Author: Dwane Lay

VP of Customer Experience

About: Dwane is responsible for analyzing, defining, documenting and communicating HR processes and best practices to Dovetail’s HR product development team and the HR community, as well as working with prospects and customers to analyze their current environment and improve it with technology and process implementation. Prior to joining Dovetail, Dwane was the Director of HR for Missouri Baptist Medical Center, St. Louis MO. He is the author of LeanHRBlog.com and is a well-known presence on the HR social media landscape. Dwane holds an MBA from Lindenwood University in St. Louis, MO, is a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources with HCRI, and has earned a Six Sigma Black Belt. Expertise hr process design, hr technology, technology adoption and implementation

Posts by Dwane Lay:

Keys to great HR Shared Services

January 14, 2013 I’ve been lucky enough to work with two different organizations during the formation of their HR Shared Services team. I’ve gotten to see what works and what doesn’t. Since we at Dovetail are nothing if not sharing individuals, I though it worth reflecting on those lessons. What Works The biggest key to a successful implementation, not to mention ongoing operation, is to build the HR Shared Services team out of existing HR personnel wherever possible. This serves a couple of purposes. First, it keeps your organizational knowledge and experience on the team. Unless you have found a way to translate your tribal knowledge into a robust, searchable knowledge base, all that information could walk out the door. Second, it helps you avoid the perception that the only reason to move to an HR shared services model is to cut headcount…

HR Help Desk – When Worlds Collide!

November 28, 2012 I spent a good part of my early career working in telecommunications, specifically for Internet providers. I started off in customer service, but soon found myself running Technical Support. With a handful of really good technicians, we ran a help desk that answered just about every question you can imagine. Calls about the Internet being down for no good reason (the power was out in the customer's home, which will slow you down a bit) to explaining the physics behind twisted copper wiring and signal attenuation ("You mean people in the ghetto can have DSL but my two million dollar home can't?!?") came up on a regular basis. If you've ever wondered what kinds of call come in, there are plenty of stories you can read. Our job, at its most basic, was to be available and to have the answers. Years later…

DVD Marathons and HR Service Delivery

October 29, 2012 Like any good sales process, our friends at Amazon have done a great job of pitching products that we've never known we couldn't live without. This weekend, they did their best to entice me with a DVD set for Series 7, which I think is about reality shows. But what caught my eye was the "Marathon Edition" banner. For a series that aired in 2000, it's a surprisingly innovative approach to packaging. If you don't know, "marathoning" is the process of sitting and blowing through an entire season, or at least a significant chunk, all at once rather than an hour at a time. I know plenty of people who have marathoned entire seasons of shows to get caught up before a final season (Lost, Breaking Bad, and 24 come to mind). It's a great way to waste…

HR Tech – The View From The Booth

October 21, 2012 There are few things I look forward to each year as much as the HR Tech Conference. This year was a bit different, though, as it was my first as a member of a vendor team. Trolling the aisle of the expo floor takes on a whole different vibe when you are part of the event instead of just an attendee. For those of you that have never experienced it from the other side of the kiosk, I'd love to share what I was able to experience this year. Booths Getting to be involved in planning and designing a booth for the first time revealed a secret to me. It's kinda hard. Trying to balance a professional image with a fun reason to visit is a tough act. Trying to find ways to get the attention of…

HR and Social Media – The Basics

October 1, 2012 We spend a lot of time helping our clients build their HR practice by reviewing processes and, of course, setting up great case management capabilities. Often, though, we start talking about social media and how it can be leveraged to improve their performance. With that in mind, I though it worth sharing a few simple approaches to using the Social Media toolbox in HR. LinkedIn It's the "professional" networking site. It's a great tool for recruiters, to be sure, but also a great way for your organization to establish themselves online. Having your teams on LinkedIn with consistent branding shows a unity of purpose and direction. Help your team build their profiles and connect to those who are in the same space. You'll build a reputation as being open and willing to share what you know. Won't hurt your SEO…

The Real HR Metrics Barrier

July 10, 2012 HR professionals are often accused of not being data savvy, of not caring enough about metrics, or not being comfortable with measuring productivity. While it is true that data is often woefully underused (or, worse, misused) in the profession, it’s time to realize the problem in most cases is not with the practitioner. The problem is with the substandard HRIS interface and query system HR has been given. Even a cursory glance at the major HRIS reporting features will reveal an unfriendly, cryptic interface. The fields are labeled for database reference, not for practitioners to use. A Boolean expert may be able to parse out the data as needed, but the rank and file of the HR world have little chance on their own. And that assumes they are given access to try, which is often not the case. Instead…

The Best Thing About HR Technology

June 5, 2012 I've been fortunate enough in my career to work in several major functions, including Operations, Quality, IT and, of course, HR. You could probably deduce that HR has a special place in my heart, since it is where I decided to stay. But the intersection of HR and IT is, to me, the most amazing area in which to spend your time. Great HR people who are tech savvy working beside brilliant technical minds who understand how to interact with others. It's a truly remarkable field. The best thing, though, is the impact HR technology can have when it is done right. One of the toughest things about being in HR is the aching need to help others that so many practitioners face every day. Oh sure, there are some knuckleheads in every organization that you could live…

The Gamification of HR Systems and Services

May 21, 2012 Today's post is a collaboration with Dr. Colleen Sutherland. It was initially published in the April/May 2012 issue of WSR (Workforce Solutions Review) for IHRIM Publications. Colleen is the Director of Change Leadership at BJC HealthCare in St. Louis, MO, a 13 hospital nonprofit health care organization focused on delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. Focusing the majority of her professional career in health care-related fields, she began her human resources career at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, transitioning to a process improvement focus culminating in roles of Master Black Belt at GE Capital and Senior Director, Patient Services Corporate Quality at Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager. Returning to human resources at BJC, Colleen has been focused on the deployment of the organizational change management methodology and supporting executive change leadership consulting…

Using Your Own Best Practices

May 14, 2012 Social recruiting is great. We love it. It's a very powerful tool that has changed the way the talent acquisition process is handled. There's a great line I've stolen from friend of the show, Jay Kuhns, to that regard: A lot of companies recruit the same way Abe Lincoln did: Put an ad in the Gettysburg Post and wait... Maybe someone will call. That kind of realization will make you sit up and take notice... and in the case of adding social media to our recruiting processes? Seems like it has. And that's why I think that talent acquisition has advanced faster than other areas of HR over the last few years; at least in terms of process documentation and improvements. They have taken notice. My suspicion behind the 'why' is that is has something to do with recruiting being the least active part of…

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