Only Human

There's No Crying in HR!

2011-11-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

With Open Enrollment just around the corner I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but, still, to see an article about crying in the workplace in the October edition of HR Magazine; I was taken aback. Besides, during Open Enrollment I don’t think most employees cry, just the HR staff. And CFOs.

Last year was a real challenge, with the Health Care Affordability Act regulations going into effect. Systems and procedures that had become second nature were gone and new ones had to be mastered in time to explain the changes to our employees. This year should be a piece of cake, compared to last year. (She said with fingers crossed.)

But back to the crying. I remember thinking when I saw him cry for the first time, that when John Boehner cries in Congress we actually give him points for sensitivity. We say “Aww, isn’t that sweet”. But if Nancy Pelosi had shed a tear we’d have considered her weak or manipulative. It is an age-old double standard. I have had to fire a lot of people in my 25 year career, been sworn at, but no man has ever shed a tear, so I was interested in what this article said about men and women crying in the workplace.

According to the author of It’s Always Personal: Emotion in the New Workplace, there is more crying at work than there used to be because “there’s no longer a separation between work life and home life.” That surprised me: I expected it might be attributed to behavior modeling by more sensitive men, or job losses and wage freezes and other financial uncertainties, but apparently, it is primarily due to the fact that “we’re always on call.” (Exempt employees, that is. Hourlies had better not be working 24/7.) This produces a constant level of anxiety and can lead to “emotional leakage.”

The book, written by Anne Kreamer, a former Nickelodeon Executive VP, noted that forty-one percent of women admitted to crying at work in the last year. Think about that: nearly half the women in the workforce cried at work. The men? Nine percent. She said that’s normal: on average women cry about four times as much as men.

But it’s not that women are weak! Our tear ducts are smaller, so they spill more quickly than men’s. Really. And when under stress, we women produce a tear-triggering hormone. Stressed men produce testosterone. I’m just sayin’.

So what’s a manager supposed to do when his or her employees cry at work? “Offer tissues and give them a moment to collect themselves”. For men, the tears are probably about something happening outside of work anyway. The women cry mostly when they feel frustrated, undervalued or unappreciated. And managers, you can have an impact on that.

As for John Boehner-types? Weeping men are viewed (by both sexes) as empathetic and compassionate. Men who saw women crying at work were not too harsh, but other women viewed it as a personal or moral failure.

Come on, women, lighten up. It’s about the tear ducts.

HAPPIEST PLACE TO WORK?

2011-09-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

OK, so we know that San Luis Obispo, CA is the happiest place to live in the US. But is it the happiest place to work? We have talked about why people work and how to retain your employees, but are they happy? I posed the question to 20 people, chosen randomly, who work at 15 different companies.

Most said they were happy, and most had the same reason: “I am happy to have a job at all.” But when I dialed down a bit deeper, like Maslow, eliminating the basic survival issues, the reasons they were happy varied.
Benefits were the top choice. Health insurance has been tied to our employment for so long now that it is expected to be part of the compensation plan for any company of a certain size. But that does not mean it is taken for granted. Most employees are well aware of the annual double-digit rise in premiums over the last several years, so they appreciate those employers who have chosen to retain the insurance. Many employers have eliminated their contribution toward the premium for dependents, but not one person I interviewed complained about that.

Cable TV provider, Comcast, was cited as one of the happiest places to work in a recent survey conducted by CareerBliss. No surprise to me: the employees get free cable! That’s at least $150 a month right there, plus they don’t have to review all those ads to see if the HD receiver costs extra. Comcast employees also get free financial planning services, tuition reimbursement, commuter benefits, legal benefits, adoption benefits, long-term care insurance and pet insurance. Pet insurance!

My survey respondents cited work-life balance as the next element of work that determined their level of happiness. They called it different things, depending on their age, but for the most part, it was about the employer offering them the flexibility they need to drop their kids off at pre-school before work, not hassling them if they need to leave early or come in late on occasion, not requiring a ton of overtime. To the ears of a Baby-Boomer, that might sound like anarchy, but I get it. Some of our workers have kids and parents who need their attention. The trick for an HR pro or business owner is to find a way to make it flexible and fair.

Other workplace elements that contribute to an employee’s happiness in my survey include being allowed to listen to music, good parking, long lunch hours, monthly pot lucks, having supervisors who treat them with respect,(hello!) lack of drama, and being challenged with assignments that let them learn new things.

For the national survey, next most important element was career advancement, a regular in the top 5 for decades. But I was surprised it was still there, expecting it to have been replaced with “I am happy to have a job at all.”

Hire Vets

2011-08-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

The national HR organization, SHRM, has mounted a campaign urging employers to hire veterans. Many years ago, the state of CA added Vietnam Vets to the list of protected classes, and now is this tantamount to (whisper it) affirmative action? While HRM for the Home Depot in the late 90's I was part of the team that introduced special hiring consideration for veterans and military school graduates: they were immediately considered for Asst Manager positions, even if they had no retail experience. Such was the regard held for the leadership training they received in the military.

So, yes, it amounts to reverse discrimination. Have our military personnel become so revered that they deserve special consideration or is this another assumption about the leadership skills they aquire from active duty? Are we still bending over backwards to make up for the negative treatment they received when they returned from Vietnam? Or do we just feel sorry for them because they had to put their lives on hold for tour after tour after tour in an unfunded, unjustified war in a godforskaen part of the world?

It's That Time of the Month, Decade, Century.

2011-08-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

It's about time. Contraception meds are now covered under preventive care. Obamacare now covers women who need contraceptive counseling, STD tests, breast feeding support, and well woman tests. Good news.

Everytime I see a Viagra commercial I wonder why 2 people are sitting in bathtubs in the wilderness while women have had to jump through hoops to deal with the consequences.

And yes, some of the cost will fall on business and I hate that. But what's good for the goose should have long ago been made good for the gander.

Why They Work

2011-07-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Home Depot in the 90’s was growing fast: sometimes we had to, uh, compromise, our standards a bit and promote someone whose leadership skills were not fully developed. “Rick” was an exception. One of the reasons he was promoted so quickly was because the employees loved him and would do anything for him. I asked him what his secret was and he said, “I remember every employee’s name and something about them and I use both when I see them in the store.” When he became District Manager he carried a small pad to keep notes to use for his next store visit. He would sit in his car and review them before walking in the door.

Your employees show up at work for many reasons and management recognition is always at or near the top of the list.

Stop a minute and think about how well you are meeting your employees’ need for recognition. Your turnover rate, the number of workplace accidents, and absenteeism are all good indicators, but you can also just hang out in the break room and pick up the vibe. The good news is that meeting this need does not have to be at the expense of your business – in fact, your company’s success may depend on your ability to make your employees feel appreciated.

Sincere words of thanks and giving credit where credit’s due are a good place to start. It really is not all about the pay, but a recent poll of HR professionals (1) revealed that they do not think their companies are doing a good job of recognizing their high-performing employees.

One of the insights from the poll was that we employers are discovering the importance of employee recognition and job satisfaction in the exit interview. A little late, isn’t it? Local authors Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan Evans, authors of “Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em,” (2) suggest asking employees why they stay before they go. Great book.

11 percent of companies monitor employee comments on social media platforms to see how they feel about their work. Pause here for a prayer that they know what not to do with the information. “Before I promote Joan I’d better check her Facebook page to make sure she isn’t still dating that loser, Bill.”

What’s your recognition style? Are you a devotee of the Oreo Feedback approach: Sandwiching a negative feedback statement between two positives? This is the most common feedback technique and by now, every employee sees it coming. “Hi Jessie, your report was delivered right on time. Thank you for that. Why didn’t you use the format I gave you? Thanks, though, for getting it in on time.” Is there an employee anywhere who doesn’t hold their breath until the supervisor has finished the praise, thinking, “Oh boy, here it comes”?

Remeber: Oreos are for eating. Sit in your car if you have to, but make sure you are recognizing your employees for their good work every day. It’s why they work for you.

(1) 2011 SHRM/Globoforce Employee Recognition Survey report released June 23, 2011. 745 HR professionals from all sectors. Half respondents have 2,500+ employees; 43 percent have multinational operations.
(2) Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay. 2005. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. San Francisco. ISBN 978-1-57675-327-9

Don’t Vent On Me

2011-07-01T13:31:00.000-07:00

Venting is like throwing up. I wasn’t the cook. Hell, I wasn’t even in the dang kitchen. So why are you throwing up all over me? You don’t even want me to clean it up, do you? No – you just want me to stand there and take it. And when you’re done, you feel so much better, don’t you? I know. What a relief. Whew! But what about me? I am standing there with barf all over me. I have to get this stinking stuff off me and go on about my business. I can’t help but want to help you wash your face or offer you a breath mint – I am in HR, for crying out loud – part of our job is cleaning up messes.

But I prefer a productive, mess, please. One where you discuss your upset stomach when you first feel queasy. Tell me what you think is causing it. Let’s discuss some intervention or remediation or some kind of solution so that you can feel better. I might ask you to adjust your recipe so that it doesn’t happen again. You’re the cook, remember?

Oh, maybe there were other cooks involved. Good point. I guess if they aren’t sick to their stomachs they may not know the food makes you sick. I really do expect you to tell them before you retch in my direction. Seriously. Don’t you want to fix it before you toss your cookies?

I don’t think so! That’s the problem. I think somebody decided that venting is OK and we in HR – or your best friends – just have to stand there and take it and then wish you well as you walk away.

When was it decided that venting was OK? About the same time we decided that “bye-bye” was an acceptable way to end a business call? When women started sexually harassing the men in the office? Oh, yeah, that was a great step forward for women’s quest for a corner office, wasn’t it? But I digress.

You chose to vent on me because I am a good listener, right? Not because I can necessarily do anything about your situation. If you wanted something done, you’d probably have talked to someone involved, or with authority in that area. And you would have gone to them with a solution in mind. But you chose me. Or a coworker who has even less power to fix it than I do. And God forbid they (or I) should offer you feedback.” No, Betsey, this is not a time for suggestions – I am just venting.” Translation: “No, Betsey, I want to throw up all over you.”

Well: I AM HEREBY DECLARING MY INDEPENDENCE FROM VENTING!

