No Fa-Fa-Fa Foolin’ (Rapp Out)

Kathy Rapp Always Be Closing, Career Advice, Change, Change Management, Communication, Culture, Employee Engagement, employee experience, Engagement and Satisfaction, Giving Notice, HR, Kathy Rapp, Leadership, Managing People, Offboarding, Onboarding, Retention 16 Comments

Almost 12 years ago, I wrote my first blog post for FOT. It was about Joe Elliott of Def Leppard and when he mistakenly placed the Stanley Cup upside down during an NHL event. I wrote: Why the blunder? Because no one coached him. No one took the time to pull him aside and whisper, “Hey Joe, this is the …

Protect Your Assets – Your People

Kathy Rapp Analyst, Change, Change Management, Communication, Corporate America, COVID-19, Culture, Current Affairs, Good HR, HR, in the news, Influence, Job Market, Kathy Rapp, Layoffs, Leadership, Recruiting, Retention, Risks, Talent Strategy

How many of you are in your guest rooms/living rooms/patios “behind closed doors” working on a RIF spreadsheet? It’s a horrible exercise I’ve done too many times, and especially tough right now. With an unimaginable amount of uncertainty across most businesses, cost-savings levers are being pulled. As part of looking for cost-savings, how much quantitative analysis is taking place? It’s …

HR’s Greatest Opportunity to Support Gender Diversity

Kathy Rapp Audacious Ideas, Career Advice, Career Paths, Change, Change Management, Corporate America, Current Affairs, Diversity, Employee Development, Engagement and Satisfaction, Good HR, HR, Kathy Rapp, Leadership, Learning and Development, Organizational Development, Retention, Succession Planning, Talent Management, Talent Strategy, The HR Profession, Women, Women in the Workplace

As a mom of a young daughter, I’m paying more attention to the gender diversity push than ever before. I personally never felt passed over for roles or promotions due to my gender – nor afforded them because of my gender either. That said, until the last half of my career, I worked in corporate HR where a lot of …

Focus! Maybe An Accountability Partner Would Help

Kathy Rapp Audacious Ideas, Career Advice, Change, Change Management, Coaching, Communication, Culture, Driving Productivity, Employee Coaching, Engagement and Satisfaction, HR, HR Tech, HR Technology, Innovation, Kathy Rapp, Learning, Learning and Development, Mental Health, Performance, Talent Management, Training and Development, wellness, Work Life Balance, Workplace Flexibilty

I am a big believer in the power of focusing. “Focus and finish” is a phrase you’ll hear me say to myself, my daughter – and perhaps occasionally to my husband. Most of us in the HR space know year-end and the fast start once January 1 rolls around = bust your a$$ while everyone else is taking time off. …

Kick-Start Your HR Creativity in 2020 with these Two Lessons

Kathy Rapp Career Paths, Change, Change Management, Coaching, Communication, Driving Productivity, Engagement and Satisfaction, HR, HR (& Life!) Advice, Innovation, Kathy Rapp, Leadership, Pop Culture, wellness, Work Life Balance

The Thin Red Line. Fight Club.  American Psyco.  These are films that solidified Jared Leto‘s success as an Oscar-winning actor. Then, as his star was rising, he basically stopped making movies. “I think it was about focus. I knew that I needed to commit everything to music at that point in my life,” said Leto. Fast Company interviewed Jared Leto and …

Hello 3-Day Weekends!

Kathy Rapp Audacious Ideas, Benefits, Change, Change Management, Compensation/Cash Money, Corporate America, Culture, Current Affairs, Diversity, Driving Productivity, Employee Engagement, employee experience, Engagement and Satisfaction, Good HR, HR, Onboarding, Performance

If you’ve been in the workforce for 20+ years, you probably grew up thinking working longer hours meant you were more productive, or helped you advance your career. I spent many years arriving at and leaving an office in darkness. Microsoft has put a bit of data behind the fact longer hours do not equate to higher productivity (or happiness). …

4 Critical Steps for Success as a New CHRO

Kathy Rapp Assessments, Career Advice, Change Management, Coaching, Communication, Corporate America, Culture, Driving Productivity, Executive Search, Good HR, HR

Starting anything new is a bit daunting. A new exercise program. A new school. Sporting a new hairstyle. The internal questions of “Am I ready for this? Will I make friends? Is the “Rachel” really back?” will bubble in the pit of your stomach. Starting a new gig, especially a leadership role, builds even more intense emotions. Starting a new …

10 Things HR Should Have Given Up by Now

Kathy Rapp Audacious Ideas, Change, Change Management, Coaching, Communication, Contingent Workforce, Corporate America, Culture, Driving Productivity, Employee Engagement, Engagement and Satisfaction, Good HR, Harassment, HR, Uncategorized

I attended an awards luncheon where the nominees were asked the question, “What would you have expected to have given up by now?” Answers involved a lot of childhood sweets, biting nails and imaginary dogs (that was not mine). Slap that question on the HR profession and I have a few ideas around the answers. Some are common sense and …

Call Me! The Lost Art of Picking Up The Phone.

Kathy Rapp Audacious Ideas, candidate experience, Communication, Culture, Employee Communications, employee experience, Engagement and Satisfaction, Executive Search, Generations, Kathy Rapp, Leadership, Recruiting, War for Talent

Gen X version: “Call me (call me) on the line Call me, call me any, anytime“ Millennial version: “Hey, I just met you, And this is crazy, But here’s my number, So call me, maybe!” Aside from the observation that Millennials are much coyer in their request for a call (“So call me, maybe!”) and those of us who identify …

I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!

Kathy Rapp Change, Change Management, Coaching, Employee Coaching, Engagement and Satisfaction, HR, HR (& Life!) Advice, Kathy Rapp, Leadership, Learning, Pop Culture, The HR Profession

“Daily Affirmation with Stuart Smalley” is one of the reasons I continued to watch SNL in the 90’s.  Al Franken invented and acted out Stuart in a way that made you laugh and cringe at the same time. I’m not an affirmation gal.  The closest I get is coaching my daughter to tell me to “Buck up, Mommy!” whenever I …