Project Management Steps - The First Step to Starting Your Project the Right Way

It is important to have basic project management knowledge before getting started. For many us, we became project managers accidentally. Whether your project succeeds or fails, however, will be no accident. Successful project managers don't need to know everything, but they know enough to get started and learn as they go. In its essence, project management is preparing, executing, and closing. By the end of this article, you will have the basic foundation on the project management steps.

The first step is preparing. When it comes to preparing, your focus should be on answering the basic questions. Writing a project charter is a great way to get started. The reason is because it answers the important question: why are you doing this project? A project with a weak purpose will go no where. In addition to giving the project a reason, it will also say what are the expected benefits. The most common benefits are making more money, saving money, and saving time (by making things more efficient).

\"project Management\"

Another tool to help you in preparing is to speak with the people who are affected by the project. These people are referred to as the stakeholders. Getting their feedback will help you focus on what's important. This is commonly known as the scope. It is equally important to write down both what will and will not be achieved. You want to make sure you know what the stakeholders are expecting.

The next component of preparing involves writing the project plan. This establishes the ground rules. The plan will detail what will be delivered and when, who is doing what, and how will things be done. For example, the communications section will let everyone know when and where they can find status updates. Setting budget and deadlines will give you a target. Remember, a project is temporary. Therefore, every project has an ending and finite resources.

The plan doesn't need to be perfect, because it will change throughout the project. More important is that you have a plan. Once you are done preparing, it's time to execute.

Executing is where the rubber meets the road. All the work done in the preparing step is used to guide you. The key thing to remember is to record everything. Following is a checklist of what should be recorded daily:

• Write down how the project is progressing.


• Review the work completed by the project team and make notes of any quality issues.


• If there is a problem, write it to a problem log.


• When new risks arise, write those down as soon as you think of it.


• At the end of the day, record anything you learned.

The last point may seem trivial, but it will make your life easier in the closing step.

In addition to logging information, you will also conduct meetings. These are essential and an effective way to follow up with everyone and to get things done. Notably, you'll get information from your team and make sure everything is on track. If not, this is when you make adjustments to your earlier forecasts.

Depending on the complexity of the project, the executing step may be longer or shorter than the preparing step. You will know the executing step is over once you present the final deliverable mentioned in the plan. That does not mean the end, however. The last step is the closing step.

Closing is a controlled way to end a project. Specifically, this is where you find out if you did a good job. You will look back at the project plan and see if the objectives were met. Was everything in-scope completed? Just as important is to ask the stakeholders if they feel the project was a success, and why or why not? You will also provide a lessons learned report. What did you feel went well? What could you do to make things better? What steps can be combined or omitted? If you've kept a daily lessons learned log, this step will simply be compiling everything you have already written into a report.

You now know the basic project management steps. They are preparing, executing, and closing. While project management is not easy, you have the basic foundation. The best way to learn how to manage a project is to get out there and start managing projects. Don't forget to have fun along the way. If you aren't having any fun, it isn't worth doing.

Project Management Steps - The First Step to Starting Your Project the Right Way

ProjectManagementSteps.net

Introduction to Project Management Steps

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Handling Office Stationery Effectively

If you are really concerned about cutting down the office expenditure but do not want to pinch your employees' pockets, the best suited way would be to handle the resources in the best possible way.

The most important department that costs you quite a bit is the office stationery. Here is where one needs to have a check so as to cut down on the total expenditure figures.

\"what Is Management\"

The following tips would help in this regard -

1. Always encourage your employees to reduce the paper work. Some people have the weird habit of printing out the stuff just to check them out. Ask them to do it directly from the computers.

2. Lay strict rules of not taking home the office stuff even if it is not for personal use. By doing so, it is possible to control the misuse of the office stationery.

3. Recycle stuff - Always look in for notepads, pens, files and other stuff that were disposed off even before half of its utility was done. By doing so, you can cut the costs incurred by buying new ones for it.

4. Have a close check on the stationery inventory and always keep track of all the inward and outward movements. This will in turn reduce the unwanted usage of stationery in issues of very less priority.

5. Always order stationery in bulk. This will help out in saving a considerable amount of money as well. On the downside, you might end up spending more than required up-front, yet, it's a saving in long-term.

These steps may seem simple but they definitely yield good results.

Handling Office Stationery Effectively

Martin Ward is a well known personality in the consultancy business. He offers his expertise for businesses to come to terms with optimization of spend and resources. He deals with various suppliers starting from IT Infrastructure up to office suppliers. He is also a known green supporter across UK and other parts of Europe. Martin recommends Ahoys which is a well known brand for cheap office supplies.

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How to Manage Change - 8 Guiding Principles From John Kotter

There are many theories about how to manage change. Many come from change management guru, John Kotter, a professor at Harvard Business School. Kotter introduced his eight-step change process in his 1995 book,"Leading Change."

Step One: Create Urgency

\"change Management\"

Kotter suggests that for change to be successful, 75% of a company's management needs to "buy into" the change. So for change to happen there needs to be a shared a sense of urgency around the need for change.

And this will result from honest and open dialogue with your people about what's happening in your market and with your competition. If many people start talking about the change you propose, the urgency can build and feed on itself.

Step Two: Form a Powerful Coalition

To successfully persuade people that change is necessary takes strong leadership and the very visible support from key people within your organisation.

This isn't just about managing change - this has to be led and you have to be seen to lead it.

To lead change, you need to bring together a coalition, or team, of influential people whose power comes from a variety of sources, including job title, status, expertise, and political importance.

You can find effective change leaders at all levels within your organisation - they don't necessarily follow the traditional company hierarchy. It is important to get an emotional commitment from these key people as you build a team to support your change initiative.

Step Three: Create a Vision for Change

You need to create a clear coherent vision that people can grasp easily and remember and that can help everyone understand why you're asking them to do something.

When people have clarity about what you're trying to achieve, and why then you stand a greater chance of communicating with them

Step Four: Communicate the Vision

How effectively and consistently you share and communicate your vision will have a big influence on the success of your change initiative.

There will be resistance and competing messages from many other sources and influences within your organization so you need to communicate it frequently and powerfully, and embed it within everything that you do.

It's also extremely important to "walk the talk." What you do is far more credible than what you say. You have to demonstrate the kind of behaviour and attitudes that you want from your people.

Step Five: Remove Obstacles

There will be resistance to change. You need to identify it early and take steps to deal with it finding and resolving the root causes.

Put in place the structure for change, and continually check for barriers to it - especially with your organisational structure, job descriptions, and performance and compensation systems - it is vital that these are in line with your vision.

Step Six: Create Short-term Wins

Success breeds success - so early wins are very motivational and very important for morale and for overcoming resistance.

You can help achieve this by setting achievable and believable short-term targets.

This is very much in line with Ken Blanchard's ideas in "The One Minute Manager" of "catching them doing something right" [and praising them for it].

Step Seven: Build on the Change

Kotter argues that many change projects fail because victory is declared too early - he teaches that real and lasting change runs deep.

This is really all about building momentum and making continuous improvement an embedded part of your culture. In practice this means keeping things fresh with new ideas and regular review of what went right with each win identifying areas for improvement.

Step Eight: Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture

Finally, to make any change stick, it should become part of the culture of your organisation as this is the biggest determinant of how people will behave.

It's also important that your company's leaders continue to support the change. This includes existing staff and new leaders who are brought in. If you lose the support of these people, you might end up back where you started.

In my opinion there are many aspects to Kotter's 8 principles of how to manage change that resonate with, and are totally consistent with, the holistic and wide view perspective of a programme based approach to change management.

How to Manage Change - 8 Guiding Principles From John Kotter

For more on this: " John Kotter - Leading Change "

I invite you to take advantage of this FREE download: Starting the Change Process "

Find out the 3 main reasons for the 70% failure rate of all step change initiatives and how to avoid it. This FREE 29 page document offers a brief introduction to some of the key themes and key points that you need to consider in starting the change process.

