization? Instead 'fans' think about the categories as they relate to your employees and candidates. Bang For The Buck : Pretty simple, revenues per employee. A standard HR metric, but are you consistently measuring it? And not just in total, but also in the context of initiatives like downsizing, merging, or expanding. In your recruiting efforts are you carefully evaluating the cost and return of your ATS, job board advertising, specialty advertising, etc. If have dived in to the world of 'social recruiting' do you have any idea how it is paying off? Fan Relations : Openness and consideration toward fans employees by executives and management. Are you truly an 'open' organization? Your executives may claim they have an open door to employees but do the employees truly believe that is the case? What steps have you taken to demonstrate open communication and consideration towards employees, particularly if your organization has gone through reductions in force, or will be doing so soon? Ownership : Honesty and loyalty to core players employees and local community. Do the company owners make it a priority to give back to the community? Do you have some kind of company sponsored volunteer day, giving employees time off in exchange for volunteer activities? Does ownership do more than just claim to be community minded? Affordability : Price of tickets, parking and concessions total compensation awarded to employees. Let's spin this one to your overall compensation package. I know these last two years have been brutal for comp budgets, but even still your organization's compensation package needs to be competitive to continue to engage and retain the best of your employees. Even in a recession, these employees could jump. If as in the case of many organizations, and the cash element of your total compensation is still under downward pressure, are you enhancing or emphasizing other elements of the total package that are of benefit to the staff? Stadium Experience : Quality of arena facilities and game work day promotions conditions as well as friendliness of environment. Take a honest look around your offices and facilities. Are they the best you can make them? When employees drive up to the facility what is the first thing they see? Make sure the grounds are kept up, the parking lots well-lit and please don't allow the clan of smokers to huddle around the main entrance. Inside, start with the simple, low-cost elements.