Experience the wonder of innovation...

·      Paperless HR – Part 5: Employee and Manager Self-Service

 

We were rolling along with Recruitmax’ ATS system and looking to maximize the power of PeopleSoft – trouble was, PeopleSoft didn’t want to share in the vision. So, I hired two of their developers, explained what I wanted, and they said: “You want us to make PeopleSoft do what it can do but they won’t let it do?” That’s right, and we were off to the races. I contracted with an HRIS specialist to drive that development, and they created employee and manager self-service tools on our Intranet – called the WIRE. Looking up paychecks, requesting time off, volunteering for events, completing interactive performance reviews, accessing all documents, reviewing all policies, and much more. HR was able to partner with employees and managers in the maintenance of information and files, and then had the time to be coaches and business partners, unleashing the real value of HR. After nearly 14 years, the vision was realized. Realizing that a sense of trying, patiently waiting for technology, experiencing errors, learning from these, and making improvements is the true wonder of innovation. All because we refused to accept what was while holding out for what could be. I’m never the smartest person in any room, but my vision and tenacity made up for that. There are probably lots of things you’d like to see happen – take responsibility for that and never let go. If I was able, so can you. Be an innovator today.

 

Mat Hunter, Co-CEO at Plus X Innovation

Harness the creative power of teamwork...

·      Making HR Paperless: Part 4: Taking Applications on the Internet

 

Bellagio opened to rave reviews. The paperless application system exceeded our expectations, and our paperless personnel forms and file system saved time and increased productivity – we pushed the envelope and felt like our mission was accomplished. Less than 2-years later MGM bought Mirage Resorts, and I left the industry to join PwC. End of story, or so I thought. Two years after that Steve Wynn asked me to come back to help start his new $2.7B Wynn Las Vegas on the site of the Desert Inn, and plan to recruit and hire 10,000+ employees; I was back in the game. 

 

One of the first things I did was study the improvements to the internet and dive into the PeopleSoft HRIS that came with the DI. Instead of requiring applicants to come into our recruitment center to complete their applications on one of our computers, I envisioned letting them do that online over the internet, from wherever they were able and comfortable. Problem #1: PeopleSoft didn’t have a robust applicant tracking system – so, we put out an RFP and selected Recruitmax to partner with us and build a system to our specs. That turned out to be everything we ever wanted, and more, with a great application capture system and self-service for applicants and hiring managers. We were nervous because, while others had online systems that allowed applicants to upload resumes, nobody was taking online applications for hourly positions. As I told a reporter, we wanted it to be so easy that your grandmother could do it at the kitchen table. The system went live at midnight on November 1: the first application was submitted 3 minutes later, and by noon the next day we had received 12,000 applications; 5 weeks later we had a total of 125,000 applications. All submissions, notifications, interview scheduling, and processing of data was done completely online: from application capture to job offers and onboarding. Recruitmax worked like a charm, which was 99% of the vision. PeopleSoft, which should have been the last 1%, not so much (in tomorrow’s final segment of this week’s story). We again learned the incredible power of teamwork and partnerships when innovating out on the leading edge.  Any project, big or small, should be managed that way. Leverage the power of teamwork in anything you innovate today.

 

Lina Chen, co-founder, Nix Hydra

 

Tomorrow: Part 5: Employee and Manager Self-Service

Patience + Partnering = Success...

·      Making HR Paperless – Part 3: Bellagio’s Networking Technology

 