Stephen Warrilow, based in Bristol, works with companies across the UK providing specialist support to directors delivery significant change initiatives. Stephen has 25 years cross sector experience with 100+ companies in mid range corporate, larger SME and corporate environments.

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Technical Support KPI and the Proper Formulation of Key Performance Indicators

The use of KPIs or key performance indicators has become a widely popular management strategy in recent years. These key performance indicators are specifically chosen in order to give the best picture of organizational performance. Hence, human resource KPIs would be different from technical support KPIs, and sales KPIs would again be different from those.

KPIs are useful because they help managers to get a better idea of what exactly is happening. In a technical support company, for example, without making use of any key performance indicators, it would be difficult to monitor agent performance. Supervisors and managers would simply not have enough information to decide on a good course of action. The organization would stagnate or even backslide. All in all, smart, effective management requires the use of tools such as KPIs.

\"strategic Management\"

To illustrate the conceptualization and implementation of the KPI strategy, consider the particular example of a technical support company. Now, the use of key performance indicators is just a tool, and should not be the basis of the entire management strategy! Rather, the very first step in any good strategic management approach would be to formulate goals and objectives for the organization.

The most general of these would be the organizational vision, which is just a short statement of what the organization would like to eventually become. For instance, in the example, the vision might be "An innovative, dynamic technical support firm providing timely and reliable aid to its continuously growing network of clients." Then comes the specification of this vision into the different departments and aspects of the organization. Management should be able to align these more specific objectives with the vision that they have formulated.

The formulation of KPIs ties in closely with the formulation of these objectives. Ideally, the KPIs selected should be able to monitor all of the important aspects regarding the achievement of these objectives. For instance, given the vision formulated by the hypothetical technical support firm above, some pertinent objectives for the support agents might be to deal with inquiries quickly and efficiently. A relevant key performance indicator in this case would then be average handling time, or the average time it takes for an agent to finish dealing with an inquiry. Another objective might be to raise the technical skill level of the agents. For this objective, relevant KPIs might be training hours per employee, training evaluation test scores, and so on.

Once the proper key performance indicators have been chosen, the problem then becomes keeping track of all of them. This is the reason why, usually, only the most relevant KPIs are chosen - it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of an increasing number of KPIs. At some point, it could become more trouble than it is worth, especially if the KPIs were not well chosen.

The above examples of technical support KPI are just intended to give a glimpse of the utility of the KPI concept. With some good thinking, strategic management of any organization could become more effective by using key performance indicators.

Technical Support KPI and the Proper Formulation of Key Performance Indicators

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A Systems View of the Organization

Today's Challenge for Leaders

Guiding organizations through choppy waters is what leaders do. Some are more successful than others. You are charged with maintaining and growing the viability of the business regardless of events you seemingly have no control over. The question is how you go about that.

\"Management Concept\"

There has been a lot of talk about strategic thinking and planning. However, when faced with slumping sales and rising costs, management tends to look within and focus on examining existing operations, to try to find ways to reverse the trend. It typically starts with a meeting with sales and marketing, to get a more accurate feel for the market and to adjust sales projections. Armed with this new revenue number, an in depth auditing of each department will follow looking for new efficiencies, new ways of doing business, or anything that can help the company hit the new numbers, the new fixation of the business. When money is tight you cut back right? It seems only logical.

But if you stop and think about it for a moment, is that really the best way to analyze the situation? For example, when an auto manufacturer experiences a downturn in sales the automatic response is to slow or stop production. This is not adapting to the market it's reacting to the market.

Couldn't the real problem possibly be that the auto company didn't fully understand what kind of car the market wanted, how many and at what price point? Undoubtedly they spent a great deal of time and resources gathering intelligence on the competition, which is a good thing to do, and they should do it. But remember, the competition doesn't buy cars. Shouldn't the company also understand the environment that their customers live in? Shouldn't they also know and appreciate what constraints that environment might place on their customers' buying decisions? The real problem isn't that the company didn't sell enough cars; that is just the end result. The real problem is that they made more cars than the customers wanted to buy or could afford buy, or simply made cars that the customers didn't need or didn't want.

It's the understanding that the company must have of the external driving forces, their inter-relationships, and the impact these have on the company, that should determine what it must deliver to be competitive or simply remain relevant. And it is this understanding of what it must deliver that then determines how the company's internal systems (and their inter-relationships) need to be designed and operated.

The Systems View

This idea of looking outward, of looking beyond the walls of the company office building is not new. What is relatively new to many executives, is the idea of looking at the world as a collection of systems that create a whole and examining the relationships between those systems to determine how they affect the whole. Systems Theory, as applied to organizational management, puts forth the premise that all organizations are systems, and all systems are part of larger systems. How a subsystem fits the needs of the larger system ultimately determines if that subsystem prospers or is left to wither on the vine.

It's this concept that the adept leader can use to get a more "holistic" view of his organization. Understanding how the company relates to the larger system in which it exists and operates, and then how the company's internal systems contribute or detract from that larger relationship can provide a more relevant analysis.

It really isn't as esoteric as it may sound. Once you grasp the concept it will be easy to see how it applies to your organization. Let's spend a moment on a definition and then we can address application.

In Systems Theory, a system is defined in two ways:

• Externally, by its purpose. Each system has a role that it plays in the higher-level system in which it exists. Using the auto company example we can say that the auto company is a system whose role is to provide cars to the next higher-level system, the auto market. The auto market in turn has its multiple roles that it plays in the next higher-level systems of transportation and national economy and so on.


• Internally, by its subsystems and internal functions. Each system is made up of components and sub-systems that interrelate and contribute to the overall purpose of the parent system. In the auto company those components might consist of engineering, production, marketing, finance, human resources and sales all of which should be supporting the system's purpose of providing cars to the higher system, the auto market.

Systems Theory in Managing Organizations

Defining the Higher-Level System and the Organization's Role in It

So for a leader, the first step in developing a holistic view of the organization is to define the higher-level system in which it exists/operates, and its role/purpose in that higher-level system. Where does it fit? What kind of role does it play and what value does it bring to the purpose of the higher-level system? If a company does not have a role to play in the higher-level system, then it does not belong in that system; and if it cannot find a role in any higher-level system, it is in effect redundant and will ultimately die. Additionally, and sadly more common, if a company cannot accurately define what its role is in the higher-level system, even if it has something relevant to offer, it will be treated as if it had no role at all.

If a higher-level system cannot perceive value by including a particular sub-system, it will ignore that sub-system. This typically means the end of that sub-level system's participation in the higher-level system. That's the reason nobody makes buggy whips or vinyl music records anymore.

Designing the Internal Functions and Subsystems of the Organization

Once you have defined the higher-level system in which your company operates, and established your company's purpose within it, then it's time to look at the components or subsystems of your organization. These subsystems and components, knowingly or unknowingly, all interact and play a part in achieving or detracting from the company's purpose. Ideally of course, these subsystems and their interrelationships should be designed and organized in a way that collectively promotes the organization's purpose, and achieve zero or sustainable negative entropy for the organization. While there is much to discuss about entropy and organizations, a simple macro explanation is that entropy occurs when a system's resources are depleted over time and its subsystems descend into chaos. Zero entropy is thus a state where resources do not deplete over time, and negative entropy where resources increase over time; in both cases with the subsystems maintaining current relevance and focus on the system purpose.

In the auto company example, it needs to define its market, the range of products and services for that market, and how to produce and deliver those products and services in an exchange with the auto market, in a way that its resources do not get depleted. When it achieves that, the auto company will have reached a state of business sustainability. Of course all companies would like to grow, and not just maintain the business; however we all know that growth needs to be kept sustainable or the result could be detrimental. For example, if the auto company increases its market share so rapidly, that it is unable to match that pace with getting the people and systems it needs in place to ensure good quality control, then it could get into problems. In Systems Theory, when we talk about negative entropy in successful systems, it is always about sustainable negative entropy.