Feel free to join me. I want to start a revolution and am looking for recruits. Here is the first step: If someone comes up to you and looks sick to their stomach, don’t just stand there -- send them to the bathroom!

And wave our flag: DON’T VENT ON ME!

Thanks for listening -- I feel better.

STUPID IS NOT A PROTECTED CLASS

2011-06-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

‘Tis the season for Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for supervisors. The state as mandated training for supervisors in companies with at least 50 employees since 2007. You can suffer through the two hours on-line or with me. And, God help me, I love teaching this class. I never know what to expect, even after conferring with the HR manager to identify what current issues I should weave into my presentation.

For a company a few years ago, the issue was calling people by their right name. Really? Are people being referred to as “honey” anywhere but in a diner these days? Side note: at the NCAA regional playoffs in the south a few years ago, my brother said he was having the time of his life. “What’s not to like?” he said. “I have the 4 B’s: basketball, beer, BBQ, and the waitresses all call me ‘baby.’”

As it turns out, I was able to find a court case illustrating the dangers of not calling people by their name: two Tyson Foods employees were awarded a settlement for being called “boy.” Yep, they were black and the employees who kept being promoted over them were white, as was their supervisor.

I once investigated a claim where the supervisor was accused of touching an employee’s breast. When she called him on it, he said, “I didn’t touch your breast. If I had I would have done this”. And proceeded to rest his whole hand over her breast for a few seconds.

And then there was the female employee who lifted her blouse to show her coworkers her new breasts, the male supervisor walks in and says “I want to see”, and she obliges.

At a recent class the conversation was heated and focused on the employer being held hostage by conniving employees who manufacture incidences in order to make a claim of harassment. And, yes, it happens. But, really, the focus needs to be on training your co-workers to know the boundaries of professional and respectful behavior, and training your supervisors to not be stupid.

Read the cases above again and tell me: who is the most stupid? Tyson Foods – hands down it was the supervisor, even though he said he didn’t “mean anything” by it. Breast touching supervisor or the employee, who, the day before, had gone to lunch with the guy and showed him provocative photos of herself? The employee who showed off her new breasts to the male supervisor or, him, thinking that meant he could try to kiss her?

There are 13 protected classes in the state of California: race, color, religion, etc. We have to be very careful to not discriminate against employees in these classes. We have done enough harm to them over the years that fair treatment is legislated now. But you can rest assured: Stupid is not a protected class. Sometimes dangerous, but not protected. Feel free to discriminate against stupid all you want. Please.

New Sheriff in Town

2011-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

All us HR types figured we see a shift to employee-supportive legislation once Arnold left, and there is much evidence to support it.

Recent events include the passage of a bill allowing Agriculture Workers to unionize without a secret ballot election.

Pending legislation (AB 325) includes a mandate that employers provide up to 4 unpaid bereavement days and the employee can sue the employer if they feel discriminated against because they requested or took the leave. The bill is in committee.

AB 877 is a Gender Non-Discrimination Act that adds transgender employees to the protected class. Sexual orientation is already protected from discrimination and this law would add gender identity. This bill has passed the Assembly and is now under review in the Senate.

We can recite my mantra in unison: If we hadn't chained women and children to sewing machines for 18 hours a day in airless, locked warehouses, we wouldn't have needed unions and these kinds of laws. Same goes for farm labor, the use of short hoes and such. In the name of profit we have been horrible to our employees for over a hunderd years and now we are paying for the sins of our fathers.

The good news is that in the last 20 years our management techniques have reflected the realization that our employees are the key to our success. If we take care of them, they take care of the customers, and help breed our success.

Now we wait for the tipping point: when the majority of employers are so good to employees that these laws are no longer needed. My experience working with the wide variety of employers I do offers me hope that this point may be seen in the next 20 years.

Deva Vu All Over Again

2011-05-17T09:48:00.001-07:00

While attending Cal Poly in the late 60's and early 70's I took a class in Chicano Studies. It was one of my first experiences in learning about something as it was happening -- Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers were organizing in the San Joaquin Valley as I was studying the shameful history of farm labor. I had a classmate who grew up on a farm in Delano, so one day I joined her in picking cotton in the morning and grapes in the afternoon. That was a back breaking eye opener that has stayed with me to this day.

These memories came back yesterday as I heard about cabbage laborers threatening a sit down work stoppage in the Salinas area. I am more aware of the employer perspective than I was in 1970, but still know this is incredibly hard work for $8.00 an hour. As far as I know, short hoes (so a foreman could spot at a glance any worker standing up straight -- and therefor, not working) are gone, along with deductions for rent and food that lowered the hourly wage to pennies.

And now we have heat illness safeguards to protect the workers.

And I also know that unions can be as guilty of greed as any farmer ever was.

Is this cycle ever going to end?

THOSE SUMMERTIME BLUES

2011-05-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

Those Cal Poly MBA students I am mentoring as they prepare to enter the wonderful world of work are telling me tales of unreturned phone calls and emails, and of their sense that the beautifully crafted cover letters and resumes they submit are entering some black hole somewhere. And these are student offering to work for free, for heaven’s sake! They just want summer internships. (On a related note, the April edition of the Reader’s Digest includes a quote from a long time HR Director, who says: “People assume someone’s reading their cover letter. I haven’t read one in 11 years.”)

Be glad you’re not a high school student trying to save up for a car or college this summer. The latest word from whoever predicts these things is that summertime work is predicted to be a record low. Only 1 in 4 teenagers will land a job in the coming months as a result of the still-poor job market. The summer employment rate among U.S. teenagers was projected at between 25-27%, a record post World War II low.

National Employee Recall Day

2011-04-26T08:22:00.001-07:00

April 30th is National Prescription Drug Recall Day. I dont know how it works but I am guessing you take your no-longer-needed drugs to a pharmacy and they destroy them for you. They probably burn them but maybe its better if we don't know.

So what was the first thing I thought of when I saw this day announced? Yes! National Employee Recall Day, where you can take all your no-longer-needed employees to a central location and someone else takes them away for you.

Let's see -- I no longer need drugs that have expired, for illnesses from which I no longer suffer, and those that caused an allergic reaction of some kind.

I am searching for no-longer-needed employee counterparts to this list. Allergic reaction fits, although it might not have been a rash.

Any other drug like reasons to turn in your unneeded employees?

Retaliation is Now #1

2011-03-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

If you haven’t watched The Good Wife yet, I urge you to do so. Not since LA Law have I seen such an intelligent and challenging treatment of complex societal issues. I remember a specific episode of LA Law where the argument was for or against punishing an inmate (serving life without possibility of parole) with the death penalty for killing another inmate. It might have been during that very hour that I lost forever my black and white view of the world and I don’t think I’ve used the words “always” and “never” since.

The Good Wife is just as compelling, but also on personal and relationship issues. Well written, it demands you use your intelligence to sort through the complexities of the issues being addressed.

One complex, layered issue I recall was when President Nixon denied knowing about the Watergate break-in. Which was worse, the doing it or the denying it? My Lai massacre. Enron. It is a long list, and it stretches all the way into HR.

What prompted this walk down Memory Lane was a recent US Supreme Court decision and the news that retaliation is now the number one reason employees bring charges against their employers. The good news is: race discrimination is no longer the most common claim. Seriously, think about that. That has to be good news, doesn’t it? We are making progress in tolerance of racial diversity in the workplace. Well, no, the race numbers didn’t go down so much as the retaliation numbers went up. The rest of the bad news is that retaliation is even more complicated now that the Court has determined that a retaliation claim may have merit even if the original complaint (which prompted the retaliation) is not a protected activity. Huh?

I sound like I am complaining, but from what I know of the court case it sounds like retaliation for sure. Boyfriend and girlfriend worked for the same company: three weeks after the girlfriend filed a sexual harassment compliant the boyfriend was fired. The Supreme Court determined that firing the boyfriend was designed to punish the girlfriend/claimant. So, even though the boyfriend did not have a claim himself, he could still sue for retaliation. The Court did not offer an opinion on the level of relationship that would meet their criteria: good friends? Ex-lovers? Married for 30 years? How long ago did they break up? My therapist would have a lot to say about relationship individuation issues here.

A 2010 Equal Employment Opportunity investigation was over before it started when it was clear that retaliation had taken place. That’s right – the original claim did not have to be investigated because the retaliation was so blatant it, in effect, proved the claim. The physics of discrimination.

The take-away here is that the denial or retaliation can be as bad – or worse -- than the original crime. Hence my memory of Watergate. And my brother denying he picked the flowers he sweetly gave to my mom out of Mrs. Thompson’s yard.

“God Bless Us, Everyone”

2010-12-24T09:11:00.000-08:00

Most of us know this quote, the character who states it, and in what story. It is the exclamation that assures us all’s right with the world, after all. Greed and an old sourpuss do not prevail. The statement is uncomplicated, clear, succinct – like my sister’s philosophy of life – “Just be nice to each other.” And, I hear you sigh: “If only it were that simple”.

Ok, so it isn’t. Get over it. Life is all grey when you are in the HR business. I taught a class in Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors at a Valley fruit packing house last week and the owner of the company kept saying “But they won’t listen,” and “OK, but what if this happened instead . . .?” He wanted to hear a yes or no, black or white answer to situations that never are. The best I could do was to tell him his job (and that of his supervisors) was to create an atmosphere of respect and enforce it. Model it.

My favorite of his scenario/questions was this: “What if some male employees are at lunch at a restaurant and an effeminate man walks by and they call him a ‘fag’, and one of the guys at the table is a closeted homosexual: is that harassment?” I was ready with my standard HR response: “It depends.” But before I could elaborate or say “What kind of morons are you hiring, who think it’s OK to talk like that, especially in public, for God's sake?” he said it had happened at a previous job. And the guy had claimed harassment and “got some money for it”.

I often respond to a scenario like that by telling them to turn it around: pretend the person who walked by was an elderly woman, or a beautiful woman, or a person in a wheelchair. Would the morons at lunch have said one was an “old hag”, the next a “whore”, and the last a “cripple”? Certainly not. My point was that if appropriate, respectful behavior can be learned in those instances, it can be learned for all instances. We must model and demand decent behavior if we don't want to run the risk of losing “some money for it.”

