Page 45 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

company size, industry, mission, geographical area, and whether it is privately held or pub-
licly held, nonprofit or for-profit. Once you understand all of this, you can determine
whether or not your skills, knowledge, and abilities will be a good fit for that HR position
in that company. You must also consider the corporate culture and whether or not you will
be personally and professionally fulfilled, sufficiently challenged, and in agreement with the
extent to which the company is an optimally functioning legally and ethically compliant
workplace. In addition, if the company does not appear to be an optimally functioning
legally and ethically compliant workplace, are those interviewing you aware of and openly
stating that as a serious problem while interviewing you? Is their intention to have HR be a
strategic part of the solution, or are they not naming these serious problems and expecting
you to silently be absorbed into and support a culture of corporate governance resulting in
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Catastrophic Leadership Failure? Alternatively, is the state of the company something in
between these two?
When you are interviewing for HR positions, it can be difficult to read the actual cul-
ture of the company, as that takes time. However, you can get a sense when you are there
just by observing and communicating with any employees you meet and observing the
workplace itself. Still, you must be sure of what you may be getting into professionally, and
you’ll want to review with your interviewers not only the job posting to which you’ve
responded but also your goals for your role in your next HR position and how you approach,
view, and practice HR. The HR Tool entitled “Sample Outline of What HR Can Be: Focus of
HR,” at the end of the chapter, on pages 32–33, includes a description of HR, that you can
customize to reflect your own experience, as well as your HR career hopes. In reviewing this
model with your interviewers and in asking the recommended questions in HR Tool entitled
“Checklist of Job Interview Questions for the Credible Activist to Ask the Company,” on
pages 33–35, you will have a better sense of whether or not the position is a good fit for
you. You won’t want to ask all of them, but choosing 10 or 15 is fine.
HR professionals should have awareness of the SHRM Code of Ethics whether they are
SHRM members or not. The sad truth is that many HR executives do raise these issues with
their leadership and are not taken seriously, are ignored, and/or are overruled in their rec-
ommendations. The SHRM Code of Ethics appears in the HR Tool entitled, “SHRM Code of
Ethical and Professional Standards in HR Management,” on pages 35–39.

EMPLOYEE ASSESSMENT
See the HR Tool entitled, “Sample New Employee Assessment,” on pages 39–40. Please note
that new employees should also be invited to provide feedback on their supervisors.

SKILLS THE HR CREDIBLE ACTIVIST WILL BENEFIT
FROM CULTIVATING

There are a number of core competencies that are critical for any HR/OD professional to cul-
tivate. When an HR professional endeavors to take the credible activist path, these skills
become even more crucial and useful.

28 The H R Toolkit