Q&A About AD HR Services
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Neil Cohen, Vice President of Organizational Development & Human Resources for AD, to ask some questions about AD’s HR Services program. AD HR Services is designed to be a valued and trusted resource to help support members’ HR strategies.
Neil has worked at AD for almost three years now, and he enjoys what he does. Neil was drawn to AD because he admires their dedication to helping independents compete with large national chains. He especially loves working in human resources at AD because he is able to help not just the associates who work at AD, but AD members as well.
Q: Why did you decide AD should offer an HR Services Program?
A: Simply put, our members asked for it! I got that feedback from AD’s CEO, Bill Weisberg, AD’s Leadership Team and divisional executives, and directly from our members that they wanted help in certain areas of HR.
Q: Once you got the go-ahead, how did you create this program?
A: I gathered as much data as I could from members to determine their top HR priorities and where they needed the most help. This included visiting AD members, a member HR survey, researching offerings from our partner industry associations (to ensure that we were supplementing, not competing, with what they offered), attending member networking events, etc. This helped me create the overall framework for the program. Along the way, I was able to vet the plan and get input/ideas both internally within AD and externally from our members.
Q: The AD HR Services Program features four main solutions. Which solution would you say is the most crucial to the success of our members and why?
A: All of them are important to a member’s success. Currently (and this could change in the future), the top HR priority for our members generally seems to be hiring quality talent to their business. So the Recruiting & Employment “suite” is currently the most utilized of all the HR Services offerings.
Q: What can members do to make the most of these program offerings?
A: Use them! Become familiar with the service providers on adhq.com, participate in our thought leader webinars, share feedback through networks or directly to me. We want to help our members - that’s the whole purpose of creating this program.
Q: AD’s Mission begins with ‘Our Mission is to help Members, Supplier Partners, and Associates grow and prosper.’ Do you think this program is helping our members achieve that Mission?
A: Absolutely! In my view the purpose of the HR function at its core is to help a company achieve their business results by employing great people and utilizing related HR programs. It’s around hiring the right talent, developing your people, and ensuring that they have a great place to work. To the extent that AD HR Services supports or provides our members with an array of important resources in these critical areas, we can help them win in their markets!
For further information on AD’s HR Services offerings, visit the “HR Services” section of AD’s website or contact Neil Cohen ncohen@adhq.com.