HR Tracking

HR: Consensus?

2010-07-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

Marcus Buckingham just posted this on his Facebook page: "Just read this definition: 'A 'consensus' is what everyone agrees to say collectively what no-one believes individually.' Ouch."

Because thinking skills and group decision-making are such an important part of so many consulting and training programs that I've been involved, this one really hits close. I have dozens of case examples from clients over the years where they told me about "meeting room agreement" versus "hallway reality."

If we want individuals and teams to be successful they must develop the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to develop real applicable competencies. I have one client where the training program for managers addresses this issue frequently, including two full days examining how to be a part of and manage effective teams.

HR: Leadership for Millenials?

2010-07-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Probably a topic for HR, Management, and Leadership -- in one of yesterday's (7/14/2010) final webinars in the Human Capital Summer School series, the topic addressed a number of issues related to generational differences and issues projected for the workforce in 2020. The webinar contained some very interesting information.

But one thing -- and I don't disagree with the content -- is that the presenter offered a "critical new model of leadership for millenials in 2020" that really contained little new -- and therefore failed to recognize concepts that some experts have by identifying for over a decade. I think I would also argue that this model is relevant in 2010 -- might remain solid for 2020 -- but might also require some changes for a world and workforce that is changing as quickly as it is. Here's what the "new" leadership for 2020 looks like:

Collaborative Mind-Set (Futurist Joel Barker recognized this in his 1999 "Leadershift" video).
Developer of People ("Leadershift" recognized this -- as have many other leadership experts).
Digitally Confident (Can leaders really wait ten years for this -- aren't most already?)
Global Citizen (SHRM predicted this in 1979 -- Cultural diversity is not new).
Anticipates and Builds for the Future (Barker's "Leadeship" was centered around "Focus the majority of your efforts on the future" and "Create a shared vision to build bridges to the future.")

Comment: I think the points made here are valid -- but we do a disservice to knowledge, to managers and leaders everywhere, when we present information in a way that confuses people when there are so many messages being broadcast.

M: A Brief Feedback Re-Visit

2010-07-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

Just after posting the previous item about feedback, my Facebook news feed popped with the following quote: "Correction does much, but encouragement does more." -Johann Wolfgang Goethe

What struck me was how strongly connected this was to two of the top three items from the feedback research, particularly the second item on the list: "Emphasizing performance strengths."

M: The Power of Feedback

2010-07-14T06:06:00.000-07:00

I've been focusing the blog posts on HR related topics -- but this piece of information on the power of feedback is so valuable that it has to be shared as widely as possible. I just did a mental survey of how often this subject comes up in one of my most popular management certificate training program -- and it's a key theme in 75% of the classes ranging from focusing on stengths to communication skills to coaching skills...

I attended a webinar yesterday with an interesting piece of information on the power of feedback.

"Research clearly demonstrates that increasing the quantity and quality of communications about performance improves employee performance, satisfaction, and engagement.

Giving fair and accurate feedback increases performance 39.1%
Emphasizing performance strengths (we have a day on strengths-based...) increases performance 36.4%
Giving feedback that helps employees do a better job increaeses performance 25.8%
Translating long-term goals into step-by-step plans increases performance 16.7%
Clearly communicating expectations increases performance 16.2%

If you want effective management, performance effectiveness... managers should become highly skilled in the elements of effective performance feedback.

HR: Screening Case at the Supreme Court

2010-07-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

An interesting connection to a recent post of an accreditation process for background screeners, there is now a case before the Supreme Court involving claims of background screening. The case, Nelson vs. NASA, involves claims by a number of NASA contractors who are claiming the background checks "invaded their privacy." There are claims that background checks included questions that were completely unrelated to performance issues -- and included questions related to medical, financial, even sexual behavior, issues.

Comment: I'm in favor of an accreditation program for background screeners. Hopefully it will increase the overall quality and professional conduct of the process. Unfortunately, it will not (and probably cannot) eliminate completely inappropriate questions -- we still see it all the time in the interview process despite knowing how it should be done correctly. Just have to keep hoping...

HR: Employee Misclassification Prevention Act

2010-07-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

Legislation has again been proposed to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act and require employers to notify all new employees and non-employees who do work for them of their employee classification status. According to some authorities, it is a "sure-thing" for passage; a few others suggest it may depend on timing in terms of the November elections. One thing is clear: if it passes it will "stir up claims and litigation."

Comment: This is sometimes tough to make clear. I am absolutely 100% in favor of jobs being correctly classified. Mis-classifications should be corrected and penalties, if deemed appropriate, should be levied. However, the bottom line remains. The Fair Labor Standards Act is incredibly outdated and fails to even come close to accurately provding a proper classification system for "jobs" in the 21st century.

HR: Background Screeners Accredited

2010-07-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners has announced the first-ever standards for accreditation of background screeners.

Comment: Another sign of the expanding role and importance of the HR profession -- specialized accreditation!

HR: Not Being "Called" for an Interview

2010-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

In what was introduced as an "unusual lawsuit," the current issue of Human Resource Executive reported on a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania claiming the City of Pittsburgh discriminated against here by "not calling her for a job interview." The U.S. District Court, in an order that's surprised many, ruled against a request for summary judgement and sent the case to trial...

Based on an evaluation of the candidate's application and some detailed background checks, there was some pretty solid evidence of a poor work record. But again, mistakes in communications created a problem. There was an e-mail exchange between city employees claiming the individual should not be interviewed because of a lawsuit and documented credit problems.

Comment: Actually best made by at attorney: "People continue to think that they can put things in e-mail messages that ehy would never put on a formal document." That says it!

HR: HR's Changing Dynamic

2010-07-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

In a somewhat surprising, but explainable, change, a study from Wharton suggests that a higher percentage of HR professionals are coming from more professional HR tracks than 10 years ago when a higher percentage were coming from outside HR experience.

Comment: Here's the reality check. It should be crystal clear that the HR profession has become so complicated that professional HR knowledge and experience is critical today -- no argument there... At the same time, the criticism of HR for not understanding the business remains high. The true HR professional for today and the future will strive to accomplish both a high level of professionalism and a high level of business knowledge.

HR: If I were..."Lesson Learned"

2010-07-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

"Lessons Learned" -- A New Series. With a little bit tongue in cheek, this is the start of a new series for the blog -- it's certainly connected to "HR with an Attitude" but it will be a little more focused on particular items -- and a little stronger in some ways.

According to a survey reported in the June 2, 2010 Human Resource Executive, 11% of the respondents said there were "no lessons learned" from the recession.

IF I WERE: I'd hope these individuals didn't work for me -- if they did they'd be gone. I'd expect "lessons learned" every single day. I remember a true account of a CEO (one of those stories I wish I'd kept) who asked his key reports the following question at the beginning of their performance review: "What are the two biggest mistakes you've made in the last...?" Anybody responding "none" was terminated.

HR: Top Management Challenges

2010-07-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

According to an article from the June 2, 2010 issue of Human Resource Executive, there's been a juggling of "top management challenges" from 2003 to 2010. While some issues remained key, a couple disappeared and new ones appeared.

Top 2003 Issues: Developing Potential Leaders, Reducing Costs, Selecting/Retaining Key Talent, Succession Planning, Creating an Engaged Workforce.

Top 2010 Issues: Creating an Engaged Workforce, Performance Management, Selecting/Retaining Key Talent, Managing Change, Reducing Costs

Comment: It's difficult to argue about these lists because all of these issues are important at any time -- for any organization. Having stated that, it's tough to see "Developing Potential Leaders" drop off the top five -- perhaps not unexpectedly because it represents the short term thinking we've seen for dccades. But there was hope that even in these economic times, organizations would realize the critical importance of developing and maintaining leadership talent.

HR: Circuit Court Decision on Interviewing -- HUGE???

2010-06-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

According to a posting from SHRM (6/14/10), the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has rendered a decision that could have tremendous implications on the hiring processes for any company. The case is particularly important because of exactly what the ruling said -- even more so because it concerned the interview process in an environment that is typically more structured than many.

The rule involved the selection process for firefighters in Rochester, MN. Interviews by a panel and the fire chief contributed 40% to a selection process that also included both a written and a fitness test. The process included a provision that allowed from two eligible candidates to be added to the final list of three, based on "protected class."

Two "protected class" candidates filed discrimination charges challenging the commission's hiring process -- the district court granted the city's motion for summary judgment. The 8th Circuit reversed the decision, concluding "that the subjectivity of the panel interview and the interview by the fire chief created a material factual issue."

The 8th Circuit held that a jury was "best suited to evaluate the legitimacy of the city's proffered nondiscriminatory reaons for rejecting the candidate."

Comment: While this is currently a case that would have most significance for organizations in the 8th Circuit, it is an issue with potentially major implications for organizations. The interviewing process has been a surprisingly "safe" area around discrimination cases -- even though all HR Professionals know that it is actually an area with lots of potential danger. The professional advice from SHRM is that "employers...must give careful consideration to potential subjectivity in a hiring process."

DUH!!! For more than 10 years I've been working with organizations to implement structured, performance-based interviewing into financial, service, retail, entertainment, and... organizations. A carefully structured, performance-based interview has been reviewed as the "most legally defensible" interviewing process by top legal experts in HR. For way too long, I've been saying, "If not now, when???"

HR: English Muffins?

2010-06-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

OK, I couldn't resist the "what's this got to do with HR?" title. When I first saw the story, I though I'd be reading about something marketing related to a very good product, Thomas's English Muffins. But it's really a great HR story.

Seems that those excellent Thomas' English Muffins are based on three parts of a secret formula that is only known by seven people and has been protected for over 75 years. Oh, and $500 million in annual sales.

The HR part: One of the seven people resigned in January after accepting an offer to work for rival Hostess in fall of 2009. Thomas' owner, Grupo Bimbo, has secured a U.S. District Court injunction barring the employee from taking the job until the court fight is settled. The ruling is being appealed on the grounds that Hostess may not hold the job open. It's a complicated case involving accusations of attending strategy meetings discussing Hostess after accepting the new position and allegedly copying files to a USB drive.

Comments: Confidentiality agreements and employment contracts have always fascinated me. This case is an interesting one -- certainly for companies where competitive information needs to be protected. In a marketplace that is expected to experience intense competition for top talent in the next few years, clearly critical to monitor and ensure policies and practices are appropriate.

HR: Sexual Harassment Settlement

2010-06-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

In a settlement that appears relatively small in comparison to some, but is significant in several ways for HR Professionals, the EEOC on May 5, 2010 announced a settlement with an Ohio based marketing company. The settlement was more than $500 million and primarily represented teenage employees.

According to the case, male managers and co-workers both verbally and physically harassed the teenage female workers, making sexual remarks and jokes, and reportedly promising a raise in return for sexual favors..

Comment: Part of this case revolved around a company with multiple locations -- and the critical need for sexual harassment training. And perhaps more important, the responsibility of corporate management to ensure that workplace discrimination is prohibited in all (including remote) locations.

HR: China Labor Issues

2010-06-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

The issues of China's labor policy continue to get more and more attention. Today's WSJ (6/14/10) has a detailed feature article examing the issues at a broader level than the specifics of some of the other recent news stories. As I've stated in other posts, this is interesting and important for any HR professional for a better understanding of not just these issues -- but how they related to the U.S. history of labor relations, current legislative issues, etc.

