www.cavnessHR.com
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Janelle is a Human Resources Consultant for a nationally recognized payroll & HR outsourcing provider and the President for SHRM Affiliate chapter, Staffing Management Association of South Florida. She has 15+ years human resources experience in various industries such as high speed technology, power management and payroll & HR outsourcing. Janelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in HR Management from the University of Central Florida, College of Business [Go Knights!] and holds both PHR & SHRM-CP certifications. Janelle has been a member of several human resource organizations including: SHRM, SMA of South Florida, HRABC and GMSHRM. She has entered her seventh year on the Board of Directors for Staffing Management Association of South Florida and is excited to be serving her first full term as Chapter President.

The cavnessHR Podcast can be found at the following places or you can just type in cavnessHR on the respective app.

iTunes: https://cavnesshr.co/theca7b91
Stitcher: https://cavnesshr.co/thecad004
Soundcloud: https://cavnesshr.co/thecac2f46
YouTube: https://cavnesshr.co/youtu183c0
Anchor: https://cavnesshr.co/thecade7fd
Google Play: https://cavnesshr.co/fdcf6
Spotify: https://cavnesshr.co/theca3d9c3
Pocket Casts: https://cavnesshr.co/theca56f71

Social Media links for Janelle below!!

Personal Twitter: @janeller1021
Personal Blog: ResilientHR Blog
Personal LinkedIn: Janelle Rodriguez, PHR, SHRM-CP
South Florida Local HR Chapter Info:
Chapter Website: Staffing Management Association of South Florida
Chapter Twitter: @smasouthflorida
Chapter Facebook: @smasouthflorida
Chapter LinkedIn Company Page: Staffing Management Association of South Florida
Chapter Instagram: @smasouthflorida

Below is Janelle’s book recommendation:

“Work Rules” by Laszlo Bock

Click on the links below to purchase the books from Amazon.
http://amzn.to/2HimIxz

Jason: 0:02 Hello, and welcome to the cavnessHR Podcast. I’m your host, Jason Cavness. Our guest today is Janelle Rodriguez. Janelle, are you ready to be great today?

Janelle: 0:11 Yes, I am.

Jason: 0:13 Janelle is a Human Resources Consultant for a nationally recognized payroll and HR
outsourcing provider and the President for Society of Human Resources Management affiliate chapter, Staffing Management Association of South Florida. She has 15+ years Human Resources experience in various industries such as high-speed technology, power management and payroll and HR outsourcing. Janelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in HR Management from the University of Central Florida, College of Business (Go Knights!) and holds both PHR & SHRM-CP certifications. Janelle has been a member of several Human Resource organizations including: SHRM, SMA of South Florida, HRABC and GMSHRM. She has entered her seventh year as a volunteer leader for SMA of South Florida and is serving her first full term as Chapter President. In her spare time, she travels, spends time with family, blogs, and mentors emerging professionals. Janelle, thank you for being here today, I really appreciate it.

Janelle: 1:18 Thank you for having me.

Jason: 1:19 So, what’s keeping you busy today?

Janelle: 1:23 Today is definitely my chapter business. We have a huge event that's coming up in March and it's unprecedented for our small, but humble, chapter. It involves a lot of phone calls, speaking to attorneys and business professionals, letting them know who we are in South Florida. (because we are a SHRM affiliate chapter covering a very large territory) We're also focusing that talent management space. I'm speaking with a lot of talent management professionals and just trying to get their buy into our events, supporting our chapter. All in a day's work because I do have a full-time job that keeps me also very busy – consulting with clients for my organization. So a day in the life of what I do is very different from day to day. It’s exciting.

Jason: 2:11 So, Janelle, what do you get out of being involved in these HR organizations?

Janelle: 2:15 Well, I will say that, originally, getting involved, I was looking to broaden my horizons, expand my network. I had returned to the South Florida area after living in another location for a number of years and I realized that I didn't have a network. I wanted to be tapped into the local HR community. So one thing evolved into another, and being involved in the HR community and the organization has allowed me, not only to expand my network. But it also has furthered my education. I get a lot of opportunities to attend conferences and seminars and events that further my HR knowledge, both as a business professional and an HR consultant. So it's beneficial to my day job but it's also beneficial for my overall career. It allows me the ability to speak to other individuals and connect with individuals that are in the HR profession at various levels. As well as in various facets of HR, stay connected with them as well as inspire emerging HR professionals. Those that are graduating, those who are new to the HR profession, maybe changing careers – and just show them here in South Florida and opportunities for them to connect and further their career.

