Most organizations reach a point where they need to get really specific about what traits make leaders successful in their organization. Sometimes organizations get lucky and promote the right people from staff positions into supervisory roles and these people are successful leaders. But many times, the wrong person gets promoted, and this is because they focus more on the person’s success in their current role and less on what the expected behaviors are for leaders and whether this person has demonstrated their ability to exercise them. This month’s success story shares our recent work with a company that came to that conclusion. Aim Transportation Solutions is the largest, privately owned truck leasing company in North America. Aim Leasing Company was founded in 1982 as an affiliate of McNicholas Transportation who was, at that time, the largest steel hauler east of the Mississippi. Their initial goal was to purchase and maintain equipment for companies that didn’t have internal logistics capabilities. Since then, they have achieved steady growth and are now considered the largest, privately owned truck leasing company in North America. Like many growing business, identifying and promoting the right people into the critical middle management role was something Aim struggled with. Their people are truly passionate about solving their customers’ problems, but this passion does not necessarily mean that these employees would be good leaders. What Aim wanted to do was develop tools and processes to identify potential leaders in a consistent manner, in order to increase newly-promoted supervisors’ success, and continue to enhance their ability to solve customers’ problems. Vice President of Human Resources Patty Durkin said: We knew that by implementing a process to identify potential leaders in a consistent fashion would greatly enhance our succession planning efforts. We are a growing company in a very dynamic industry…we need to make sure we have the right people in the right place and trained the right way for our customers. This is especially true for anyone with the great responsibility for leading people. We connected with OA based on their experience helping companies implement leadership development programs. They have a solid methodology for identifying leadership competencies, defining them, and helping organizations integrate them into their succession planning...
Read More
Public libraries have unique challenges. Public sector employment rules and collective bargaining makes the job as library Executive Director or HR leader all the more challenging. Our public library and public sector expertise incorporates data from the American Library Association, regional public library and public employer organizations, and more than TEN YEARS of HR consulting experience with public, private, and not-for-profit organizations. Whether you are a small public library or one of the largest in Ohio, Organizational Architecture is your partner for helping you meet your Human Resources challenges. Our public library clients include: Cuyahoga County Public Library Stark County District Library Westerville Public Library Our public sector commitment is reflected in the certifications we have earned to do public sector work: United States Department of Veterans Affairs Veteran Owned Small Business State of Ohio Veteran Business Enterprise Cuyahoga County Small Business Enterprise City of Cleveland Small Business Enterprise Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District Small Business Enterprise If you need assistance with other HR projects and want to learn more about our human resources consulting, contact us and check out our blog for more...
Read More
It’s no secret that harassment in the workplace is on everyone’s mind. Many organizations have been proactive in developing policies and procedures, updating employee handbooks, and making sure information is posted for employees to learn what their rights in the workplace are. However, many organizations fail to address one of the most critical links in the chain to prevent and address harassment…training supervisors on harassment prevention. Supervisors are the people who will most likely hear about possible harassment first…and they need to know what to do to protect employees, your organization, and themselves. Our comprehensive workshop on harassment prevention, Diversity, Inclusion, and Sensitivity Training, provides all the information supervisors need to spot and help address harassment allegations. We cover: Diversity Inclusion Bias Sensitivity and awareness Harassment prevention Our program is tailored to your organization and utilizes the work you have already done…in addition to our content we leverage your handbook, policies, and internal practices to reinforce all these elements in a seamless fashion. The workshops are informative, engaging, and fun. Learn more about our harassment prevention tools here and all of our training workshops on our website. If you need assistance with other HR projects and want to learn more about our human resources consulting, contact us and check out our blog for more...
Read More
We’re excited for the opportunity to present at the Northeast Ohio Regional Library System’s upcoming meeting. We’ve been asked to discuss Staffing Strategies for 2018 and beyond and have a great program that will be interactive, informative, and fun. The Northeast Ohio Regional Library System [NEO-RLS] is a partially state-funded membership organization that provides continuing education, professional development, emerging technology support, group purchasing and many other benefits and services to all of the academic, school, special and public libraries in 22 counties of Ohio. The session will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 from 9.30a to 12.30p at the Euclid Public Library. If you need assistance with HR projects and want to learn more about our human resources consulting, contact us and check out our blog for more...
Read More
Allegations of harassment are all over the news and there are no signs of this national trend letting up anytime soon. For organizations, there is no better time than now to assess your readiness to prevent or appropriately respond to claims of harassment. Claims of harassment…if not responded to effectively…can have extremely damaging effects on the workplace. Legal liability can be astronomical. So can attorney’s fees and rising insurance rates. And the intangible impact on organizational culture can be just as damaging. Harassment allegations in the workplace can drive down employee engagement, which can hamper even the best organization’s ability to attract and retain talent. A critical first step to ensuring that your organization is well situated to prevent, respond to, or at the very least defend any claims of harassment that could arise is to conduct an independent and thorough assessment of the efficacy of your harassment prevention efforts. As we announced last week, we have partnered with Sindy Warren of Warren & Associates who is an authority on workplace harassment. Together we have developed our Harassment Prevention Assessment. This new service will help you make sure that you are taking the right steps to prevent and respond to claims of harassment in a vigorous manner. We will not only assess your current harassment prevention state of affairs, but also provide you with recommended next steps. Isn’t it worth it to ensure your employees can be safe and productive at work…and keep your organization and reputation respected and valued? Ask us about our Harassment Prevention Assessment and your other Human Resources needs and check out our blog for more helpful...
Read More
We’re excited to announce a new collaboration between Organizational Architecture and Warren & Associates. Warren & Associates helps employers prevent and promptly resolve workplace conflicts and inequities in order to minimize legal risks and optimize company performance. OA’s Mark Fiala and Warren & Associates’ Sindy Warren have worked together over the years on a number of projects, and their complementary services have been beneficial to both of their clients. Together, we will be assisting our clients with Human Resources consulting [compensation, benefits, training/development, organizational design/development, compliance, administration] Recruitment and talent acquisition Onsite or remote temporary HR contractors Workplace investigations into claims of harassment or inappropriate conduct Harassment and inappropriate conduct avoidance training Expert testimony and witness services We’ve got more good news coming in the next few months because of our expanded capabilities…new ways to help our clients build good HR practices and stay on top of the compliance challenges organizations face. Want to learn more? Contact us and check out our blog for more on how we can help your...
Read More