It appears that most of the Chinese workers in major manufacturing plants for the automotive and electronics industry are represented by a union. But the union is government controlled with its leaders selected by the company management in conjuction with the government. For anyone not familiar with U.S. labor laws, this form of union organization would be illegal. From the stories I've seen, the unions are all management friendly. According to some activists and workers, the unions are "useless."

The workers are clearly campaigning for better wages and working conditions -- but it appears that a bigger issues is their voice in representation.

Comment: This is one reason why this is such an important issue for HR professionals -- staying aware of and thinking about the implications for our own labor policies. Great analysis from the WSJ today.

HR: Worker Suicides - U.S.

2010-06-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

I've posted a couple of items about the worker suicides in China -- as clearly worrisome items related to HR practices. Perhaps not surprisingly, the reports are now appearing about a clearly dramatic rise in worker suicides in U.S. workplaces. According to an Employee Benefit News posting (6/2/10, workplace suicides jumped 28% in 2008. Given the length of the current economic challenges, concerns over continued rise in these incidents must be raised.

One EAP provider commented that "Our EAP counselors have been transformed this past year from EAP counselors to crisis counselors." This same provider stated that suicides and suicide attempts were up 75% in 2009 compared to 2008.

Comment: Like any similar issue, suicide or attempted suicide affects the individual and his or her family more than anything. But we cannot ignore the impact of this issue on other employees and the overall morale/productivity of the organization. Like workplace violence, the word prevention comes to mind. Concerns over potential liability, and stress management, and how organizations treat layoffs or downsizing -- the list goes on and on. Sounds repetitive -- but another HR issue for monitoring and strategic thinking.

HR: Spirit Airlines Strike

2010-06-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

According to an update on the Spirit Airlines strike (WSJ, 6/14/10), the first airline strike in five years, has led to the cancellation of flights at least through Tuesday. 450 pilots walked off the job affecting approximately 16,000 passengers each day for the heavily discounted airline. The strike, over wages and working conditions for the pilots, is generating the expected opinions on both sides.

Comment: Obviously in the overall scheme of daily airline travel in the United States, the number of people affected is very small -- unless you're one of those passengers whose travel plans for business or family are directly affected. But the case is worth observing from an HR viewpoint because it is close to a classic case of union-management strife -- in this case leading to a strike that causes the business to severely curtail operations. It also has the elements of basic labor-management concepts, including the fact that the strike began after a federally mandated 30-day "cooling off" period.

HR: China Worker Suicides - Labor Conditions Update

2010-06-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Stories about working conditions, labor relations, and worker suicides in China have been appearing in almost all HR and news sources recently. As mentioned in an earlier post, this issue bears watching simply because of its complexitiy, its direct relationship to so many U.S. businesses, and the broad similarities to worker-labor union struggles of our own many decades ago.

It's a very complex case. Now there are a couple of added elements that make watching this continually important for HR professionals. First of all, the major issue. A number of Chinese companies -- urged in part by unions and the Chinese government have implemented wage increases up to 30%. Deja vu? I'm not conceptually opposed to the wage increases but I don't know of any evidence that this will have a long term impact on work satisfaction. It's my understanding that the working conditions in most of these Chinese factories are pretty good, from an environmental and safety standpoint. The articles often point to lack of opportunity for advancement and repetitive work as the fundamental issues -- particularly behind some of the suicides.

The latest stories, including an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, raise another fascinating element -- that the movement toward higher wages is a Chinese government push to raise the manufacturing costs for U.S. companies.

Comment: Lots of reasons to continue monitoring this story.

HR: Hiring, Violence -- Update!

2010-05-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

An article on the SHRM website (3/22/10) probed the issue of hiring in the wake of several campus related violence issues, closely examining some critical questions of the hiring process at the university level. Simply stated the article challenged whether the background checking process in academic settings is different from practices in other sectors.

The article did a nice job of examining some of the recent cases, recognizing that in most of them, the information that eventually came out was unlikely to be uncovered even by more rigorous background checks. Equally important, the information, even if known, might not be viewed as "legally" relevant. At the same time, it was clearly pointed out that a lot of "academic hiring" is not done with the same processes -- and the same rigor -- as the private sector.

Comment: I worked closely with a colleague on several "hiring" projects several years ago. One of his projects was implementing the performance-based hiring process into a community college setting -- including for faculty and administrators. One of the most interesting responses (although also common in all settings) was how candidates responded -- very positively to the professionalism of the approach and very likely to comment that "I've never been asked questions like this." Hopefully academic organizations will take a closer look at hiring processes before more incidents of workplace violence raise questions.

HR: The HR Webinar Explosion - Part II

2010-05-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

In Part I of this series, I made mention of the fact that most webinars are focused on the lowest level of learning, knowledge, based on Bloom's Taxonomy for Learning. This is a critical point from both the perspective of the sponsors and presenters of these webinars -- and for participants. While it may be an evolutionary reality that webinars are going to have to go through this as a phase of development, I believe it can be skipped or, at a minimum, accelerated significantly.

Unfortunately, most webinars today are nothing more than an early 21st century, technological equivalent of classroom lectures. One webinar I attended recently featured a rapid talking presenter going non-stop for 50 minutes with 50% of his slides unreadable. Forty years ago in college I had a professor doing the same thing with unreadable overheads. In the same webinar -- which by the way contained some excellent information (or knowledge) -- questions were held until the last five minutes and many (which is also seeming typical) went unanswered.

It might be relatively easy to "blame the technology" for the format. With a typically large audience, presenters, and slides, it's easy to fall back and make these presentations "lectures." There's another factor that appears to be "self-limiting." The overwhelming majority of these webinars are scheduled for one hour, with announced agendas of 50 minutes plus "time for questions." It's interesting that this too follows the all too traditional format of a college classroom lecture.
The reality is that we cannot blame the technology for all of this. I attended a very good webinar as part of this project. It was actually scheduled for 90 minutes instead of the more typical 60 -- it featured three different presenters. But there was also a moderator who was watching the questions flowing in from participants. At least four or five times during the presentation, the primary presenter asked the moderator to summarize comments from participants and pose a question or two. It gave the webinar a much more interactive format -- much closer to a seminar discussion than a lecture.

Most of the webinar technology platforms contain some type of "polling" feature and while these are often used to generate some user participation, it too appears to be limited. The primary format appears to be "here's a question - select your response," followed by the presenter saying something along the lines of "that matches our research." The polling questions aren't being used to better (or change) the focus of the sessions.

Note: More on these issues and some solutions in upcoming postings.

HR: Catholic Charities Drops All Spousal Benefits

2010-05-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

According to a story in Employee Benefit News (May, 2010), the Catholic Charities of Washington, D.C. stopped offering benefits to its employee's spouses after Washington, D.C. legalized same-sex marriages. It will no longer offer benefits to the spouses of future employees, current employees who get married in the future, or current spouses who aren't already enrolled in the benefit plan. "As a Catholic social service organization, we follow the teachings of the Catholic Church," stated a official of the organization.

The article starts with the statement that when the same-sex marriage law took effect, some "local employers and residents took note of a serious unintended consequence."

This is something that was easily predictable. Author Lisa Scottoline nailed this with a quote that I use (and should use) often: "You’re a lawyer, Victoria, and you know about foreseeable consequences. If you can foresee the consequences, you are charged with intending them, are you not?"

HR: Rhone Island Teacher Termination -- Follow-Up

2010-05-17T06:04:00.000-07:00

The next step in the Rhode Island "teacher termination" case has occurred. The school board announced Sunday (5/16) that an agreement had been reached to "return the current staffers to their jobs."

This case sparked national interest with both the U.S. Department of Education Secretary and President Obama speaking in support of the school board's actions. The president specifically stated that with evidence of continued failure "there's got to be a sense of accountability."

The new agreement teachers will need to "recommit to their jobs and interview with the new principal." Other changes include a new evaluation system and targeted professional development. There was other evidence cited that shows the school board's initial actions shook both students and parents into action -- supporting a stronger learning environment.

Comment: There's hope and a little sadness that strong actions like this are necessary -- so it's time to give everyone some time. I was hoping, however, for a stronger solution -- on that certainly gave the current staffers an opportunity to regain their jobs -- at least many, even most of them. But not all -- I suspect that like any organization, the school board will find in the coming years, that 10% or 15% of ? % of the staff will not change or adjust to the new challenges.

HR: Business "Poaching" Hits the Front Page

2010-05-15T06:27:00.000-07:00

According to a WSJ article, the subject of "poaching" made it to the front page of the MarketPlace section in a story of alleged "poaching" involving two talent agencies involved in the sports and entertainment industries. The subject of "poaching" has been discussed for several years, particularly during the "talent wars" of the last decade. Claims of contract violations and the theft of some 7,000 confidential records are included in the claims.

Comment: This is an important story because it raises the visibility of the "poaching" argument and because, in this particular case, it highlights the complicated issues of employment contracts. California legislation, which is part of the arguments in this case, doesn't allow employers to prevent their former employees from making a living in whatever industries they choose. State legislations differ widely on employment contract issues.

HR: China Worker Suicides

2010-05-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

According to a WSJ story (5/15/10), a "spate" of suicides among workers at one of China's largest employers, a firm that manufactures products for companies including Apple and HP. While the investigation continues, there appear to be a variety of explanations, including younger workers facing romantic or other personal issues, poor working conditions, exhaustion. Some of criticized the many companies in China because they "don't pay attention to their (employees') psychological and emotional needs."

Comment: "Global" is a term that has been popular for HR discussions for decades -- the lessons for management appear to apply to critical issues like this as well. In countries with very different cultures than the U.S., with very different evolutionary patterns of HR practices, etc. it raises new challenges for HR to monitor and influence HR practices.

HR: Making Behavior Change Stick

2010-05-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

According to a May, 2010 article from Chief Learning Officer, there are a number of keys to make learning "sustainable." The article contains excellent points, including the importance of assessing and understanding the learning environment.

But the point that really stood out was the strong reference -- and a connection to so many other solid pieces of work -- to "deliberate practice." The authors note that "opportunities for application...need to be more significant than a couple of notes in an action plan at the end of a formal workshop or e-learning event."

Comment: I find this powerful from a number of perspectives -- particularly the awareness of how important "deliberate practice" is, how this strongly connects to the learnings we're taking from the performing arts (http://www.performance-project.com/) and one of our latest small projects, looking at the explosion of "complimentary" webinars that are out there. The latest and newest technologies are great -- everyone of them fascinates me. But I also keep looking at everyone of them through the eyes of real learning and behavior change.

HR: E-Mail Backlash

2010-05-03T02:44:00.000-07:00

According to WSJ "Work & Family" authority Sue Shellenbarger, a backlash against e-mail is growing. Several companies have imposed "no e-mail Fridays," one company recently banned in-house e-mails for a week.

The main argument is that "people avoid talking to each other" because of e-mail and because, interestingly, research shows that e-mail may make "users feel less responsible for telling the truth." Some companies are finding that social networking technology is providing a "different" channel for effective communications.