Jason: 3:26 Janelle, you already kind of answered this but, how do you influence someone who’s not involved to get involved? Like someone says, “I have my full-time job, I don’t have time for this.” How do you influence this person to get involved and join your HR organization?

Janelle: 3:38 Well, a volunteer organization, like any other, it does require work and that is an apprehension that a lot of people feel when they're exploring the opportunity. But it's about the value proposition of the organization. What they bring to the table, the events, the interest, the community involvement and the friendships that you build. So whether you're an experienced, tenured business professional (because, really, it's an organization) at any level in any industry. Or you're new to the industry, it's a way for you to connect and a way to further your education. It's really all in what you put into it. I put a lot into it, so I definitely see the value and try to encourage emerging professionals to do the same. Because you don't want to look back later on and realize that you would have wasted time or have let opportunities slip by. Whether opportunities to connect with experienced professionals or opportunities for employment, solely because you didn't make the initiative to be involved.

Jason: 4:39 Yes. I can imagine how much networking goes on and how many jobs are offered during these organizations.

Janelle: 4:45 There is a lot of networking that goes on and the HR community, in my opinion, especially here in South Florida, is a tight knit community. I run into a lot of the same individuals from event to event, regardless of chapter or association or affiliation. It's great because there is that one person that you can connect with while you're there. So, if you're someone that perhaps is a little shy or a little timid about attending a networking event. Or maybe you're attending for the first time. You see someone familiar and that person can introduce you to other people, can show you around the room and make you feel comfortable in that environment. All it takes is that one person and then you can blossom – at least, that's what I believe. So, yes, there's a lot of connections going on and a lot of opportunity. I've been able to connect people with employment because people come to me and say, “do you know someone?” So I have a couple of those stories and those are very gratifying, even though I'm not able to get them involved with my organization – because I do work for a Fortune 500 company. But if I can put them in touch with someone else local here to the community that will help them move either from their current employment. Or if they're in transition, to me, words cannot express how gratifying and how satisfying that is to help someone else in the community.

Jason: 6:02 That's great. Janelle, you worked for several different industries. Do you have to change how you do HR based on the industry or is HR, HR everywhere? How does that work?

Janelle: 6:11 Well, you can’t cookie-cut HR. So any HR professional that tells you that you can is off base, especially now in the changing times, the changing political climate. From industry to industry, HR has different requirements. So, for example, if you were working with drivers that had to follow requirements from the department of transportation. You have additional things that you have to take into account there, and those are industry based, or if you have additional certifications. But you also have to consider your audience – your employee audience. So different industries have different employee types built within them and, as an HR professional. You have to be a chameleon in order to tap into that employee to get either their buy-in or to get them to understand something. Or to get their help or to be able to help them because, truly, that's what HR professionals are doing – they're helping employees, they’re helping the organization. So, if you cookie-cut your way, you will cut your way out of your organization. Because you will lose your value in that organization, I believe. You really do have to get out there, you have to shake hands, you have to shadow individuals at all levels of the organization. Get to know them, get to know what they're about. So that, one day, they come knocking on your door, you know how to address them, you know how to help them, and you know how to be of value to them.

Jason: 7:32 Janelle, for someone just entering the HR profession, what advice would you have for them?

Janelle: 7:37 Just entering the HR profession is a question that I get quite often. I mentor internally and externally from my organization. I would suggest for individuals to get involved with their local HR community. Stay connected to their educational institution either through alumni events or their career development center. They don't want to lose touch with that. You never know who can help you and who you can help. Because you always want to pay it forward. But I find that joining the local HR chapter – which is something I preach to emerging HR leaders in my community – is super beneficial for them. If it's not my chapter, there are other respectful chapters here in the area that I would encourage them to stay connected with. Consider a volunteer position; not only does it enhanced their leadership. But it also gives them networking opportunities. Even volunteer in a local community event. So, for example, here we have Feeding South Florida which is an organization that my chapter has supported; we have hands on Brower. Which is another volunteer organization that I have volunteered with personally. There's a lot of good to be done in the community and it's certainly a way to stay humble. Because being humble is very important, especially when you want to accelerate your career. But staying connected, keeping your ear to the ground and you never know when your paths may cross with the right person. Where you may be at the right place at the right time that an opportunity will come your way. Whether it's a volunteer opportunity to help the community or an employment opportunity that you might have been seeking or have been interested in and not know until that moment in time. So I would encourage them to stay connected, to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That's the theme now that I see in the workplace. I see that a lot in society – and so emerging professionals, they really have to stay on the forefront whether they're pounding the pavement or if they already have a job. They want to look for ways to stay educated, stay in touch, they want to make sure that they're trending. That they know what's going on in the market whether it's their industry or a similar industry. Or something that they want to tap into. Staying informed is super beneficial.

