Aug 21, 2017
When we meet with people to discuss strengthening their HR practices, we often use the term “Kingdom-minded organization.” More often than not, they are intrigued as to precisely how we define what potentially encompasses a considerably broad scope or approach. Certainly, many Christian business people, academia professionals, pastors, and consultants have their own ideas as to what constitutes a Kingdom-minded organization. My own Kingdom-minded human resources organization has worked hard to develop what we feel is a clear, actionable, and measurable articulation of just what a Kingdom-minded organization means to us and how to achieve it, and, as a result, the organizational leaders we work with express enthusiasm to achieve these goals, and are willing to invest their precious time, dollars, and energy into making their organization a prosperous one, and one reflective of Christ and His teachings.
In terms of what comprises the framework of a Kingdom-minded organization, the model I developed contains principles that apply to marketplace organizations, colleges and universities, churches, and non-profit organizations alike.
A Kingdom-minded organization puts Christ first, with a focus on integrity, honesty, and straightforward dealings with students, alumni, parents, staff, contractors and suppliers, etc. Such an organization possesses clearly delineated mission, vision, and core value statements. It has agreed upon goals and objectives, especially in the realms of mission execution, customer service, production, and quality.
Being a Kingdom-minded organization does not in any way preclude prosperity. On the contrary, it aims to be prosperous for the benefit of its key stakeholders, leadership, owners, employees, and the organization’s community. They should—they must—strive to do great things, marrying their godly goals with the fruits of success, those of a job well done. By no means should they consider themselves as unable to participate in the results-driven culture of winning U.S. organizations.
Mission, Vision, And Values (MVV)
When mapping out the future of an organization that professes to strive to become high performing, management must create its mission, vision, and value statements (MVVs) or ignite existing ones by recreating them. Much has been written on what should comprise mission, vision, and value statements. I always suggest keeping them simple—simple concepts that all employees can remember and fully support. It’s difficult to fully commit to and “own” an organization’s ideals if they are so complicated, convoluted, or vague that the employees can’t remember them clearly.
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In His Name HR helps organizations build high performance Human Resources programs. Visit them at In HIS Name HR or e-mail them here.
Mark A. Griffin is the founder and chief consultant of In His Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Mark A. Griffin | Christian Higher Ed HR
Aug 15, 2017
When I was asked to blog about forward-thinking human resources content to Christian Higher Ed Professionals, I knew I would have to start by constructing a solid foundation and build upon that. Having spent over 25 years in corporate America working alongside highly respected HR thought leaders at such organizations as Kodak, PepsiCo, and Merck Inc., I thought back to what makes certain organizations succeed while others fail.
Six years ago, I founded and now lead a growing HR consulting firm that supports organizations across the United States, organizations with one thing in common—they are Christian-based, whether for-profit companies or ministries and churches, and all possess essentially the same strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. No amount of technology or reengineering solves their issues. At the end of the day, it is the people within those organizations who make the difference.
What singles out certain organizations is the ability of their leadership to align their people effort to a collective MVV—mission, vision and values. Without this foundation, organizations flounder and employees lack direction. Without identified and established MVVs, HR leaders are unable to align their HR programs to achieve high performance. I have witnessed firsthand what happens when organizations lack this essential organizational mantra. What’s tragic is that establishing a company’s MVV is not only basic but quite simple to do. It requires nothing more than to identify why you do what you do and how you want to do it.
In the coming posts, I will guide you through the necessary steps to identify your core beliefs and goals, your MVV. Then we will explore how to skillfully integrate this MVV into your HR process to ensure you deliver on your mission, achieve your vision, and work within the values you establish. I will also define for you a term we use: “Kingdom-minded organization.” In my experience, the use of this Christian-oriented term illuminates how your organization will present its MVV differently to those of secular organizations.
Once you spend some time reflecting on what is meaningful to you and your organization, you will have taken the first steps on our journey together to create a Kingdom-minded organization of like-minded individuals working together to achieve high performance.
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In His Name HR helps organizations build high-performance Human Resources programs. Visit them at In HIS Name HR or e-mail them.
Mark A. Griffin is the founder and chief consultant of In His Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Mark A. Griffin | Christian Higher Ed HR
May 23, 2017
Social Media and Search Engine Optimization
This blog post is out of the ordinary. We are human resource experts not marketing or social media experts by any means. We have been asked way too many times and have had to explain in painstaking detail the same question:
How did In HIS Name HR climb to the top slot in Google’s search response to the query for “Christian Human Resources”
Having been peppered with this question from a wide array of sources, we decided to answer it here, and share our methodology.