Comment: This is a continuing story supporting the position that the "human moment" remains an essential element in communications. This shouldn't detract in any way from the power of e-mail for so many things -- just the realization that it's not the only form of communication in a professional world.

HR: Wal-Mart Class Action Case Advances

2010-05-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

A federal appeals court ruled Monday (4/25/10) that the gender discrimination suit against Wal-Mart can go forward as a class action suit. The 6-5 vote, which Wal-Mart is reportedly go to appeal to the Supreme Court, involves claims of unfair pay from a "class' of potentially a million or more women.

The case is one of a series of labor relations cases facing -- or recently settled by -- Wal-Mart. Because of the size of both Wal-Mart and these cases, HR professionals need to monitor the decisions.

HR: Sprint Stupidity?

2010-04-29T02:39:00.000-07:00

One commentator on this case made the point that this decision matched Sprint's general level of poor service -- I agree. But in some ways, it's an important issue for human resources.

In another case of employees (Oh, in this case this is not quite true) chasing shoplifters, two employees of a Sprint Store in a Denver Mall, joined a mall security guard -- while they were on a break -- in chasing a shoplifter who had allegedly stolen something from a nearby Apple store.

Sprint's not commenting but their corporate "policy" states that employees should not chase shoplifters. There have been a number of similar cases like this in recent years.

Comment: Based on the story, as reported, there are so many challenges to this:

The two individuals here did not act as Sprint employees -- they were outside the store, on a break. Maybe Sprint's mad that they helped the rival Apple store.
If it is only Sprint's "POLICY" involved here, there is by definition -- although Sprint is unlikely aware of this -- flexibility in their actions. It's not a "RULE!"
I would love to learn how Sprint communicates - trains its employees on this policy. I strongly suspect it is relatively weak in some way.
OK, this is an old timer comment: I spent the first seven years of my working career in retailing. I was instructed by managers of what's become one of the most successful retail chains to monitor, report, apprehend -- and CHASE -- shoplifters. I know times have changed -- but...
Are there really courts - judges out there who consider the shoplifters "victims" when they're injured while being pursued?
Isn't coaching - retraining a far better response for these two young men?

Sorry -- and I suspect the Loss Prevention folks might disagree -- but this is just Sprint Stupidity!! As another commentator on this case remarked -- these two young men deserve praise -- and will soon be hired by an organization that appreciates their values.

HR: NFL Interview Update

2010-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

General Manager Jeff Ireland has apologized to former Oklahoma State receiver Des Bryant for asking whether his mother was ever a prostitute during a pre-draft interview.

In the apology, Ireland stated: "My job is to find out as much information as possible about a player that i'm considering drafting...I used poor judgment in one of the questions I asked him. I certainly meant no disrespect and apologized to him."

Comment: In the words, I believe, of Bart Simpson, "what a load of crappy, crap, crap!" What information was he trying to discover that was in any way job related? How could he think this could in any way be asked with "no disrespect." A false apology is usually worse than no apology at all.

HR: NFL Interview Questions - Pathetic!

2010-04-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

In the world of incredibly stupid interview questions, I often want to believe that it will 1) get better or 2) at least not get worse. O well - time not to be so optimistic. In this case, not just stupid, but dangerously inappropriate.

According to an excellent story from Michael Silver of Yahoo Sports, recent college candidates for the NFL draft were asked these questions:

Is your mother a prostitute?
Do you play in a g-string or a jockstrap?
How does it feel to desert your team?
Does being a white running back make you feel "entitled?"

You'll have to check the original story for the details of which teams asked these questions -- and maybe that third one is just stupid -- but this is insane.

Comment: In a perfect world, this is actually the type of situation I would like to see the EEOC investigate and I would also hope the NFL Commissioner would have the courage to do something -- but in reality there are stupid questions like this asked every day. Why? Why? Why?

HR: A Favorite Culture Example -- Repeated

2010-04-19T05:43:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite "organizational culture" stories -- from years ago during my academic administration/faculty days -- was the desire to serve on the university's ultimate committee: The Committee on Committees. I found this fascinating from a number of perspectives -- and perhaps an early indication of my interests in organizational culture analysis.

So, now comes a story (WSJ, 4/7/2010) that details the attempts to change the culture of General Motors. CEO Edward Whitacre Jr. has become increasingly frustrated with the "plodding culture" of the automaker. The company, a few years ago, had created a committee to oversee how many committee meetings should be held.

Comment: WOW! Another "committee on committees."

HR: Increased Enforcement on Unpaid Interns

2010-04-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

According to several sources, the Department of Labor is stepping up enforcement of the FLSA -- related to unpaid interns. It immediately become a controversial topic, potentially another political hot topic, for several reasons. First of all, many individuals whose careers were significantly advanced because of unpaid internships spoke out with their stories of the advantages. Secondly, several spoke out their beliefs that this will reduce jobs -- not increase them as some companies simply eliminate the intern positions. Third, it was quickly pointed out that non-profit and government have been significant users of the unpaid intern model.

It also appears that there is significant confusion. The guidelines quoted under the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division refer to "trainee" positions under the FLSA -- with six factors developed to evaluate whether a worker is a "trainee:"

The training is similar to "what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction."
The training is for the benefit of the trainees.
Trainees do not displace regular employees but work under their close supervision.
The employer "derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees, and on occasion the employer's operations may actually be impeded.
The trainee is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion.
The employer and the trainee understand that the trainee is not entitled to wages.

It initiallly appears that these guidelines apply to "trainee" situations that are not the same as typical intern positions -- whether paid or unpaid. More importantly, if this is really (not politcally) put to the test, how do we accurately differentiate between "trainee," "intern," and "volunteer" position.

While the breadth of this issue may be unclear right now -- the majority of intern positions I'm familiar with are paid (at Marquette University's College of Business, unpaid internships are significantly less than 10%, more likly less than half that)-- it is clearly an issue that, like so many, deserves close monitoring.

Comment: A variety of issues are relevant to this topic -- one big one is that it is another example of how fundamental legislation created in the 1930's has little relevance in the vastly different workplace of the 21st Century.

HR: The Superstar Effect

2010-04-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

In another item that is also posted for our special Performance Project (http://www.performance-project.com/), a WSJ article (4/3/10), raised an interesting question about "The Superstar Effect." Using extensive data based on Tiger Woods in golf, but also referencing information from world class chess and SAT test scores, the article contends a superstar's presence actually "causes" the performance of other "competitors" to decline. Examining extensive data, there is a significant difference between the tournament performance of other golfers when Tiger Woods is simply "entered."

With the SAT study, it appeared that simply the presence of a larger group of test takers made a difference in performance.

Comment: This article fascinated me from a number of perspectives -- but primarily from the issue of how this insight might impact the performance of people in the workplace. So this is a question I now want to pursue: would the performance of colleagues be affected by the performance of a top performer? Interesting?

HR: Athletes Dance Better...

2010-04-13T15:46:00.000-07:00

In a cross post with our special Performance Project (http://www.performance-project.com/), a recent story in the WSJ (3/31/10) examined why athletes have outperformed all other occupations on "Dancing with the Stars," including reality show contestants, supermodels, and politicians. The only group coming close is musicians, This is interesting because of one particular statement in the article: "For one thing, they're used to being coach and they respond to criticism better than, say, actors."

Comment: So the issue, from this perspective, is feedback -- a critical leadership/management issue. I'm wondering how we get feedback to the level of athletics (and acting) in the workplace. On a related note, the quote itself fascinates me because my many interviews with professional singers and performers tells me they're getting significant amounts of criticism (feedback).

HR: Drinking on Job -- Denmark

2010-04-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

In the U.S. drinking on the job -- at Breweries around the country -- has long disappeared. In Denmark, at Carlsberg, the issue has become a major issue. The workers' union is definitely fighting, arguing that "Carlsberg has taken it away without any negotiating at all." According to a front page, WSJ, story (4/10/10), Carlsberg idled refrigerators and limited daily beer to three pint sized plastic cups a day -- at lunch time. After strikes by 700+ employees, Carlsberg has agreed to renegotiate the workers' right to free beer.

Comment: Interesting how things are still very different in different cultures. Considering how strong most policies related to alcohol in this country. From a health perspective, the most interesting comment came from one 32 year old worker: "I need a beer when I take a cigarette break."

HR: New Media Communication for Benefits

2010-04-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

On the flip side of the social media issues, there's the increasing use of new media for benefits communications -- some with much clearer success rates than traditional (or historical) methods. According to an article in Employee Benefit News (March 2010), organizations are using YouTube videos, video contests, plus social networking sites, and even Twitter, to communicate new programs and increase program communication.

Comment: A recent study from SHRM identified "Communications" is the top competency required for HR professionals -- Interesting how this all fits together. It raises the demands for HR professionals to be constantly updating their communication skills and their knowledge of the evolving media.

HR: "Sexting and Social Media Cases

2010-04-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've commented on several stories related to social media -- one reason is simply that they're appearing everywhere. The April 1, 2010 issue of Employee Benefit News headlines a story on "sexting" and social media cases. The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments this month involving the case of SWAT team members in California who sent sexually explicit text messages on government-issued pagers. The case revolves around whether or not the California officers had a "reasonable expectation of privacy." The team's supervisor, suspicious because of a high volume of text messages and a written statement that says the city would "monitor" text messages. The privacy of the messages was upheld by the Appeals Court -- so now it's going to the Supreme Court.

A second case involves a restaurant manager "forcing" two employees to reveal their password for a MySpace page that included negative information about the employer -- he then fired the employees. The Court held that the manager violated their privacy.

Comment: The message is somewhat simple -- at least initially. Human resource professionals need to continually monitor this constantly changing dynamic, not just for the changing technologies -- but for the legal issues that are developing. HR also needs to carefully examine its policies to make sure that issues are clearly communicated to employees.

HR: Career Killing Facebook

2010-04-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Facebook has been very popular topic lately, with HR implications ranging from the values of using Facebook as a recruiting tool to the possible dangers from both the HR and candidate perspective. In the first week of April, 2010, an article on "6 Career-Killing Facebook Mistakes" appeared on several websites. Much of the advice has appeared before -- but worth repeating: inappropriate pictures, complaining about your current job, "status" statements you don't want your employer to see, etc.

But a couple of the additional tips were very good. The article cautioned against posting "conflicting information" on your Facebook site. Seems some organizations are checking resume information against Facebook information for accuracy. Another excellent point was "losing by association." If you're on Facebook, your "friends" can "tag" you in pictures -- this then appears on your "profile." So you need to monitor your profile regularly -- even if you've been careful with your own photos -- to make sure someone else hasn't tagged you with something that would dampen your career.

Comment: The article concludes that "Facebook can help you get hired -- or fired." Good statement as Facebook has clearly become a major factor in a lot of HR-related areas.

HR: The HR Webinar Explosion - Part I

2010-04-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

As the technology has expanded, there was the appearance followed by the growth of "webinars" on HR topics. Initially (and still), many of them had charges associated with them. Lately, however, there's been an explosion of "complimentary" webinars, sponsored by HR publications or vendors. This explosion poses some challenges for HR professionals. The first is choosing from all the webinar offerings -- a more important second challenge is determining how to absorb and apply the information coming from them. In a series of postings, I'm going to explore this explosion of offerings and provide some options for making the most of these opportunities.