Like I said yesterday, Treasure Island’s experiment with scanning was a bust; after another debrief, we decided to keep looking and trying. The commercial internet was introduced in 1996 and that was the impetus for a burst in technology development. That year I traveled to Infinium’s (now Infor) headquarters for a deep dive into my vision; that led us to a new product called Jet Forms – it was a Window’s-based program that allowed you to create facsimiles of your paper forms from which they could data map the information into an HRIS database. What had been impossible (to the point of seeming irrational) before was now doable. We were undaunted and energized – now all we had to do was operationalize this. We conducted focus groups with potential applicants and learned they’d be okay with completing applications on a computer rather than with a pencil and paper. So, we set up 100 computers in Bellagio’s recruitment center and stationed our staff to help with the new process: 100 applications per hour, 11 hours per day, 6 days a week, for  15 weeks = 99,000 total applications. Then hiring managers learned to review the application facsimiles online and complete their notes online – the data was stored there rather than in paper files. And just like that our vision and conviction paid off. But wait – there’s more: it dawned on us that we had to create electronic personnel files into which the recruitment data could be stored. And since we were transferring thousands of employees from our three other properties, we had to scan, index, and digitize their paper personnel files into the new electronic format and files. We were fortunate to find a Microsoft preferred provider to design and implement that workflow. This led to an employee Intranet at Bellagio, which allowed employees to do things online that had also previously been paper based – another first. All because we refused to give up on the dream. It took incredible teamwork – internal and external, to make this work. When you have good ideas, do your homework, be patient, look for people to partner with, and don’t lose hope. Even when things haven’t been developed yet, your voice can help influence the creative process. Any one of us can make incredible things happen today.

 

Daniel Ek, CEO, Spotify. Source: Forbes

 

Tomorrow: The Wynn Paperless HR Project

Be patient...

·       The Making of a Paperless HR Environment: Part 2

 

After the Mirage opened, we began looking for ways to improve the capture and filing of applications – the search picked up when Treasure Island broke ground in 1991. Computers were still in their infancy and development on concepts like this had not yet started. So, I visited Xerox to see if they had any ideas about using original character recognition (OCR) to capture and transpose handwritten application information – they were the leaders in copying technology but had not yet begun developing things like that. I visited Microsoft, but their focus was on Windows – I had hoped that something could be done with their Word application, but they weren’t there yet either.  So, we settled on scanning, storing, and retrieving digitized documents – in theory that should have worked, but the large volume of applications (65,000) again got in the way. The scanned documents were often illegible, printing and distributing 400+ interview packets was cumbersome, and scanning and connecting new interview information to existing files was labor intensive. We believed that would work… or maybe we wanted to believe that would work, but it was so hard to get support – internally or externally, for something that was so technologically challenging. But finding that it was not feasible gave us the courage to dream bigger. Innovation is about growing your objectives and courage in small steps, learning as you go, continually revising your thinking, keeping your eyes out for new developments, and biding your time as those are happening. Be patient as you seek to innovate today.

 

Barbara Corcoran: Businesswoman, investor, and consultant. Source: Shark Tales.

 

Tomorrow: Bellagio’s use of networking technology.

Listen and learn...

During my career, there were several innovative projects that I was responsible for, and all of them started with the opening of the Mirage. I’ll use this week’s 5 quotes and messages to tell the story of the 14 years it took to fully realize my vision for a paperless HR department. I’ll do the same with other projects when the theme of Innovation cycles back around in the future. 

 

We spent 16 months designing and developing the end-to-end recruitment process for the opening of the Mirage – it was comprehensive, complex, and multi-faceted. Bobby Baldwin was the President of the Mirage and the attention to detail that he instilled in us was extensive and legendary. The office set-up and flow were meticulously designed to make the process unique, exciting, and indicative of the kind of service we wanted to instill in our employees. In so many ways it worked beyond our expectations (stories for another time), but I’ll start this week of connected messages by talking about what happened when, behind the scenes (and out of view), we struggled with transcribing and storing the data – both the volume and its accuracy – from the more than 55,000 applications we received in less than 2 months. We couldn’t read a lot of the handwriting on the applications and, even when we could, found that more than 17% of the data input into the nascent word processing systems available at that time was inaccurate; this led to the mis-filing of lots of paper applications and ultimately resulted in our having to ask more than 10% of applicants to fill out duplicate applications each time they returned for subsequent interviews. HR’s customers – applicants and hiring managers, let us know of their unhappiness with this and that planted the seeds of innovative thinking that began to germinate during post-opening debriefs and reviews. To the outside world, the opening of the Mirage was a monumental success in so many ways. But to us, it was the genesis of thinking about how we could do it better. Success is an iterative process, and you can’t let accolades received along the way get in the way of continuous learning and improvement. Listen to your customers to learn what you need to learn today.  