Jason: 9:45 Janelle, how important it is for HR people to be active on social media?

Janelle: 9:52 Well, I think it's super important for HR professionals to be active on social media. Obviously, you want to keep in mind that you represent your organization each and every day in all of your functions. You want to be mindful of the type of activity that you have on social media. I, personally, engage in professional content. I do share some personal things with my peers on social media and we have a hash tag, actually, a lot of the people that I'm connected with across the country we have a hashtag – it's #HRtribe. There are HR professionals in all facets of HR in all parts of the country and it's a way to narrow down the degrees of separation. So I know that if I post a question or if I need resources. I can either put something on my feed or I can send a direct message to someone and I know I'm going to get the assistance that I need. Or they're going to be able to refer me to someone that can. Not only that, but it's a great way to obtain articles. I find a lot of really great articles from various resources ERE Media, TLNT, SHRM Resources. The list does go on and on. So I share a lot of those articles, internally, with my organization and my fellow HR consultants. So I feel like it is a multifaceted tool and an HR professional would be crazy not to participate in social media, just for the purposes of staying connected and staying educated.

Jason: 11:14 Yes. Janelle, next, let's talk about a time you were successful in the past, what you learned from your success, and what we can learn from the success you had.

Janelle: So, this was a tough question for me. I would say that, about a year ago, I was recently promoted in my position. We have three levels and I was aiming for the third level. I've worked really hard with my manager and I have participated and curated a certain number of projects to build my brand. Which was something that was very new to me. At first, I was timid, I was uncomfortable. I didn’t know how I was going to be received. It turns out that I was well received. I was eventually promoted and I'm very happy to be at the level that I'm at. So, as a result of the work that I've done and the partnerships that I've developed. I've worked with other up-and-coming HR professionals in my organization to help them succeed in those levels as well. So, not only was it a success for me, but I feel that it was a success for the up-and-coming HR generalist. Because I'm able to mentor them and work with them and be able to guide them. So that they, too, can work towards that goal if that's something that's part of their career plan.

Jason: 12:21 That’s great. Next, talk about a time that you failed in the past, what you learned from this failure, and what we can learn from this.

Janelle: 12:28 That was another tough question. I even had to tap into some of my resources to share. Not that I haven't had failures, but it was tough to identify one. But, on a personal level, I do want to say that I was in transition a number of years ago. Before I came to my current employer, and so I had decided that I was going to move to a location. It's a location that I was previously going to move my office to before I was laid off and was not able to do so. So [I] packed up my life and moved to another city, another state. I was really gung-ho to make a stamp in that, and it didn't quite work out as planned. Hindsight is always 20/20 and I feel that when I look back now. There were certain things maybe I didn't take into consideration or commitments that I didn't make. I look at that as a failure because I feel like I wasn't mature enough to make that decision. Or I should have factored in a variety of other details, so that when I made that decision. I was more committed to it. As a result, I ended up returning to South Florida; and I've been here for a number of years, which has been great. But, had I done that experience a little bit differently, then who knows where I would be today. Maybe, not necessarily, a complete failure. But, at the time, it seemed like a total bust. But [I’m] happy to look back on it now and know that, while that wasn't desirable at that time, it led me to be where I am today. So I am very grateful for that.

Jason: 14:04 Janelle, tell us about somebody who’s helped you in the past and how they helped you.

Janelle: 14:09 So, I have a very tenured colleague of my current employer, and she is also an HR consultant. Through my years at my employer, she worked hard to mentor me, to help me be the professional that I am today. I remember we had just merged with another organization, another division within our organization, and we were doing new tasks and responsibilities. I had to prepare to deliver this very, very detailed, comprehensive seminar to a group of recruiting professionals. The seminar information was on hiring practices and so she worked very hard with me to prepare me. I practiced; I remember being in a training room by myself with all these supply boxes and reciting my word tracks and things that I was going to say. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience. Usually, when you are educating people that their practices are, perhaps, not the preferred practice. They don't appeal to that very well, but it was a learning experience for me and I was able to apply the methods to future trainings that I have conducted and seminars that I have conducted for a wide variety of audiences, both in person and virtual. As a result of her dedicated time to prepare me for that and to show me, basically, the way, I make sure that, when I work with new HR generalists and mentees. That I take the dedicated time to help them and prepare them so that they, too, can be set up for success.

