Alexander Alonso, PhD, SHRM-SCP is the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) Chief Knowledge Officer leading operations for SHRM's Certified Professional and Senior Certified Professional certifications, research functions, and the SHRM Knowledge Advisor service. He is responsible for all research activities, including the development of the SHRM Competency Model and SHRM credentials.
During his career, he has worked with numerous subject matter experts worldwide with the aim of identifying performance standards, developing competency models, designing organizational assessments, and conducting job analyses. He was also responsible for working on contract task orders involving the development of measurement tools for content areas such as job knowledge (like teacher knowledge of instructional processes) and organizational climates (like organizational climate forecasting in military health care).
Dr. Alonso received his doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Florida International University in 2003. His works have been recognized for their contribution to real-world issues. They include being recognized by the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (Division 14 of the APA; SIOP) with the 2007 M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace for the development of the federal standard for medical team training, TeamSTEPPS; being awarded a 2009 Presidential Citation for Innovative Practice by the American Psychological Association for supporting the development of competency model for team triage in emergency medicine; and receiving the 2013 SIOP Distinguished Early Career Contributions for Practice Award.
Throughout his career, he has published works in peer-reviewed journals such as Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, Journal of Applied Psychology, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, People and Strategy, Personality and Individual Differences, Quality and Safety in Health Care, and Human Resources Management Review. He has also authored several chapters on community-based change initiatives in workforce readiness, as well as co-authoring Defining HR Success: A Guide to the SHRM Competency Model in Practice.
Dr. Alonso also served as a columnist analyzing major trends in the workforce for The Industrial Psychologist and HR Magazine. In addition, he has served on several professional society boards including the SIOP and the Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington.
The disruptions of COVID-19 have brought new challenges to our communities, our workplaces, and our profession. HR professionals have been the first responders of the workplace in the midst of the global pandemic as we grapple with new data and directives about the novel coronavirus that can change by the day.
In recent weeks, the unemployment rate has soared to 14.7 percent, the worst since the Depression era. More than 20 million people lost their jobs in April, with many experts fearing this economic damage is just beginning. Now, business leaders, workers and policymakers are scrambling to adapt to these unprecedented changes to the economy and workplaces.
One in four Americans say they dread going to work each morning, and almost half of American workers have thought about leaving their current jobs. Those statistics point to a grim reality for today’s employers: We have a culture crisis at work. And it’s costly.
Yes, that’s a reference to I Love Lucy, so let me explain—Damn! There I go again, explaining instead of simply saying what I mean. Do you increasingly find yourself in that scenario? I do, especially in workplace discussions that make me want to pull my hair out (and I’m bald!).
Specially designed online tools help you chart your course to success.
Do you ever have trouble figuring out what to do next? The problem can be as simple as taking too much time to pick a meal from a menu. Or it can be as momentous and sad as procrastinating till you miss out on something great. If you have this problem, it probably extends to your career choices.
Some trendy movements in HR just don’t live up to the hype.
Applying simple wisdom to guide one’s personal and professional integrity
Having a passion for one's work is the secret ingredient to employee engagement. If you've ever worked with someone with a clear passion like that, you most likely felt envy, rooted in a desire to hold the same kind of passion for your work. Even if you enjoyed what you did, it wasn't to the same degree. Only passion can push you far enough to make a difference.
But when passion for one's work goes too far, it's not so positive. Too much engagement can lead to over-commitment.
Hello and Happy New Year! You may have heard that the SHRM 2016 Annual Conference & Exposition is in Washington, D.C. this year. For many of you, this will come as no surprise but this meeting is my favorite time of year. The reason for that is plain and simple--There is no bigger learning, sharing, and developmental event in HR than #SHRM16. I encourage everyone to see what #SHRM16 and the future of HR are all about
Over the years, I’ve learned to value wisdom no matter where it comes from. Too many times I have encountered people who discredit wisdom because of the source. While many would choose to ignore wisdom proffered by those least expected, I relish conventional wisdom delivered unconventionally. On September 22, 2015 we lost arguably the greatest embodiment of this concept. Yogi Berra, longtime Yankee legend and greatest champion in the history of baseball, passed away at the age of 90. 