Here are some initial observations in three areas:

1. The explosion of HR-related webinars is coming for reasons related to both available technology and the continued growth in the importance of major HR topics. Health care reform and increased enforcement of legislation/regulations are just two obvious factors.

2. Webinars are almost always 90-100% "knowledge" only (using Bloom's Taxonomy for learning). This creates a real challenge for the participants and an opportunity for the presenters. Simply stated, the presenters of webinars need to incorporate higher levels of learning into their programs.

3. Participants need to take steps to improve the learning and action from the webinars they choose to attend. The problem here is not the lack of tools (and I'll be exploring several in the rest of this series). The problem is choosing an appropriate tool and in some cases, investing in learning new tools to guarantee real value from the material.

Here's my first tip related to application: Think "photography!" We take lots of pictures, with digital photography, there's virtually no limit to just taking pictures of everything. But the bottom line for most people is that they'll only end up sharing, printing, or posting on Facebook, two or three real "memories." So use this for a webinar. After it's over (particularly easy if you can download the slides from the presentation), identify only 2-3 items for further study or action.

HR: HR Director Part of "Mock Holdup" -- Result: Lawsuit

2010-03-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

According to a story from HRE (March, 2010), a New Jersey hospital worker has filed a lawsuit against her employer claiming a mock holdup by a pretend gunman resulted in assault and false imprisonment. The hospital's HR Director portrayed a hostage in the "safety drill" with a "pretend" masked gunman who burst into the hospital's pharmacy and demanded OxyContin. The suit charges both defendants with assault, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Comment: Duh!

HR: "Moving On"

2010-03-28T03:49:00.000-07:00

Over the course of the last several years, there have been numerous reports of high level dissatisfaction and high numbers of people who were "looking to leave." It was reported while the economy was still doing OK -- it's continued during the current economic struggle. According to another survey, this one from Right Management in Philadelphia, there are a lot of people looking to "move on" if the economy improves in 2010.

60% -- "Yes, I intend to leave."
21% -- "Maybe, so I'm networking."
13% -- "No, I intend to stay."
6% -- "Not likely, but I've updated my resume."

Comment: This is not a good sign -- and clearly another bad sign for the overall efforts -- or lack of effort -- on retention.

HR: The Great Interviewing Debate -- UPDATE

2010-03-25T11:57:00.001-07:00

The "Great Interviewing Debate" really ended today in the first few minutes. Lou Adler asked Tom Janz, one the top leaders of Behavioral Interviewing, to define what "Behavioral Event Interviewing" is. Janz described it as "assessing the past performance of a candidate to predict the future performance." Debate over. The Behavioral Interiew side of the debate basically redefined behavioral interview as performance-based interviewing. Lou Adler is not surprised too easily but he was a little surprised today by the fact that there was basically very little challenge to Lou's contentions. The dancing started (a little bit) when the BEI side basically admitted that too many behavioral interviews are not conducted correctly. If done right, they are structured performance-based interviews.

Comment: I taught behavioral interviewing for years -- I've taught performance-based hiring for over ten years now. There are big differences in what some of the materials say. Lou was disappointed today that there wasn't "more argument." Tough to argue when he was making so many great points!

HR: 10 Types of Interviewers - MISSING ONE!!!

2010-03-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

Fascinating that this would show up just a day before "The Great Interview Debate." An article today (3/23/10) on the Yahoo home page identified "10 Types of Interviewers." Every one of these "interviewers" is real, from the way too common "inappropriate one" to the "one who has better things to do."

Comment: I've got two problems with this article and they both relate to what's missing from the article. First, the advice is relatively weak. Advising a candidate to watch "Law or Order" to prepare for "the interrogator" is not that helpful. Neither does standard advice like "know your weaknesses." There's much better advice out there that would help candidates know exactly what to say... (see www.212-careers.com for starters).

More importantly this article fails to recognize the 11th "type of interviewer," a trained, accomplished interviewer that asks questions in a way that helps the candidate give complete, factual information about their accomplishments and motivations. A good interview actually trains a candidate to provide better answers as the interview progresses -- unfortunately because most candidates are more likely to be asked questions by the "other ten" types of interviewers. A good interviewer doesn't ask "Who's your favorite character from the A-Team?"

The real tragedy of this article is that without acknowledging a "good interviewer type," the article recognizes the frequency of bad interviews and the infrequency of really good ones.

Why oh why do we continue to accept such poor quality in such an important process - especially one that can be resolved with solid interviewing techniques and training???

HR: Undercover Boss - Revisited

2010-03-23T15:27:00.001-07:00

The Washington Post published a review of "Undercover Boss" after the first episode -- a review that was just about as scathing as my earlier post of the show. Now they've updated with a shorter, but just as harsh comment:

"CBS' new reality TV show, Uncover Boss, may be good entertainment. but it absolutely sends the wrong message to bosses and employees. Watch it and snicker, throw popcorn at will -- but remember, it may be called Reality TV but it's not a reality you want to emulate."

Comment: I would write critiques of every episode of "Undercover Boss" but it would be too easy. All I would have to do is copy my original list of comments and insert the names of the new CEO and new company. Every episode has followed a formula that is more obvious than a scripted TV drama. I'm also starting to wonder when the first lawsuit is going to be filed on the basis of the unequal employment decisions being made and the "unfair" rewards being given to selected employees.

Click on the "Undercover Boss" tag below to see all related posts.

HR: The Great Interviewing Debate

2010-03-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

I've e-mailed information on this to every HR contact I can think of -- but I thought I'd post it here anyway. It is particularly interesting to me for two reasons. First of all, it's coming a little over ten years since I met Lou Adler, since he changed my career, since I worked on so many great projects with (and for) Lou. And it comes just a week or so after I received an e-mail from a participant in the most recent "interviewing" workshop that I conducted for a group of managers from one of my clients. The e-mail concluded with a statement: "We've started using the Interview Guide you created and it's really helping change the culture here." You can pretty easily figure out who I'm rooting for in the debate:

Title: The Great Debate - Does Behavioral Interviewing Prevent Companies from Hiring the Best?

When: 25 Mar 2010 10:00 AM Pacific

Where: Online

Make sure you get ready for this 90-minute slugfest. Our own Lou Adler contends that there is little evidence that the traditional behavioral interview actually improves quality of hire. Dr. Tom Janz - one of the originators of the behavioral event interviewing process - is the leading witness for the defense. On his team is Dr. Charles Handler, the well-known middle-weight from New Orleans and CEO of Rocket-Hire. He's also known as the I/O psychologist with a punch.

Dr. John Sullivan wants to be the ref, but he's expected to jump into the fray. In this fight to the finish, you'll find out, at last, if behavioral event interviewing is all it's cracked up to be, or just another exercise in futility.

Here's the detail and registration information -- It's complimentary!

Registration Information

HR: No More Scents or Nonsense?

2010-03-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks to one of my participants in the SHRM Certification Review Program for this one. According to an AP story, 3/15/10, city employees in Detroit will be "urged" not to wear perfume, cologne, or aftershave (or scented deodorants, body/face lotion... and avoid the use of scented candles and air fresheners -- all as the result of a settlement of a federal lawsuit.

Comment: The story is a little unclear. The story says "urged not to..." The headline says "no more." The article also refers to warnings for employees to "avoid" -- warnings will be placed in the employee handbook and included in Americans with Disabilites Act training.

Based on the article it's unclear if this is a policy or a rule or... I can forsee "urged not to..." and "avoid" creating a lot of "nonsense" (sorry about that) -- actually a lot of confusion in enforcement. Also I would assume that many city employees have extensive contact with the public -- are we going to extend this ban to...??????

HR: The Secret to Happy Employees

2010-03-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

A story in the New York Time (3/11/10) reports on a "unique" secret to creating an environment of happy employees.

Jay Goltz, the owner of five small businesses in Chicago, admits, responding to a question about how happy his employees seem, that "he treats them well." But he also admits that is only half of the story. The other half:

"I fired the unhappy people."

Comment: Seems simple, probably unrealistic to some, but Goltz claims that he's willing to address the reality that some people "would be great employees somewhere else" and they just don't fit. I believe that a performance-based hiring system can improve hiring accuracy for successful (and happy) employees -- but nothing will be perfect. And as Goltz admits, there are also bad managers that destroy employee morale and satisfaction. Prompt action, including the willingness to terminate, makes sense to me.

HR: Project Management Realities (Fun)

2010-03-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

At least the humorous version...

"Essentially complete" means: We are half done.
"We predict" means: We hope to God.
"Risk is high but acceptable" means: With 10 times the budget and 10 times the people, we stand a 50-50 chance.
"Potential showstopper" means" The team has updated their resumes.
"Serious but no insurmountable problems" means: It will take a miracle.
"Task force to review" means: 25 people who are incompetent at their regular jobs will criticize the project.

HR: Violence Sparked by Termination Letter

2010-03-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

According to the follow-up information on Tuesday's workplace violence incident in Ohio, the employee, who killed a supervisor before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot, was terminated via a letter mailed on March 2nd. He was informed that his last day would be Saturday, March 13.

There is evidence that the employee, Nathaniel Brown, was not performing adequately, with allegations that he had slept on the job and had been late to work. He had complained to his union representative that his supervisors were being unfair in their evaluation of him. There is also evidence that Brown lied on his application, failing to reveal a conviction -- but it is uncertain whether Ohio State did a background check.

Comment: Incidents of workplace violence are always tragic -- often difficult to understand why someone would commit the acts of violence. And in most cases it is very difficult if not impossible to "blame" the organization. But HR has to look at whether or not it is doing everything it can to prevent workplace violence. Good HR practices do not support terminating employees via letter (much less texting, etc.). At the same time, here's one of those examples, like or not, where there are reasons for dismissing an employee, then immediately making sure they are no longer in the workplace.

HR: Five Biggest HR Lies

2010-03-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

Dislike or Jealous? That's my reaction to an excellent article from Workforce Online (3/8/10), entitled "The Five Biggest Lies in HR." OK, calling it excellent gives me away because I'm always a little jealous when someones nails points I've made often -- and publishes it so clearly. Here's what Kris Dunn says are the "biggest lies."

We're responsible for the work/life balance of our team members.
It's the company's desire to provide strong benefits to all team members.
We're into pay for performance.
We want only "A" players.
Everyone's equal here.

Comment: An article worth reading -- best part if Kris's concluding comment: "If you don't actively pitch the lies outlined above, do you actively preach th truth?"

HR: Discrimination Close to Home

2010-03-09T04:14:00.000-08:00

Johnny Kimble, a longtime supervisor in the Wisconsin's Equal Rights Division, was subject to discriminatory behavior at the hands of the division's former administrator -- according to a story reported on JSOnline (3/9/10). There are lot of very important details to this case -- it's worth reading the full story.

Late last month a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that Kimble had been improperly denied years of raises because of his race and gender. Among the interesting parts of this case: Kimble's boss "essentially ignored" him for the 12 years she served as administrator, never met with him one-on-one, blamed him for problems in an office that he was not even connected to, and "she gave out raises without consulting the workers' evaluations or direct supervisors."

