HR Maverick
Tyler Orr
Tyler is an HR professional-turned-career advisor. After earning a master's in HR and an MBA, he completed several development rotations while working for a Fortune 100 financial services and insurance company. After gaining experience in HR project management, data and analytics, and as an HR business partner, he decided the right next move was a transition into higher ed and career services. He now provides career support for students in a top-ranked supply chain management program at a large Tier 1 university, but maintains a love for the field of HR and an interest in seeing HR professionals succeed and push the envelope!
What words of advice and encouragement would you give to someone just starting out in HR?
Don't just do "HR things" in a little corner where nobody talks to you unless there's a payroll or employee relations issue! Focus your efforts on building relationships across the organization, identifying business problems, and creating innovative people-based solutions to those problems to add value. The bar is low since so many people have had bad experiences with HR - so you have a great opportunity to blow people away if you engage with them on strategy!
HR Encyclopedia articles written by Tyler Orr:
Bell Curve Performance Management
How is your performance management system working? Is it fair? Does it determine raises and promotions? Does it encourage employees to collaborate? Traditional concepts such as bell curve (or “forced ranking”) performance management have been accused of treating employees unfairly and too harshly, but some companies struggle to identify a realistic and effective alternative. Read on for help in evaluating your system and considering potential options.
Culture Add
For years, finding employees who will be great “culture fits” has been the ongoing goal of many recruiting and leadership teams. This emphasis has been beneficial in many ways, particularly where it has helped organizations focus on bringing in people who they believe will not only do great work (the “what”), but who will do it in a positive manner that aligns with the rest of the organization’s culture (the “how”). However, the dark side of “culture fit” as a recruitment focus has been discussed more in recent years, and “culture add” has become a popular replacement for many teams. This article will explain why the concept of culture add is an improvement on culture fit and provide insight on how to hire based on this guideline.
Career Coach
How do you make your company stand out to the best candidates? One out-of-the-box benefit option that has significant potential is career coaching. Candidates are interested in companies using innovative methods to develop their employees. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of adding career coaching as an employee benefit and some of the services career coaches can provide.
Onboarding Checklist
The way a new employee’s time with your organization begins is crucial to their longevity, engagement, and satisfaction. But onboarding is so often given the short end of the stick! Our encyclopedia has lots of great articles to help you improve your onboarding processes. This entry will focus on the nuts and bolts of the onboarding checklist — a simple but critical tool in starting your new hires off on the right foot.
Networking
Are you a networker? Everyone in the business world has been told networking is important. But many people have no idea when or how they should be doing it, and some think it is pointless (or even borderline unethical.) Let’s talk about some of the keys to effective networking and why you (and your employees) should prioritize it in your career. We’ll also outline the potential value to your company of enabling and empowering employees to network.
Online Job Application
Does your company have an online job application process? Or are you still wading through email and paper, and hiring mostly people that you or your employees already know personally? Online job application tools have drastically changed the hiring process for companies large and small, improving efficiency and often leading to larger, more diverse candidate pools. This article looks at the pros and cons of implementing online application processes, provides some how-tos of creating your own online application, and includes a few recommendations on high-quality platforms to consider using.
Employer Information Session
Are you struggling to recruit university talent critical to your company’s future? Part of the issue could be the way you’re communicating with that talent. If you do not currently hold info sessions for college graduates or you feel like your sessions could use an upgrade, check out this article to walk through what good looks like for recruiting and employer branding events.
Co-Op Program
Are you looking to create new ways to bring awesome students and entry-level professionals into your organization? One option is a co-op program. Skim through our overview of co-ops, including the main differences between co-ops and internships, possible reasons to consider building a co-op program at your company, and questions to answer if you do.
Careers Page
Considering creating or revamping your organization’s online careers page? Read this article to help you get rolling! Below, you’ll find the main reasons to invest in an improved online presence, elements of an effective careers page, examples of great careers pages you might model your own after, and software tools to consider using to build it.
Boomerang Employee
When you’re struggling to fill important positions, you may consider reaching out to former employees to see if they’re interested in returning. Or, former employees may contact you with a desire to come back. Like any hire, there are pros and cons—and pitfalls to be avoided—in re-hiring and re-onboarding so-called “boomerang” employees.
