CHRO
CORNER
Inspiring the
Next Generation
of HR Leaders
Where do HR leaders draw inspiration from? What are
their worst nightmares? How did they stand the test of
the changing times?
In this segment, we will trace your journey to the top.
Michael Hoehne, Chief
People Officer, AHEAD
Michael joined AHEAD,
that employs 600 people,
in 2018 and brings 25 years
of experience in the HR
industry. Michael sits on
the board of Open Heart
Magic, a Chicago-based
non-profit that partners
with children’s hospitals,
utilizing specially trained
and certified volunteers to
empower young patients
who are experiencing
intense stress, fear and
sadness due to serious
illness and difficult medical
treatments.He has been a
board member for nearly
two years. Additionally,
he regularly volunteers at
various charitable events
for other organizations.
He has a strong passion
for giving back to the
community through
church or otherwise
This is your story - a story that is made of extraordinary
accomplishments, methods that helped you overcome
adversity, innovative programs that you led, and
fundamental changes that you brought in. It's your chance
to inspire the next generation of leaders.
"Workplace Culture Is
Evolving Every Day"
What has your HR journey been like and what influenced you the most to have a positive impact on
your career?
Q
Michael Hoehne: My journey to the HR profession was nontraditional.
In fact, after graduating college with an unrelated degree, I started
working in the operational management side of retail. During that time, I
learned many of the basic skills required to succeed in any career. Most
importantly, for my future career path in HR, I learned how to work closely
with business leaders to implement programs and solutions that benefit
the business.
I navigated the ins and outs of overseeing a business, supervising a team,
managing profit and loss and all of the challenges that come with running
a business. These experiences helped guide me as I moved into recruiting
and then to HR.
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My diverse work experience within a variety of
industries – from starting at a large retail enterprise
to working in revenue cycle management and now in
the IT consulting world – had a major influence on my
HR career. Many HR pros stick to a similar industry
throughout their career.
My journey was different, and I leveraged my diverse
experience by doing my best to apply what I had
learned at all the previous positions to my current
position. One piece of advice that I tell everyone
is to follow leaders you admire and trust and try
to maintain a good relationship with them. By
capitalizing on the strengths each leader excels
at, you start to build your own leadership style and
personal brand.
What were your challenges during
the early days of your career? What
are those today?
Q
Michael Hoehne: The biggest challenge I faced early
on in my career was the transition from a business
role to an HR role. After spending a few years in retail,
it was tricky to get my foot in the HR door. It is a bit
of a paradox that many recent graduates or those
looking to switch their career path later in life face –
you need experience to start, but you cannot get that
experience unless someone throws you a bone and
gives you an opportunity.
Today, as someone who has worked in an HR capacity
for 25 years, the main challenge is adapting to and
coping with unique circumstances that are out of your
control and involve more than just regular human
nature. From the dotcom bust, to Y2K, to the housing
crisis and now the COVID-19 pandemic, navigating
each event is a job in and of itself.
For example, in the last few months alone, the world
has completely changed. A majority of workers
have started working remotely, business leaders
have had to consider things they normally would
not think about and the stakes have risen with every
decision. All of these things are top of mind for an HR
professional, along with how to continue moving the
business forward.
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Today when I look at the challenges; recruit, retain
millennials, perception management in social media,
fast adoption of evolving technology and managing
the value proposition of HR for various stakeholders
etc. are the points coming to the top of my mind.
Q
How do you see workplace culture
evolving over the years?
Michael Hoehne: The world changes with each
generation, and workplace culture is not immune to
that change. Social media and technology amplify
millennials’ passion for these issues, bringing them
front and center, so workplace culture is evolving
every day.
Business leaders are moving away from the
high-touch hierarchies where everyone was expected
to clock in and out at a certain time and shifting
toward flexible and remote working options. The
question many companies are facing is, “How are we
going to reinvent ourselves for the modern workforce,
while also maintaining our original values and
corporate culture that made us successful in the first
place?”
This is particularly difficult for companies with a
small, tight-knit group of employees where everyone
works in one location at the same time. As a business
grows, it has to adjust to a world that is not in the
same time zone anymore. Companies must identify
what unique values they want to keep to maintain their
company’s close-knit feel, while also implementing
new processes and policies to grow the business.
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Can you share top three
learnings/insights from the challenges you faced?
Q
Michael Hoehne: The top three insights I have
gained over the years from the adversities I have
faced are to always be flexible, communicative and
considerate. Here is what I mean:
1. When presented with a challenge, be flexible and
able to adjust around things that are not perfectly
in order. More often than not, the problem is not
black and white and has moving pieces and new
developments you must deal with on the fly.