It can be argued that assuming the organization knows its true purpose, then how that organization's subsystems are organized will determine the success or failure of the organization. Subsystems, functions, and their inter-relationships are thus optimized to achieve the organization's purpose; this is distinct from optimization of subsystems for their own purposes. Consequently, if a subsystem does not have a role in the organization's purpose, then it does not belong in the organization system.

It kind of sounds like we are back to the traditional response of auditing departments doesn't it? But did you note the difference? This time we defined a purpose first. We identified what our role is in the higher-level system. We know what we must do to succeed in that higher-level system. It's only after we have that firmly established that we use it to determine the organization and effectiveness of our subsystems.

Outside-Inside

Let's ratchet this up a level and get you thinking in even broader terms. We talked about finding our purpose in the next higher-level system but it really doesn't stop there. The effective leader has to look beyond the immediate higher-level system, and get an appreciation for how the next-higher-level system and even-higher-level systems and so on, can impact the purpose of the organization.

Say for example, the green environmental movement successfully lobbied to legislate that all cars will be required to double their kilometers per liter rating in 5 years, while at the same time reducing emissions by 50%. This is a political/regulatory factor driven by the inter-related forces of ecological imperatives and the collective awareness of consumers, etc., that now directly impacts the auto company. This factor, which the auto company has no control over, effectively changes what the company must deliver to fulfill its purpose in the higher-level systems in which it operates. The successful auto company, with enlightened management adopting the systems perspective, would have seen this decision coming by identifying the inter-related driving forces leading to this decision, well ahead of their competitors; it would have already began redefining its outputs and reorganizing its subsystems and their inter-relationships for this new reality.

It's important to view business as a part of larger systems. Business does not exist in a vacuum. The arrogance of some organizations, particularly those too big to fail, is disturbing and it's obvious that they have not learned from past lessons. One only has to look at the auto industry worldwide, the railroad industry in the United States, and the steel industry generally to see examples of once powerful and rich organizations who ultimately didn't understand, or care, about what their purpose was in the higher-level systems. Today many former giants in those industries are shells of what they were, replaced by organizations who understood what the system needed and where they fit in.

Systems Theory and the Leader

Systems Theory is a powerful tool that will take your thinking to an entirely new level. It is an exceptionally honest and effective method for understanding the purpose of an organization and for performing an effective analysis of its subsystems. However, without an advocate, it remains just a theory. That's where your responsibility as a senior level leader begins.

Systems Theory when applied to human organizations is the only management concept rooted in natural science! It makes perfect sense and is really logic and common sense driven. Commit yourself to view everything you do and see in terms of interrelated systems.

Start by defining the higher-level system that your organization serves. What purpose, what value, and what fulfillment of needs does your organization offer that system? What products or services does your organization offer that best fills the purpose? Are you offering products or services that don't serve this system but may serve another?

All successful living systems are open systems, and information and resources flow across them. Closed systems, i.e. systems that insulate themselves from, and do not interact with, the higher-level system or other systems, are destined to fail. One of the reasons, though not the only one, is that if they do not interact with other systems, how will they be able to adjust to the evolving purposes of the higher-level-systems and hence define their useful role?

To keep your system healthy, what information (business or market intelligence, etc.) do you need to gather from your higher-level system? What information (marketing, communications, etc.) do you need to send to the higher-level systems? What resources (raw materials, component parts, etc.) do you need to acquire from the higher-level systems and the other subsystems within it? Are there resources (shared services, collective bargaining, etc.) that can be shared with other subsystems? What useful resources (products, services, etc.) can you provide to the system and its other subsystems that they need and that you do best in?

Lastly you have to organize your subsystems to promote your purpose. A prime directive in Systems Theory is that every subsystem must contribute to the success of the system's purpose. Teams, managers and individual workers are all subsystems, and components of subsystems. If the guy on the loading dock, or the lady at the front desk, does not understand how he/she is promoting the purpose then he/she cannot be as effective a member of your system as he needs to be.

Once your organization is focused on and designed for purpose, you as the leader have to spend time interacting with other systems in the higher-level systems. Obviously you want to spend time within your immediate higher-level system, because that's where your organization operates. However, you need also to involve yourself with even-higher-level systems like your community and its NPOs, and society. In the inter-connectedness of the world, the health of your community will in the end have a direct impact on your organization's purpose.

Conclusion

Ultimately, we all need to view ourselves and our respective organizations as parts and subsystems of the successively higher-level systems, our roles in the purposes of those successively higher-level systems, and how we all contribute or detract from the success of the highest-level system we live in, namely the eco-system of earth. That will make the discourse over sustainability in its widest definition a whole lot easier, but that is another subject for another time. For a start, let's start thinking in systems, so that we and our organizations can be more effective and successful.

Through applying Systems Theory to management and leadership you will serve not only your company but your entire environment. That's what exceptional leaders do.

A Systems View of the Organization

For over twenty three years, Stephen has helped businesses, government agencies and non-profits organizations in Asia to learn and apply Strategic Management and Innovation to their organizations to sustain and improve long term performance. He has successfully led and facilitated numerous "live" strategic planning efforts and in-company senior management development programs, for a wide range of organizations including multi-national companies, small-medium enterprises and government agencies.

As an international consultant, Stephen has led public workshops/seminars on key strategic management topics such as strategic thinking and planning, change management, leadership and innovation, in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Dubai, China and the USA. He has trained hundreds of managers in workshops and seminars, with consistently excellent evaluations by the participants, who come from a wide range of industries in both the private and public sectors.

Read more articles by Stephen at http://www.hainescentreasia.com/ezines/index.htm

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Asset Management

An asset can be defined as anything owned by an individual that has a cash value, including property, goods, savings, and investments. Asset management, therefore, refers to the management of the assets by money managing teams. Though the major emphasis is on managing the investment portfolios of a company, asset management also includes management of physical assets such as money, equipment and property, as also the non-tangible assets such as information and the workflow processes.

Assets, in any commercial set up, include the monetary investments, plants, infrastructure and its human resources. Asset management is, therefore, a process that aims at the optimum utilization of resources for maximum returns at the minimum investment or costs.

Management

The first priority of any asset management team is to identify the company's 'assets' or resources. Once these are identified, the team can then focus on the business process or, in other words, understand the functioning of the tangible or non-tangible assets, which can be any of the following.

Preparing the monetary investment portfolios is an important aspect of asset management. The investment portfolios give a clear picture of the income- expenditure ratio, as well as the financial status of a company. Based on the study, the asset management team can remove deficiencies, or modify the investment structure to maximize returns.

Property, plant, and equipment are the tangible assets of the company. Asset management involves the study and analysis of the actual property on which the plant is built and all the equipment that is required to run the business. Plant and equipment need effective management. Their depreciation values needs to be studied. Their analysis helps the team to arrive at a decision whether to repair or replace machinery in order to reduce running costs.

Human Resources include the non-tangible resources of the company. Managing human resources involves studying individuals, departments; divisions, planning for improvement of skills, improving comfort level and security, and, thereby evolving a policy for maximum output by the employees.

Asset Management

Asset Management [http://www.i-assetmanagement.com] provides detailed information about asset management, asset management software, asset management systems, and more. Asset Management is affiliated with Highest CD Rates.

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The Nature and Purpose of Project Management

Project management as we know it today has evolved in order to plan, coordinate, and control the complex and diverse activities of modern industrial, commercial, and management change projects.

Clearly, man-made projects are not new; monuments surviving from the earliest civilizations testify to the incredible achievements of our forebears and still evoke our wonder and admiration. Modern projects, for all their technological sophistication, are not necessarily greater in scale than some of those early mammoth works. But economic pressures of the industrialized world, military defense needs, competition between rival companies, and greater regard for the value and well-being (and hence the employment costs) of working people have all led to the development of new ideas and techniques for managing projects.

