Historically, the functions and responsibilities
of HR personnel had to do with recruiting and orientating
new hires, writing job descriptions, running job announcements
in the newspaper, and making sure policies were adhered
to.
Today, the role of HR professionals has expanded
beyond that. Many interact with service providers,
the executive team and depending on the size of organization
they may even deal with customer and client issues.
As the work environment has changed and organizations
have become increasingly global there is now a need
for HR professionals to take on the role of strategic
partners. In this role not only are interpersonal
skills absolutely necessary, so are sales, marketing,
and negotiation expertise.
For many "old time" HR professionals this
may go against everything they believed their position
to represent. Yet, with the changing times it is essential
for beliefs about who they are, what they do and how
they contribute to an organization to shift.
The reason sales, marketing and negotiating is so
essential is so the HR leaders have the ability "get
a seat at the executive table." It is about
having the capability that allows for their ideas
and projects to be integrated into the company's business
strategies. The more an HR professional has
the ability to market and sell ideas the more valuable
to their organization they are.
At the core of sales and marketing is the power to
negotiate a win/win outcome. Yet, many have never
been trained in the art of negotiation.
According to the New Merriam-Webster
Dictionary negotiation is "the art of arriving
at a settlement with another person, or persons, on
some matter. It is the ability to transfer to another
by delivery or endorsement in return for equivalent
value".
The following are a few guidelines for achieving
a positive outcome regardless of what you are negotiating.
Know what you want to achieve. Before you begin the
process of negotiation it is important to know exactly
what you would like the outcome to be. Consider what
you want and what you would like the end result to
be for yourself and the other person(s). This helps
you to stay focused.
Before you begin the process of negotiation it is
important to know exactly what you would like the outcome
to be. Consider what you want and what you would like
the end result to be for yourself and the other person(s).
This helps you to stay focused.
Far too often people will begin a negotiation process
without first considering what they want to achieve.
The more focused you are the more likely you are to
achieve your goal.
What is your ultimate goal? What are your limits?
What are you not willing to budge on and where do
you have some flexibility. If you have no flexibility
at all then you are not negotiating. You are playing
hardball. The ultimate success in negotiation is a
win/win situation for everyone.
What are your limits? What are you not willing to
budge on and where do you have some flexibility. If
you have no flexibility at all then you are not negotiating.
You are playing hardball. The ultimate success in negotiation
is a win/win situation for everyone.
Information. Have as much information about what
you are negotiating on as possible. Do your homework.
Be willing to ask questions.
Have as much information about what you are negotiating
on as possible. Do your homework. Be willing to ask
questions.
Setting. Where and when you negotiate are essential
to a successful outcome. Try to avoid outside distractions
such as phones, interruptions, clutter, or anything
else that takes away from the situation at hand.
. Where and when you negotiate are essential to
a successful outcome. Try to avoid outside distractions
such as phones, interruptions, clutter, or anything
else that takes away from the situation at hand.
Ask for more. You can always come down on an offer,
but it is difficult to go up. Begin by asking for
more than what you expect to get so you have flexibility.
. You can always come down on an offer, but it is
difficult to go up. Begin by asking for more than what
you expect to get so you have flexibility.
Maintain flexibility. There may be occasions that
the person or persons you are negotiating with will
change direction without much warning. This is where
preparation is essential as well as knowing what you
are willing to settle for. The more prepared you are
the more you can handle unexpected situations.
There may be occasions that the person or persons
you are negotiating with will change direction without
much warning. This is where preparation is essential
as well as knowing what you are willing to settle for.
The more prepared you are the more you can handle unexpected
situations.
Strive for a Win/Win. Ultimately, when you are focused
on a win/win outcome you will achieve a better result
all the way around. This does not mean you will get
everything you want or the other party will get all
they want. It simply means you achieved the most favorable
result for all concerned.
Ultimately, when you are focused on a win/win outcome
you will achieve a better result all the way around.
This does not mean you will get everything you want
or the other party will get all they want. It simply
means you achieved the most favorable result for all
concerned.
And isnt that what you, as an HR Professional really
want? The best for all concerned.
