HR Is Not the Party of No | Brian Baines

<p>Brian Baines has worked in HR for more than 20 years. After college he was managing a shoe store when he took a part-time payroll job, and he&#39;s stayed in HR ever since, including five years recruiting at Bon Secours, a stint at Newport News Shipbuilding, and a senior HR business partner role at William &amp; Mary&#39;s business school. He&#39;s now Associate Vice President for Human Resources. He and Kimball talk about why he used to wait until Fridays to offer people jobs, why so many people still see HR as &quot;the party of no,&quot; and how he gets ready for a hard conversation, including why he never has one in his own office.</p><p><strong>Takeaways</strong></p><ul><li>Lean on your HR people. They can help with career progression and your resume, whether you want to grow where you are or go somewhere else.</li><li>When a resume says someone &quot;led a battalion,&quot; find out what that means. It can mean leading 200 or more soldiers at 25 years old, in high-stress situations.</li><li>Call the candidates you don&#39;t hire. At William &amp; Mary he phoned everyone who interviewed instead of sending a system email, thanked them for their time, and sometimes asked if he could reach out about future roles. Word of mouth is how you attract talent.</li><li>Before a hard conversation, write out the points you need to make. Have it somewhere neutral, not across your desk, have it in the morning so you&#39;re not dreading it all day, and make sure there are tissues in the room.</li><li>&quot;It&#39;s not about how much work it is for us. It&#39;s about how easy we can make it for the end user.&quot;</li><li>Don&#39;t turn down opportunities. If your boss hands you something outside what you know, take it on. They probably see something in you.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Connect with Brian on LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbaineshrprofessional">https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbaineshrprofessional</a></p>