Jason: 15:43 That’s very important. So many times a manager would tell somebody, “do this for me,” and they do it wrong and they get mad [and say], “you can’t do this.” Well, you didn't teach them how; you’ve been doing it for 5/10 years. It’s always amazed me when people do that.

Janelle: 15:57 Yes. It's a learning experience and every manager is different, every senior, tenured, colleague is different in their function. But if they're helping you, I'm hoping that their goal is with you in mind and they are going to set you up for success and coach you in the right direction. So that you don't damage your credibility and, ultimately, embarrass yourself. You do learn from that but, still, you could save yourself the trouble, or they can save you the trouble.

Jason: 16:24 So, now, Janelle, tell us something about yourself that most people don't know. Like, your close friends, close family know this but most people don't know this about you.

Janelle: 16:32 Well, I would say that most people don't know that I went to school to be a makeup artist. I love makeup, I have an extensive collection. I spent six months going to a local makeup artistry school, here, in Fort Lauderdale. I love the craft, it was a wonderful experience. I participated in a variety of assignments and projects. I have a very nice portfolio that I'm very proud of – but I work very hard during the day. So I, ultimately, learned that this was not a side hustle that I can keep up with but is a craft that I still love today. I'm very knowledgeable in products and whatnot and, while my choice of makeup is reserved during my business hours. I do try to spice it up a little bit for special events and birthdays. But a lot of people don't know that I went to school for makeup artistry, especially when I show up in my relaxed professional suits and light lipstick and very little makeup, you just wouldn’t to put it together. So, I went to school for that, I'm very proud to say.

Jason: 17:35 That’s very interesting. So, Janelle, it seems like right now in HR there’s an old HR and a new HR. Old HR is like HR of “no,” bureaucratic, administrative, we’re not going to do anything for you, [that’s] someone else's responsibility, don't learn the business. With the new HR, it’s more like find a way to say, “yes,” go and look at different business partners at what they’re doing. How do we get the old HR to come to the new HR?

Janelle: 18:02 Well, it is a challenge. Like you said, you've got a lot of old school frame of mind and I think it has a lot to do with culture. There's a lot of buzz around culture. There's books, seminars, companies dedicated to turning around the company culture. But I think it takes that one person to be that go-getter, be the advocate to start from a place of curious and be open-minded to that. I think that the old-school way of HR, that's why they're old-school. They're finding their way out. We've got new generations in the workplace that want different things. That have different needs, and HR, along with organizations, they need to be prepared to provide those things. Not just to make the employee happy, but for their own longevity. So, in order for the new school of HR to get the old school of HR to buy in them, it's definitely going to take some work. It's going to take some demonstration of the value proposition in shadowing. But it's also going to take a partnership and being able to maybe take the old school ways and update them. So that there's still a little bit of that feel. But incorporate the new school of thought as well. So that the organization, and the HR function, can be more productive and effective, and, overall, improve on employee engagement.

Jason: 19:23 Yes. Janelle, I understand you have a book to recommend to our listeners.

Janelle: 19:27 I do. Actually, I went to SHRM National in 2017 and I bought a ton of books. I'm sad to say that I am a little bit of a slow reader. But I do intend to read all of these books. The book, that I've been committed to reading as part of my virtual book club with one of my esteemed colleagues located in Seattle, is Work Rules by Laszlo Bock. It offers amazing insight into how they do things at Google. If you're unfamiliar with him, he came from Google and he shares a lot of history about the organization. But he also shares some insightful practices which, to the HR professional that is coming from the old school moving into the new school. May be a little bit tough to digest. But I have the book riddled with page flags of topics that I’d like to discuss with my peer and things that I would like to even have discussions I would like to have even at my own organization. So that we can continue to further that discussion as to what it means to be an HR professional and how to adapt with all of the generations in the new school of thought and the employee desires that are out there. So I strongly recommend anyone who's interested in an insightful book to check that book out. It is a little bit of a thicker book – I will admit that – but it's definitely a read worth making the effort for.

Jason: 20:45 Yes. Janelle, can you share your social media links with the listeners so they can reach out to you?

Janelle: 20:50 Absolutely. So I'm very active on Twitter – my Twitter handle is (very boring), but it is @janeller1021 – that’s actually my preferred method of contact, is my Twitter handle. I'm also on LinkedIn as well – so you can find me at Janelle Rodriguez or LinkedIn website: njrodriguez, would be the ending there. So I'm happy to connect with people on LinkedIn. I try to stay active there for my own personal connections as well as supporting my chapter. Then my chapter also has a variety of handles as well – you can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn at SMA South Florida. So I take great pride in managing some of those functions there. So I'm available either/or. My email address with my chapter is president@SMASouthFlorida.org – it’s a very long one – but feel free to reach out to me there. I’ll be more than happy to connect with anyone, try and support or help anyone that is looking for assistance or, perhaps, the ability to be pointed in the right direction. So we're happy to help anyone we can in the HR community or business professionals that need our support.