Social media can be confusing to many people, but in reality it is very simple. Social media programs are nothing more than tools that allow like-minded people to communicate. What is critical to remember is that not all people use all programs. Therefore, to reach a large and diverse group of people, you need to reach them where they are, instead of hoping they’ll somehow stumble across you.
Many people make the mistake of only using Facebook, or Twitter, when they attempt to market their voice to the world. But what about all those people who use other social media programs instead, those who are not on Facebook or Twitter? If you rely only on those two platforms, you are essentially missing out on millions of potential people who won’t hear your message.
What you want to do is essentially send your same message out through all the various social media programs. However, you will need to tailor the way in which your message is sent out to accommodate the differing requirements or constraints of each social media platform.
To start, make sure what you present fits your voice—that is, how you want people to perceive you and your services. It is a combination of your mission, vision and values. Your voice can also be defined as a “niche” that you are working to create for your organization.
In just 6 short years we have been able to develop a strong social media audience.
We now have:
Over 15,000 followers on Twitter
Facebook Business Page now exceeds 3,100
Over 7,700 connections on LinkedIn
And our latest social media platform Instagram, now exceeds 4,100 plus followers
Mark A. Griffin | Blog, Career Coaching, Christian Higher Ed HR, Human Resources, Kingdom Company Building, Special Topic
Mar 8, 2017
Honored To Be Featured in Outcomes Magazine Spring 2017 Edition
Making your mission, vision and values a reality
Read or Print the Full Article Here
MARK A. GRIFFIN is the founder and chief consultant of In His Name HR LLC. Follow him on Facebook at InHISNameHR or Twitter @InHISNameHR. In His Name HR helps organizations build HR programs based on MVV. Contact them for more information at (InHISNameHR.com) or e-mail them at HR@InHISNameHR.com.
CLA Dallas 2017: Clarify your organization’s leadership strength by attending Mark Griffin’s CLA Conference workshop “Managing Employees to Success.” April 4–6, 2017.
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In His Name HR helps organizations build high performance Human Resources programs. Visit them at In HIS Name HR or e-mail them here.
Mark A. Griffin is the founder and chief consultant of In His Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Mark A. Griffin | Blog, Christian Higher Ed HR, Kingdom Company Building
Jan 30, 2017
ABHE Annual Meeting
February 8-10, 2017 | The Wyndham Orlando Resort
Many organizations attempt to implement employee review processes and inadvertently cause more harm than good. Many processes come across as punitive, time consuming, and non-value added.
What if you had a process that excited employees, one that they would lead? I’m talking about a process with a career development component that fills them with pride, with a sense of “hope and a future” with your organization?
In this session, learn how to keep employees motivated and engaged with a performance review process that is effective and, yes, even enjoyable, one that your employees will embrace and enjoy instead of dread.
In Developing a High-Performance Employee Review Process, participants learn how to:
- Develop an employee-led process
- Provide specific, realistic, and tactful feedback
- Differentiate between standards and goals and the importance of both to improve employee performance
- Avoid those common performance review errors that reduce effectiveness for the employee, the manager, and the organization
- Develop a process that is comfortable for both manager and employee—one that achieves higher levels of performance
Visit us- Booth 213 – ABHE Annual Meeting!
About the Speaker
Mark A. Griffin is the founder and chief consultant of In HIS Name HR LLC, a human resources outsourcing and career coaching firm created to help organizations pilot the complex issues of managing HR.
As a human resources professional with 20-plus years of experience in both public (Quaker Oats Company, Kodak Inc., Merck Inc.) and private companies (Woolrich, Conestoga Wood Specialties, Valco Companies Inc.), Mark is passionate about building high-performance workplaces by utilizing best practices while leading organizations with strong values.
Mark and his wife Gail have two adult children, and celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary June 2016. They attend LCBC Church. Mark has coached leaders on “Business as Mission” as far away as Eastern Europe, India, Haiti, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.
Speaker, accomplished HR consultant, and the author of How to Build “Kingdom-Minded” Organizations and College to Career: The Student Guide to Career and Life Navigation, Mark A. Griffin encourages leaders to build values-led organizations during these difficult economic times.
Mark A. Griffin | Blog, Christian Higher Ed HR