Kathleen Gage is a business advisor specializing
in sales and marketing. She is the author of several
books including, Street Smarts Marketing and Promotions;
101 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door; Street
Smarts Internet Marketing and Workplace Miracles.
She is a keynote speaker of choice at many national
conferences and conventions. To learn more about Kathleens
services or to have her speak at your next conference
visit www.kathleengage.com
The Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) have long since
instituted accounting and corporate reforms to increase
public confidence in investment markets. Conflict-of-interest
issues from overly optimistic research reports--written
by analysts during the stock boom of the late 1990s
caused investors to lose large sums of money.
Now company research reports are written independently
and require disclosure of any conflicts of interest.
Why are compensation
firms allowed to have clear conflict of interest relationships
with their clients? What compensation firm can
expect to get actuarial or human resource consulting
assignments without first ensuring that the pay packages
for the executives making the decision are healthy
enough?
Is anyone aware
of a compensation consulting firm that advised top
management that their pay was too high relative to
others?
I don't understand
how the compensation consulting firms have escaped
legislative intervention. Finally, the House
committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating
this practice.
According to
the Chairman of the committee, Henry Waxman, "The
question, I'm looking at is whether potential conflicts
of interest among compensation consultants and their
corporate clients might play a role in some of the
irrational compensation decisions."
You think?
The Department of Labor released its report on comments
from the public in connection with the Family Leave
Act. The public was asked for their experience
with the Act along with comments on the effectiveness
of the law. More than 15,000 comments were received
from workers, family members, employers, academics,
and other interested parties.
There is broad consensus that family and medical
leave is good for workers and their families, is in
the public interest, and is good workplace policy.
There are differences of opinion on how some of the
provisions are being interpreted in accordance with
the intent of the law.
This report is unusual in that DOL is not using the
comments to seek changes in the law, but rather they
appear to seem more interested in prompting further
discussion about these issues amongst the respondents.
Most employers and employees seem to be satisifed
that the law is working "generally well."
However many employees wish they had greater leave
entitlement, and many employers wish they could prevent
employees from certain type of leaves that are disruptive,
such as "intermittent" leave.
The DOL should be congratulated on this report which
attempts to look at what is happening in the workplace
and is attempting to help all of the interested parties
to better understand each others challenges in making
this law work better for everyone.
I read with sadness this past week,
that a 3 year child had climbed a four foot fence
and drowned in a neighbor's pool in the Long Island
area. What upset me as much as hearing of this
tragedy, was the fact that this might have been prevented
had a neighbor taken the time to let the parents know
that he had seen the child try to scale the fence
the previous day. Then I saw this poem and felt
it was appropriate to post it for all of you to see.
Sad!
I Chose to Look The Other Way
I could have saved a life that day,
But I chose to look the other way.
It wasn't that I didn't care,
I had the time, and I was there.
But I didn't want to seem a fool,
Or argue over a safety rule.
I knew he'd done the job before,
If I spoke up, he might get sore.
The chances didn't seem that bad,
I'd done the same, He knew I had.
So I shook my head and walked on
by, He knew the risks as well as I.
He took the chance, I closed an eye,
And with that act, I let him die.
I could have saved a life that day,
But I chose to look the other way.
Now every time I see his wife, I'll
know, I should have saved his life.
That guilt is something I must bear,
But it isn't something you need share.
If you see a risk that others take,
That puts their health or life at stake.
The question asked, or thing you say,
Could help them live another day.
If you see a risk and walk away, Then
hope you never have to say, I could have saved a life
that day, But I chose, to look the other way.
This poem, contributed by Miki Welch
Sometimes the simple things we learned as a kid make
the most sense. Now the familar advice of "Look
Both Ways" is being used as a safety mantra for
workers in NYC's Transit System. According to
Bob Wills who teaches subway safety in NYC, the single
most common mistake that workers make is not looking
to see if a train is coming. It has meant death
for dozens of subway workers.
Apparently when people are in a hurry they forget
to look both ways, whether it's crossing a street
or stepping onto a dangerous subway track. It
is very easy to make that one fatal mistake.