Comment: Bad management - bad human resource practices, in the case of a political appointee being placed in a management position. Can't tell from the article, but clearly she was never trained in some basic management principles or decided the training just wasn't important. It is a continual frustration that there are so many obvious incidents of incompetent managers.

HR: Another Workplace Violence...

2010-03-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

On Friday, March 5, 2010, there was still another, almost classic case of workplace violence. Fortunately no one was injured... But the case is unfortunately classic because of what happened.

A sixty year old employee, working for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, who had just received a poor job review, became upset, went to his car, and returned with shotgun -- firing two shots. He quickly surrendered to police.

HR: Background Checking - MAJOR EEOC Change!

2010-03-05T06:05:00.000-08:00

According to a "Special Report" from Workforce (2/10 - www.workforce.com), the EEOC is preparing to issue new guidelines on background checking. While the guidelines are not expected until 12-18 months from now, it is clear the impact of these new guidelines will be major.

The EEOC is expected to issue guidelines that "require empirical evidence for the 'business necessity' defnese in racial discrimination cases that arise from screening and hiring practices." The guidelines are intended to bring clarity to what is "now a legal quagmire." Most experts appear to admit that there is "no empirical evidence" to support the link between decrease in fraud or theft due to criminal background checks.' In addition, the research appears to show that "criminal checks produce numerous false positives and false negatives," another major concern of the EEOC.

Bottom line: New EEOC guidelines are going to demand an "evidence-based" approach to screening.

Comment: It appears there is going to be a fair amount of time to monitor and "prepare" for these changes. But this issue is huge --new guidelines requring "evidence-based" approach will dramatically affect many aspects of current hiring strategies.

HR: EEOC Ordered to Pay $4.5 Million for Failure

2010-03-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

According to a SHRM Online posting (2/19/10), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has been ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District to pay $4.5 million in attorney's fees, expenses and costs in a harassment case -- for the agency's failure to investigate the specific allegations of supposed harassment victims before it filed a complaint on their behalf. The court ruled that the EEOC "wholly abandoned its statutory duties."

Comment: Interesting, in part, because this sets a connection to the increased enforcement and investigation under several labor laws. There was a lot of chaos in the early days of OSHA, with a lot of cases ending up in court because of "frivolous" charges or misinterpretation of requirements. Hoping it doesn't repeat, but another important issue to watch closely.

HR: Sexual Harassment Claims - by Men - Double

2010-03-04T10:44:00.000-08:00

According to data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment claims filed by men have doubled in the last 20 years. While still 16% of the total cases filed, it still represents 2000 cases in 2009. Most of the cases involve men harassing men. Some of the specific cases involve well known businesses like the Cheesecake Factory and Fleming's Steakhouse.

Comment: Despite policies, and hopefully training, maintaining a workplace free of harassment still boils down -- for both women and men -- to supervisors and managers, throughout the organization, doing their jobs effectively.

HR: A Harsh Reality - Strategy

2010-03-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

A survey by Right Management Consultants of employees in 336 organizations revealed that only 30 percent of employees understand their company’s business strategy. That means seven out of every ten people who work for you have little idea of what your organization’s primary goals are. That lack of communication has a direct impact on employee commitment and trust.

Comment: This represents a colossal management failure -- unfortunately consistent with other measurements of employee engagement. I believe that 100% of supervisors, managers, and executives of any organization should clearly know (and understand) the vision, mission, and strategic objectives of their organization. They should all be leaders in communicating this information to the rest of the organization. I acknowledge that 100% is unlikely for the rest of the organization -- but it should be possible to reach 85-90%. It's always been "the time," now it's even more important.

HR: Seven Great Questions about Testing

2010-03-02T14:55:00.000-08:00

In a recent ERE.net posting (2/26/10). Dr. Charles Handler posed seven excellent questions about the appropriateness of pre-employment testing. This article merits discussion on number of points -- but HR professionals should read these words carefully.

If there is any concern over Handler's questions, it's with a couple of questions which really indicate that testing is an appropriate response for a poor hiring process, for example if a company's interviewing process is weak or if there are concerns about the legality of the hiring process. In reality, Handler's correct here -- but I'm still not convinced that testing is a good way to address a poor interviewing or potentially illegal process. Root cause analysis tells us to examine -- and fix -- the root cause. I think this is particularly important when a good structured performance-based hiring process can resolve the problems with unstructured interviewing -- and perhaps even more importantly, create a system that is the "most legally defensible" hiring process.

www.grand-assessment-station.com

HR: Apple and HR Audits

2010-03-02T05:03:00.000-08:00

The WSJ (3/1/10) reported on Apple's process of auditing its suppliers -- the extensive network of companies around the world that manufacture and assemble its products. While the audits focus on a wide variety of business practices, a major concern from Apple's viewpoint is compliance with labor laws.

The latest series of audits revealed incidents of underage hiring, intimidation, and threats to worker safety. Apple's response to the audits is swift -- increasing monitoring responses, more frequent audits, and increased training.

Apple has created "extensive training programs to educate workers about their right to a safe and respectful work environment."

Comment: Good call, both in conducting the audits and responding.

HR: Benefits of Training

2010-02-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Identifying and evaluating the benefits of training programs has always been an important and complex topic. A recent, interesting Facebook interaction, reiterated a factor that can be very important -- and likely very difficult to measure.

I have been involved in a number of different management training programs that were offered in-house. While they have been of varying lengths, most have involved an extensive, objective evaluation of management competencies followed by 7-10 workshops (2-3 days each). From the earliest days in these programs, post course feedback almost always indicates the opportunities to interact with fellow managers as important if not slightly more important than the content itself.

Just a few days ago, I noticed an interaction between two participants in one of these programs (one in which I was the sole instructor for 130 hours of management training). The Facebook "status" comment from one participant simply stated "I really miss the Management Certificate program." which was then almost immediately echoed by another participant.

Comment: This is one reason the most (almost all) of my management training programs are designed to be highy experiential. My goal is that 60-70%, sometimes even higher, be composed of assessments, discussions, and primarily structured exercises.

HR: Mentoring

2010-02-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

According to a Workforce posting (2/24/10), an increasing number of companies are looking to mentoring programs as a way to develop up-and-coming leaders. Nearly one in five companies plan to implement mentoring or coaching programs -- most that have used mentoring programs find them to be effective.

Another key reason for the mentoring initiatives is that leaders believe it will help fight one of their "most pressing concerns," capturing and sharing key organizational information. Unfortunately the research also indicates that much of the mentoring occurs "almost offhandedly." While most companies use it, only a quarter formally assign mentors to newly promoted managers.

Comment: There is often an assumption, noted here, that mentoring is something that can just happen as part of relationships in an organization. Unfortunately the research on the mentoring process proves otherwise -- for a mentoring program to be successful, both mentors and mentees must be prepared -- must be trained.

HR: Teacher Firing Follow-Up

2010-02-24T08:35:00.000-08:00

Following up on a posting below, the Central Falls School Committee in Rhode Island voted to fire every teacher, guidance counselor, and the principal of its high school. This follows up on the actions of the district superintendent. The teacher's union is "studying its legal options." Interestingly, U.S. Education Secretary Duncan "applauds the move."

HR: Campus Recruiting - Changes

2010-02-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

Campus Recruiting is changing significantly, because of the economy and technology (WSJ, 2/23/10). As demand for employee dwindled, many organizations eliminated on-campus recruiting at some schools -- while even many of those who continue to recruit are changing the process. In addition, changes to the selection process for college recruiting will affect both the recruiters and the potential candidates. Many campuses are responding with on-campus video conferencing suites in their placement offices -- others are subscribing to online recruiting services that use video interviewing technologies.

Still another change is that some firms are changing the initial recruiting visits into more formal visits -- eliminating one round of the selection process. If candidates are invited for a company visit, it will involve full scale interviews.

Comment: Changes in recruiting has been happening at a rapid rate for several years -- aided by changing demographics, changing markets, and changing technologies. The importance of this is simply being aware of how these changes affect selection strategies and selection results. Often, changes made for efficiency can have what should be clearly anticipated consequences of lowering the quality of candidates. College recruiting is a critical selection process for many organizations --it's garnered a lot of attention in recent years. It remains just as important in today's challenging economy and technology rich environment.

HR: Employee Misclassification

2010-02-23T14:40:00.000-08:00

As the enforcement efforts of the DOL increase, the focus of these efforts will also become better known. According to an article (Workforce, 2/16/10), a major focus of these efforts will be the misclassification of "independent workers" when their job duties are similar to those of an employee.

Labor union argue that up to 30 percent of workers are misclassified. Large companies, including FedEx and Comcast are being challenged. New legislation strengthening rules and increasing penalities have been introduced in both the house and senate.

Comment: One thing most professionals, including multiple legal sources, agree on is that there is massive confusion on this issue, from lack of a clear definition of what is an "employee" to the legal requirements surrounding independent contractors. All of this defines a very complicated issue, standing in part on a 75 year old law that in now way represents the nature of work and the workplace in 2010!

HR: OSHA $87 Million Fine for BP

2010-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

The largest fine in OSHA's history, $87 million, has been levied against BP for the deaths of 15 workers and injuries to 170 others due to a massive explosion at its Texas City refinery. OSHA issued 270 "notifications of failure to abate" safety hazards and 439 "willful violations" in the case. The company has "formally contested" all the citations.

HR: Firing via Facebook

2010-02-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

A lecturer at the University of Chicago and a former banking executive (HRE, January, 2010) suggests that "unfriending" someone on Facebook may become the model for terminating employees in the workplace. "There was once a time when dismissals were well-prepared and documented in a conference room, in the presence of a human resources officer, to assure due attention to protocol. But in cyberspace, there are no HR staffers when you need them."

Comment: The quote almost says it all -- combine that with the message from "Up in the Air" about "termination engineers." Frightening!

HR: Time to Focus on "Brain Drain"

2010-02-22T06:48:00.001-08:00

In a message from the editor of Employee Benefit News (February, 2010), the suggestion is made that a possible "breather" from the health care debate might be helpful to focus on the "brain drain" of knowledge lost when baby boomers retire.

In particular, she cites a MetLife study that addressed employer attitudes about the brain drain. "Although the study finds that employers say they're quite concerned about the kink in the knowledge transfer pipeline, they seem blase upon further examination." 97% of employers are concerned about the brain drain -- but haven't calculated the cost of transfering the knowledge to younger employees. More concerning, she reports, is organizations unwillingness to create a positive culture and provide the benefits needed to keep older workers around long enough to complete the knowledge transfer.

Comment: The subject of knowledge management has become more and more fascinating -- and important -- over the last few years. It's going to be very important for HR professionals to play their "credible activist" role in leading (sometimes pushing) their organizations toward effective solutions.

HR: "Arrogant American" Ad

2010-02-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of press in the last week (2/15/10) over an ad appearing on Monster, containing the phrase: "An arrogant American will not work well in this role." The ad raised a lot of questions from individuals, attorneys, and assorted "experts" about the discriminatory, or "illegal," nature of the ad.

