HR Professional - August/September 2008 - (Page 42) I N T ERV I EW well they understand customer service—these critical factors are what makes a store successful, a department successful and me successful as a leader. HRP: What’s your personal approach to leadership? AV: For me, it is critical that I lead by example. I believe it’s all about doing the right thing and sticking to your values, and when you do that consistently and transparently, it makes it easier for people to follow. As a leader, I give people a big sandbox to play in. There are guidelines but the sandbox is big. They want the independence to contribute to the organization. I am not a micro manager. I don’t see that as an effective way to develop leaders. One of the most important things I do as the senior leader is to develop the vision, strategy and plan and get alignment right across the nine officers who report to me. The company is first, their departments are second and my job is to keep that connectivity. HRP: The Home Depot is famous for tapping previously untapped talent pools, retirees for example, to deal with the attraction and retention problems that traditionally plague retail. Was this a mandate when you joined? AV: No, it’s developed since I’ve been here. We are big believers in diversity—especially the diversity of perspective and opinion—and because of this, we’ve attracted employees from all walks of life and all types of industries. We did make a point of targeting women, students and retirees—25 per cent of our employees are over age 50—and as a result we provide lots of flexibility. But more important than attraction is engagement, and that can only be achieved through the ownership and the contribution you invite people to make in terms of the performance of both the department and the store. That leadership is really critical for us to develop. The great leaders in our organization are those who create great leaders and encourage the 200 to 300 people at store level to participate in the running of that store. People want to be measured, they want to actively contribute, and they Au u 366002_Canadian.indd g 1 s t / S e p t e m b e r 42 2008 1/25/08 12:50:16 PM HR P R OF E S S I ON A L http://www.casource.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - August/September 2008 HR Professional - August/September 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Upfront Legal Compensation Human Capital The New Frontier On Message Strategy HR 101 Interview with Annette Veschuren Talent Management Training Work/Life Balance Off the Shelf The Last Word HR Professional - August/September 2008 HR Professional - August/September 2008 - (Page BB1) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - (Page BB2) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR Professional - August/September 2008 (Page Cover1) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR Professional - August/September 2008 (Page Cover2) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR Professional - August/September 2008 (Page 3) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR Professional - August/September 2008 (Page 4) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Contents (Page 5) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Editor's Letter (Page 6) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Editor's Letter (Page 7) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Contributors (Page 8) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Contributors (Page 9) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Contributors (Page 10) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Leadership Matters (Page 11) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 12) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 13) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 14) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 15) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 16) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 17) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Upfront (Page 18) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Legal (Page 19) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Compensation (Page 20) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Compensation (Page 21) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Compensation (Page 22) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Human Capital (Page 23) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 24) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 25) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 26) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 27) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 28) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 29) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The New Frontier (Page 30) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - On Message (Page 31) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Strategy (Page 32) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Strategy (Page 33) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Strategy (Page 34) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR 101 (Page 35) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR 101 (Page 36) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR 101 (Page 37) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR 101 (Page 38) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR 101 (Page 39) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - HR 101 (Page 40) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Interview with Annette Veschuren (Page 41) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Interview with Annette Veschuren (Page 42) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Interview with Annette Veschuren (Page 43) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Interview with Annette Veschuren (Page 44) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Interview with Annette Veschuren (Page 45) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Interview with Annette Veschuren (Page 46) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Talent Management (Page 47) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Training (Page 48) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Work/Life Balance (Page 49) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Work/Life Balance (Page 50) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 51) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 52) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 53) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 54) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 55) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 56) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - Off the Shelf (Page 57) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The Last Word (Page 58) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The Last Word (Page Cover3) HR Professional - August/September 2008 - The Last Word (Page Cover4)
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