\"project Management\"

All projects share one common characteristic - the projection of ideas and activities into new endeavors. The ever-present element of risk and uncertainty means that the events and tasks leading to completion can never be foretold with absolute accuracy. For some very complex or advanced projects even the possibility of successful completion might be in serious doubt.

The purpose of project management is to foresee or predict as many of the dangers and problems as possible and to plan, organize, and control activities so that projects are completed as successfully as possible in spite of all the risks. This process starts before any resource is committed, and must continue until all work is finished. The primary aim of the project manager is for the final result to satisfy the project sponsor or purchaser, within the promised timescale and without using more money and other resources than those that were originally set aside or budgeted.

Much of the development in project management methods took place in the second half of the twentieth century, spurred by impatient project purchasers (who wanted their projects finished quickly so that their investments could be put to profitable use as soon as possible). Competition between nations for supremacy in weapons and defense systems played a significant role in the development of project management techniques, and the process has been accelerated by the widespread availability of powerful, reliable, and cheap computers. Project management is more effective when it makes use of these sophisticated techniques and facilities and, in this sense, is a highly specialized branch of management.

Planning and control must, of course, be exercised over all the activities and resources involved in a project. The project manager therefore needs to understand how all the various participants operate, and to appreciate (at least in outline) their particular skills, working methods, problems, and weaknesses. This demands a fairly wide degree of general experience so that, in this practical sense, project management is akin to general management.

The Nature and Purpose of Project Management

John Reynolds has been a practicing project manager for nearly 20 years and is the editor of an informational website rating project management software products [http://www.project-management-web.com/]. For more information on project management and project management software, visit Project Management Software Web [http://www.project-management-web.com/].

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Implementing Change Management in Your Business

Assessing the Need for Change

While "change management" is a popular concept and the term is thrown around a lot now days, you first need to assess whether or not a change is needed in your business. Usually we assess our business when it is in a slump, trying to figure out how to enhance or grow our customer base, or making significant changes to how we do business.

\"change Management\"

Assess your business need for change when things are going well. Look at the best practices of your competitors and compare their results with yours. Adjusting your strategy to enhance your growth or customer base is not change management.

What is Change Management

Many people think change management means one thing. They mistakenly lump the three distinct parts of change management together and then wonder why it is so hard to implement. When implementing change management, it is important that we keep each area compartmentalized to avoid unnecessary stress and aggravation for ourselves and those we are working with.

Change Management - People

This area deals with the people in our organization. How we relate to each other in our work environment and what changes we can implement to make our organization function more effectively. If you are focusing on people in your change management plan, this is not where you change processes. The changes you make, whether in reorganizing your business or department or creating more productive teams lie within the "people" portion of change management.

When implementing a change management plan it is important that all of your staff understand why the change is needed. The explanation must be detailed enough to encourage a personal investment on the part of your staff for the success of the change. If staff do not feel a real need for change, or have not made a commitment to it's implementation it will not only take longer to make the change, but also the change will not be long term and sustainable.

One of the mistakes that we, as leaders make, is to assume that because we can see the picture clearly, everyone else can too. It is important to take a step back and think about the "pieces" of the picture that our staff are seeing and what they are not seeing. In order to implement change, everyone must see and understand the same picture and have the same understanding of how it will benefit them.

People will respond with enthusiasm if they see a benefit to themselves or their work environment, if they understand the need for a change and if they are included in the change process. Too often decisions to implement change are made without the involvement of the staff who will be most affected. This is the primary reason that those efforts fail. There must be buy-in from a majority of the staff to effectively implement change. Especially change that is going to involve people and how they interact and communicate with each other.

Change Management - Processes

This area deals with the way things are done in our organization. How we process the paper, and what we do with it. This is where forms and processes are analyzed and changes are made to meet the needs of our growing business.

Not everyone in our business deals with the same processes. As much as we would like uniformity, what makes our business unique is the way that our staff interacts with customers or meets other needs with quality and precision. If we are going to assess and change processes, it is important that the process needs changing. Sometimes it is not the process but the people who need to change, but because we have lumped change management into one big ball we wind up trying to make changes to perfectly acceptable processes or change people when the process needs to be changed. No one knows better about the need to change a process than the people who are actually using them day-to-day. It is important that we discuss with our staff the possibility of changing a process and involve them in the implementation of the change. Changing a process, like changing people, requires commitment and buy-in on the part of those who will be required to use the changed process on a daily basis.

As it's name implies, this area deals with our equipment and software. Changing or adapting to meet our needs, getting rid of the old stuff and figuring our what we need to add to our arsenal of tools. It is important to note that this aspect of change management does not involve changing "people" rather, it is changing tools. It is our nature to use equipment until it wears out. This can be very costly to our business and also can cause a lot of problems when we do finally make a change.

Change Management - Equipment

One of my associates has owned their business for over 20 years, when they began the business, they had a program created in a state-of-the-art program and hired an individual to work on this program. I might add that it is a major piece of what makes this business profitable. Now, twenty years later, there is one person in the company who knows how to use this software. It is so outdated that it cannot be upgraded, but must be completely re-input to a different software program which will involve several weeks. Even if he wanted to implement change, he is unable to do so because he is stuck in the software and the one person who knows how to use it. It is very costly if you do not keep up with the changing market of available equipment. In the end, this is going to be extremely costly to the business and will result in their having to shut their doors for several weeks to get the information transferred to an updated program.

Equipment is one portion of change management that should be addressed continuously. It is the most critical piece of your business and will cost an incredible amount of money if not tended to regularly.

Implementing Change Management

When you decide to implement change, be sure to categorize the changes you want to make first. Once you have a visual of where the changes need to take place, it will be much easier to research and discuss the changes with the stakeholders who will be most affected by the changes.

If you are going to change people, remember that anyone affected by the change is a stakeholder. Don't wait to tell the staff about a change after the decision has been made that will affect them in an adverse way. Get buy-in and personal investment from all staff by first sharing the benefits of the change and gathering data to support the change. You win in two ways by doing this. The people who do not feel they can commit to the change will leave and thus will not sabotage the change before it can get off the ground. And the people who do make a personal investment will be excited about the change and drive it with the enthusiasm needed to make the change successful and sustainable.

If you are going to change processes, remember to include all stakeholders. In other words, include everyone who will be involved in making the new or changed process work. Whether you have to have representatives from groups or your business size is such that you can discuss the changes with each individual, be sure that you do discuss the change and get a verbal commitment from each person to help in driving the process change. This will save you a lot of time on the backend and will instill the kind of loyalty that you need from a high quality staff.

You staff will always appreciate updated equipment and software that will make their lives easier. The only caveat is that you will need to include in your software or equipment purchase, training for those staff who will be using the software. Don't get the equipment or software and assume that the staff will know how to use it. If someone on your staff does, great, you won't have to pay an outside person to train everyone else. But you need to be prepared to make the investment for training of your staff on the new equipment. This cost should be included in your yearly budget. It is not a one-time cost and definitely does not end. So you must be prepared and be vigilant of the changes in the industry related to your business and processes.

As long as you do not lump all three of these pieces of change management together, you will find that you can effectively implement change in all three areas with minimal disruption. It is important also that you think about the big picture your staff see as opposed to your own big picture vision. If these big pictures do not match, the key to successful implementation of change management is to create a big picture that both you and your staff share.

Implementing Change Management in Your Business

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Human Resource Information System - HRIS

Human Resource Information Systems

The purpose of this paper is to identify other companies who have faced similar human resources issues in regards to information technology. Through benchmarking different companies we can learn how other companies have handled certain human resources issues related to information technology, information systems, new technology, and data security. An overall analysis has been completed using research on IBM Europe, Ameriprise Financial, Terasen Pipelines, Shaw’s Supermarkets, CS Stars LLC, IBM, WORKSource Inc., and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. This paper also includes eight synopses of companies facing similar issue to those in the reading.