New stats have been released that remind me of all the ways we find to be mean to each other. (It’s like watching Law and Order on TV – what will some maniac come up with this week?)The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has just had its three busiest years in a row. (And "that's nothin' to be proud of, Rusty").Charges in FY 2010 numbered over 99,000! I expect we'll see retaliation, race, religious, and disability discrimination top the list again this year.

Please don't dismiss these numbers by saying they are caused by new laws and/or the high unemployment rate. Yes, those things have an impact, but we let ourselves off the hook if we find solace in those excuses rather than acknowledging our duty as employers to demand that our employees be civil to each other. Besides, nobody wants to work with a bunch of Scrooges.

Blackmail, I-9 Style

2010-12-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a new one: a former employee contacts a current employee and tells him if he doesn't support the former employee, the former employee will reveal that he (the current employee) is an illegal alien. So the current employee tells his boss about the threat -- he doesn't even know what the former employee is talking about. "Support him" in what?? But he knows a threat when he hears one.

Background: The former employee and others were laid off when business slowed, and subsequently claimed they didn't get their meal and rest breaks. Labor Commissioner found for the employer!

Question: This sounds like revenge against the employer, but is still a threat to the employee. Does the employer now have knowledge that the existing employee is not properly documented?

Undocumented Workers: Part 2

2010-11-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

The thing is, we have used an underpaid workforce since Jamestown. But I didn’t want to get into that discussion when I addressed the increase in worker documentation audits by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at a recent Good Morning, SLO. I didn't want to talk about the $1 apple. I was happy to point out, however, that if one of your competitors is paying workers under the table, at less than minimum wage, then they are also not paying their share of payroll tax and probably not paying for workers comp insurance. Unfair competition, I’d say.

The Department of Homeland Security and other agencies have focused on the little guy for the past 3 years. Documentation investigations, which precede I-9 audits, have increased 8-fold since 2007. 170 business owners have been arrested in 2010 alone. Arresting the owners only started as a supplement to fines a few years ago. The first to be arrested were the owners of the fence company that built the fence between the USA and Mexico. I love it! Yes, the company that built the fence was using undocumented workers. I can just see the sign on the fence: ABC Fence Co, San Diego. And then in small print, in Spanish: If you can get over this fence we’ll give you a job. No questions asked.

So the feds are going to the source of the jobs: the broader the enforcement the better the compliance. As long as we have these laws we might as well enforce them.
It is to the file cabinet or binder of I-9s that the DHS will head if they come to your business. So the I-9 form is the place to start in making sure your workers are properly documented. The fines for failing to do so range from $110 to over $10,000 per worker, so it behooves you to learn how to do this right. By the employee’s third day.

You have the list of acceptable documents on the back of the I-9, and the instructions tell you whether to place the information in List A, B or C on the form. You don't have to be a forgery expert, but you do have to review the originals and you when you sign the form you are attesting that they appear genuine to you.

Few employees carry their social security card or other documents with them, so I recommend telling the applicant when they are hired, what to bring with them on their first day: Whatever info you need to complete the W-4, and the I-9. Give them the list of acceptable docs: you may not tell them to bring their social security card and driver’s license or any other specific document. If you want the social security number for the W-4, that’s fine. And the driver’s license and proof of insurance for driving on company business, also fine. But don’t confuse these requirements with the I-9.

You could be guilty of discrimination: just ask Catholic Healthcare West. Seems they had a habit of asking for more documentation from only the more swarthy looking applicants.

Illegal Workers: Feds are Targeting Smaller Businesses

2010-11-30T10:40:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of speaking at Good Morning, SLO a few weeks ago. It’s the monthly gathering of 200 or so business owners, managers, and non-profit leaders, mostly members of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. I get to speak often to the group, although usually only for a minute or two and to introduce someone or an upcoming event. I usually get a laugh or two and that’s fun for me. But I have to be careful: I once helped introduce an upcoming performance of the very moving Teen Mommalogues and found myself explaining what “Mommalogues” meant by saying it was “the talk my mom never had with me.” I had to bite my tongue to stop there. OK, I admit – I didn't stop there. That’s what I mean about being careful.

When the Chamber first asked me to present the topic of immigration I balked: not a politician, don't want to get embroiled in a no-win debate, etc. Sure, there’s an HR element, but it would be a lot to cover in 5 minutes. And not sure I would get a laugh.

Would I try? Sure: heck, as my friend Marci says, I never met a microphone I didn't like.

The reason I thought the topic was justified? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (formerly the INS) has changed its approach to enforcing the laws around documented workers. They used to take years to investigate a big business, often by tracking the labor contractor, then they raided it, fined the owners, and deported hundreds of undocumented employees. Now the DHS is focusing on smaller businesses, expecting a smaller “take”, but figuring to make it up in volume. They are less concerned now with sending the undocumented workers home than they are with shutting down the source: businesses who employ them.

We are seeing a similar shift to volume in other agencies: OSHA and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have hired hundreds of investigators, as has the DHS, and they are now pursuing smaller fines. I heard a report that the EEOC levied a fine as low as $20,000 against a business for discrimination. I was shocked. In the past, the EEOC would not bother with any case that did not promise a fine over $100,000.

So even if your business is not AG or hospitality, be sure your documentation is in order. It all starts with the I-9, the form that documents the 1) identity, and 2), right to work in the United States for every one of your employees. Everyone. By the 3rd day of work. Or you have to let them go.

The list of acceptable documents is on the back of the form, and the directions on how to fill it out are pretty clear, but I come across errors by my consulting clients every day. And even the simplest error can cost you: from $110 - $1100 fine for incomplete or inaccurate paperwork. $10,000 for knowing hiring an undocumented worker. As we used to say at Home Depot: Read the directions.

Why We Have Employment Laws

2010-09-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

If we want to understand why this country has so many draconian safety regulations we need only wait for the next fire on a drilling platform and learn about the alarms turned off so that the crews could sleep. Or we can wait until there is a cave-in at a mine & hear about the hundreds of short-cuts taken and violations for which the mine was cited over the years.

It is not always that clear in employment law – I have said before that if it weren’t for the industrial revolution we wouldn’t have as many laws. But employers chained women and children to sewing machines and they worked 18 hour shifts in locked, airless rooms. For a pittance.

If this country had a history of treating its employees well, then maybe by now employees could decide if they need a break every 2 hours; and maybe it would be left to the employer and the employee to decide what schedule worked best for them both.

So if our current regulations are a response to the past, I wonder what will be the legacy of the current employment relationship.

The USDA Needs a New HR Director

2010-07-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

“It only took me 20 seconds to do it,” she said. “Call this 800 number to block telemarketers from calling your cell phone for 5 years.” This sounds familiar, I was thinking, when my step-daughter replied she’d just called the number and got some kind of Reward Center with “money saving offers.” Then my son-in-law emailed saying he thought there was no such database. My friend said she assumed it was valid because she got the email about it from her company’s IT department.

A quick check of the facts at an urban legends website (snopes.com): yep, it’s bogus. There is no national database for do not call, and, yes, it was familiar. This ruse has been around since 2004.

I remembered my friend’s assumption when reading about USDA employee Shirley Sherrod being forced to resign under a maelstrom of criticism as a racist. After the outrage, after the media flogging, after she resigned, someone finally stopped long enough to check the facts and learned she was the victim of a twisting of facts and truth – on purpose – designed to embarrass the NAACP. We know by now we cannot always believe what we see on the internet, but we trust the news media to check their facts. Right?

Apparently not. You see, the edited video where Sherrod appeared to be confessing her racism fit neatly into the belief system of Fox News and many of the people who heard about it.

Besides the news agency neglecting their duty, what was her employer thinking when they forced her out before they had all the facts? Even the greenest human resources professional knows to check the facts and the motivation behind charges against an employee. Where were the skeptics: like the ones who fill my Respect in the Workplace classes, looking for a hidden motive behind every claim of sexual harassment? “She wants to get back at him for breaking up with her.” “She’s mad because she didn’t get the promotion,” etc, ad nauseum. Talk of an ulterior motive can be wishful thinking by employers in denial, sometimes it is an impulsive leap to the defense of a colleague, and often it is pure retaliation: an attempt to deflect the heat from the accused.

But, like a stopped clock, sometimes these claims of ulterior motive are right.

I hate ulterior motives. It takes too much energy to watch out for them and too much work to figure them out. The world I want to live in is one of respectful, honest communication and collaboration among coworkers who always act in a friendly, professional manner. But until we create that world, it is HR’s job to consider every angle, motive, and assumption when investigating an incident or claim against an employee (or the employer). Regardless of the boss’s belief system or theirs, it is HR’s (and the news media’s) job to advocate for the truth. Period.

I’m thinking the USDA is looking for a new HR exec about now. And Fox needs a fact-checker who hasn’t drunk the Kool-Aid.

Health Care Reform -- Affordable?

2010-07-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

I am speaking to the HR Association of the Central Coast tomorrow -- all about the Affordable Care Act. The only problem is, I am not sure it will really be affordable for employees or employers. But I do suspect the insurance companies will continue to be profitable and that the real costs of health care will not go down. How did such a pure concept get so screwed up and convoluted? Oh, wait, I know! Can you say fillibuster? Stonewall?

I imagine Teddy Kennedy is rolling in his grave.

11,000 HR Practitioners in One Hall

2010-07-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Did the title make you shudder? I tell you what, like when the local cops are all at one accident, I'm thinking some employees and employers got away with murder these last few days. 11,000 HR pros from the US (plus 800 from other countries) spent 4 days in San Diego learning the latest and greatest in our world. And it was great. I attended 3 workshops on the Health Care Reform regs alone. No, seriously: on purpose. And there must have been 6 on Leadership, and Diversity/Inclusion, demographic trends, benefits, technology, employee engagement, and, of course, labor laws. By my rough count there were 175 different presenters over 4 days.

Keynote speakers included Steve Forbes (he has faith that all will be well with the economy, and, oh yeah, a flat tax would help), Al Gore (also has faith in America's companies ability to survive if we adopt sustainability in more than just the environment), and Marcus Buckingham, the guru of talent & strength-based hiring, who wowed the crowd describing the difference between a manager and a leader. (I know,it sounds funny -- but we were wowed, for sure.)

Every speaker was gracious in their praise of HR for keeping corporate and small biz America from imploding, so we all drank the koolaid and have come home ready to step it up a notch. Watch out employees. And employers.Your HR team is pumped!