2. Always communicate with the appropriate
stakeholders, regardless of whether the situation
is good or bad. Sharing information is extremely
important in building trust and credibility.
3. Consider all of the information necessary to
be the most impactful. Absorb the situational
information, listen to what is being said and create
an opportunity to leverage data to come up with a
solution, rather than a knee-jerk reaction.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
What do you have to say to those
who are still struggling to find a place in
the boardroom?
Q
Michael Hoehne: Having started off in business
early on in my career, I have made a conscious and
considerable effort to understand a company’s entire
business ecosystem before developing HR strategy.
This approach ensures that any HR initiatives support
and align with the overall business strategy and
growth plans, rather than a siloed HR-specific agenda.
I draw inspiration from the ability to take that depth of
understanding to craft HR initiatives that attract and
cultivate top talent at the forefront of innovation and
help bolster a positive corporate culture.
It is important for aspiring HR professionals to take
the time to truly understand what makes the business
tick, what sets it apart and what is important to the
business. Spend as much time as possible with
your peers and senior leadership to find out what
matters to them and to figure out how they have built
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their success. Then, you will be able to formulate an
approach from an HR perspective that is tailored to
the business’ – and the people running it – specific
needs.
Talk to as many people in the organization as you can
and really listen to what they have to say; everyone is
an expert at something, and I have always sought out
my peers and executives to provide guidance so that I
could develop a plan that tied into the core culture and
goals of the business.
Q
Where do you draw the line when it
comes to work-life balance?
Michael Hoehne: I was raised on the notion that
if I worked hard, I would go places, so that is how I
started my career. But, you can (and should) still work
hard and have a work-life balance. Luckily, I found
that balance early on and have continued upholding it
through different industries and companies. You have
to keep in mind where you are at in life; for example, if
you’re starting a family, a work-life balance is crucial.
For me, if home time takes away from work, I will
spend a few hours on the weekend to make up for lost
time. My family is grown, so I am able to do this.
The key is finding a balance that works for you,
your family and your lifestyle, which could look very
different from person to person.
As many employees across the world are currently
working remotely due to COVID-19, the lines between
home and the office have blurred, it can be tough
to transition from working to not working without
physical separation. I have tried to stick to hours
where I am “on” and accomplishing what I need
to accomplish, but also being flexible and readily
available when others need me.
During the “off” hours, I might check email once in a
while, but I am not going to pick up the phone every
time it rings. Technology plays an even greater role
in work and life in these circumstances, and it is
more important than ever to know our boundaries so
we can determine when to be connected and when
to disconnect.
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is expected of employees and what they need to
move up in their career. Being able to measure that in
performance reviews is key, and any time you can pull
data sources from your candidate tracking or human
capital management systems, you can make better
decisions.
Over the past decade
or so, millennials
have and continue to
shift the
conversation around
workplace values and
ideals, emphasizing
the importance of
work-life balance and
a healthy and robust
corporate culture.
I’ve introduced metrics with which we can measure
our goals and help build a culture where data is
invaluable in the decision-making process.
Some of the cultural initiatives I have spearheaded
included Give Back, which recognizes employee
philanthropic work in the community and encourages
others to donate or volunteer to whatever cause is
near and dear to them. I also help support AHEAD’s
employee resources groups, such as Moving Women
AHEAD and Race Inclusion for Success and Equity at
AHEAD (RISE AHEAD).
I strive to ensure we have the right environment for
growth and a future for everyone at the company.
What are some major changes
you see affecting HR within the
next few years?
Q
Michael Hoehne: AHEAD was built by a lot of
hardworking people who had a vision, and stuck to
their principles along the journey. It remains AHEAD’s
mission to hire people with the same beliefs and
values that extend beyond our written core principles
and into basic manners such as respecting others and
letting their voices be heard.
Michael Hoehne: Over the next few years, I expect
remote work to become more prevalent across the
world. Due to COVID-19, those who were initially
against working remotely were forced into it, and
many have since realized that operations can continue
while not all being in the same office. Now, we
must cater to a remote or semi-remote workforce.
HR will continue to earn its seat at the table,
providing tangible business value-adds on top of the
mandated administrative duties that help a business
run smoothly.
We have grown and flourished based on the idea that
those simple things are just as important as the work
we do for our clients. We must represent these values
even as the company expands, and especially as we
build structure and roll out new processes.
Additionally, technology has and continues to play
a major role in how we process information, and
in turn helps businesses run more efficiently. HR
will continue to leverage metrics and data to bring
strategic direction to the business.
What fundamental change, in terms
of culture, have you brought into
your company?
Q
From a performance perspective, I have worked
to identify how each individual and team can best
contribute to the business, and clearly laid out what
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