Remembering the three words that can prevent safety
accidents anywhere there is traffic of any kind "Look
Both Ways." It's a simple reminder to your
employees that can save your life and the the
lives of your employees.
According to MCCarter & English Attorney At Law,
Partner Pamela Moore, the Supreme Court of NJ leveled
the playing field for employers and employees with
regard to claims of retaliation under the NJ Law against
Discrimination. The Court ruled, a plaintiff
must demonstrate that s/he complained to the employer
that workplace conduct violated the LAD and that the
complaint was "reasonably" made in "good
faith." In this case it was ruled that
the complaint was not made in good faith but rather
as a preemptive strike to try to derail disciplinary
action that might result from the employee's misconduct.
According to Moore, retaliation claims have been
on the rise in NJ. This decision should result
in a much fairer playing field for NJ employers defending
such claims.
The NY Times highlighted an interesting twist to
how job boards are operating ("Listing Top Boards
but Charging Candidates to Seek Them").
Every employer has had the experience of posting their
jobs to the big Job Boards only to find their job
listed on page 18 of similar jobs. Some Boards
are apparently having success charging applicants
to submit their resume. As the Times points
out, that can signal that you're not a very good candidate.
Now there's another approach that's gaining traction.
Performance Recruiting.
WorkGiant is the new Job Board in town which challenges
conventional wisdom and thinking, and has a no risk,
pay-per-hire model. WorkGiant completely removes
the risk for employers to post jobs and search resumes,
because they do not require any upfront fees.
You pay only 1% of the annual salary, and then only
after you hire the candidate of your choice.
WorkGiant is getting new resumes from job seekers
each week with thousands of new resumes added.
If your company does not make a hire on WorkGiant,
you pay absolutely nothing, eliminating wasted dollars
from unfilled job postings.
I recommend employers try adding all of their job
listings since it is free. If you prefer, try adding
only those hard to fill jobs since there is no risk
and you only pay if you find the right applicant on
WorkGiant's Job Board. What's more, there is
no timetable for your posting to run. You decide
how long you want your opening to appear, until you
fill it or decide not to hire. When you post
more than 30 jobs, WorkGiant provides you with the
technology to easily post and remove jobs, saving
you the hassle of manual posting/removing. Visit
their web site and start posting your jobs and start
saving your recruiting budget today!
www.workgiant.com/hrshopper
PS: Check out how your company can
earn additional credits for hiring by re-cycling job
applicants on WorkGiant.
Answers.com a leading information portal has now
partnered with HRshopperblog to provide our site with
its leading technology called "AnswerTips."
Any word on our blog can be double-clicked and get
a definition from answers.com huge database of information.
Give it a try, it's fun and educational!
HRshopperblog was named as a "human resource"
reference blog by answers.com.
The NY Times highlighted an interesting twist to
how job boards are operating. (Listing
Top Jobs but Charging Candidates to Seek Them 6-4-07)
Every employer has had the experience of posting their
jobs to the big job boards only to find their job
listed on page 18 of similar jobs. Some boards
apparently are having success charging applicants
to submit their resume. As the Times points
out that can signal that you're not a very good candidate.
Now, there's another niche approach that's gaining
traction. Performance Recruitment.
WorkGiant is a new player in town who challenges
conventional thinking and has a no risk, pay-per-hire
model. WorkGiant completely removes the risk
for employers to post jobs and search resumes, because
they do not require any upfront fees.
You pay only 1% of the annual salary, and then only
after hiring the candidate of your choice. If
your company does not make a hire on WorkGiant, you
pay absolutely nothing, eliminating wasted dollars
from unfilled paid postings.
I recommend employers try adding all of their job
listings since it's free. If you like, try adding
only those hard to fill jobs since there is no risk
and you only pay if you find the right applicant on
WorkGiant's growing list of resumes on the site.
What's more, there is no timetable for your ads to
run. When you post more than 30 jobs they
provide you with the technology to easily post and
remove jobs saving you the hassle of manual posting/removing.