The ad is a terrible ad for many more reasons than this ill-conceived sentence. It is unfortunately, typical of the 1000's of bad ads, poor job descriptions that appear more often than not on web sites and in newspapers. This particular ad contains multiple references to "possible" job duties, like "may be responsible for...," "May lead and direct...," and "typically reports to..." I'm not sure who this ad appeals to, but it is certainly not aimed at attracting top talent. Actually I do know who it's aimed at -- those wanting to get a job -- not those wanting to do a job.

Comment: Personally and professionally, I do not believe the ad is discriminatory -- any more than an add that calls for "customer-friendly," "assertive sales reps," or any company that screens using simple personality tests. It's a bad choice of words -- that's for sure -- but it's not saying Americans can fill the position -- only "arrogant" ones. This ad has a lot more serious problems -- fortunately it was pulled from the internet quickly.

HR: Practices to Axe Update

2010-02-19T09:43:00.000-08:00

I recently posted an item commenting on the following items from a great article, referenced below, on "Ten Management Practices to Axe." On 2/18/10, I had the opportunity to survey 20+ human resource professionals -- studying for their HR Certification -- to respond to these ten items, rating the extent to which they agreed with the criticism to "axe" the practices. The overall "agreement" rate was 74.9% -- the individual ratings are shown below. A summary of the results will be posted on http://www.hrtracking.com/

76.4% - Forced Ranking ("Decent strategy for TV shows like Survivor")
59.5% - Front-Loaded Recruiting Systems ("Crawl over a few more bits of broken glass.")
64.0% - Overdone Policy Manuals ("Nuke one unnecessary or outdated policy every day.")
65.7% - Social Media Thought Police ("Treat people like babies and they'll act like babies.")
87.3% - Rules that Force Employees to Lie ("Which Einstein dreamed up that brain-dead policy?")
69.8% - Theft of Miles ("the hallmark of a Mickey Mouse outfit.")
87.5% - Jack-Booted Layoffs ("...why treat departing employees like convicted felons?")
63.4% - 360-Degree Feedback Programs ("a crutch for poor managers")
83.0% - Mandatory Performance-Review Bell Curves ("The evil twin to forced ranking systems")
86.9% - Timekeeping Courtesy of Henry Ford ("obsession with arrival and departure times.")

Ten Management Practices to Axe

HR: Sexual Harassment -- Words Matter

2010-02-18T05:36:00.000-08:00

A variety of factors, including some high profile cases and increased enforcement promises and actions, from the EEOC and other regulatory enforcement agencies, almost guarantees that information about sexual harassment cases will become even more prominant. It's similar to the early '80's when the guidelines were relatively new and details of new cases appeared frequently. But this is important because these cases often provide clear examples of how the regulations are being -- and will be -- interpreted.

The latest comes from a case in Florida where the 11th Circuit Court Appeals ruled unanimously that a woman who quit her job because she couldn't stand alleged daily sexual harassment can take her case to trial. There are some very interesting factors in the case, particularly that the victim was not directly targeted by the harassment and that in the final interpretation it was based on exactly how specific words were being used. It is clear that this is a case of "hostile environment" sexual harassment. The work environment, primarily male, was filled with "incessant, vulgar and offensive" language. While it did not all reference women, some of it did.

It is also important to note that the woman complained to co-workers, to a supervisor and to corporate management -- but nothing was done. The appeals court did not buy the company's argument that the language was not directed at the woman and stated that "one does not need to be directly targeted if the behavior generally is offensive to all women." In part of their ruling, they actually examined the origins of certain words and noted that sometimes, it is words used in combination that while just "offensive" on their own, the combination is clearly sexual harassment aimed at women.

Comment: While the frequency of stories about sexual harassment may become "routine" to some in the profession, they shouldn't be. The details are often very valuable. This one provides great information on some things that would be important for policies, training programs, and investigations.

HR: Sears $6.2 Million for Disability Bias

2010-02-17T09:24:00.001-08:00

According to an EEOC press release (2/5/10), a consent decree has been approved by a U.S. District Court in a class action lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act -- for $6.2 million and significant remedial relief.

The largest ADA settlement to date alleged that Sears systematically followed a policy of terminating employees when injured employees worker's compensation leave expired. In many cases the employees were still disabled by injuries -- but Sears made no attempt to provide reasonable accommodation.

Comment: Where's HR?? Reasonable accommodation is a concept that's been established since 1973!!! This case did not focus on whether or not reasonable accommodation could be provided, it centered on Sears policy of not even trying!

HR: Diversity and M&M's

2010-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

According to an article in Diversity Executive (2/16/10), the value in a diversity program can be nicely connected to M&M's. "...these confections model the behavior of a highly advanced workplace: their value is in their filling -- thinking -- and the experience is enhanced by their colorful, yet less important exterior -- their diversity."

"In today's workplace, we hire an employee for internal talents and thinking..."

Comment: I've used a "Crayons" metaphor for years -- on a poster that I've made for a number of colleagues. It's helped picture a concept in people's minds. I like this one -- needs a poster.

HR: Rhode Island Superintendent Fires Staff

2010-02-17T08:56:00.000-08:00

Reported on several sources (2/16/10), the superintendent of a Rhode Island school district terminated every teacher and every administrator at a high school.

The high school has a 50% failure rate in a town of high unemployment and a median wage of $22,000. Teachers average over $70,000 in annual salary. The union representing the teachers refused to honor the superintendent's plan to improve the school by extending the work day by 25 minutes, eat lunch with the students once in a while, and requiring teachers to provide tutoring on a rotating basis.

Comment: Interesting but I'm sure this one isn't over!

HR: Workplace Violence - Hiring

2010-02-15T14:56:00.000-08:00

In almost every incident involving workplace violence -- or how to prevent workplace violence, there is a discussion related to hiring practices. Was the organization somehow remiss in its hiring practices? Is it possible to screen candidates for "traits" that might predict workplace violence?

First of all, while we have had too many incidents of workplace violence, they still represent a very small percentage of cases. Trying to predict that would be extremely difficult and lead to a very high number of "false negatives" (Type II errors).

Which raises the issues already being discussed in the tragic case last week (2/12/10) of the Alabama University professor killing three of her colleagues, and wounding three others, over what is being reported to be a dispute over not being granted tenure at the university. Since the incident on Friday, several issues were raised over the weekend. It is reported that the suspect "accidentally" killed her brother 34 years ago in a case that was never investigated (and there are missing files) and that she was questioned about an incident involving a pipe bomb sent to one of her colleagues in Boston in 1993.

Relatives are now asking questions about how she was hired by the university. "I think they need to do a little more investigation when coming down to hiring teachers and things like that," said one of the victim's stepdaughters. Another stepdaughter asked: "How did she even get a job working at the school if she had this type of background?"

Comment: It's interesting that these questions are being raised in stories surrounding the incident. The fact is that it is highly unlikely that either of these incidents would have been revealed in even the most thorough of background checks. The case is getting extra attention, in part because the suspect is female -- which is rare -- but it also has some other factors that make it intriguing for HR professionals to monitor.

HR (M): Accentuating the Negative

2010-02-15T14:42:00.001-08:00

According to a news brief (Scientific American Mind, March/April 2010), a new study suggests that our brains are better at detecting words that carry a negative meaning than those that are positive. The researchers speculate that our brains might process negative stimuli faster than positive ones.

Comment: What is interesting about this is that it is totally supportive (or consistent) with research on the brain from other perspectives, including research that has demonstrated we actually store negative feedback in a different part of the brain -- a part that keeps it "active" longer. We have also had decades of information about a hypothesized ratio between positive and negative feedback (most often cited as 10 positive to 1 negative). This information is very important for managers with obvious implications for training programs on feedback -- and of course that all important topic of performance management for human resource professionals.

HR: Trends from Diversity Executive

2010-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

The current issue of Diversity Executive (2/9/10) has a feature article on "Ten Trends to Test Executives in New Decade." While several of the trends, like "volatile markets" are broader issues for an organization, there are a couple with very focused HR implications (both positive and negative). "Diminished loyalty," a common item related to engagement is listed. But one of the most interesting is "Fear of the future," which challenges CEO's to create "a convincing vision of a better future."

Comment: I can easily repeat my mantra of monitoring trends -- but there's another important factor that shows up with this one -- the importance of having a "convincing vision of a better future." The potential problem is that organizations often do not put the effort into creating a powerful vision.

HR: Bias Charges - The Numbers

2010-02-15T10:52:00.001-08:00

The current issues of Employee Benefit Adviser (February, 2010) puts numbers to some of the many other posts on the increased enforcement on legal and regulatory issues.

HR: References, Racing, and Danica Patrick

2010-02-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

OK, I'm always listening for things that connect to the HR world. Got one from an unexpected source on Saturday (2/13/10). But in truth it connects to one of the criticisms of the hiring processes in many organizations -- that have the "Seven Trials of Hercules" to get through for an application process. Interestingly, this very fact was criticized in the "Ten Management Practices to Axe" posting below.

Danica Patrick (with a good introduction to stock car racing, even though she unavoidingly was involved in one of the "big ones" at Daytona on Saturday) was featured in an interview. She briefly talked about all the paperwork she had to file to be accepted as a driver -- she had to submit a resume -- she was asked to provide three references. She said it was a little strange to write down: Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti, and Rusty Wallace. (For the non-racing world -- those are three big names in the racing world.). Interesting!!!

HR: Repeat Post Topic -- Regulatory Enforcement

2010-02-13T02:03:00.000-08:00

Articles, blog posts, and e-mails are appearing from numerous HR related sites about increased enforcement of different legislative and regulatory issues.

SHRM (2/12/10) e-mailed a notice regarding a topic that's been mentioned in several recent postings at HR Tracking. Among other things I see this as further evidence of how important it is for HR Professionals to be aware of this issue -- and to be taking appropriate action in training managers, supervisors, and HR staff. According to SHRM:

"Recently released Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) statistics reveal that 2008 and 2009 produced the highest level of workplace discrimination charges on record, with an annual average of more than 94,000 claims and $376 million recovered from employers.

In 2010, employers face even higher stakes. The EEOC is better funded, more fully staffed, and tasked with increasing enforcement efforts. "

The current issue of Employee Benefit News (February, 2010) headlines the "Top five pitfalls in FLSA compliance:"

Giving "comp time" to non-exempt employees.
Treating as exempt anyone who is paid on a salary basis.
Treating as exempt anyone who is paid on commissions.
Paying overtime only on hourly wages.
Treating as exempt anyone who is engaged in sales.

HR: Sexual Harassment "Don'ts"

2010-02-13T01:49:00.000-08:00

Business Week (2/12/10) published an article by HR Legal Expert Jonathan Segal on "A Sexual Harassment Complaint? Ten Responses to Avoid." It contained practical advice on the mistakes that are easily made by managers and human resource professionals when a complaint is filed. Number one on the list, Don't "Promise absolute confidentiality." So obvious but such an easy mistake for managers or HR professionals to make. An employee says "I need to tell you this -- but please don't tell anyone else." I've always taught managers and HR Professionals to respond clearly with: "If you reporting something to me, I have to act, I will have to investigate this."

Other important items: Don't use legal labels, don't agree with the complainant (just listen), don't deny the harassment (again just listen).