Jason: 22:11 For our listeners, we’ll have all the links for her social media in the show notes. So, Janelle, you just took over as president. Any big plans for the organization?

Janelle: Yes! So I have invited several individuals to be part of the board for 2018 so that, in and of itself, was a major task. It is something that I wasn't accustomed to. I took over as president last year and it already had a board and so we moved in a little bit of a different direction for the new year. I’m excited about that. We are putting on our first ever legal event which will be March 21st, here in South Florida. Which is going to be comprised of a panel discussion as well as a breakout session and we're going to be discussing the hot topic of sexual harassment. We're going to incorporate some information on DACA. We're working on a very important feature speaker from a local government agency – so, hopefully, they can commit. But that, in and of itself, has been a huge undertaking that goes back to all the phone calls I've been making and participating and “rubbing elbows.” But also just improving membership engagement, and my board engagement as well, because volunteer leadership is a challenge. Like you mentioned earlier, that a lot of people don't have the time. They have families and other obligations and so being able to show my board that I support them. That I want to help them, that I want to champion their cause – as long as it's within the chapter goals. That I'm here to support them and help them be successful in their role. I do have a couple [of] emerging leaders on my board for the new year. I want to make sure that they know that this is what the position requires and I'm here to help you in any way that I can and let’s be successful together. So it's going to be a good year for 2018; I'm excited.

Jason: 23:58 That’s good. So, Janelle, we’ve come to the end of our talk. Can you provide any last-minute wisdom or advice for our listeners?

Janelle: 24:05 Advice for listeners: I know that there's a lot of chatter out there about the value of networking. But I cannot speak about it enough. I feel that it's super important for business professionals in any industry to stay connected and nurture relationships. I find that a lot of people are looking to connect just so that they have that extra connection on LinkedIn. But not necessarily nurturing that connection, and so I pride myself in trying to handpick some connections and really nurture them and know that I'm here to support them. I also believe in paying it forward. So, listeners of any tenure in their career, it's always heart-warming to assist someone in their career or another area of their life. I would strongly encourage that as well. I would also say to make sure to make every effort to have a work-life balance. While I am happy to work as hard as I can for my employer and for my chapter. I make it a point to disconnect. I travel often and I love it and it's a great way to disconnect and refresh and rejuvenate. So that, when I can return, I can come back ready to rock. So, while we're moving into this whole 24/7 work-life environment, I would strongly suggest taking the time to disconnect from time to time.

Jason: 25:28 Yes. That’s great advice, Janelle. Janelle, thank you for your time today, I really appreciate it. I know you’re a busy person, you’re doing a lot for the HR profession and I want to thank you for that.

Janelle: 25:36 Thank you so much for having me, it's been a pleasure to be on your podcast. And if there's anything that myself or my chapter can do for you in the future, please feel free to reach out to me directly.

Jason: 25:45 Yes. And to our listeners, thank you for your time, we know your time is valuable, too. And remember to be great everyday.

The cavnessHR Podcast can be found at the following places or you can just type in cavnessHR on the respective app.
iTunes: https://cavnesshr.co/theca7b91
Stitcher: https://cavnesshr.co/thecad004
Soundcloud: https://cavnesshr.co/thecac2f46
YouTube: https://cavnesshr.co/youtu183c0
Anchor: https://cavnesshr.co/thecade7fd
Google Play: https://cavnesshr.co/fdcf6
Spotify: https://cavnesshr.co/theca3d9c3
Pocket Casts: https://cavnesshr.co/theca56f71
Social Media links for Janelle below!!

Personal Twitter: @janeller1021
Personal Blog: ResilientHR Blog
Personal LinkedIn: Janelle Rodriguez, PHR, SHRM-CP
South Florida Local HR Chapter Info:
Chapter Website: Staffing Management Association of South Florida
Chapter Twitter: @smasouthflorida
Chapter Facebook: @smasouthflorida
Chapter LinkedIn Company Page: Staffing Management Association of South Florida
Chapter Instagram: @smasouthflorida

Below is Janelle’s book recommendation:

“Work Rules” by Laszlo Bock

Click on the links below to purchase the books from Amazon.
http://amzn.to/2HimIxz