\"Management Concept\"

New Technology

With the changing world and constant new technology that is available, managers need to be aware of the technology that will increase effectiveness in their company. Human resource information systems (HRIS) have increasingly transformed since it was first introduced at General Electric in the 1950s. HRIS has gone from a basic process to convert manual information keeping systems into computerized systems, to the HRIS systems that are used today. Human resource professionals began to see the possibility of new applications for the computer. The idea was to integrate many of the different human resource functions. The result was the third generation of the computerized HRIS, a feature-rich, broad-based, self-contained HRIS. The third generation took systems far beyond being mere data repositories and created tools with which human resource professionals could do much more (Byars, 2004).

Many companies have seen a need to transform the way Human Resource operations are performed in order to keep up with new technology and increasing numbers of employees. Terasen Pipelines moved its headquarters from Vancouver to Calgary to be closer to the oil and realized a major growth in employees. In the past recording keeping was done on paper and with spreadsheets. Mangers at Terasen realized that there was a need to change to a more computerized system and looked into different HRIS vendors. By making the move to a HRIS system, Terasen is able to keep more accurate records as well as better prepare for future growth. Another company that saw the benefits of keeping up with new technology is WORKSource Inc. To meet the challenge of handling 100 new employees, WORKSource Inc. acquired Web-based technology programs from GHG Corp. like electronic pay stub, electronic timesheet software, time-off system, and human resource information system (“Tips,” 2006). By adapting these new programs, WORKSource was able to reduce waste and cost.

The Internet is an increasingly popular way to recruit applicants, research technologies and perform other essential functions in business. Delivering human resource services online (eHR) supports more efficient collection, storage, distribution, and exchange of data (Friesen, 2003). An intranet is a type of network used by companies to share information to people within the organization. An intranet connects people to people and people to information and knowledge within the organization; it serves as an “information hub” for the entire organization. Most organizations set up intranets primarily for employees, but they can extend to business partners and even customers with appropriate security clearance (Byars & Rue, 2004).

Applications of HRIS

The efficiency of HRIS, the systems are able to produce more effective and faster outcomes than can be done on paper. Some of the many applications of HRIS are: Clerical applications, applicant search expenditures, risk management, training management, training experiences, financial planning, turnover analysis, succession planning, flexible-benefits administration, compliance with government regulations, attendance reporting and analysis, human resource planning, accident reporting and prevention and strategic planning. With the many different applications of HRIS, it is difficult to understand how the programs benefit companies without looking at companies that have already benefited from such programs.

One such company is IBM. IBM has a paperless online enrollment plan for all of its employees. Not only has the online enrollment saved the company 1.2 million per year on printing and mailing costs, the employees enjoy working with the online plan. "Since we began offering online enrollment, we've learned that employees want web access," Donnelly [Senior Communications Specialist] says, so they can log on at home rather than through the company intranet. So the company has been working to put in place a web-based enrollment system that employees and retirees can access from anywhere (Huering, 2003). By utilizing the flexible-benefits application HRIS has to offer, IBM was able to cut costs and give employees the freedom to discover their benefits on their own time and pace.

Another company that has taken advantage of HRIS applications is Shaw’s Supermarkets. In order for Shaw’s to better manage its workforce, the company decided it was time to centralize the HR operations. After looking at different options, Shaw’s decided to implement an Employee Self Service (ESS) system. The use of self-service applications creates a positive situation for HR. ESS gives HR more time to focus on strategic issues, such as workforce management, succession planning, and compensation management, while at the same time improving service to employees and managers, and ensuring that their data is accurate. With this solution, employees have online access to forms, training material, benefits information and other payroll related information (Koven, 2002). By giving employees access to their personal information and the ability to update or change their information as needed, HR was given more time to focus on other issues. Understanding the different applications HRIS has to offer will give companies the chance to increase employee efficiency and reduce costs.

Measuring the Effectiveness of HRIS

The evaluation should determine whether or not the HRIS has performed up to its expectations and if the HRIS is being used to its full advantage (Byars & Rue, 2004). One of the most significant challenges faced by public personnel executives today is measuring the performance of their human resources information system (HRIS) In order to justify the value-added contribution of the HRIS to accomplishing the organization's mission (Hagood & Friedman, 2002). Implementing an HRIS program may seem a necessary stem for a company, but unless it will be an effective tool for HR operations, it will not help increase efficiency and may hinder it instead.

One company that implemented a HRIS system is Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (TAMS). TAMS put all employee benefits information online and created an open enrollment option when TAMS changed healthcare providers. Almost immediately upon rolling out the UltiPro portal [new HRIS technology] to employees, TAMS began seeing improvements, with an estimated 70% increase in open enrollment efficiency (Wojcik, 2004). By determining the efficiency of the new program, TAMS was able to realize the benefits of the new HRIS system.

Security of HRIS

The privacy of employee information has become a major issue in recent years. With identity theft becoming a common problem, employees are becoming more sensitive about who sees their personal information, and the security it is kept in. By making sure employee information that is kept in the HRIS is relevant to the company and making sure there is limited access (password protection) to such information, companies can make its employees more secure with the safety of their information. Whether electronic or paper, employee files deserve to be treated with great care. Establishing security and end-user privileges calls for a balance of incorporating, HR policy, system knowledge and day-to-day operations (O’Connell, 1994).

One company that faced a major security issue was CS Stars, LLC. CS Stars lost track of one of its computers that contained personal information that included names, addresses and social security numbers of workers compensation benefits. The bigger problem was that CS Stars failed to notify the affected consumers and employees about the missing computer. Though the computer was retrieved and no information seemed to have been harmed, many employees lost their sense of security with the company. New York's Information Security Breach and Notification Law, effective in December 2005, requires businesses that maintain computerized data which includes private information to notify the owner of the information of any breach of the security of the system immediately following discovery, if the private information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization (Cadrain, 2007).

Another company that experienced a breach in security is Ameriprise Financial. In late 2005, a computer that contained personal information on clients and employees was stolen. Because many of the employees at Ameriprise take their computers between work and home, the company determined there was a need to put more security into those computers. Ameriprise made sure all employees had the new security suite installed on their computers. By responding quickly to the need for more security, Ameriprise made sure all information is being kept secure. Making sure employees information is kept as secure as possible there will be more trust in the company and the HR employees working with that information.

Conclusion

IBM, Terasen Pipeline, CS Stars LCC, and Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. are good examples of companies facing issues similar to human resources information technology and human resources information systems. All of these companies know the importance of new technology, human resources information systems, and data security. The remainder of this paper provides synopses of more companies facing human resources issues, how the company responded to the issues, and the outcomes of the company’s responses.

Companies Benchmarked

IBM Europe

The Situation:

IBM is a global organization offering research, software, hardware, IT consulting, business and management consulting, ring and financing. It employs around 340,000 people, speaking 165 languages across 75 countries, and serving clients in 174 countries. In January 2007, IBM established a separate “new media” function within its corporate communication department. IBM main goal is to educate, support, and promote programs that utilize social media. IBM Europe decided to expand internal communication by blogging guidelines. The recognition was that blogging was already happening among IBMers, just in an unregulated way. In a similar way, institutionalizing a function to deal specifically with new media is not a corporate move, or establishing from scratch. It’s a response to the issues already emerging in the company. Now that those technologies are here, people are using them, they’re growing and there here to stay-we’re just going to put some structure around them so that we can try to optimize their use.” The users decide what technologies they want to use and how they want to use them. That main idea is that IBM understands that they must remember to respect the fact that social media are social. IBM had the need to connect its 340,000 global employees more effectively.

The Response:

IBM’s intent around social media has now been officially formalized. From January 22 2007, the company established a separate “new media” function within its corporate communication department. “Its remit: To act as expert consultants inside and outside IBM on issues relating to blogs, wikis, RSS and other social media applications. The main idea is to educate, support and promote programs that utilize these tools. IBM has a history of being a t the forefront of technology based corporate communication. From the multimedia brainstorming “WorldJam” that made news headlines back in 2001 in which 50,000 employees worldwide joined a real time, online idea-sharing session about the company’s direction. IMB has always prepared itself to use breakthrough technologies to establish a two-way dialogue with its employees. The need for social media was necessary and could no longer wait.