Fired for Being Too Sexy?

2010-06-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about the woman who is suing her previous employer for wrongful termination because she says they fired her for being too pretty. I've seen her picture and she's no Annette Benning or Catherine Zeta-Jone, so I admit, I may not have all the facts straight, but that's because the situation is so convoluted.

Here's what I know:
She said her managers couldn't keep their minds on their work when she was around.
They said she refused to tone down her provacative dress.
She said "What's wrong with pencil skirts and turtlenecks?" I am not showing cleavage, for crying out loud. (I added that last part)
She said (This is really her quote)"I could have worn a paperbag and it would not have mattered."

I say fire her for being so stuck up. As I said, she's no Catherine Zeta-Jones. But I digress.

There are pictures all over the internet of this woman (Debrahlee Lorenzana) in her regular (she says) business attire, which looks pretty professional to me. Except the photo of her sticking her butt out like Carol Burnett did when dressed up as that dizty secretary charachter, Mrs. Whiggins.

So: was she fired as retaliation for complaining that her bosses couldn't concentrate or for refusing to change her clothes? Is being too pretty a protected category?

At least it is a lawsuit that will be fun to follow. It will have as many layers as a good business suit.

Overheard in a Breakroom Last Week

2010-06-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

“I cannot believe that 60% of Americans approve of the Arizona immigration law! It’s unconstitutional.”

“Yeah, well I think it’s about time: the feds aren't doing anything about it.”
“Do you want to pay $1 for an apple?”

“And what about those greedy oil company bastards who sacrificed lives and the environment for a buck?”

Flash back to September 11, 2001 and a break room in an unnamed Home Depot:
“We should send all the Arabs back to where they came from.”

“I hope they round up every ^*#! ‘raghead’ and deport them.”

I was the HR manager in that Home Depot store. Diversity in our store meant that we had one East Indian employee and a few Hispanics: the rest reflected the very Caucasian ethnic makeup of the Conejo Valley. So as employees sat transfixed in the breakroom watching the horrifying TV images that day, all sorts of ethnic slurs could be heard and I didn’t hear one complaint about the coming ethnic profiling. By that afternoon I had planted myself in the break room and as new employees came in I gave them this little talk: “We don't know who did it, keep your prejudices to yourself, let’s just send our positive energy to the rescue workers and survivors.” That tiny redirection of focus made the breakroom and store merely sad, not bigoted, for the rest of the week.

But employers can’t plant themselves in their break rooms all day. Besides, you may agree with what is being said. But guess what, it is not a business issue so it doesn't not belong at work. Nor does a replay of someone’s date the night before, or the latest Sex & the City movie. Race, religion, politics, heck even the weather can be controversial: “We need the rain!” “No, it’s hurting the grapes!”

With elections approaching I am certain other break rooms have had other fiery discussions: this issue comes up at least every four years.

To stop a conversation that is disrespectful or inappropriate in the workplace, one need only say so to the parties doing the talking. Period. Stop it.

But anyone who has raised a child knows that may not be enough. The whole culture of the household needs to support respectful talk about suitable subjects or the lesson will soon be forgotten. Managers need to be told they have the responsibility to enforce the respect rule – whether they want to join in or not. Consistently: they don't get to pick and chose which disrespectful /inappropriate talk they allow to continue and which to shut down.

A good way to defuse an emotional discussion is to step back and turn the conversation on its head: ask yourself or those having the conversation: would I feel the same way if the tables were reversed? How would you feel if California law allowed the questioning of random people to discern if they had broken some other law? If law enforcement could make employers prove they hired only people with the right to work in the United States? Oh wait – that law already exists.

Well, anyway, respect should rule, regardless of the topic.

Overheard In A Break Room Last Week

2010-06-04T12:37:00.003-07:00

Overheard In A Break Room Last Week

2010-06-04T12:37:00.002-07:00

Overheard In A Break Room Last Week

2010-06-04T12:37:00.001-07:00

Overheard In A Break Room Last Week

2010-06-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Privacy vs. Business Needs

2010-06-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Random drug testing & other privacy issues in the workplace: finding the balance of privacy and what's best for the business is very difficult and very important. And it mirrors our personal lives, too. Federal wire-tapping without a court order seems to be OK, but not secretly taping your employees to determine who is stealing from the register.

One thing often left out of these arguments is that the delemna affords employers another opportunity to counsel and coach their staff. Or come down hard with discipline and termination. Supervisors and employers are often afraid to discuss with their employees the issues behind behavior.

So the solution may not be in taping or not taping, but in setting clear expectations of what is private and what is company-owned (even behavior). And training your supervisors to have the difficult discussions with their employees as soon as there is a hint of trouble.

For what its worth -- I am not in favor of either wire-tapping or video-taping employees without a court order.

Health Care Affordability Act: It’s Only the Third Inning

2010-05-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

Last month all you heard in the HR locker-rooms were complaints about all the texting going on. Employees were finding ways to bypass surveillance cameras and text blind. If a company uses Twitter to network socially about their business, how can they differentiate personal texting from business tweeting? OMG!

Well, this week, all the talk is about health care reform and how it affects the business and the employees. The reforms put in place by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) are designed to phase in gradually, but some things happen pretty quickly. And just because the biggest changes don't take place until 2013 doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t want to know right now what lies ahead. Our Safety Division Manager received demands for details from four of her Safety clients in the first two days, and our staffing staff got earfuls from clients and candidates alike. Of course, we in the HR Division were swamped with requests for info that wasn’t yet available.

So here are some of the basics that we know to date. As the presenter in a statewide webinar I attended last week said:”We are only in the third inning of what may be an extra-inning game, folks.” Translation: the law is passed but now the detailed regulations, standards, and enforcement get hammered out, and that will take awhile.

• Now: Small employers (less than 25 FT employees, or the equivalent in part-time) are immediately eligible for a 2010 tax break of up to 35% of the cost of premiums if they provide at least 50% of the cost of their employees’ healthcare coverage. During the week of April 19th , small business owners were sent postcards by the IRS, and the jokes about the IRS “finally taking a hike” were plentiful. For details about go to http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html?portlet=6.

• June: A temporary high-risk pool will be established to provide access to insurance for Americans previously denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

• September: Lots of things kick in:
o Health plans may not deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions.
o Health plans must allow young people up to age 26 remain on their parent’s policy. Unless they are married. Not sure about school requirement yet and I have seen opposite answers to the question of whether the child must be a dependent.
o Health plans can no longer drop people when they get sick or place caps on lifetime coverage.
o Tight restrictions on annual policy limits. Details to be supplied by the Department of Health and Human Services.

One of the provisions of the PPACA that will impact employers and their employees is that some coverage plans will be grandfathered in even if they don't meet the minimum coverage requirements.

If we are in the 3rd inning now, I am hoping for some clarity and direction before the 7th inning stretch. For now, assure your employees that we are on their team. Not that there really is an HR locker room, but you know what I mean.

A Favorable Determination From the EDD

2010-04-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a headline from one of those supermarket tabloids. This really did happen. One of my clients received a favorable determination from the EDD today. I had given up hope. I hate to admit it because I’m a lemonade kind of gal, but, really, after being told that an employee taking sales receipts (cash!) home over night instead of placing it in the safe was not grounds for dismissal, I thought: what’s it take these days?

But, after this decision, I no longer feel like I am in an asylum run by the patients. OK, that was over the top. Sorry. But in the irresponsible-with-money case we had documented earlier indiscretions, had demoted the employee, and had counseled him on expectations like working his shift instead of making up his own schedule. The money thing was the last straw.

I was told years ago by a former EDD employee not to lump a bunch of issues together when responding to an EDD inquiry about a dismissal – just explain the final incident. Be sure to indicate that the employee knew what was expected of him, that you had spoken with the employee the first time it happened, that you enforced the policy fairly, and that you were consistent with previous practices in doing so. Now I am rethinking that advice.

I was talking with another HR professional the other day (yes, this is what we talk about), and they said they received an unfavorable decision because they summarized 3 occurrences of the same policy violation, and the EDD told them they should have separated them. “They did this before?” “Yes, that’s what I said in my notes to you: 3 times”. “Did you talk to them each time?” “Yes, on the dates I indicated.” “Oh. You should have sent in 3 separate documents then.”

And how about the guy who sent his supervisor a threatening text message? Did we overreact when we let him go? I don't think so. Besides, sometimes, even if you end up having to pay for unemployment, it’s still cheaper than keeping the person on your payroll. And safer.

I can fully understand providing support to employees who are laid off or discharged through no fault of their own. A safety-net is a good thing. But is NO employee at fault?

So you can understand my delight today when my client called to say that the EDD told the former employee: “You were discharged from your last job with XYZ Company because your work did not meet your employer’s standards. You are not eligible for benefits.” (Cue Hallelujah Chorus)

There are 2 lessons here. The first one you know, but I am going to repeat it: 1) Document, document, document (on separate sheets of paper); and 2) All is not lost! It is still OK to discharge an employee who does not perform well.

If they take cash home, though, you may be on your own.

"Can We All Just Get Along?"

2010-04-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

If you are of a certain age you will know that the above quote came from Rodney King, lamenting the fact that he was beat up my the police, who were not punished for doing so. Good for him: rather than fan the fast-spreading flames, he took the high road. I find myself repeating Rodney's plea lately, when reflecting on the destructive dynamics among some of my clients' employees. Yes, I did place the apostrophe in the right place. I have 2 clients in 2 states, experiencing similar conflicts among coworkers.

My brother says I should lock them both in a room and tell them they can't come out until they have agreed to get along. A more traditional approach is to sit down with them and attempt to mediate their concerns, make sure both feel "heard", and then . . . well, I guess, then you sit together until they agree to get along.

It sure isn't simple: if I take sides I am condemning one to a miserable work experience and not facilitating the other's growth. If I tell them they are acting like spoiled children (my brother's other suggestion) I have probably inspired them to dig their heels in harder. Have you ever seen a 35 year old pout? (Shudder)

All 4 employees add value to their organizations. Each has strengths that serve the organizations' missions. All 4 need their jobs.

So -- you are the boss: what do you do? (Oh, you thought I was going to solve this conundrum? Nope -- your turn. What say you?