Comment: The hardest part for managers and HR professionals in harassment complaints is the age old dilemma of "solving the problem quickly." But like so many things, the correct thing to do -- initally -- is just "shut up and listen!!!" Seems hards but it's the critical (and legally best) first step to a good investigation. I'm also happy to see so much attention in the press on issues like sexual harassment. Too often issues like this become popular, than just become part of the "background" -- nice to see this up front because the problem is still real and still needs addressing.

HR: AIG Implementing "Forced Distribution" Pay System

2010-02-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

AIG (WSJ, 2/11/10), is implementing a "forced distribution" system for the annual variable compensation, using the 1-4 ranking system popularized by organizations like General Electric (under Jack Welch) and MetLife. The article points out that there are some substantial differences, the most important of which is that AIG is struggling to repay more than $90 billion in U.S taxpayer money. Company insiders worry the new performance initiative could create "additional anxiety" among employees.

Comment: It is particularly interesting to note that on the day before the AIG story was published in the WSJ, Business Week (2/10/10) contained an article entitled "Ten Management Practices to Axe." Number 1 on the list: "Forced Ranking." More on that article in a separate post. But the article condemns "Forced Ranking" as appropriate only for reality TV shows like "Survivor."

HR: Management Practices to Axe

2010-02-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

Business Week, on 2/10/10, published an article entitled "Ten Management Practices to Axe." While it's aimed at management practices and management theories in general, it is a particularly damning indictment aimed at Human Resources. At least eight of the ten practices, arguably all ten, are clearly HR's domain.

Forced Ranking ("Decent strategy for TV shows like Survivor")
Front-Loaded Recruiting Systems ("Crawl over a few more bits of broken glass.")
Overdone Policy Manuals ("Nuke one unnecessary or outdated policy every day.")
Social Media Thought Police ("Treat people like babies and they'll act like babies.")
Rules that Force Employees to Lie ("Which Einstein dreamed up that brain-dead policy?")
Theft of Miles ("the hallmark of a Mickey Mouse outfit.")
Jack-Booted Layoffs ("...why treat departing employees like convicted felons?")
360-Degree Feedback Programs ("a crutch for poor managers")
Mandatory Performance-Review Bell Curves ("The evil twin to forced ranking systems")
Timekeeping Courtesy of Henry Ford ("obsession with arrival and departure times.")

Comment: This is an article every manager -- and every HR Professional -- should read -- and follow!

Ten Management Practices to Axe

HR: Undercover Boss - Observations Part I

2010-02-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

Undercover Boss premiered after the Super Bowl on Sunday, 2/7/10. It featured Larry O'Donnell. CEO of Waste Management working a variety of different jobs, each a day, in various different parts of the company he heads. I was excited about this show for one basic reason. I am a firm believer that understanding the business is critical for HR leaders -- and leadership at all levels of an organization. I've practiced this as part of my consulting work as much as possible, working as a flight attendant, doing stage set-ups/sound checks, as a concession attendant, in a variety of casino jobs, driving a race car -- and observing in great detail if I can't participate.

The show, perhaps the preview of an incident from the second week, has me planning to be back for more -- just not sure yet if it's for pleasure or pain. Let's do a first review on the positive.

1. Larry fairly quickly (within a week) went to personally correct the policy of a manager who was very clearly having a negative effect on his employees -- but likely breaking the regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. (There were some negatives to this as well -- see Part II.)

2. He quickly shared the entire experience not only with his staff -- but with a large number of his organization's employees. Openness, almost by definition, is a pretty good thing.

3. He very quickly, almost willing to break character, met with a manager to discuss both the professional and personal relationship with an employee. He demanded quick action to address staffing shortages that a manager was pretty much dismissing as "just routine."

4. On the positive side, there was also a very good example of the value of positive feedback. Interesting, for what many will see as the worst "job" of the ones Larry performed, his boss was probably the best -- delivering very good positive feedback throughout.

Comment: Unfortunately, my overall review of the program is that it portrayed more examples of poor management than good -- and some things that Larry should have (maybe he did in reality) caught. Part II of this posting will address the negative side. But I'll start with this: Where was Human Resources?

HR: Undercover Boss -- Observations Part II

2010-02-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

In the first episode of Undercover Boss, on CBS 2/7/10, Waste Management CEO Larry O'Donnell performed in five different jobs, for a day each. I've posted the positives from the story in Part I of these observations and I'll repeat that I'm anxious to see the second episode because of a particular scene shown in the previews. However, overall I was not shocked but somewhat disappointed at some of the horrible examples of management that were shown from Larry's experiences.

1. First of all, overall, where's the training -- where's the OJT? Larry needs to implement a management training program -- he's got some clearly incompetent supervisors and managers. The time is now -- spend some time training people to train their people to do their jobs.

2. In his first "job," sorting trash, Larry was provided minimal instructions, a somewhat unclear goal -- just "do it and I'll be watching." Furthermore he was then criticized for being slow. While some might argue the job was simple, I'll argue it wasn't -- and even if it is "relatively simple," there's going to be a learning curve. How can you compare the performance of someone who has done this job versus someone who has never done it? Desparate need for some level of on-the-job trainng and recognition of learning curves, etc.

3. In Larry's second "job," picking up trash, Larry was not just set out without instructions, he was denied them when he asked. "Just do it, it's not rocket science." was the best this extremely poor supervisor provided. Larry specificially asked two questions, about how to pick up trash (by hand or how to use the "stick" he was provided) and if there was a way to keep the trash bag open. No response, just 'do it." And clearly Larry couldn't do the job in the way or in the time that was demanded. Again, no training -- and it wouldn't take much -- no demonstration -- which wouldn't take much -- and no recognition of a practice or learning curve. Larry ended up treating this supervisor very nicely (even though he "fired" Larry) because of some personal issues. I'd have been tougher -- this guy needs training himself to be a supervisor or...he shouldn't be supervisor.

4. Larry's third job was another disaster from a training standpoint -- but interesting from another perspective. It pointed out that this particular Waste Management facility had some higher level management issues and was clearly understaffed. Fortunately Larry ended up solving that problem -- two additional people were hired. But for the "job" itself, Larry was again left to be flustered in trying to do things without any demonstration or training. (Those who have been through my OJT Training Program correctly conclude I was banging my head in frustration at this consistent failure.) Also wish a leader at Larry's level (maybe at the end of the program) would have recognized that this employee's claim of "multi-tasking" simply perpetuated the myth that "multi-tasking" is possible (it's not) -- and we certainly never saw her "multi-tasking." We did see the clear results of having to "switch tasks" too frequently.

5. Larry's fourth job, cleaning portable toiiets was perhaps the best -- maybe even a good example. While Larry wasn't provided any real instruction prior to starting the task, the skills of the supervisor teaching him were very good. He provided clear directions as Larry performed the tasks, he provided a lot of very clear positive feedback. Interesting, considering it was probably the worst of the jobs, Larry's reaction to this was clearly different from the previous. I would take this supervisor, give him some grounding in OJT principles, and he'd be organizing the training for new employees in this position -- I suspect one with high turnover.

6. Larry's final job, doing residential trash collection, was another example of a co-worker having no ability to teach Larry how to do the job. Just put the trash container there, "no that's wrong," then do this will the control, "no that's wrong." I've always loved making the point that the "subject matter experts" often make terrible trainers -- because they know too much. This episode of Undercover Boss proved that conclusively. This segment did reveal some interesting issues from the perspective of the employees -- and Larry later promised to address some of these. (See Part I)

7. When Larry met with his senior management team and declared his intention to change things, he completely missed (and I won't buy that it ended up looking that way just because of time constraints and editing) non-verbal expressions from every single member at the table doubted the message begin delivered (would love to have Dr. Lightman from "Lie to Me" interpreting those scenes).

8. While Larry definitely addressed a couple of problems that arose during his "jobs," the instructions or goals he provided were very unclear. In one case it was not much more than "I'm counting on something to be done." Ouch!!!

Comment: There were a couple of other interesting notes about this show -- looks like I'll have to do an Observations - Part III.

HR: Undercover Boss -- Observations Part III

2010-02-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

In two previous posts, I commented first on the positive, then on the negatives, about the first episode of Undercover Boss, CBS 2/7/10. Here are just a couple of other random observations.

1. While the set up for the show was Larry doing a video about a man working in these different jobs, he really seemed out of place for most of the jobs. He also asked a lot of questions that came more from a CEO than from a first day worker in the job. Tough to set this up but I thought his "presence" was clearly obvious in most of the scenes. Based on some of the questions he was asking, I'd be asking him "who are you really?"

2. I know they filmed a lot more than the hour seen -- but like so many reality shows, some of it just seemed staged. I believe that most Waste Management collectors rarely or never see homeowners on a given day. Larry just happens to be riding the truck when a woman comes out to read a poem about how much she loves her trash collection person? OK, this is my being a little pessimistic but I just ain't buying it.

3. Same thing for one of the employees inviting him to her home for dinner? Does she do this to every new employee on their first day? Huh?

4. Employee privacy issues? Probably not illegal in any way but there were a few too many references to personal health issues. Great for TV -- but with the heightened concerns with HIPPA and GINA, Larry was probing a little too much at times.

For the whole show, I kept writing: Where's HR?

HR: NLRB Nominee Rejected

2010-02-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

According to multiple sources, by a vote of 52 to 33, the Obama administration nominee to the National Labor Relations Board, Craig Becker, failed to get the 60 votes needed for his nomination to proceed in the Senate.

Yesterday, Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., came out against Becker's nomination. Senate Republicans and grassroots conservatives had been opposing Becker's nomination from the get-go. As a law professor, Becker had written a law review article about how the NLRB could be used to remake labor regulations in favor of unions without congressional approval. More recently, Becker had acted as counsel for the SEIU and AFL-CIO. Becker was perceived by opponents as marching in lockstep with a Big Labor agenda and unlikely to give businesses a fair shake on the NLRB.

Comment: Although difficult to accomplish because it is a politically appointed board, the NLRB is supposed to be a neutral, objective entity for issue related to the National Labor Relations Act. In the past, candidates were often appointed with little opposition or the Board maintained relative balance between individuals with either pro-labor or pro-business backgrounds. I believe there are qualified neutral individuals out there -- I won't say we have to mandate neutrality but..we should respect the origins and mission of the organization which makes it essential to prevent strong positions either way.

HR: Alcohol Abuse - Military

2010-02-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

USA Today (2/10/10) reports that the U.S. Army needs to double its staff of substance-abuse counselors to handle the "soaring numbers" of soldiers seeking alcohol treatment. According to data provided by the Army, over half of the 16,388 requests for counseling were for alcohol related issues -- a 58% since 2003. For the Army, alcohol is a much greater problem than other drug abuse. The Army admits they "need help" in locating counselors.

Comment: Substance abuse in the workplace is a very special topic for me, both personally and professionally -- my interest in this topic actually has its origins with my experiences in the U.S. Army. Have to monitor this issue closely.

HR: The "I Generation"

2010-02-10T11:26:00.000-08:00

USA Today (2/10/10) reports that the "Millennial" generation has already been replaced by the "IGeneration." This is a generation that believes in being "constantly connected " and even more comfortable with technology that the "tech-savvy" "millennial" generation.

Taking just one factor from this report, the "constantly connected" factor, this is another factor with potentially major implications (both positive and negative) for workplace and learning dynamics.