The Outcome:

In the last few years IBM has been recognized as being the vanguard of social-media use: IBM was on of the first Fortune 500 companies to get behind collaborative wikis, published internal blogging guidelines as far back as 2003, and is now moving fast beyond RSS and podcasts into videocasting and “virtual world” technologies like Second Life. The intranet search facility extends to all areas of the site, including new media aspects. When an employee logs onto their portal an executes a key word search, the results they get back not only come from the main intranet pages, but include results from IBM forums, wikis, blogs and podcast/videocasts tags. IMB has an understanding that employees are no longer staying in a company their entire lives. It’s just not like that any more. In Belgium for example over 50 percent of 2,300 employees have been there fewer than five years. The company has come to the conclusion that with an increasingly young and mobile workforce, the likelihood is that an employee population full of a younger generation, for whom these tools are part and parcel of life, is not that far away. In years to come IBM will have to deal with employee base for which blogging is just the natural way to interact over a web platform. IBM has created centralized platforms for most tools that fall under its remit, which includes wikis. For Philippe Borremans, new media lead Europe for IBM, has the potential business applications of a wiki cover two broad benefits: Collaborating and knowledge sharing. IBM has scored some notable successes on both fronts in the near 5000 wiki pages now up and running in the organization. The company has been a huge pick-up in interest in podcasting over the last 18 months writing can seem such a technical skill, whereas people feel they can talk more freely than they can write. One of the most consistently popular IBM podcasts, with over 20,000 downloads a week.

Ameriprise Financial

The Situation:

The Department of Justice survey estimates that 3.6 million U.S. households were victims of identity theft in 2004. Trafficking in personal date goes beyond U.S. borders: the New York Times reports that stolen financial information is often distributed among participants of online trading boards, and the buyers are frequently located in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East. One reason clients are concerned about data security is the widespread publicity generated by breaches at financial services firm. In late December 2205, an Ameriprise Financial employee’s laptop that contained unencrypted data on approximately 230,000 customers and advisors was stolen from a car. Other financial services firm, including Citigroup and Bank of America, also acknowledge large-scale customer data losses in 2005. President of NCS, Rita Dew, a compliance consulting firm in Delray Beach, Florida, says that the Securities and Exchange Commission requires investment advisors to have policies and procedures that address the administrative, technical, and physical safeguards related to client records and information.

The Response:

Ameriprise Financial had to fight back and had to implement “layers of protection.” It is important for employees who their primary business computer, and employees regularly transport the computer between home, office, and meeting sites. The vulnerability of this arrangement and the need for a safety software program is much needed.

The Outcome:

Employees who are transporting lab tops should install the Steganos Security Suite on their computer. This software allows employees to create an encrypted virtual drive on the laptop that serves as data storage safe. Employees stores all client related data and tax preparation software database on the encrypted drive, which employees has set up with one gigabyte of storage space. The best thing is that when an employee turns off the computer the information is stored “safe”, the software automatically encrypts the virtual drive’s data. The software also generates encrypted backup files, which employees store on CDs in a fireproof safe. This should keep the data secure if any employee’s laptop is stolen or if the drive is removed from the laptop. Other financial advisors are relying on encryption both in and out of the office. Other programs that are being used to protect client’s information are RAID Level 1 system to store data on the drives that are encrypted with WinMagic’s SecureDocs software. Encryption ensures that anyone who steals the computer will be absolutely unable to read the data, even by connecting it to another computer as a “slave drive. This has given many financial advisors the greatest peace of mind.

Terasen Pipelines

The Situation:

Terasen Pipelines is a subsidiary of Terasen Inc. located in Vancouver, Canada and is located in several provinces and U.S. states. In 2001 the company changed its headquarters to Calgary to be closer to the oil. With the big move, the company went through a growth spurt. With the company in many different locations and the growing numbers of employees, the HR department saw a need to find a new system to keep more accurate records.

The Response:

In the past Terasen had kept records on paper and with spreadsheets and with the growth of the company, this system does not work as well as in the past. In order to compensate for future growth, Terasen began to look into HRIS companies to help with the HR operations. After researching different companies, Hewitt’s application service provider model with eCyborg was found to be the right fit.

The Outcome:

Although there was difficulty adapting to a new way of recordkeeping, Terasen was able to find a system that will help support the current and future growth of the company. Fortunately, some of the HR staff had experience working with an HRIS and were able to help their colleagues imagine new processes, as aided by a system. One theme often voiced throughout this process was: "You guys don't know how hard we're working when we can make it so much easier with a system that could do a lot of this for us. You don't always have to run to the cabinet for the employee file just to get basic information. It can all be at your fingertips." (Vu, 2005). In order to help Terasen ease the HR burden of implementing a new HR system, the management of Terasen was convinced to look for a vendor to help implement and maintain a HRIS system. This system has helped Terasen better prepare for current and future growth.

Shaw’s Supermarkets

The Situation:

Shaw’s Supermarkets is the second largest supermarket chain in New England. With a workforce of 30,000 located at 180 stores throughout six states, Shaw's HR staff is responsible for managing employees' personal data. Their employee mix includes approximately 70 percent part-time employees, consisting of students, senior citizens, second-job part-timers, and career part-timers. One third of the workforce is made up of union associates, and Shaw's staff oversees the company's involvement with three unions and six separate contracts (Koven, 2002). In order to help manage the workforce, the HR staff became interested in centralizing its HR operations.

The Response:

In order to centralize HR operations Shaw’s decided to implement an ESS (employee self-service) solution. The use of self-service applications creates a positive situation for HR. ESS gives HR more time to focus on strategic issues, such as workforce management, succession planning, and compensation management, while at the same time improving service to employees and managers, and ensuring that their data is accurate. With this solution, employees have online access to forms, training material, benefits information and other payroll related information.

The Outcome:

Shaw’s has had positive feedback since implementing the ESS solution. "The reaction from our employees has been extremely positive," Penney, VP of Compensation and Benefits, says. "We even had a significant increase in our medical coverage costs, and it was almost a non-issue because the online enrollment featured the plan choices, the employee cost, and the company subsidy. An employee self-service application makes it very easy for them to understand their contributions and coverage options. I received several e-mails from employees saying this was a great change and how easy ESS was, which the case is not often when employees are selecting their benefit options." (Koven, 2002). By giving the employees more access to their information they are able to see the benefit choices available to them. Employees are also able to update their information online, which helps reduce the paperwork of the past. Shaw’s has also seen improvement in productivity because employees are updating information at home, not during work hours.

CS Stars, LLC

The Situation:

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced that New York State has reached its first settlement with a company charged with failing to notify consumers and others that their personal data had gone missing. Cuomo’s office, which enforces the state’s 2005 Information Security Breach and Notification Law, charged CS STARS LLC, a Chicago-based claims management company, with failing to give notice that it had lost track of a computer containing data on 540,000 New Yorkers’ workers’ comp claims.

The Response:

The owner of the lost data, which had been in the custody of CS STARS, was the New York Special Funds Conservation Committee, an organization that assists in providing workers’ comp benefits under the state’s workers' comp law. On May 9, 2006, a CS STARS employee noticed that a computer was missing that held personal information, including the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of recipients of workers’ compensation benefits. But CS Stars waited until June 29, 2006, to notify Special Funds and the FBI of the security breach. Because the FBI declared that notice to consumers might impede its investigation, CS STARS waited until July 8, 2006, to send notices to the 540,000 New Yorkers affected by the breach. On July 25, 2006, the FBI determined an employee, of a cleaning contractor, had stolen the computer, and the missing computer was located and recovered. In addition, the FBI found that the data on the missing computer had not been improperly accessed.