 

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft. Source: Business @ the Speed of Thought

Tomorrow: Treasure Island and the advent and lesson of scanning.

Recognize and reward excellence...

ex·cel·lence

/ˈeksələns/

noun

1.         the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.

        "a center of academic excellence"

2.         an outstanding feature or quality.

 

 

There’s something special about a Forbes 5-Star hotel or a Michelin 3 Star restaurant – those widely recognized and admired awards denote the highest standards in those industries, not dissimilar to the Malcom Baldridge Award in others. In award-winning companies, you can feel excellence in the air. Those awards are highly sought after and take incredible vision, planning, and discipline. People will pay extra for whatever product or service is involved because excellence sells. I worked in several companies that were awarded those designations and understand what it takes – it starts with a vision, followed by incredibly detailed design standards, and made possible by highly trained and inspired employees. Managers in those companies go beyond the normal supervisory duties – they are excellent communicators, ensuring everyone knows and understands the standards and the part they play in achieving and maintaining them; they go beyond normal employee relations practices – they are coaches and cheerleaders, rarely sitting down or resting on past laurels; they go beyond managing – they understand how to inspire people to greatness, which always burns from within. Whether you’re working in a company that strives for these, or any of the countless others that are just plain good, the mindset is the same: we’re here to do the best we can to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty. Excellence comes in many levels and forms, all of which start with focus, dedication, and commitment.  Make up your mind to do the very best today.

 

Earl Nightingale (1921 – 1989): American radio host and speaker, author (The Strangest Secret), and the voice during the early 1950s of Sky King, the hero of a radio adventure series.

Inspect what you expect...

As a leader, what you expect, and what you accept, is usually what you’ll get. 

 

·      Set your expectations, communicate the standards to your employees, show and train them how to do them, monitor their efforts, coach them, and recognize their efforts. 

 

Don’t accept anything less – that’s your job, and if there are low standards, you’re not doing your it effectively. It’s hard work, and you must focus on it – unfortunately, many managers are so busy that they delegate this responsibility to others or just don’t do it, and that’s how standards get ignored, forgotten, or diminished. Don’t blame employees when standards are low – if nobody’s watching or checking, the best ideas and plans will often fade away. Sort of like what your grandparents told you as a child: ‘when the cat is away, the mice will play’. But if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you will very often get it. Make time to find out if the standards you expect are being followed. When they are, thank your team in demonstrative ways. If they’re not, bring your team together and start over (basically, following the steps in italics above). If they’re not, organize and lead the effort to get them back on track. There’s nothing more important than that. Inspect what you expect today.

 

William Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965): English writer, known for his plays, novels, and short stories.

Focus on uplifting your peeps...

up·lift

verb

/ˌəpˈlift/

1. raise the level of; improve.

2. lift to a higher position or awareness.

 

noun

/ˈəpˌlift/

1. an instance of being raised or increased.

2. something that makes a person feel more cheerful, positive, or optimistic.

 

Engaging in an activity that has the potential to improve the world or people around you is very cool. While it’s not often that you might get to do it on a grand scale, it can happen to you every day. As a leader, you have opportunities to regularly make a big impact on the people that work for you. 

·       Welcoming them – never underestimate the impact of knowing people’s names and showing appreciation for their being there. 

·    Training them - making sure they have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform effectively. Supervising them – watching what they do and helping as needed. 

·         Coaching them – helping them discover all that they want and need to know and do. 

·    Mentoring them – taking them ‘under your wing’ to ensure they get the benefit of your experience. 

·     Engaging with them – being there throughout the workday as a source of guidance and support. 

·          Inspiring them – providing the spark to make them want be their best.

·         Recognizing them – catching them doing things right.

·         Caring for them – practicing emotional intelligence.