Lindsey Lohan and homelessness

2010-03-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

OMG!! Did you hear that Lindsey Lohan is suing E-Trade for mocking her in one of their clever baby e-trader commercials? You know the commercial – a girl baby asks the boy baby e-trader if “that milkaholic, Lindsey” spent the night with him. Be honest – did that make you think of Lindsey Lohan? Drinking milk? Onterested in the stock market? Really?

Of course, it may be that Lindsey (the older one, not the milkaholic) and her dad are following that old rule that any publicity is good publicity. But, really: even publicity that makes you looks like an idiot? And now I will think of her every time I see that commercial, which really makes me mad. That was one of very few commercials I didn't speed past with my TIVO.

So I contrast this “news item” with another I came across on the same day: the 2009 San Luis Obispo, CA, County Homeless Enumeration Report. Now here is some information worth our attention.

What does this report have to do with employee-employer relations? Almost 20% of the county’s homeless have jobs. I don’t know if they are part-time or full-time or what, but 9% of respondents said they live in San Luis Obispo county because they have a job. Not because of the great homeless services, not because of the weather, but because they have a job. So, stereotypes be damned.

Some local employers have workers with no place to go at night, and the impact this one fact has on productivity, absenteeism, and morale can be significant.
Almost half of the homeless respondents with jobs work in construction: that can’t feel very secure about now. A third work in retail: not the best pay around, even though the great majority of our homeless have at least a high school diploma and a third have attended college.

I guess I would know if one of my employees did not have a home to go to. Wouldn’t I? What would be the signs? Dress and grooming? Sure, if they are one of the 46% who sleep in a vehicle or outside at night. Lack of engagement? Easy to believe they would have things other than work on their minds, especially if they are part of the 29% who are responsible for one or more children. (Of the 1372 children and teens counted on this January day in 2009, 384 were not in school.)

What are their special needs? I can’t expect them to advance any business expenses and wait for reimbursement, so does that limit which position they can fill? If you don’t have an address can you get a driver’s license? They can’t drive for me if they can’t afford insurance. That means they can’t run company errands: another limitation to their employment? What about a phone?

And what are my obligations as an employer if I do know that an employee is homeless? Nothing legal as far as I know. That milkaholic Lindsey certainly has a sense of entitlement, but homelessness is not a “protected class”. That’s for sure.

Texting: The Key to Controlling the Latest Distraction

2010-03-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but sneakiness is the father. Just ask any employer who is trying to curb the use of iPhones and Blackberries in the workplace. Some employees are so good at texting that they can do it without looking. Secret Texting could be the next Olympic sport: “Look at that! A 360 behind the back twist while checking movie times in his sweatshirt pocket! That should rate at least a 56.7, Bob”.

Employers have to decide if they want to keep employees from checking in with their BFF while they should be helping customers. Diligent, consistent enforcement is going to be key. Some outlaw cell phones altogether. Not allowed in the building. If you can’t live without your phone, you should get a job at the phone company. The thinking here: if it ain’t within reach it can’t be used. Other employers have decided to allow their employees to text while on breaks: they figure if they offer a time for their use, the employee will wait until then. Hmmm.

Lawsuits are appearing in this arena: blogging nasty things about your boss, hackers in your social media site, freedom of speech, and privacy issues are all in play. If an employee texts f-worded threats to his supervisor for changing his schedule is that free speech? If an employee is fired for no-call, no-show, but says she texted her boss that she was sick, is that sufficient notice? Should she be reinstated? If the employee agrees to pay for text characters over a certain limit on the company’s phone, can the company limit what is said or is this a privacy issue?

I tell my clients that this is just the latest distraction at work. Be consistent or you can’t expect compliance. Do you allow personal phone calls? Are friends allowed to come visit your employees while they are on the clock? Do you care if your employees come in a few minutes late or are you a stickler for being on time? Do you have filters on the computers so that your staff cannot access porn sites and Facebook? How much control do you want over the myriad distractions in the workday? When you know the answer to this question, then you will know the policy you need to put into place.

Here are two abbreviated samples:
1). Engaging in social networking and texting during your day can negatively impact your productivity and work performance. Therefore it is your responsibility to regulate your social networking and texting so that it does not impact your productivity or cause you performance issues.

2). Employee’s own electronic media is not to be used during work hours on the work premises under any circumstances. Texting and the use of Internet based programs such as Facebook, [etc.] is a violation of Company policy and use of these programs either on Company owned property or on your personal property during work hours on the work premises can result in discipline up to and including termination.

In either case, consistent enforcement – as always – is key.Let me know what you think.

Leadership and Love

2010-02-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

A lingering cliché is that of the weary worker coming home after a long day at “the plant” and kicking the dog. All those long-suffering Ralph Kramdens shouting “To the moon, Alice” at their (also long-suffering) wives. And the executive who wants his wife to meet him at the door with a martini and then keep the kids quiet and out of the way until he’s had a chance to relax and read the paper. Did all of our parents hate their jobs? Did our grandparents stay in jobs for 40 years only to receive that gold watch at the end of a life full of “thank God it’s Friday’s?”

Was it after the downsizing of the 80’s that we realized that if we cannot rely on an employer to always be there then we’d better not let our jobs define us? So now we have a generation of workers who do not hesitate to change jobs for any number of reasons. Don’t get along with your boss? See ya. Sink in the bathroom stopped up again? ‘Bye. One wonders if our current high unemployment means workers will stay in hated jobs again.

Then again, some people love their jobs. Love them. Can you imagine? Recent studies show job satisfaction dropping like a rock, but a popular management parable claims loving your job is possible, and helping you fall in love with your job is the responsibility of your supervisor.

The Radical Leap, by Steve Farber, is one of those little management books, like the One Minute Manager and Who Moved My Cheese, that provides lessons in the form of parables. My ear worn copy of this story about a wise surfer (seriously) is still close at hand, long after I stopped caring about my cheese and I listed reading it among the 12 suggestions for employer/supervisors wanting to improve the workplace in my December 29 blog.

The message here is that a true leader will inspire his or her employees to achieve success for themselves and the business by cultivating love: “Love of what future we create together, love of what principles we live out, love of what people I have around me, what they want for their lives, what customers I have and might have in the future if I am smarter, faster, and more creative in serving their needs. Love for the impact we have on their lives and the world as a whole, for what our business really is and what we really do at work every day.”

How’s’ that for an audacious attitude? The wise surfer says that love creates the boundless energy necessary to inspire the courage needed to overcome the fear that can cripple us. Michael Gunther, of San Luis Obispo-based Collaboration addressed the importance of attitude in the Tolosa Press a few weeks ago. We know it is going to take something special for our businesses to thrive this year, so we might as well try love.

What do you think?

Doppledanger Week on Facebook

2010-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

What a fun idea: in the place of your profile picture, this week, place the photo of someone famous you (supposedly) look like. I have seen some hilarious postings -- and I got most my laughs before I knew what my nephew was doing -- I thought I needed my eyes checked!

Can we do something similar with our employees? They could pretend to be someone else this week: your attendence slacker could pretend to be the employee that arrives early every day; the complainer can take on the persona of the easy-going guy; etc. I think I'd like to replace the drama queen with someone who minds their own business.

Ideas?

A Year’s Worth of Resolutions for Employees

2010-01-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I listed 12 resolutions for business owners, managers, & supervisors to adopt in 2010. Sure it was audacious, but aren’t all such lists at this time of the year? Not to be left out, employees now have a list for themselves. As with the other one, the hope is that working these concepts and activities into your worklife will result in a happier and more productive you.

So here goes:

1. Discover your strengths: remember the book: “Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow”? Same concept. There is something magical about it.

2. Leave your personal life at the door: think of it as a respite, an oasis if you must, but personal problems only muck up the workplace.

3. List what you can do to add (more) value to the organization: the boss may not realize all you can offer. Once you know what you can add, go tell the boss.

4. What can you take off your supervisor’s plate? Another boss-pleaser.

5. Find a “junior” employee to mentor: even if you are not a Baby Boomer who plans to retire soon, mentoring someone places you in a position of leadership, ready to be promoted.

6. Realize that you’re in charge of your own morale: are you waiting for management to “do something” about morale around here? Wrong.

7. Determine the temperament of your supervisor: figure out how he or she thinks; what kinds of projects they prefer? This knowledge will help you know how to communicate with them better.

8. Think about what you can do to ensure a respectful work environment: are tasteless jokes and emails running through the office? Knock it off. Be professional: you can still be friendly.

9. Take a class or training that will help you do your job better: stretch your knowledge and abilities. Now you are more valuable to the company.

10. Teach your new skills/knowledge to your coworkers. This ensures you have mastered the info and places you in a leadership position even if you don’t have the title.

11. Make sure your heart is in your work: Are you bringing yourself fully and gratefully into everything you do? What would it take for that to happen? Is this an alien concept for you to consider? Older generations stayed for decades in jobs they hated, these days employees jump around at the drop of a hat. Bring your heart to your work.

12. Talk with your supervisor about the big picture: one of the biggest differences between your job and your boss’ is that their view of the company is holistic. It is referred to as the view from 30,000 feet, where they can see the flow, what’s coming and going, what’s on the “horizon”. You, however, are in the “trenches”, as the metaphor marches on. What’s it like from their perspective?

There you have it. It can be a great 2010: a year of growth for you and better awareness of your value for your boss. Enjoy!

Employer Resolutions for the New Year

2010-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

Forgive me: I cannot resist the urge to jump on the New Year’s LIST bandwagon. At this time of year we see countless TOP 100 Lists: books, movies, U-tube videos, excuses for missing school or work, and on and on. That’s not the bandwagon of which I speak, although it might be fun to see what list I could come up with: The Top 100 HR Conundrums. Now, that’d be interesting reading.

Nope, I am all over lists of New Year’s Resolutions. For the employer and the employee. In this column we’ll list 12 things an employer/supervisor can do to improve the workplace and their experience in it. Next column will contain a similar list for employees. I made the list include 12 things, but not so you rush through them like the 12 Days of Christmas. (OH! That’s another great idea: “The 12 Days of HR”. “Five golden parachutes!”) Anyway, I picked 12 things because you may want to take a month for each one to be accomplished or developed into a habit.

In no particular order, here are things an employer and/or supervisor can resolve to do during 2010:

1. Determine the temperaments of your employees: once you know how they process information you can more effectively match their work assignments.