The Outcome:

New York's Information Security Breach and Notification Law, effective in December 2005, requires businesses that maintain computerized data which includes private information to notify the owner of the information of any breach of the security of the system immediately following discovery, if the private information was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by a person without valid authorization. The law affects not only businesses in their dealings with their customers, but employers in their role as custodians of employees’ personal data. (Cadrain)

Without admitting to any violation of law, CS STARS agreed to comply with the law and ensure that proper notifications will be made in the event of any future breach. The company also agreed to implement more extensive practices relating to the security of private information. CS STARS will pay the Attorney General’s office ,000 for costs related to this investigation. (Cadrain)

IBM

The Situation:

IBM's paperless online enrollment system, introduced in 1999, has proved to be a winner for both the company's 135,000 active U.S. employees and the company, according to Cathleen Donnelly, senior communications specialist at company headquarters in Armonk, N.Y. The company saves .2 million per year on printing and mailing costs alone, Donnelly says, and the employees’ can take advantage of a variety of technologies to learn about issues, research program information and access decision support tools from their desktop computers. (Heuring, 2002)

The Response:

One of those tools, a personal medical cost estimator, enables employees to calculate potential out-of-pocket health care expenses under each of the plan options available to them, Donnelly says. Employees log in personally and are greeted by name and with important information regarding their benefits enrollment, such as the deadlines and when changes take effect. They automatically get access to health plans that are available to them, and the calculator lets them compare estimated benefit amounts for each plan.

"Employees can select the health care services they expect to use in a particular year, estimate expected frequency of use, and calculate potential costs under each plan option," Donnelly says. "The feedback that we've received from employees tells us that this tool has really helped them to make a comparison between plans based on how they consume medical services." The calculator shows both IBM's costs and the employee's. (Heuring, 2002)

The Outcome:

"Since we began offering online enrollment, we've learned that employees want web access," Donnelly says, so they can log on at home rather than through the company intranet. So the company has been working to put in place a web-based enrollment system that employees and retirees can access from anywhere.

Employees can get summary information on the plans, drill down into very specific details and follow links to the health care providers for research. Donnelly says the system has received high marks for convenience because employees can "get in and out quickly."

WORKSource Inc.

The Situation:

To meet the challenge of handling 100 new employees, WORKSource Inc. acquired Web-based technology programs from GHG Corp. like electronic paystub, electronic timesheet software, time-off system, and human resource information system (“Tips,” 2006). These tools enabled CEO Judith Hahn to handling payroll procedures efficiently and effectively.

The Response:

WORKSource has eight workforce centers, with approximately 108 employees, located throughout a six-county region. Previously, payroll, benefits, and human resources for those employees were processed and managed by a Professional Employer Organization. The company also has 52 administrative staff in its headquarters office. When the contract with the PEO terminated on June 30, 2006, those 108 employees were immediately moved to the payroll of WORKSource, which meant Hahn’s workload more than doubled effective July 2006 (“Tips,” 2006).

Hahn, in an interview with PMR, said she relied on LEAN to help get a handle on what needed to change for her to manage the increased workload. Two years earlier, Hahn’s CEO had introduced her to LEAN, a Japanese management concept of eliminating wasteful steps and motion when completing processes. “I began to read as much as possible about LEAN and joined an HR LEAN focus group” (“Tips,” 2006).

The Outcome:

Mastering the concepts of LEAN led Hahn to develop and apply her own acronym of “REASON” to her department’s payroll and HR processes. Review the process: map payroll tasks from start to finish. Eliminate waste: determine how to complete a payroll task most efficiently without unnecessary steps. Analyze alternatives: research and evaluate the applicability of new technology. Sell innovations to management: document the return on investment of each innovation. Open the lines of communication: communicate openly—and often—with all stakeholders, including employees and top management. Never allow negativity: make change simple and fun. Give employees plenty of encouragement and time to learn (“Tips,” 2006). Judith Hahn was able to implement the right human resource functions using information systems.

Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.

The Situation:

Lynda Morvik, director of benefits and human resources information systems at Tustin, California-based Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. (TAMS), thought it would make sense to add a benefits communication component to it. By having all the benefit information online, the TAMS employee handbook would also be a living document, enabling Morvik to make changes when necessary. Such was the case halfway through the project, when TAMS changed health care plans from Aetna Inc. to United Health Group Inc (Wojcik, 2004).

The Response:

TAMS, an independent group company of Toshiba Corporation and a global leading provider of diagnostic medical imaging systems and comprehensive medical solutions, such as CT, X-ray, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, MRI, and information systems, had been using a payroll service bureau and an in-house solution for HR that didn't include easy-to-use consolidated reporting or an employee portal. After evaluating UltiPro alongside several enterprise resource vendors, TAMS selected Ultimate Software's offering and went live in September 2002 after an on-time and on-budget implementation. Almost immediately upon rolling out the UltiPro portal to employees, TAMS began seeing improvements, with an estimated 70% increase in open enrollment efficiency (Wojcik, 2004).

The Outcome:

In an effort to expand the usage of the Web beyond the benefits enrollment process, TAMS has posted a library of documents and forms on its HR portal, including the benefits handbook, which garnered a 2004 Apex Award for publication excellence. That same year, Business Insurance magazine also gave TAMS the Electronic Benefit Communication (EBC) award for outstanding achievement in communicating employee benefits programs over the Web. To continue elevating its use of Ultimate Software's HRMS/payroll solution, TAMS modified the UltiPro portal to meet the imaging company's unique needs (Wojcik, 2004). It was completely integrated with several proprietary applications created to address compensation and performance management issues so that TAMS employees have a central location for comprehensive workforce and payroll information from a Web browser that they can access with a single sign-on (Wojcik, 2004).

References

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Human Resource Information System - HRIS

Steven Brown, MBA is a loving husband and father of two boys. He enjoys his time with his family by providing a strong family foundation of Christian Faith. After completing his Bachelors degree, Steven wanted to further his ability to teach and share to others his mindset that they can do anything if they would believe in themselves.

Recommend : The Global Marketing

How Well Do You Cope With Stress?

No one is immune to stress. And although it is something we might wish to avoid, it is part of life and it can be very unhealthy. Since there does not seem to be a lot we can do to make it go away, it might be well for us to learn how best to cope with it and minimize the destructive effects it may have on us.

One of the obvious first steps might be to avoid as much as possible those things which seem to cause the most stress and frustration. Some of the contributing factors to stress are permanent fixtures in our lives, but other things we have some degree of control over and we should try to eliminate (or at least reduce) them as much as we can. For instance, if you find that being surrounded by a lot of noise (perhaps even the radio or the t.v.) makes you jumpy and jittery, avoid turning it on. Allow some quiet in to your mind and feel the stress level subside. If certain people tend you set you on edge, try to avoid spending much time with these individuals, who hopefully are not family members or co-workers. Attempt to control as much of your environment as possible. Learn what you can do to either reduce the amount of frustration and pressure you feel, or ways to combat the effects they have on you.

Management

Keep in mind that everyone is different and while some methods of de-stressing might work for some, perhaps they are not the right choice for you. Be aware of your body and your moods. Pay attention to the way you are dealing with the circumstances in your life. Are you someone who appears to remain calm and collected on the outside while the pressures build up on the inside causing you to erupt at some particular point even at something that might be considered very minor? Another manifestation of this type of personality is breaking out in hives or being afflicted with mysterious aches and pains when you "reach the breaking point". Many people who are wired this way find that yoga is a great outlet for their stress. Others keep a log of their feelings which allows them to better understand when they are becoming overwhelmed and be proactive in getting things under control.

If you happen to be one of those people who feel stress almost continually and just cannot seem to be able to relax, you might consider stepping up your physical activity. Whether running or kick-boxing or participating in high energy dancing, the benefits you can derive from such activity will be enormous. You may even want to include physical activity intermittently throughout the day if that helps to keep you from pressure overload.

Try a variety of different things and include those that work best for you in your daily activities. While you cannot remove stress completely from your life, you can learn to manage it so that it does not take such a huge toll on your well being.