Visit their web site and start adding your jobs and
start saving your recruiting budget today!
www.workgiant.com/hrshopper
PS:
Check out how your company can earn additional credits
for hiring by re-cycling job applicants on WebGiant.
NY Times 5/30/2007
Employers can breath a sigh of relief based on the
Supreme Court decision making it more difficult for
workers to sue their employers for discrimination
over pay issues. The court would not allow workers
look back at pay decisions made over the course of
their career, sometimes as many as 20 years prior,
that may have been discriminatory, and use that as
a basis for their complaints. Instead the court
used a much tighter time frame of 180 days for their
complaint to be filed over pay actions.
Some labor experts fear that employees will be forced
to rush into court to file their claim in a timely
manner, while others suggest there are other legal
remedies that do not have the same time constraints.
Only time will tell!
Tell us whether you agree with the Supreme Court's
decision?
WYMT
- Hazard,KY,USA
Sunday marks the one year anniversary of the Kentucky
Darby Mine explosion in Harlan County that killed
five miners and left a lasting impression upon the
mining community. Not only did May 20th, 2006 directly
affect the families of those five miners killed,
it ultimately affected complete strangers, fellow
miners not only in Kentucky, but across the country.
They say that the laws are written in coal miner's
blood saying it takes tragedy to push for change
and the Darby tragedy that killed five, the Sago
disaster that killed 12 in West Virginia just several
months earlier, both made lawmakers and industry
officials realize something had to be done. That's
why in the past year with the help of several of
the Darby widows and others, new legislation was
passed, federal safety bills such as the Miner Act,
which required emergency response plans and more
rescue teams and state legislation such as House
Bill 207, which doubled the amount of inspections
and required more methane detectors.
"You don't have to die to make a living for
your family and these people mean so much more than
they're credited for. Miners are human beings,"
said Darby widow Melissa Lee.
Just making the mines safer so that other families
don't have to go through the same pain, the same
loss that these Darby families still feel.
Sunday, we'll have much more with these families
and on the lives and legacies of those five miners
that died nearly one year ago in the Kentucky Darby
Mine.
In the wake of the Sago disaster, the Federal Mine
Safety & Health Administration has issued new
standards that strengthen the rules for sealing
abandoned mining sections.
According to the Courier Journal, MSHA will require
seals in abandoned mines to be able to endure more
pressure from an explosion and that welding will
not be allowed within 150 feet of the seals.
The new rules also require mines to remove insulated
cables from sealed areas, among other things.
Find Safety Training online at www.hrtraininguniversity.com
NYC has experienced a safety boom over the last many
years. With one bedroom apartments selling for
more than $250,000, Real Estate and Construction companies
have profited handsomely.
Sadly, no one has been paying attention to the increasing
number of accidents and deaths attributed to the construction.
An incredible 29 laborers died in work-related accidents,
with 17 of them falling to their deaths, according
to the New York Times.
Finally the city is prepared to act. $4 million
is being set aside to improve safety on scaffolding
suspended from the tops of buildings. The city
is contemplating legislation that would allow the
city to oversee a certain type of scaffolding that
has been involved in many of the fatalties.
In addition, money has been set aside for enhanced
training and outreach for contractors and laborers.
Contractors and construction companies can find scaffolding
and online safety training at
http://www.hrtraininguniversity.com/scaffolding.php
Answers.com has added our human resource blog to
their reference for "Human Resources".
Check it out at http://www.answers.com/topic/human-resources
under "Blog" resources.
Now visitors looking for information from Answers.com
under "Human Resources" will also see a
link to our blog. Thank you to all of the experts
who have contributed to our blog and keep the experts
comments coming.
Since its launch in January 2005, Answers.com has
become one of the leading information sites on the
Internet. Answers.com's collection of 4 million answers
is drawn from over 60 titles from brand-name publishers,
as well as original content created by Answers.com's
own editorial team. The site offers useful answers
in categories like business, health, travel, technology,
science, entertainment, arts, history and many more.
An informative and effective new hire orientation
program is a key component to assisting employees
with making a smooth and positive adjustment to the
workplace. Orientation is more than showing the new
team member where the coffee pot is located and how
the photocopier works. A well-planed program will
help the employee adjust to their new surroundings,
inform and educate, communicate procedures and policies,
answer questions, and reinforce or establish expectations.
