A colleague forwarded this interesting presentation on to me by Linda Avey of 23andme about the work being done on mapping the human genome:

“With the advent of the Human Genome Project came the birth of a new term and lifestyle: personalized medicine, which promises to provide better care by analyzing the genetic basis of a disease and tailoring the treatment to the individual. As the science of genomics continues to improve, the implications could rock the medical world — and the ethical one. But when does personal become too personal?”

So naturally I started thinking about how the implications of this could “rock the HR world.” What role should HR play — if any — and how should data privacy and protection laws expand in this new world? I’m not talking about genetic engineering and creating superbabies — that’s something still in the realm of science fiction… I hope! But rather what role could/should gene mapping play in recruitment and selection, competency management, training and development? For individuals endowed with certain SNPs causing them to have particular skills or to be predisposed to certain professions, what role should/could HR have in counseling individuals to move in (or run from) a particular direction, such as finance and accounting versus business development or research and development? Will we start recruiting and screening our candidates looking for certain traits that we “think” make an individual successful in a certain position?
23andme presents their new service as an interesting exercise in determining your ancestry and how similar/dissimilar you may be from your siblings. Certainly interesting dinner conversation and a great topic for social networking sites. But now — for only $399 — you can get a complete map of your genome.

How far away are we from a $35 background check as part of pre-employment screening? What role could/should HR professionals play in this emerging field? I’m interested in your thoughts.

In these difficult economic times, companies are continuing to look for ways to reduce costs and keep the workforce engaged in spite of layoffs all around us.  Leveraging Web 2.0 technologies is clearly one solution that addresses both of these issues.  McKinsey has just published a great article on “Six Ways to Make Web 2.0. Work” (February 2009) (sorry, premium membership required).  I’ll summarize them here, because I think these are vital activities for anyone partaking on any type of new initiative — not only Web 2.0 initiatives:

1. “The transformation to a bottom-up culture needs help from the top.”  Every initiative needs executive support.  Executives need to walk the talk… not just talk the walk…  Executives must model the behavior they want to see — in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, they must “be the change they wish to see in the world.”

2. “The best uses come from users—but they require help to scale.”  People are eternally creative.  They will find new uses for the technology or process being implemented that will exceed the ideas and plans of even the best management and/or deployment teams.  Seek out these uses and reward and support continual innovation. 

3. “What’s in the workflow is what gets used.”  Any new effort needs to be integrated into the day-to-day activities of the users.  Anything that is perceived as “extra” work on top of an already over-full plate will be rejected and ignored.  The new effort must become an integral component in getting a normal day’s work done effectively.

4. “Appeal to the participants’ egos and needs—not just their wallets.“  Setting performance metrics based on contribution may not always be the most effective way to incent behavior.  Creative individuals will find ways to “game the system” and quality will suffer at the expense of quantity.  Public recognition can be a strong and less expensive incentive.

5. “The right solution comes from the right participants.”  It is vital to identify the stakeholders involved in the effort and to support the “players” and “change agents” and to mitigate the influences of the “cynics” and “detractors”. Gaining involvement and buy-in from decision-makers and influencers is critical to the success of any initiative.

6. “Balance the top-down and self-management of risk.”  Fear of the unknown and concerns over compliance and exposure must be balanced with the effectiveness being sought through the new initiative.  Having HR, IT, Finance, and Legal all a part of the project ensures that all sides are properly represented in making the right decision.