How Well Do You Cope With Stress?

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SAP Interview Tips and Tricks

Technical Round

Technical interviews are mostly held by the tech leads, although project managers are part of the interview sometimes. When I mean technical, it could be for an SAP functional position, ABAP, Basis or other technical positions. Not all types of interviews have all of the following phases. For eg., a full time position or a contract-to-hire will involve more general questions, his/her project/achievement related questions activities etc while a contract position will involve more focussed questions on the module/specifics for which he is recruited for.1.

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1. Warm Up

This is just immediately following the initial meet-and-greet and offers for coffee. You will be asked questions mostly on your project history. This phase is to just assess your areas of strength. Do not panic if you are asked questions that are much unrelated to what you might have done in the past or come out-of-the-blue in terms of technology. The interviewer is just doing an initial assessment on where your strengths are and how you might fit the requirements. Sometimes your resume might not be touched either just yet. You will be explained the project scenario, what their short term and long term goals are. Once again the idea is to let you know about the back ground and to prepare you in general on the spate of questions that are going to come your way. Most of the time the people interviewing you would be either a technical lead or the project manager or both. If you are interviewing with a consulting company, sometimes managers from the client side would be present as well. For non-native English speakers, talk slowly and clearly. The process of interview almost always leads to speeding up your words. This needs to be cautiously and consciously avoided.

DOs

• Come early to the interview site or to the conference call (if it is a telephonic interview). Try to follow the generic directions and smile a lot. Try to go to the rest room (interviews can last for an hour followed by another round with you sipping coffee/water in between ) required before the interview so that you can concentrate well in the interview without interruptions.


• Project your actual strengths


• Have a positive attitude and be very confident even if you are not 100% sure of the technicalities involved.


• Ask specific questions regarding the project/company that you are sure will project your knowledge in a positive light.


• Talk slowly and clearly

DON'Ts

• After meeting your contact/interviewer outside, do not be on the phone with somebody else at any point before the actual interview has begun.


• Do not project fake skills in this phase and get into trouble. They might not need them.


• Do not try to steer the interviewer in the direction you want the interview to go just yet.


• Do not loose confidence even though you hear or are asked questions on terms that you might not have heard of.


• Do not get into an argument when asking questions or answering them. Just nod or say "I see" and smile when you find things that are wrong with the project being discussed.

Sample Questions

1. How do you rate yourself in XXX ( An area of an SAP module, sap SAP Pricing)? 2. Have you worked on XXX (An area of an SAP module) or YYY ( A specific business scenario, say data migration of live Purchase Orders )? 3. Give a brief about your experience? ( First and most asked question )

2. Technical Questions

This is the toughest round and what you have been preparing for all along. This round can last pretty long and if you are interviewing for a big company this phase could be done with multiple teams for multiple hours. Normally you will not be asked to come in for a technical round the next day, but during the same day, there could be one round with team A and another round with team B. 80% of the time the focus would be on your resume and the achievements you mention in your resume. The questions would not go much beyond the first and second project unless they find something interesting or something they could relate to in your 5th or 6th project. Also the type of technical questions would depend on if you are applying for a Jr., Mid-level or Sr Consultant position.

1. Prepare your resume well. You are what your resume is. If you can mirror your resume in the interview you are all set. That exactly what the interviewer is looking for. Resume preparation is an art in itself. Spend considerable amount of time tweaking it

2. Prepare your resume for the job. This applies mostly to contract jobs. This might actually sound bad but works out well. Do not present the same resume for all the jobs. Modify it to suit the requirements of the job.You do not have to go over-board with it. See if a couple of modifications here and there might increase your chances. For example, if the job requires that you know "SAP Credit Management" and if you have done credit management (although not your strength) try to expand on it. Try to do some reading if required or brush up your skills on the system. If possible try to dig out your old documents or notes that you might have. This kind of flexibility on your part can go a pretty long way in getting you the right job.

3. How to project yourself -

a. If you are applying for a Jr. Level position, project yourself as a eager enthusiastic and quick learner. Show your aptitude along with your SAP knowledge. They already know that you do not have much skill - They are just looking for somebody who is willing to learn and be flexible enough.

b. If you are applying for a mid-level SAP consultant position, project yourself as a go-to guy for specifics. You are required to solve specific problems. Your technical experience is what is being sought after. Specialization is the key.

c. If you are applying for a Sr. Level position, show your broad exposure and tell them about project experiences, methodologies, (Not just about specific checkboxes). Broad-based exposure is key.

The questions could vary depending on the style of the interviewer.

Style 1 - Based on your Resume - This is how most of the interviews take place. Since you would have already sent your resume to the team there (they have pre-screened you and said YES for an interview ),they already know that you have the skills required for the job. So its mostly a matter of convincing them that you really have it in you. If you have prepared your resume well, this interview style will really fetch you.

Style 2 - Based on current Project Situation - Some people concentrate on their current project requirements or what they have been doing for the past 1 year. These are actually the toughest questions to answer. It is actually a very bad interviewing style but you just have to take it in stride. These people are the hardest to impress. But remember, everybody who has come to the interview will face the same challenge as you do. It happens very rarely that the candidate being interviewed is very well versed with the specific topics that the interviewer is asking questions on (without referring to your resume.

Style 3 - Management style Technical questions - Sometimes project managers ask technical questions. This could be a tough call. You would have to base your answers by first judging the type of questions that he is asking. Some project managers come from a technical background and ask very relevant technical questions that test specific skills as well as overall understanding. These people cannot be fooled easily and if you have the right skills, these interviews are easy (the key to impress them easily is to explain specific project related incidents and how you have handled them, both from a project management perspective and technical perspective. These folks look mostly for a go-getter attitude). Some project managers come from non-technical background and still do the technical interview. They ask questions that are mostly related to administration (Landscapes, transports), current business scenarios and QA. All they look for is your over all confidence. You just have to say "YES I KNOW" (in other words, sound knowledgeable even on things you might not know) to all their questions because they do not know the answers themselves.

DOs

• Concentrate 60% your technical preparation on the first and 20% on your second project.


• Prepare your resume well and prepare well for it.


• Be aware of every line of the first 2 pages of your resume.


• Explain specific instances where you have faced or solved problems.


• In your project summary try to list specific customization scenarios. Do not just list standard customization scenarios too much.

DON'ts

• Try not to say "I don't remember" atleast to questions in the first project.


• Do not ever talk too much about standard functionality. This gives them an impression that you are a trainee and have not done much customization.

Sample Questions

1. Technical questions in the subject area of expertise ( Functional/ Technical/Administration/ PM ). 2. How do you solve this scenario? ( They will give you a specific scenario and ask for your approach to solve the problem) 3. Specific customizaion examples (How to set seasonality in credit limit or how to enable line-item level view in G/L master etc)

Management Questions

This phase should actually be a breeze. The key is to understand that the interviewer in this phase WANTS to take you in. It's yours to loose. This phase could be done by any of the following group of people

• Project managers/ Program managers


• Project sponsors


• Steering Committee


• User Community


• Clients ( In case you are interviewing for a consulting company )

This interview could happen the same day or the next. This phase might or might not happen for contract jobs and even if it happens is more of a formality. But for full time employment, a management round is almost mandatory. This round as you might have guessed it just a matter of showing your soft skills. If you take out all the fluff, it boils down to the following.

1. Do your medium/long-term goals align with what the team/manager/company envisions for a person in that role?

2. Do you have what it takes to work with a team/Users? 3. Are you accomodative?

HR Round

This round applies only to Full-time employees ( Since the contracing company takes care of the contractor's background). The HR primarily plays 2 roles here.

Investigator - employer history, background verification, criminal history verification etc. Bargain Master - Salary negotiations, relocation allowance, bonus etc. There is a ton of information on the internet on how to face HR rounds and the caveats involved.

SAP Interview Tips and Tricks

For resume preparation tips, SAP Training, sample SAP interview questions and SAP Access please visit Magna Training.

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