HR Maverick
Tyler Orr
Tyler is an HR professional-turned-career advisor. After earning a master's in HR and an MBA, he completed several development rotations while working for a Fortune 100 financial services and insurance company. After gaining experience in HR project management, data and analytics, and as an HR business partner, he decided the right next move was a transition into higher ed and career services. He now provides career support for students in a top-ranked supply chain management program at a large Tier 1 university, but maintains a love for the field of HR and an interest in seeing HR professionals succeed and push the envelope!
What words of advice and encouragement would you give to someone just starting out in HR?
Don't just do "HR things" in a little corner where nobody talks to you unless there's a payroll or employee relations issue! Focus your efforts on building relationships across the organization, identifying business problems, and creating innovative people-based solutions to those problems to add value. The bar is low since so many people have had bad experiences with HR - so you have a great opportunity to blow people away if you engage with them on strategy!
HR Encyclopedia articles written by Tyler Orr:
Bell Curve Performance Management
How is your performance management system working? Is it fair? Does it determine raises and promotions? Does it encourage employees to collaborate? Traditional concepts such as bell curve (or “forced ranking”) performance management have been accused of treating employees unfairly and too harshly, but some companies struggle to identify a realistic and effective alternative. Read on for help in evaluating your system and considering potential options.
Culture Add
For years, finding employees who will be great “culture fits” has been the ongoing goal of many recruiting and leadership teams. This emphasis has been beneficial in many ways, particularly where it has helped organizations focus on bringing in people who they believe will not only do great work (the “what”), but who will do it in a positive manner that aligns with the rest of the organization’s culture (the “how”). However, the dark side of “culture fit” as a recruitment focus has been discussed more in recent years, and “culture add” has become a popular replacement for many teams. This article will explain why the concept of culture add is an improvement on culture fit and provide insight on how to hire based on this guideline.
Career Coach
How do you make your company stand out to the best candidates? One out-of-the-box benefit option that has significant potential is career coaching. Candidates are interested in companies using innovative methods to develop their employees. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of adding career coaching as an employee benefit and some of the services career coaches can provide.
Onboarding Checklist
The way a new employee’s time with your organization begins is crucial to their longevity, engagement, and satisfaction. But onboarding is so often given the short end of the stick! Our encyclopedia has lots of great articles to help you improve your onboarding processes. This entry will focus on the nuts and bolts of the onboarding checklist — a simple but critical tool in starting your new hires off on the right foot.
Networking
Are you a networker? Everyone in the business world has been told networking is important. But many people have no idea when or how they should be doing it, and some think it is pointless (or even borderline unethical.) Let’s talk about some of the keys to effective networking and why you (and your employees) should prioritize it in your career. We’ll also outline the potential value to your company of enabling and empowering employees to network.
Online Job Application
Does your company have an online job application process? Or are you still wading through email and paper, and hiring mostly people that you or your employees already know personally? Online job application tools have drastically changed the hiring process for companies large and small, improving efficiency and often leading to larger, more diverse candidate pools. This article looks at the pros and cons of implementing online application processes, provides some how-tos of creating your own online application, and includes a few recommendations on high-quality platforms to consider using.
Employer Information Session
Are you struggling to recruit university talent critical to your company’s future? Part of the issue could be the way you’re communicating with that talent. If you do not currently hold info sessions for college graduates or you feel like your sessions could use an upgrade, check out this article to walk through what good looks like for recruiting and employer branding events.
Co-Op Program
Are you looking to create new ways to bring awesome students and entry-level professionals into your organization? One option is a co-op program. Skim through our overview of co-ops, including the main differences between co-ops and internships, possible reasons to consider building a co-op program at your company, and questions to answer if you do.
Careers Page
Considering creating or revamping your organization’s online careers page? Read this article to help you get rolling! Below, you’ll find the main reasons to invest in an improved online presence, elements of an effective careers page, examples of great careers pages you might model your own after, and software tools to consider using to build it.
Boomerang Employee
When you’re struggling to fill important positions, you may consider reaching out to former employees to see if they’re interested in returning. Or, former employees may contact you with a desire to come back. Like any hire, there are pros and cons—and pitfalls to be avoided—in re-hiring and re-onboarding so-called “boomerang” employees.
