A Day In The Life Of Lance Haun- Rehaul

As we head into the home stretch leading up to HRevolution, I’m continuing to highlight some of the HR bloggers we all know and love (or should know and love).  Today I am fortunate to be able to share an interview with one of my favorite bloggers.  He is someone I have looked to for HR guidance because of his approach to the profession.  He’s a great writer, a talented business man, and a good friend.

Lance Haun spent several years blogging as “YourHRGuy.com” and just recently updated his blog.  You can find him now over at Rehaul.  He’s the VP of Outreach at Meritbuilder.  He’s also active in social media and you can follow him on twitter (@thelance) or on LinkedIn.  So, are you ready to learn more about our blogging friend from Portland?  Here’s Lance……

What time do you start your day?  Are you a morning person or more of a late-nighter?  I am a night person. It is just brutal when you live on the west coast and have people to meet with on the east coast in the morning. I used to be a morning person but that has long since gone.

It’s time to head to work, how do you get there (car, train, bike)?  I work from home most days or I’ll go to a Starbucks and pump out some work.  I have driven, biked and walked to work at previous jobs.

What is one thing you have to do every day to start your day right?  Get dressed. I know that seems funny but when you work from home, it isn’t a necessity. When I worked from home at a previous gig, I started off in pajamas but I just wasn’t in the state of mind. Not that I get very dressed up (for example, today I am wearing a rugby shirt, jeans and flip flops).

Where do you work?  How do you provide HR greatness there?  I work for MeritBuilder, a company that focuses in on employee engagement and recognition. I push other organizations to be great by recognizing their employees positive contributions to their business on a frequent basis.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing HR professionals in today’s market?  Relevance. I’ve talked with quite a few people and the gap between transformative HR practices that are relevant and the same old is becoming huge. Change is tough but it is the only way to become relevant. You don’t see too many marketing execs that are unfamiliar with new technologies yet you still see many in HR in the boat of not knowing what’s coming up.

Answer the question “If I hadn’t ended up in HR, I’d be ____________”.  At my dad’s meat shop or my wife’s winery. I love working with a product hands on and having a tangible result of that work. I wish my work had a more physical nature to it.

What is your favorite HR and non-HR reading?  I don’t know if this is strictly HR but “Good to Great” by Jim Collins is really fantastic. As for non-HR reading, I typically stay in non-fiction with books about history or travel. How old am I again?

What are your thoughts on how HR professionals should get involved in using technology?  It is easy to make excuses. I know non-degreed HR pros past retirement age that know as much as I do about the technology out there so it isn’t a question about age, education or any of that other crap. It is about desire. Do you want to be adopting technology at the same rate as others? If that’s a “Yes”, then go.

Afternoon slump?  What do you do to re-energize during the workday?  I go for a walk, bike ride or exercise mid day. Coffee can help too but exercise helps more.

It’s quitting time.  What is your life like after your day job?  If it is nice outside, we’ll usually go hang outdoors at the Oregon coast or in the mountains. When it becomes crappy though, going to Portland Trail Blazer games, finding new beer pubs and wineries is not a bad life.

Bonus Question:  What is the best piece of HR or business advice you’ve received?  Execute your business with integrity. That’s always the final check on any decision I make.

Thanks to Lance for the interview.  There are only a few more before we all meet up at HRevolution.  Stay tuned.