Quick - what do you want to know about your HR peers?

System · May 2005

Why I didn't think to do this earlier in the week, I don't know ... life is a juggling act these days. At any rate, please respond soon!

We're putting out the May HR Hero survey early next week. The topic is "Unmasking the HR Hero." My question to you: What do you want to know about your HR peers?

Here's a very rough draft of the questions. Please give me your input. What other questions should we ask? Which questions are too blah? Have I missed some possible answers?

Basically, since the survey is for you, tell me what [b]you[/b] want to learn from the survey.

Thanks!

Christy Reeder
Associate Website Editor
HRhero.com

1. Was HR your choice of career, or did you happen into it?
Chose HR of my own free will and still happy about it
Chose HR of my own free will but wanting to change to something else
Happened into it and plan to stay in it
Happened into it but would rather do something else
I’m not in HR

2. How helpful is HR certification? (Check all that apply.)
It brings respect from peers
It brings respect from bosses
It brings more money
It brings personal respect
Other possible answers?

3. Do you recommend SHRM membership?
Yes, it’s extremely helpful
Yes, it’s moderately helpful
Yes, it’s just good to have on your resume
No, it’s not necessary
Not sure

4. Did you receive a degree in an HR-related field?
Yes
No

5. Would you advise someone in HR who doesn’t have a degree to pursue one?
Yes, definitely
It’s a good idea
Not necessarily
No, it’s not necessary
Not sure

6. How many years experience do you have in HR or an HR-related field?
0-5
5-10
10-15
15-20
20+

7. What is your title?
HR Manager
VP of HR
HR Associate
HR Assistant
HRIS Specialist / Coordinator
Other titles?

8. What is your salary (if you are part-time, what would it be if you worked full-time)?
$15K -$25K
$26K -$35K
$36K -$45K
$46K - $55K
$56K - $65K
$66K - $75K
$76K - $85K
$86K - $95K
$96K +

9. Do you think your salary is fair?
Yes
I think I make more than most people in my position (but I’m not complaining!)
No, I think I make less than I should

10. What’s your personal annual training budget for HR?
What are the possibilities here?

11. What kind of networking do you find helpful? (Check all that apply.)
SHRM chapter meetings
Other HR group meetings
Conferences / seminars
Online discussion forums
Other possible answers?

12. How many hours a week do you typically work?
20 or less
20-30
30-40
40-50
50-60
60+

13. Essay: What’s the #1 resource (book, other publication, person, etc.) that has inspired or continues to inspire you to be a great HR professional?

sandra_d · May 2005

HR Director and HR Generalist are common titles

AnneLa · May 2005

In #4, I'd also define HR related field. Management, Accounting, etc...

Parabeaglex2 · May 2005

"Would you recommend Human Resources as a career choice to others? Why or why not?"

Also, I think you missed a common title in HR: Corporate Whipping Boy. x;-)

kdspa · May 2005

#4 - I would add HR Director, HR Generalist, & something that encompasses payroll (maybe Payroll Clerk, etc)

AJ SPHR · May 2005

I'm not sure that I completely understand your purpose, so my comments are based on that lack of understanding.

Looking at your list of questions, I didn't find anything that I cared to know. I'm assuming the results will be a general statistical analysis of x% of HR Hero's are in this title and x% entered the profession because of this reason.

The only thing that did appeal to me is expanding on #13 - learning from others about the resources they tap into for reference material, stats, legal updates, etc. So, not so much the inspirational side, but being able to gather additional tools.

As I said at the top, my comments reflect my ignorance concerning the display and use of the results. Could you elaborate a bit?

Don D · May 2005

I'm sorta wondering what possible value the results could have. This is not a criticism; but, I'm also ignorant of what good the outcome might be. 20% of respondents thing a certification is a good thing and 11% are generalists while 16% are managers. What can I do with that?

marc · May 2005

How many have an HR Certification?

I know there a couple out there besides the PHR and SPHR, but it might be interesting to know what percentage even have one.

For the years of experience, I would like to know at what level? For instance 15 years as a benefits clerk is quite a bit different than 15 years as a trainer.

From that perspective, does the value of someone's input vary with their education and experience? I would say yes, but knowing general statistics doesn't help one value specific input.

That said, you are asking for a snapshot at a certain point in time - would this be updated from time to time to reflect membership changes?

For some members, the value of their input is evident by it's content - and those that have depth and breadth of HR experience and education can discern the various layers of quality and accuracy contained therein.