Comment: I am not completely supportive of the generations arguments. They are easy ways to identify groups based on 20,000-30,000 foot differences. And if basic principles of management and leadership are valid, they are likely to be valid across generations -- perhaps applied differently or, from a training standpoint, delivered differently. Another observation is that technologies very often cross generations quickly. I know several people, certainly from Generation X and even a few Baby Boomers, who are living their lives in a way that is "constantly connected."

HR: Telecommuting Ruins Snow Days

2010-02-10T11:06:00.000-08:00

With snow storms battering the midwest and east coast the last few days, USA Today (12/10/10) reports that "Thanks to Telecommunting, Snow Days Are No Longer Fun." According to the story, more and more workers, normally trapped at home during snow storms like those experienced this week, are finding more and more workers simply able to log in from home and continue to work.

According to one "telecommuting" organization, technology and IT staffs are playing a key role in making it easier than ever to continue working from home when necessary.

Comment: While I'll admit to always loving "snow days," I also freely admit to loving how much work I accomplished on snow days -- just a combination of atmosphere, maybe a little more quiet, etc. But there are a lot of other interesting implications (both positive and negative) about this "trend." From a positive standpoint, looking at the future, think about how easy it would be for many organizations to prepare for this type of situation, even for schools, potentially at the college (and maybe high school) level to "continue on" even if the school itself was "closed."

HR: Office Romance

2010-02-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

According to a story in the WSJ (2/10/10), office romances are much more open and acceptable today than they were years ago. Many companies have eliminated or changed policies. 67% of employees in a CareerBuilder survey say they "see no need to hide their office relationships." One story reported involved an employee engaging his supervisor as a co-conspirator to create a proposal scenario in the office using the office teleconferencing equipment.

According to one workplace study, 59 percent of older workers would prefer to keep such relationships under wraps, only 38 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds feel the same way. In fact, the latter group is five times more likely to spread the word by posting it on Facebook.

Another key difference was in the way office romances are perceived.

While older workers say nothing good can come out of workplace relationships, younger workers disagree and say there are plenty of positive effects, such as attaining a higher social or professional status at work.

Employers report that trying to stamp out office romance is like "standing in front of a speeding train." The office continually comes up as #1 as the best place to meet a mate.

Comment: Recognizing reality is obvious -- but there's another connection. The fantastic research from "First, Break All the Rules" included the often discussed and disputed factor "Do I have a best friend at work?" I've always defended the reality of that as is relates to retention and other factors. This a reality that supports that.

HR: See You in Court?

2010-02-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

According to LRP Publications, 2/4/10, more cases were filed by the EEOC in 2009 than any other year except one. The most frequently filed cases (in order) are based on race, retaliation, and sex. While a number of factors, including greater access to the EEOC, are cited as causes for the record number of cases, the biggest factors is believed to be the economy.

There has also been a significant increase in cases related to sexual harassment with same-sex charges believed to be a major part of this. Sexual harassment were 9% of all cases in 1992 -- by 2006 (the last year for reported data), it's risen to 15% of cases.

And a final factor appears to be "more and better lawyers parchuting from securities law litigation into employee class-action lawsuits. One major firm analyzed court cases and found a 44% increase in non-government wage-and-hour settlements in 2009 compared to 2008.

Comment: See You in Court?

HR: $1.5 Million Sexual Harassment Award

2010-02-09T15:13:00.000-08:00

In a case that ended up involving the Supreme Court (SHRM, 2/9/10), a plaintiff was awarded $1.5 million as compensatory damages, back pay, and future lost wages. The case was originally dismissed by two earlier decisions under the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The courts ruled that because the plaintiff never filed a complaint, she didn't have anti-retaliation protection.

While she never filed a complaint, she was a willing participant in the internal investigation into the alleged sexual harassment of the organization's employee relations director. The Supreme Court decision stated "If it were clear that an employee who reported discrimination in answering an employer's questions could be penalized with no remedy, prudent employees would have a good reason to keep quiet about Title VII offenses against themselves or against others."

Comment: Good call by the Supreme Court and the jury.

HR: Wellness and GINA

2010-02-09T15:03:00.000-08:00

According to an article (WSJ, 2/1/10), some organizations efforts to promote wellness are being affected because parts of their programs conflict with the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The biggest issue appears to be a feeling from some companies that the law stymies their efforts to reward employees for healthy behaviors because it is placing new limits on questions that can be included in health assessments, particularly family histories.

Comment: Even laws that are "intended" to prevent illegal discrimination can have what are incorrectly referred to as "unintended consequences." GINA may indeed be a very important valuable act -- but I do not find a lot of evidence that all of the "unanticipated consequences" were explored before the law was past. We need to do a much better job of identifying the consequences of regulations and legislation, both positive and negative, before implemention.

HR: Employee Engagement and Business Growth

2010-02-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

According to an HR Solutions post (1/14/10), "employee engagement has a great impact on the turnover and financial performance of the company." Engaged employees are highly likely to 1) recommend the organization as a good place to work, 2) find their work personally rewarding, and 3) leave work often with a good feeling of accomplishment.

Comment: Three solid elements of employee engagement and a positive organization culture -- related to several key measures of organization performance.

HR: Poaching Returns

2010-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

According to an article (WSJ, 2/8/10), poaching, particularly among financial services firms has returned in a fairly strong way. It is also happening in technology, entertainment, and marketing. In the financial sector, smaller firms -- unburdened by the pressures and pay restrictions of the firms now under government supervision or control -- are seizing the opportunities to attact top people. There's another factor involved in some of these recent cases in that they're raising issues related to non-compete clauses -- more popular because of the recession. Lawsuits have been filed, in one case because of a "mass, premeditated, raid."

Comment: Way too early to tell -- but it's interesting that here's an early sign top talent might move away from firms that are under higher levels of government scrutiny -- at the same time showing signs that top people will still go to organizations where there's freedom and potential for greater compensation.

HR: Public - Private Union Membership

2010-02-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (WSJ, 2/3/10), 51.4% of America's 15.4 million union members were employed by the government in 2009. This is the first time that government union workers outnumbered private sector. Overall union membership continues to decline. Overall, one in eight workers (12.3%) now belong to union -- in the private sector only 7.3% of employees are union members.

This is significant from a number of perspectives. The private sector has been shedding jobs at a high rate while the government has been holding or expanding. Heavily unionized industries have been hit with reductions even harder than non-unionized. There are also some very interesting historical perspectives. Union membership has become a major political issue -- yet historically Democrats were openly opposed to public-sector unionization.

Comment: From a broad HR perspective, shifting demographics like this -- and shifting power -- are always important, if nothing more than to be monitored. At the same time, 2010 might be a critical time for major changes in legislation affecting unions and union membership. Doubles the importance and reasons for watching!

HR: DOL - FLSA Exemptions

2010-02-03T03:51:00.000-08:00

According to a SHRM (1/2/10) notice, the DOL, which has clearly indicated increased enforcement of standards, is also going to be tightening its interpretations of exemptions. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in a case involving the Novartis Corp, the DOL has taken a strong stand against Novartis' claim that its sales reps are exempt. The DOL has stated they are not outside sales employees because "no goods or services actually were sold" and that they did exercise the requisite "independent judgment in matters of significance" to qualify to the administrative exemption.

According to the notice from SHRM, the DOL is taking a stance that will make it "harder for most people to qualify" for the administrative exemption.

Comment: The FLSA, a terribly antiquated piece of legislation, has always been very difficult to understand and apply in specific cases. With stepped up enforcement coming from the DOL -- and how courts follow DOL positions, a lot of organizations are going to face serious challenges making sure that positions classified as "exempt" do qualify under tightened administrative exemptions.

HR: 1800 Attempts in 17 Days?

2010-02-03T01:38:00.000-08:00

According to several sources (including www.foxnews.com), more than two dozen SEC employees and contractors have faced investigations over vieew pornography on their government computers. The number is not surprising, actually seems fairly low -- one of my clients investigated a much higher number of cases on a regular basis. But this case is interesting in another aspect.

The role of HR as "porn police" was one of the first - unfortunate - new roles for HR as technology and HR policy evolved over the years. One instance in this case was unique, at least in one sense. The computer of one regional supervisor showed 1800 attempts to look up pornography in a 17-day span.. The supervisor admitted "it was kind of distraction per se." Duh!

Comment: 1800 attempts in 17 days??????

HR: Supreme Court - Benefits Case

2010-01-26T09:32:00.000-08:00

The Supreme Court, recently and during its current term, is hearing a number of major cases involving human resource practices. They recently heard formal arguments on another case with what could be significant implications for some organizations.

The case basically involves the question of who has the right to determine issues related to pension benefit plans -- whether or not the courts can be used to overturn decisions from pension administrators. According to one report from someone attending the hearing, the justices "appeared to appreciate the Pandora's Box that would be opened by substituting the judgment of individual district court judges for that of the paln administrators, who've been interpreting the plan and administering it for year."

Comment: Organizations possibly affected by this need to seriously consider what the implications of this case might be -- put it on the radar and stay on top of it.

HR: Union Issues

2010-01-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

A lot of observers are predicting a real "warming" of issues related to unions, including a pending Supreme Court hearing. One observer suggests the following are going to be key issues:

On November 2, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to review an appeals court decision on whether the NLRA authorizes the NLRB to make decisions with only two members.

President Obama recently signed three pro-labor executive orders that make it easier for employees of federal contractors to organize. The President has nominated pro-union democrats to fill NLRB empty seats, increasing the likelihood that many Bush NLRB decisions will be reversed, including rulings on bargaining and union election notifications. (The Senate is currently fighting the nominations.) Specific issues:

How the U.S. Supreme court could play a role in giving the NLRB more authority, even though the board only has two members. The Court's decision is expected this spring.

How Obama has paved the way for unions to organize employees of federal contractors, and how the NLRB is expected to implement these new pro-labor executive orders.

A look at the controversial new NLRB appointments (the nominees are union lawyers), and how these appointments could impact the board's 2010 agenda and enforcement policies. How likely is it the Senate will win the fight to block these nominations?

How many of the boards decisions under Bush are likely to be reversed, including the employer's rights during workplace investigations and the employer's rights to govern workplace e-mails

The chances EFCA will once again gain momentum - Will employers face expanded penalties for NLRA violations? Will the new EFCA still include a provision for the mandatory arbitration clause?

Comment: Obviously to some extent, how these issues will affect organizations depends on a lot of things, size, industry, etc. But the bottom line is that these issues could have a major impact on HR practices for many HR professionals.

HR: Senior Citizens Postponing Retirement

2010-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

According to "Outlook 2010," a publication of the World Future Society (www.wfs.org), the number of retiring baby boomers who are going to be forced to remain in the workforce is now expected to grow beyond expectations because of the obvious impact of the economic chaos.

Comment: The issue here is not simple to address -- but relatively simple to understand. Organizations are already facing one of the most dissatisfied group of employees ever in the workforce, even in an environment where the expectation was that people should be happy to have jobs. Plus, there were already projections that about 25% of the baby boomers would be forced to continue working -- and not be happy about it. Now this is expected to rise dramatically. The issue is really simple: the challenges and difficulties of motivating, leading, and managing this workforce.