Today, Thomas’ blog for StrategyFocusedHR is an HR must-read and he is personally in demand as an HR strategist, consultant and public speaker. In fact, he was named HR Person of the year by the HR Network of New York City in 2008.

But it was sales rather than HR that first attracted Thomas as a young graduate. “I think sales are the perfect starting point for anyone coming out of college,” he believes. “It gives you the ability to stand up and convince someone to make a decision.”

Thomas was lucky that his introduction into the world of sales took place with IBM, which had a fantastic training programme and reputation to match. “IBM’s a great brand to have on your resume. It’s always been known for hiring great people so you are validated by having been selected by IBM,” Thomas explains.

After a while, however, he started to find the job a bit routine and began to interest himself in computers. He bought a book, taught himself how to use Microsoft Office and talked himself into a training job. Thomas subsequently realised that he had found his niche and quit Big Blue.

But sometime later, he spotted that IBM was looking for someone to work in its New York office as a trainer. He applied and joined the company again. Only five or six years on, however, change was on the cards again. Thomas, who had taken charge of the training department, discovered that Big Blue intended to shut it down and he had to find a new job.

 

But landing a role as corporate training manager at Martha Stewart Living was a huge coup and a great opportunity to make his mark. Because there was nothing already in place at the publishing firm, Thomas had free rein to do what he saw fit, which included setting up an e-learning university.

 

His interest in HR only began to take shape, however, after he was approached by the head of HR to become more involved in the area. “This was all new to me, but I was grateful for the opportunity,” Thomas remembers.

By the time he had received a couple of promotions, Thomas began to realise that his strengths lay in being able to put together strategic HR initiatives. In fact, he believes that the key to any successful company is in recognising the importance of HR and getting the right people into the right post.

 

But he warns: “When people say: ‘people are our greatest asset’, my eyes just roll over.”

All too often, such claims are quickly discovered to be trite management-speak and often the people described by senior managers to be their “greatest assets” turn out to be utterly miserable. But those employers that truly get the people message – the Googles, Amazons, Ernst & Youngs and IBMs of this world – really reap huge rewards.

“The people equation is a strong one and has been overlooked so long. It’s so simple,” Thomas says.

He believes that HR simply must play a stronger role in aligning talent with organisational strategy as well as find ways to engage staff more effectively. But to achieve this, HR cannot be a lone voice in the boardroom. The whole senior management team needs to understand the importance of its people – and walk, as well as talk, the talk.

So if an organisation claims that it is committed to diversity, yet a quick look around the management team reveals a sea of white, male faces, that company is at best crawling rather than walking. “A lot of companies need to take a step back and take a good look at their people strategy,” Thomas says.

But it is possible to make a difference quickly – and not necessarily as part of a huge change programme. Something as simple as asking employees what they believe that the company is doing well and where it is falling short is an easy, quick and often revealing first step.

When Thomas left Martha Stewart Living three or four years ago, he took a step back to really evaluate his career and the direction that he wanted to go in. He had been a corporate vice president, but the question was, did he want to carry on in that world or change direction?

 

Rather than keep along the corporate track, Thomas decided to invest in himself and build up his personal brand. He hit upon blogging as the ideal way of doing so and of getting his voice heard more widely.

Blogging has opened up many professional doors for Thomas and in the process he has become something of an aficionado on social media. But he warns that people using Facebook and other social media sites are not always careful enough about the image that they portray.

 

“You have to always be aware of your personal brand and who you are,” he believes.

Nonetheless, Thomas acknowledges that savvy social media users can really use sites such as LinkedIn to drive their careers forward.

 

The problem is that a lot of people tend to employ them only sporadically, which makes it painfully obvious if they suddenly begin to make dozens of connections one day that they have just lost their job and are scrabbling around for work.

 

“My view is they should have been on LinkedIn all the time they were working. Here’s an organisation which gives you a space to talk about you,” Thomas says.

And as far as he is concerned, it’s an opportunity that should be grabbed wholeheartedly and with both hands. For Thomas, managing the brand – whether it is his own career or the companies that he advises – is both second nature and crucial.

 

Who do you admire most and why?
My father is the person that I admire. He was never judgemental – everything was a learning event. If you came in upset, he’d say: “Well, what could you do differently if that happened again?” He didn’t finish high school, yet he built up a couple of businesses. He was a smart guy.

What buzzword do you hate?
‘Synergy.’ If you look at every merger and acquisition activity over the last 10 years and look at the announcement, they will have used the ‘synergy’ word.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
When I was working in sales, I also bought a 7-Eleven store and had eight people working for me and did that for nine years. My father’s advice on running it was: “I like to keep things simple. I don’t want a lot of headache. Just keep things simple.”

 

I use that a lot with companies: it’s not necessarily about big initiatives, but keeping things simple. People want to be treated with respect and valued.

How do you relax?
I’m an early riser. I get up at 4.30am every morning, go to the gym and work out and in 45 minutes, I’m ready to go.