·         Being fair with them – focus on doing what’s right.

Leadership is about uplifting your peeps: that’s an exercise in dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence today.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968): American Baptist minister, activist, political philosopher, and one of the most prominent leaders in the U.S. civil rights movement.

Make excellence something to have fun with...

People used to argue with me when I urged them to make work fun – many of them were convinced that work was just work. Well, it is that, but it doesn’t have to be. Sure, people must get things done, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be challenging, fulfilling, rewarding, and fun – it’s all in how it’s approached and supervised. I’ll be the first to admit that opening hotels is hard work – long days, complex issues, overwhelming volumes, and more of the same tomorrow. That’s why we planned fun and provocative pre-shift meetings, designed to not only set the schedule for the day but also to engage in lively discussions about what’s important and where we’re going. These daily messages started as discussion starters during one opening and that company decided to continue them (now 15 years and still going). It served as a thoughtful distraction, intended to get the group thinking about bigger pictures and exiting challenges. There were still the day’s routines, but after each meeting, the team was pumped up to try reaching new heights. If each day begins with a recommitment to excellence, normal routines become jumping off points. If everyone supports each other, the group’s energy carries everyone higher. It takes leaders who are aware and attuned, coaching where needed and commending as appropriate. That way, even the smallest tasks become elevated. And excellence becomes the standard. Make excellence something to have fun with today.

 

Leonard L. "Len" Berry (born 1942): University Distinguished Professor of Marketing at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, and a senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Check him out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Berry

Don't skimp on quality...

So many companies and their leaders think bigger is better; truthfully, bigger is just bigger and it takes a whole lot more to be better. The pursuit of excellence is costlier and potentially less profitable, and that’s why most don’t pursue it. In my experience, however, a commitment to excellence paid dividends that more than made up for the extra cost. In the hotel business, greater attention to detail in the design and construction phase, coupled with careful recruitment and employee training, produced exceptional quality and service that customers were willing to pay for. The Mirage, at $650M to build and $1M per day to operate, was predicted to fail; it made money from day 1 and paid off its debts in record time – people came from all over, including from our competitors, and paid extra to enjoy what it offered. The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach (a non-casino hotel that opened) cost more per key than any other hotel – its architectural design and extraordinary service produced record average daily rates, customer loyalty, and success. Don’t cut corners, build the best you can, train your employees, don’t ask them to do more with less, and treat them and your customers the way you and they want to be treated. It’s that simple. And very satisfying. Don’t skimp on quality today.

 

David Ogilvy (1911 – 1999): British advertising tycoon, founder of Ogilvy & Mather, and known as the "Father of Advertising."

Partner for success...

ex·cit·ing

/ikˈsīdiNG,ekˈsīdiNG/

adjective

·       causing great enthusiasm and eagerness.

 

team-work

/teem werk/

noun

·       work done by a group acting together so that each member does a part that contributes to the efficiency of the whole

 

Leaders usually feel responsible for the success of their business. Employees, on the other hand, more often feel responsible only for performing their respective roles successfully. The challenge is to get them both feeling responsible for both and therein lies the best definition of teamwork. When leaders include their employees in the development and implementation of strategy, that holistic approach creates true alignment from top to bottom and creates the best environment for that strategy to succeed. And when leaders take their role in training and coaching employees seriously, they help employees to be engaged in preforming effectively and promoting the company’s strategy. To me, that’s the best example of teamwork. Because, when they’re working together like that, an exciting new sense of teamwork takes hold. As a leader, don’t be afraid to engage in mentoring and coaching your employees – that’s the best way to ensure the alignment you seek. And as an employee, understand the company’s goals and strategies so that your work truly has purpose. Start on day one to discuss not only how you each can perform up to expectations in your jobs, but also how best to partner in understanding and working together to own the success of the business. That’s how to make teamwork the cornerstone of success today.

 

Punit Renjen (born 1961): Indian American businessman who has been chief executive officer of the multinational professional services firm Deloitte since June 1, 2015.