For those with less knowledge and experience, judging the quality of input is a bit more problematic.

How can that person evalutate the input they receive?

KP68 · May 2005

I would add the following options as responses:
To #2: Not helpful, somewhat helpful....
To #7: HR Specialist

Crout · May 2005

You forgot a really important one...

Q. Which is your favorite beer?
a. Lager
b. Pilsner
c. Ale
d. Stout

System · May 2005

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 05-13-05 AT 03:40PM (CST)[/font][br][br]The survey results can be filtered. For instance, you can choose to filter the results by people who've been in HR for 15 years and who have a degree. Or you can read results only for those who are HR Assistants or only for those who are HR Directors and HR Managers. So in that sense, the results can be very interesting.

But maybe I'm off base in asking questions that you all aren't necessarily interested in. HR benchmarks is what I'm after. What helps you a perform great in HR? Is being certified helpful? If you have a degree, do you find it has made a difference? If you don't have a degree, do you wonder if you'd get more respect if you did? Is your training budget and/or salary in line with what other HR profs in your area (you can filter the results by state also) are making? What kind of resources help you in your job? Etc., etc.

More feedback, please?

System · May 2005

More clarification ... I'd like the survey to give several different snapshots - the seasoned HR professional and their opinions, status, salary, etc. versus newbies and what they think is important, how much they make starting out ... how many are certified and whether it matters.

AJ SPHR · May 2005

I'm still not sure that I would find this kind of survey valuable. I don't see the need to know these kinds of things but maybe I'm just not able to figure out how I could apply the survey results to my day-to-day life.

From your clarification it sounds more like you want to create an article from this, or some kind of resource guide instead of a survey. Also, the kinds of info you're looking to learn more would probably be better gathered from interviews or essays. For example, "what helps you perform great in your job" is a fairly broad question. Maybe a more interesting question to ask is "what are the barriers to performing great in your job?"

Where would the results be published? How would they be published? Who is your target audience of readers?

What I might be more interested in knowing about fellow HR professionals are:
1. Generalist (typically employee relations & recruiting), Specialist (specify which area(s)), or broad generalist (responsibility for all core HR areas)
2. Level within the organization and # of years at that level
3. How they prepared themselves before accepting that position and how they continue to learn. For example, if someone is required to be an expert in compensation or benefits - what education do they have- formal (college), formal certification programs (for example worldatwork), seminars, e-newsletters, other education.
4. How do HR professionals remain current - reading, attending seminars, legislative conferences, certification programs, etc.
5. What resources do they think are most valuable - SHRM, HR Hero, Workforce, EBIA, WorldatWork, BenefitsLink, Plan Sponsor, etc.

I would then vary the questions depending on level within the organization. For example, if the HR person is a member of management, I would ask questions about whether they participate in formal strategic business planning, what role they have in the business planning process overall, to what extent they are involved proactively in organizational issues.

I don't know if this helps, but it's my $.02 fwiw.

System · May 2005

Thanks for your insightful responses, AJ. The survey is the monthly survey we do through HR Hero for subscribers. Priority #1 is for the results to be helpful to subscribers, although we here at M. Lee Smith Publishers enjoy learning from them, too.

For an example, past surveys are at [url]http://www.hrhero.com/lc/survey/archive.shtml[/url]

My limitation is that we usually keep the surveys short (20 questions or less). The topic I've broached might be more helpful if it were a more intricate survey as suggested, but considering the length limitation, I'll have to hone it into something useful on a smaller scale.

Thanks to everyone for commenting (and feel free to add more comments as I work on the survey today).

pork1 · May 2005

CHRISTY: I look forward to receiving the survey and the responses. Great piece of work!

"To whom do you report? and how many do you the HR supervise."

PORK

Melanie · May 2005

I would love to take the survey as well as receive a copy of the results. What do I need to do to take part in this survey and get the results?

Melanie Rittenour
HR Director
Northwestern Ohio Community Action
[email]hrdirect@nocac.org[/email]

System · May 2005

Do you subscribe to HR Hero Line? There will be a link in tomorrow morning's issue of the e-mail newsletter to take the survey (plus a fun commentary on forum happenings).

Sign up for HR Hero Line at:
[url]http://www.hrhero.com/enewsletter.cgi[/url]

Otherwise, all Employment Law Letter subscribers should receive a separate e-mail on Monday to take the survey.

Considering the feedback I received on this thread and from other sources, I've revised the survey, so it won't be exactly like the questions above.

Quick - what do you want to know about your HR peers?

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