Ben.Eubanks

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Ben Eubanks is the Principal Analyst at Lighthouse Research, a firm dedicated to uncovering the trends and technologies that drive HR, learning, and talent. His research focuses on human capital innovation, strategy, and technology. In addition, Ben writes a blog for in-the-trenches HR leaders at upstartHR.com, a resource that has touched more than 650,000 lives since 2009. You can connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.

 

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Ben Eubanks

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Member for
8 years 3 weeks

Articles by Ben Eubanks

Applying Marketing Principles to HR

The other day I was reading some data (be still my heart!) and ran across something that didn’t initially surprise me. However, the more I think about it the more I am puzzled that this is still an ongoing issue. I reported on some other data  a while back that ties in pretty closely with this topic.

Sometimes you have to stop and wonder where common sense has gone. Companies are expecting more from their HR team than ever before, but according to data gathered by XpertHR, companies are increasing the number of employees relative to the number of HR professionals.

September 4, 2014
Tags:
Employer Branding
Analytics Driven by Business Accountability

Analytics in the business world serve many purposes, and a survey by the American Management Association uncovered the top five reasons business leaders say analytical skills are necessary today.

Which of the following create the greatest need for analytical skills in your organization?

August 7, 2014
Tags:
Analytical skills
#Nextchat: What HR Students Need to Know

Entry level HR is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.

This past March, I sat down at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and spoke with students about what they need to know as they prepare to leave school and enter the real world.

July 7, 2014
Tags:
NextChat, HR Education, Workforce readiness
Intuition is a Critical Skill for Great HR Pros

Intuition, awareness, or whatever you want to call it–it’s a critical skill if you want to be a successful HR pro. I’m a fan of examples to prove my point, so let’s dive in!

Seeing the needs of new employees

Recently I was helping to onboard a new group of employees. We had won a new contract and needed to pull the new folks into the fold ASAP with no downtime or issues.

July 2, 2014
Tags:
Skills
Increasing Benefit Value at No Cost (#SHRM14)

Before I jump in, I realize that there is some cost associated with everything. My love of economics doesn’t allow me to get away with the idea of a “free lunch” without mentioning that; however, I’m talking about increasing the perceived value without increasing the direct cost of the various options offered. Hang with me, there’s good stuff to share. 

June 23, 2014
Tags:
SHRM14
Research Power: Anonymous vs. Confidential Surveys

I like data. I like reviewing it, pulling out trends, and sharing insights. I also like when I get the opportunity to ask others what they like and get some anonymous feedback, because I believe that anonymity helps to improve the quality and quantity of responses.

June 4, 2014
Tags:
Surveys
What HR Students Need to Know

Last week I sat down at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and spoke with some of the students about what they need to know as they prepare to leave school and enter the real world.

May 8, 2014
Tags:
HR Education, certification
Employee Retention Tied to Career Development (#SHRMTalent)
I’m at the SHRM Talent Management Conference in Nashville this week. This morning I attended a session on improving employee retention by Linda Ginac at TalentGuard. Some of this is riffing on
 
Turnover is real
 
With average employee turnover by generation standing at 2 years (Millenials), 5 years (Gen X), and 7 years (Boomers), turnover is a real issue for organizations everywhere. According to a recent study, the average turnover in the US is 15% with just over 10% of that being voluntary/preventable.
 
April 29, 2014
Tags:
Retention
HR Philosophy from the Trenches
 
I have two HR philosophies; “Keep It Simple” and “Deal With the Problem”. My that I mean that people always seem so scared of dealing with something going wrong because they see it as conflict and that they will upset the person involved. The way I approach it is, something has happened, and that is what we need to address. I’m not going to belittle them, or attack them, we just need to address the issue as soon as possible. ~Leeanne, a dedicated upstartHR reader
March 20, 2014
Tags:
HR philosophy
Hey, We’re High Tech, Too!
When I tell people I work in Huntsville, I usually get a glassy-eyed stare in return. I mean, really, I work in Alabama. How great could that really be, right? Cotton fields… Relatively low population density… Who cares? 

February 6, 2014
Tags:
recruiting, Job Market, Hiring, Talent Management
Split Testing Internal Communications

Split testing is a marketing tool that companies use to evaluate the impact of their marketing messages. They will take a key message and test variations of it against two (or more) groups, then compare the results to see what worked best. It helps over time to define the best and most effective communication method for the target audience. So why don’t we do this internally?

December 17, 2013
Tags:
Communication, Employee Engagement, Marketing
Are Senior Leaders the Worst Leaders?

Today we’re going to look at leadership, how it can fail, and how it can succeed. When we look at the leaders at the top of the organizational chart, we usually don’t think of them as the worst leadership examples in the organization. However, recent data has shown that to be the case.

November 21, 2013
Tags:
Leadership
4 Necessities for High Performing Teams

Great teams can propel organizations to new levels of success. Today we’re looking at how to improve team performance with an approach that has proven results across a spectrum of cultural, geographic, and generational challenges. A few years ago The Orange Revolution was written by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. The book focuses on great teams and where they come from.

October 16, 2013
Tags:
Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Workplace Culture, recognition, Engagement
Happy Workers: Perception, Psychology, and Reality
I know, many of you are thinking, “Happy workers? I just want them to come to work and be productive!” Don’t worry, I think today’s discussion will be helpful for you as well.
 
August 19, 2013
Analytics Driven by Business Accountability
Analytics in the business world serve many purposes, and a recent survey by the American Management Association uncovered the top five reasons analytical skills are necessary today.
 
Which of the following create the greatest need for analytical skills in your organization?
  1. Accountability for results 67.0%
  2. Competitive environment 61.6%
  3. Complexity of business environment 52.6%
July 16, 2013
Tags:
HR Practice, Performance Feedback, Leadership, performance
Onboarding Tips for Managers
Every once in a while I share things here that I’ve put out to our managers. Why? Because I know that many of you struggle with getting your managers on board in some areas, too! The message below is one that I recently passed to our supervisors in order to help them understand the end of the recruiting process.
 
June 12, 2013
Tags:
Career Development, Employee Engagement, Work Environment
Phrasing Matters-Inspiration versus Fear

Just a quick post today. I’m reading a book and I ran across a section where the author is discussing the differences between two phrases that seem pretty similar but have very different meanings.

  • What’s keeping you up at night?
  • What gets you up in the morning?

The idea is that focusing on what keeps you awake at night might seem innocuous, but it focuses on fears. What are you afraid of? What’s scaring you? The question assumes that the recipient has worries and fears that they want to share.

May 16, 2013
Tags:
Employee Engagement, Communication, Culture
Using Locus of Control Theory For Career Success

I firmly believe in the power of using the locus of control theory to have a richer, more fulfilling career. Read on for how you can use the locus of control theory to evaluate job candidates.

Last week I had a discussion with another local HR pro, and we were talking about interview questions that help to discern what candidates lack the requisite people skills to get the job done. We’ve all run across candidates who may interview very well, but then they turn out to be a nightmare once they are on board.

March 25, 2013
Tags:
Career Development, Productivity, Recruitment