2. Discover the strengths of your employees: build on these strengths and find ways to work around their weaknesses. This will result in better results for all.

3. Greet them every day: not as obvious as you might think. It matters.

4. Ask them what will keep them working for you: discover what turns them on about working for you.

5. Ask them what would prompt them to leave: don’t wait for the exit interview to find out what you could have done to retain good employees.

6. Read The Radical Leap, by Steve Farber: it defines leadership as cultivating love in order to generate boundless energy and inspire courageous audacity.

7. Learn how to delegate: no, it is not dumping, and you do have to follow up. It is great for both parties and the business.

8. Re-read the One Minute Manager: the simplest management book and still one of the best.

9. Determine your temperament: oh yeah, you should know how you process information and communicate, too.

10. Evaluate the makeup of your workforce for diversity: the most successful companies draw on the talents of a diverse workforce.

11. Review your Employee Handbook: does it reflect the company’s personality? Toss out anything that doesn’t sound like you (except the legal stuff). Do you really need that long list of ways to get fired?

12. Have every employee write their job description: does it match what you think they are doing? What they should be doing?

OK, that’s it. Let me know what you think. What I think is that in 12 months you will have a happier and more productive workforce made up of employees who love what they do. Happy New Year!

The Memo Condundrum

2009-12-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

Remember my short and abrupt memo from a few weeks ago? It is still on my mind. No personal use of company email. Period. I sound like a Nazi English teacher.

I wanted to leave no room for misunderstanding, but in doing so I took the humanity out of it. It is not just about clarity and well-defined rules: it sounds terrible. It reads like a rule for a 3 year old. End of discussion.

I guess what it comes down to is whether I trust the staff to use their own good judgment about what is appropriate use of company email. Some personal use is to be expected, I guess, but I still don’t think it belongs in the company server. And the memo was in response to a department head who said her staff needed to be reminded about personal use and language. Maybe I should have sent the memo just to her staff. And I could have addressed the specifics that prompted her to call me. Oh, sure, now I think of it!

But back to the black & white rule vs. the “use your good judgment” rule. Employers have learned that for most employees, treating them with some leeway for decision making and creativity results in more engaged, productive, and happy employees. All good. It takes hiring the right ones in the first place, but we’ve discussed all that. Setting hard & fast rules squelches creativity and imitative: so if you need neither, I guess it is OK. But don’t your employees feel like they’re being treated like children? “Don’t cross the street” is a no room for argument rule designed to keep your child safe. Other than safety regs, is there really a business equivalent?

Ignoring the grey areas ignores the humanity involved. Latitude is often a good thing when dealing with employees. Except when it is favoritism or discrimination and you get sued. You see the problem?

Welcome to the wonderful world of human resources.

So here goes:
MEMO REGARDING USE OF COMPANY EMAIL
As you all know, the email system is company property and, as such, must be used for company business and in line with the company’s values, especially “Respect for all.”

Some recent emails have contained unprofessional and disrespectful language, and that is absolutely not OK. If you have a problem with a coworker please bring it to my attention so that it can be addressed responsibly.

Other recent emails have been jokes that are not appropriate for the workplace, and those have to stop, too. No one will think you are a social outcast if you delete a joke email. In fact, if you receive something of that nature from a friend, get them to change your email address on their list to your home address.

Final point: email contents are discoverable for lawsuits and therefore the company needs to have access to them at all times. You should have no expectation of privacy when using the company email system.
Any questions? See me.

Yeah, that’s better.

TO MEMO OR NOT TO MEMO

2009-12-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

I wrote a memo to our staff last week, and I am wondering if it was too abrupt. It concerned emails. One of the department managers contacted me that her staff needed reminding about appropriate use of company email, and I knew of another inappropriate email that had come through from another employee, so I jumped right on it.

I usually write a short memo, and this was no exception. I did, however, add another section of explanation for those who like their memos longer and more detailed. But I thought the message was clear cut, and sometimes when you try to explain something simple you just end up making it more complicated.

Here it is: Do not use company email for anything that is not the business of the company. Period. And word every email with respect. No name-calling. Ever. Or company secrets.

What do you think? Too black & white? That’s what I am afraid of. I send emails all day long that only tangentially concern United Staffing: to the Chamber, to HRACC or Rotary members. Turning in my Tolosa columns. So did I just write myself a memo telling me I can’t do that anymore?

Why did I go so inflexible when I know better? I know that employee handbook policies should be written as guidelines to follow, but never so detailed as to leave no room for on-the-spot management decision making. Even a “zero tolerance” policy against harassment shouldn’t mean that every offense will be met with immediate termination. Only that every offense will be met with appropriate discipline that may include termination. The point in zero tolerance is that nobody gets a mulligan when it comes to harassment. HR has never been a rigid arena, so what was I thinking?

By the way, I have had no second thoughts about the second part of my memo: that dealt with respectful language. Email is forever and can come back to punish you for thoughtless (or worse) language. I have been told by more than one attorney that the delete button is a ruse, designed to provide a false sense of security in the user. Besides, if you are enforcing respectful language and treatment in the workplace, it should include emails, too.

Our company policies are clear on the subject of emails and doing personal business while at work, so my memo was meant as a reminder, and I attached a copy of both policies (again, for those who like to see the source and read the fine print.) Is it a zero tolerance policy about personal use of email, though? Or is a “reasonable” amount OK? Courts, you know, have the reasonable person criteria for evaluating an issue: what would a reasonable person feel about it? Know any who sit on juries? But I digress.

In my attempt to be clear I feel I have been unreasonable. Certainly unrealistic. And an unrealistic policy is usually not enforceable. Great: I have accomplished the exact opposite of my intention and have to write another memo explaining what I meant in the first place. But maybe I’ll have someone else draft it.

Bereavement Leave is a Benefit

2009-12-15T17:23:00.000-08:00

The question of bereavement leave has come up lately as I have lost both my parents in the last 3 months: both after several days in the hospital. So many people know what that experience is like: watching your loved one become less of who you know them to be. And as you sit there and try to balance your grief with your celebration of who they have been in your life, as you second guess the doctors and the decisions you’ve made, as your relationship with your remaining family members becomes more precious, even as you get annoyed with each other, the last thing you want to be worried about is your job.

Bereavement leave is an optional benefit employers can offer their employees. It can range in number of days and who the employee is grieving. The leave may be paid time off or unpaid time when the grieving employee is relieved of the guilt and possible discipline of being away from work. Some employers allow their grieving employees to take vacation or sick time, as well.

The things I like about bereavement leave include the warm & fuzzy effect on employees seeing this clear statement of support in the Employee Handbook amongst the rules about absences, unacceptable conduct, disciplinary procedures and the like. The psychological impact of such an assurance can be huge.

Things to consider before you add this benefit to your menu of employee support: how many days can you afford to be without the employee? 3 days is common, yet I know now what I had guessed before August: 3 days is not nearly enough to handle the myriad decisions demanded of you. Much less the emotions. What I have done in the past is word the policy in such a way as to acknowledge that the 3 days will not meet all their needs, but we want to relieve them of the stress of work concerns [during that critical first 3 days]. And the granting of more time can be considered.
With the growing number of blended families that has resulted in more parents and siblings, and the inclusion of same-sex couples in the definition of the word “spouse” in California, the number of possible family members included in “immediate” has expanded. Whose death triggers an authorized use of bereavement leave should be clearly delineated in the policy, and some flexibility should be reserved for management to decide on the spot to expand the list. If any of my nieces or nephews were to pass I would have to take time off – period. Paid, unpaid, bereavement leave, vacation, whatever. Job be damned? Probably – but what a horrible decision to have to make. My best friend? My partner’s children? Yikes.

One thing made clear to me in these sad months is that there are many, many people who have already had this devastating experience. Some of their employers have been more understanding than others and I can’t help but wonder how that impacted their healing.

Dylan Redux

2009-11-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

A client called the other day to remark that she continues to be surprised at how applicants for jobs dress for their interview. A candidate for retail store manager showed up in an un-ironed shirt that was not tucked in. Quick: can you guess the approximate age of the owner and candidate? Yep, the owner is a Boomer (45 – 63) and the job applicant was a Gen Y guy. (27 or less).

That episode reminded me to ask our recruiters if they counsel applicants on how to dress for a job interview. Yes, they assured me, “but some people just don’t get it”. Another example of differing points of reference: maybe the guy felt he was dressed professionally because he wasn’t wearing jeans.

So my suggestion to business owners who are or will be hiring soon: when you respond to an applicant’s resume and would like to interview them, send them a copy of your dress code. Eliminate this issue before it becomes a barrier to your perception and judgment during the interview. And, Boomers, I know you think any candidate worth their salt will know – or research on the internet – about your company’s style, and come dressed appropriately. But, as a Boomer icon sang to our parents decades ago: the times they are a’changing.

Who Would You Lunch With?

2009-10-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

While Human Resources Manager at a Home Depot store in Thousand Oaks in the decade of the 90’s I would conduct mass orientations: we would hire people by the bushel-full and they would spend their first day filling out forms and learning the values and policies of the rapidly growing organization. There was also the opportunity to bond with your other newbies, and I always enjoyed this more creative part of the day.

My favorite question for new employees is one that was asked of President Obama last month – much to my surprise. I knew I hadn’t been the first or only person to think of the question as an effective way to get insight about a person, but I was still surprised to hear it, these 15 years later. I once asked it of renaissance man Steve Allen while interviewing him on my radio show, thinking he would probably pull the most amazing answer from his incredibly fertile mind. Nope, he replied: “I hate questions like that”. I think I had to go to commercial to recover from the embarrassment.

“If you could have lunch with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?” And I usually added: “and what would you talk about?” I added this last part after an employee years before had answered: “Adolf Hitler”. Stunned – and re-thinking my hiring criteria – I stuttered “why?” Calmly she replied, ”So I could ask him ‘What the #!^@ were you thinking?’”

Anyway, it is a great question for getting to know people. And over the years as I asked it of 100’s of new employees, I came up with many different people myself. Mary Martin (the original Maria von Trapp in Sound of Music and Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, and Peter Pan), because I had wanted to grow up to be her. Vincent Van Gogh, because his letters to his brother Theo were as colorful as his paintings and I wanted to hear him talk. John F. Kennedy, a childhood icon struck down when I was in 8th grade science class. (One new employee answered Lee Harvey Oswald to this question and I thought that was brilliant: “Did you act alone?”). Hands down, the best answer I ever heard came from my brother, Phil, who immediately responded “Pete and Kobe Bryant”. Tears rolled as I imagined my developmentally delayed nephew -- who dresses in a Lakers uniform before watching every game on TV -- and his basketball hero happily chatting away.

I was pleased to hear that the President chose to lunch with Mahatma Gandhi. Not pleased that he made the same lame joke I did about his lunch date not eating much, but pleased with the choice. I would ask Gandhi things like “how do you keep from getting discouraged?” and I wondered if the President would ask him that, too.
What has this all got to do with employment? Well, I was just thinking about the importance of having a connection with your employees and co-workers that goes beyond the daily grind. And then I remembered my favorite question. Today, I think I’ll lunch with my grandmother. That has always been the #1 answer.

Sexual Harssment and more

2009-10-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

While we still harass each other sexually at work, it seems we are perfecting other ways to discriminate, as well. Racial and disability discrimination are up in the last 12 months. And claims of ageism were up during all the layoffs.

The law mandates that employers keep their workplaces safe (all those OSHA regs) and free from discrimination (sexual harassment is a form of discrimination -- based on sex), but aren't these common-sense issues? Of course you want your emplyees to be safe. But the devil is in the details, and we seem to need to have someone to sue (blame) if something goes wrong. The same thing goes with sexual harassment: we all know it is on our best interest to demand respect in the workplace, but we don't all define harassment the same way.

I say keep it simple: rather than bother trying to define illegal harassment, just enforce the respect rule. This would mean that anything that falls short of respectful behavior is not OK; will be addressed,and must be corrected. Set the bar low enough that behavior is not likely to get as high as the legal definitions. That would take care of all the kinds of discrimination. And save a lot of pages in the Employee Handbook. And change the world.

Twittering Policy May Be A Good Idea

2009-10-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

As long ago as early 2009, SHRM (Society for HR Managers) was recomending that businesses consider adding a Twitter policy to their Employee Handbooks. Apparently, it isn't about the hours of lost productivity (its isn't??), but about the content of the tweets. We went through the same problem when blogs became popular.Here are some examaples:

The NBA slapped Mavericks owner Mark Cuban with a $25,000 fine for publicly criticizing the officials after Denver's 103-101 win over Dallas.

A building materials company and its owner have appealed a $12.6 million verdict against them, alleging that a juror posted messages on Twitter.com during the trial that show he's biased against them.

Suggestions for policy include reminding employees to tweet on their own time, to make it clear they are not speaking an behalf of the company, and don't disclose any confidential company information.

This strategy won't keep employees from tweeting, but it will give a company some leverage if they are caught hurting the company as a result.

And we'd all better get a handle on technology in the workplace soon -- the young employees coming into the workplace are used to jumping from one thing to another -- are we gojng to be able to supervise that?

Paid to Do Nothing

2009-10-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

An alarming new study has indicated that employers are virtually paying people to do nothing! Sorry to say, but this ain’t exactly news.

There are many reasons given but I have not yet heard a valid justification for not basing an employee’s pay on performance. Productivity. Deliverables. Pay based on longevity is a thing of the past. Except in government work – and we all know what they say about government workers.

If your employee isn't delivering how can you afford to keep him or her on the payroll? Or aren't you paying attention?

2009-09-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

SWINE FLU - Its Here
Way back in April, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) placed a special link on swine flu that references its “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic”. OSHA lists measures to protect employees & recommends employers develop pandemic flu plans tailored to the needs of their worksites. More information & resources can be found in United Staffing Associates NEWS YOU CAN USE archives, at http://www.unitedwestaff.com/hr_resources.html#flu

By now you are no doubt familiar with the steps recommended by the CDC that individuals can take to stay healthy:
•
Cover your nose & mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
•
Wash your hands often with soap & water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol‐based hands cleaners are also effective.
•
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
•
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
•
If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school & limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

In addition, our Human Resources Consulting Division has these suggestions for preparing your staff:
1) The most important issue to address is your expectations about what your employees should do if they are sick. Make it clear to them that you expect them to stay home if they have the slightest flu‐like symptoms. Reassure them that they will not be disciplined for erring on the side of caution. (You can choose to require a medical certificate for return to work or not).
2) Is it clear who your employees call if they cannot come in, & by what time? Is it 2 hours prior to shift or the night before, or 30 minutes following the start of their shift? Do they know that it’s not OK to text their absence to you unless you have that form of communication already in place? Do they know they cannot leave a message on the office voice mail? It isn’t important what you set up, as long as you set up something & communicate it to your staff.
3) We can supply you with telecommute guidelines, too, but your first priority really should be about the employee getting diagnosed. That means relieve them of their duties until they can find out. Also, remember that you can compromise your sick‐time policy if you allow your employees to work while they are out sick.
4) You also need to set up a contingency plan for the possibility that several employees may be out at once. Is now the time for that cross‐training you always planned to do? Split shifts so that fewer employees interact with each other? Call your local USA or other staffing office to discuss getting temporary workers you can call in an emergency? Clorox makes a handy disposable cloth for wiping down phones, copiers, etc.
I will continue to provide you with helpful information that we come across.

2009-08-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

When I worked as the Human Resources Manager for a Home Depot store in southern California in the 90’s, “Our employees are the secret to our success” was one of our mottos. And it was true: teh thought was that anyone can build a warehouse and pass along the cost savings to the cutomer, but that a rich human element had better be there if you wanted to be successful.The fun, service-based culture envisioned by the founders was alive and well for employees and customers alike.

Then the company founders retired, were replaced by Bob Nardelli, and that motto (the philosophy, the salaries, the respect, the dedication, and the customer service) quickly faded away. I kept reassuring the worried loyal employees that Bernie & Arthur's Home Depot was still here; that the only change was in the measurement of all that great service and good will we engendered. I truly meant it. So when it became obvious that the heart was gone I, too, felt thrown under the bus. Of course Nardelli has left the Home Depot and now runs Chrysler.

Want a Job in SLO Government?

2009-08-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Are you following the saga of the stupid in SLO county government? Is it making you crazy and are you reordering your anti-depressant meds like I . . . I mean, like others I know? Have you wondered how you could get a job paying $200k where you could have an affair that destroys confidentiality and creates a huge conflict of interest and where you could also send very personal and explicit emails back and forth with your boss? Geez, when most of us steal our employer’s time we’re just shopping online.

Maybe we should start a pool? How many times am I going to say: “Oh my God – what were they thinking??” before this – pun alert – affair is over? I counted 14,382 such outbursts during the Bush Administration.

And I sure wish I was still broadcasting my radio show, “The Wonderful World of Work”. There is certainly enough material here for a dozen “Stupid Employee Tricks” and “Bad Boss of the Month” segments.

How Do you Cheat in an Interview?

2009-08-03T12:21:00.001-07:00

If you are unemployed and need to brush up on your interview skills, there are zillions of resources on the web, at the SLO Women’s Business Center at Mission Community Services, and from the EDD. There is also a pretty cool book entitled: Surviving a Layoff, by Harry Dahlstrom that can be helpful. A local company provided copies of this book to each of the employees they had to lay off earlier this year.
I think that was a great move: one that may not have been appreciated at the time the pink slip arrived, but can be very useful once the shock wears off. It has chapters on how to tell your family you’ve been laid off, which bills you can set aside when money is tight, and the usual resume template and “how to win that interview” advice. I love the names used on the resume templates: Bea Hopeful and Will M. Press. Subliminal positive messages, I guess.
Another chapter includes fifty questions to expect during a job interview . . . and tips for answers. The EDD offers a similar sheet of questions; turn it over for suggested answers. Is this cheating or valid research for the task ahead? As an HR professional, I think of it as a warning to anyone conducting an interview: don’t expect creative answers to these questions, folks. Better try some others.
The book suggests you be prepared to answer: “How long do you plan to work here”? And they suggest this answer: “A long time. This is the job I’ve been hoping for”. Point #1: Any applicant worth hiring has already determined if the employer is looking for a summer employee or a long-timer. So this point is moot. Point #2: What else would you say to that question? “As long as you’ll have me”. “Until my parole officer retires”. Point #3: Does the interviewer think this is the only position you’ve applied for? I’m guessing you gave that same answer to the guy you interviewed with yesterday.
Another question you could anticipate in an interview: “How did you feel about being laid off”? My answer: “Lousy; like I was kicked in the stomach.” Suggested response: Don’t bad-mouth your old employers. Admit that you miss the job and the people. Say that you are grateful for the opportunities and the skills you learned there. My response to that response: “Are you a pod left behind by a body-snatcher?”
In order to avoid this whole dance, I have developed a series of interview questions over the last 30 years. Some are designed to stump the applicant, others to challenge him or her, some to reveal past performance, and still others to move them from “interview” mode into “interesting conversation”. Not that I would ever publish my list and desired responses. . . . well, maybe. Check in here again in a few weeks.

Betsey Nash, SPHR, has interviewed hundreds of applicants for jobs ranging from lot attendant to CEO. She is the current President of the Human Resources Association of the Central Coast and can be reached at betsey.nash@unitedwestaff.com.

WHAT’S YOUR COLOR?

2009-07-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Home Depot, 1997 -- It took me awhile but I finally figured out that when the store manager called me into her office, it wasn’t to give me direction: it was to allow her to think out loud, to process. I can’t tell you how many times I tried to add to the “conversation” only to realize she was in her own zone. I would rise from my chair every few minutes, thinking she had settled on a goal or strategy, only to find that she was still processing, and quietly sit back down. The first 10 pages of my notes could be tossed in the trash, but those last 2 were essential.

That was the manager of the Simi Valley store. The Thousand Oaks store manager was just the opposite: by the time he conversed with the management team he had decided on the direction, strategy, and every detail of whatever project was next. Meetings with him were short. Very few notes.

Since Hippocrates first placed us into personality type quadrants in 450 BC, society has been talking about communication. Sales people speak and process information differently than bookkeepers and engineers, right? A supervisor should communicate in such a way that their employee can “hear” or “get” what they are saying. Or at least warn them about their style. It took me awhile to get up to speed on Simi and T.O.: a hint would have helped. Or a class in Hippocrates.

This goes for employees, too. You want to be “heard”; whether to impress your boss or to beg for a day off. So, are you “speaking his or her language?” If they are a detail person, don’t waste time drawing the “big picture”.

Are they fast-paced and quick-thinking, focusing on results? Then present your idea or concern without a lot of detail, focusing on the bottom line. Be brief and be gone. And you will be heard.

Supervisors: are you asking a relationship-driven employee -- the one who plans the pot lucks and takes 10 minutes to get to their desk in the morning because they have to greet and chat with everyone first -- to complete a project on their own? No collaboration? No way.

If I want my employees to do what I ask…..if I want my boss to understand my concerns…. It behooves me to first understand their style.

In the parlance of my favorite personality style analysis, Real COLORS ®,,the pot luck planner is a Blue – relationship driven, sensitive, collaborative. The best person to place on a project is a Green – process, research, answers questions with questions. For details and organization, pick a Gold. Their sock drawer is organized and they love to make lists. And if you are looking for a creative, “outside the box” type – get an Orange.

Most of our entrepreneurs are Orange. And so is our prison population. (I’ll pause here while you make a joke about all the entrepreneurs in prison.)

We’ll talk more about communication in another column, but you can start thinking about your style (and your boss’s) in the meantime.

Betsey Nash, SPHR, is a consultant in Human Resources with United Staffing Associates and a certified trainer in Real COLORS ®. She can be reached at betsey.nash@unitedwestaff.com

Hiring Again?

2009-07-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

It is time to start preparing to hire, as the economy shows signs of life. I have several favorite interview questions, all based on 2 theories:
past behavior is an indicator of future behavior, and
past success is an indicator of what you like to do.

Got any interview questions -- asked or asked of -- that you think are especially good? I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

Discrimination Ruling in Supreme Court

2009-06-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of the white fire fighters who claimed their New Haven, Conn. Fire Department discriminated against them while trying to avoid a possible lawsuit from African-Americans.

When the promotion exams were given and the results tabulated, it was determined by the Department that the test resulted in a “disparate impact”, and should be tossed out. Disparate impact is the term for (often inadvertent) unfair results of some action: for instance if a business is laying off all their highest paid employees, that action may have a disparate impact on older workers.

Since so few people of color passed the test, it was felt that the test was somehow discriminatory, and left the Department vulnerable to a discrimination claim.

Low & behold, by tossing out the results, the Department set itself up for a claim, but filed by the white Firefighters who had passed the test. I can hear the department scream: “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t!”

In a 5-4 decision, the Justices decided that "Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions."

In the dissenting opinion, Justice Ginsburg said the court should have assessed "the starkly disparate results" of the exams against the backdrop of historical and ongoing inequality in the New Haven fire department. As of 2003, she said, only one of the city's 21 fire captains was African-American.

Until this decision, Ginsburg said, the civil rights law's prohibitions on intentional discrimination and disparate impact were complementary, both aimed at ending workplace discrimination.

"Today's decision sets these paired directives at odds," she said.

In a year when we expect to see legislation that looks out for the underdog and places workers rights ahead of those of the employer, it seems we can expect some interesting judicial decisions, too.

How to Fire Someone

2009-06-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

There are many laws that govern acceptable reasons to fire an employee: even in California, where "at-will" employment means you don't need a cause. Laws aside, there is one rule you should live by when contemplating the termination of an employee. Ask yourself: WILL THEY BE SURPRISED?

My first one was -- and all I could think was "shame on me". I hadn't done my job. She really was honestly surprised. (Many will react as if they are. But they know.)

That's it: just make sure they are not surprised. They know what is expected; they said they could do it; they aren't doing it; they have all the tools they need to do it; they have been trained and warned of the consequences.

Surprise – I am doing what I said I would do if you didn’t meet the standards!

2009-06-10T09:28:00.001-07:00

Interviewed in this month's HR Magazine (published by SHRM, the national HR organization), GE's former CEO Jack Welch has praised human resources professionals. OK, so he knew his audience. He said we HR pros should be ashamed (my word) if we don't have a seat at the table, as a true partner in the strategic planning and execution of the business. Natually, I agree. And it is exepcially important right now, for two main reasons: employee hiring and separations.

How is your business handling lay-offs? Please tell me it is not about seniority. It should be all about productivity, what tasks you can merge into another position, and whatever needs to happen to keep the business alive. Using seniority as a criteria can get you into trouble because you may inadvertently terminate only employee over age 40 -- ageism. Charges to the EEOC of ageism are rapidly rising this year.

Productivity is a valid criteria for sure. But did the employee you can live without get a good performance evaluation in the last year? Here is a serious pitfall. Does the employee have proof you think they are a valuable employee or is there documentation about the employee's need to improve?

Right now isd the time to be planning for the economy's upswing and how/who you will be hiring. How many will you need, what will be the indicator, and in which departments? How long will it take you to find them. Just as a baseball team always has a bench, you should always have some resumes of promising candidates on hand.

So, HR professionals: grab a place at the table and let everyone know you are looking out for the best interests of the business by putting effective processes in place at both ends of the employment life-cycle.

Communication is Key

2009-06-02T14:59:00.001-07:00

One of our culture’s most popular clichés is “timing is everything”. Just ask a realtor as they wait in the unemployment line. Well, we business and HR professionals tend to believe that timing is very important – but COMMUNICATION IS EVERYTHING.

Employees spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation: with clients, customers, co-workers, the boss, the public; verbally, written, email -- it is all about the communication. And speaking of email, does the irony strike anyone else that all this blogging, “twittering,” and “linking” is called social networking? The new definition of social apparently does not include personal interaction. At least not face-to-face. By now, your employees may be spending 80% of that interpersonal 75%, networking socially.

If, as studies show, employees don’t quit the company they work for so much as they “quit” their immediate supervisor, then every supervisor had better be an expert communicator.

Why is this an issue now that an employer can have his or her pick from a multitude of eager applicants? Because you still want the best people you can find. Once you get them in the door you had better communicate well or they’ll keep looking.

If an employee is not doing what’s expected of him or her, it is likely for one or more of the following reasons. Notice how many are communication-based:
• They don’t know why they should do it
• They don’t know how to do it
• They don’t know what they are supposed to do
• They think your way will not work
• They think their way is better
• They think something else is more important
• They think they are doing it
• They are punished for doing it
• They are rewarded for not doing it.
• It is beyond their personal limits
• No one could do it

So it is clear that a good supervisor communicates expectations and rationale and is consistent when working with their employees. It involves a lot more than being good at giving orders, however. Eisenhower once defined “leadership” as (I paraphrase) the ability to get others to do what you want because they want to. He was good at giving orders, but it took something more to make him a good leader.

We all know how important listening is. It is probably the most important – and hardest part – of communicating. You can take classes in “Active Listening” but what I am talking about goes beyond merely understanding the message – it is understanding the messenger. Is your manager a detail person or do they leave the details to you and provide you with the broad picture? Is your employee the kind that likes a lot of direction or very little? These different types of personalities, thinkers and producers, are all communicating that information to you, and they hear better when you match their style.

Feedback is also huge. One of a manager’s most important skills is to give specific, individualized feedback to their employees. But listen to these 2 different approaches and tell me which is the more effective:

“Well, congratulations! You’re on time for a change!” Or

“Thanks for making it in on time today. I knew you could do it.”

Sounds obvious, but the first one is used all too often. Not sure if any personality style would respond to that back-handed complement, either.

In order to attract and retain the best employees businesses must hire supervisors who can set expectations, listen, coach, and communicate them to each “style” of employee. You don’t want your employees quitting because your supervisors don’t understand that communication is everything.

My Company's Values

2009-05-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

I have a framed drawing of Gandhi in my office, with his quote: "Each of us must be the change we wish to see in the world." It serves to remind me that business owners (and others in management) and employees can create a mutually-rewarding experience and that it is my job to assist them in doing exactly that.

So this is a quick reminder to let your business' values lead your decision-making in all things. And be sure they are posted in your breakroom so that the employees know they are their guidelines, as well.

We HR types stress the importance of using the Employee Handbook as our guide for decision-making, and that is very true. But don't forget the value of your values, too.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Cut My Pay? No Way. Yes, Way.

2009-05-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

A general manager called me the other day to ask if the owner of his company could just walk up and tell him his pay was cut. No discussion, no warning, just boom! In my proudest HR style I replied: "It depends."

Short answer: Yes. It can be a unilateral decision. They made you an offer that you accepted when you were hired, and they are actually making you a new offer now. You can choose it or not. Not probably means you are no longer employed, but you might be able to negotiate. If you think the owner can't live without you, take a deep breath and think again, and then get your ducks in a row before you try to convince him. And remember, as nice as he has been to you for the last 5 years, he really doesn't care about your mortgage and kid's tuition as much as he cares about saving his business. How can you help him do that?

Longer answer: Maybe. (Isn't HR a great field?) If you are an exempt employee, that is, not subject to the wage and hour laws like breaks and overtime- and as a general manager I would fully expect that you are-check to be sure your new salary doesn't drop you below twice the minimum wage. If your salary goes below $35,360 per year, then you are probably losing your exemption. That means you may be an hourly employee, no longer paid by performance but by the hour. Now you have to take rest breaks and a meal break and clock in and clock out, and you get paid overtime if it should ever happen that you work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.

Still part of longer answer: And check to see if your hours are being reduced. As if you would want to be paid less for working just as hard. Is the owner now coming in to cover some shifts? Even without the salary threshold being crossed, changing your hours may change your classification as well. Are you dropping below the full time threshold and so, no longer qualify for benefits? You'd better find out all of these details before you make a decision whether to stay or go. And if you discuss this with the owner, he may decide he can't afford to make the changes after all. Especially if you start getting paid overtime.

If the owner tries to lower your pay retroactively: "Hi Joe, we've just finished our taxes and realize we need to cut back, so effective the start of the last pay period we are reducing your salary by 20 percent," when you pick yourself up off the floor tell him "No way!" No fair.

By the way, that general manager who called me the other day decided to turn down the salary reduction and move on: shocking his boss, to say the least. He'll be staying on as a consultant until either his replacement is hired and trained or business picks up again. That felt like a win-win to me. But it all depends.