Key elements of new hire orientation:
1.) Provide essential resources and references
2.) Review job description, performance expectations,
and standards
3.) Review work and meeting schedule
4.) Review payroll policies and procedures
5.) Review and discuss company policies and procedures
6.) Introduce new hire to team members and support
staff
7.) Provide tour of the facility or office space
8.) Provide list of initial job assignments and training
plans
9.) Identify a trainer or buddy who will help with
general questions on the job
New hire orientation takes a bit of planning and preparation.
However, it is time well spent. It provides the new
hire and manager the opportunity to start off on the
right foot!
Learning happens when our senses are stimulated.
We quickly learn when we are young that if we drink
something that is very hot, we will experience the
feeling of pain and the lingering effect of a burned
tongue.
How did we learn this? Someone may have
warned us that a beverage was hot, or there may have
been a sign or label that told us to be careful, we
may have felt the heat of the beverage through the
cup that radiated onto our hands, and by the pain
that the hot liquid left on our tongue as we took
a drink. The next time we hear the words of warning,
see the label, feel the heat from the cup, and proceed
to take a drink we are more careful. We gathered the
information through our senses, learning quickly that
if we want to avoid a burned tongue, we should let
the beverage cool and sip carefully.
This simple example is applicable to any type of
successful training or learning, by linking learning
through engaging the senses we are more likely to
remember, retain, and use the information.
How many times have you attended a training class
and the only mode of information was from the person
standing at the front of the room, talking and telling
you verbally what you need to know? As you sit there,
carefully sipping your very hot coffee, as to not
burn your tongue, you think to yourselfI wonder how
Ill remember all this stuff and why is this importantwill
they will show an example...maybe there is a handout
that I can read latterI wonder how many messages
are on my voice mail? Time passes, the trainer is
still talking. You watch the person pace back and
forth, fiddle with their notes, wonder where they
got the nice shoes they are wearing, and as time passes,
your mind continues to wonder and the session is over.
So what did you learn? Probably not a lot. The trainer
engaged only one sense, hearing. So to compensate
for the fact that your brain was not fully utilized;
it started to look for other stimuli and started using
the senses that were being ignored. You probably lost
focus, stopped listening, and stopped learning. The
scenario is common, but it does not have to be, with
a few minor modifications, training can evoke the
senses and engage learners.
The goal of any training interaction should be make
learning easy, effective, engaging, and productive.
To do this, it is essential to understand how people
learn. As we have discussed here, one mode is through
the senses. Our senses are information superhighways,
by taking in information through a variety of channels
and processing the information at extremely high rates.
Did you know that our brains process information taken
in by sight faster than hearing? Our abilities to
master knowledge, concepts and skills are directly
linked to our senses. Research shows that the more
our senses are stimulated, the more we learn.
Information presented through learning tools that
invoke both words and pictures is seven times more
likely to be retained than words alone. In addition
to visual aids, adding materials that can be manipulated
by the learner and incorporate taste/smell, the opportunity
for learning and information that is retained and
remembered increases to a rate ten times more than
through words alone.
A word of caution, sensory overload - while our brains
are efficient at processing information, too much
at once can cause the system to shut down. It is a
delicate balance and combination of conveying information
through the senses that trainers must master. If you
are new to training, start out slowly and ask your
learners for feedback. As you become more comfortable
with using different learning tools, you will be able
to judge whether the variety is too much, too little
or just right.
Consider a sample of learning tools available to
evoke the sense:
Flip Charts / White Board / PowerPoint / Video /
Films / Audio Recordings / Games / Simulators / Computer
Based Training / Printed Materials / Podcasts / Blogs
With so many things to choose form, selecting the
appropriate learning tools can be overwhelming. It
is important to use a systematic approach to determine
which learning tools to use to stimulate the senses.
1.) To make the selection process effective, select
5 to 6 different learning tools from the list above
(or from your own).
2.) Ask the following questions about each tool, give
one point to each YES answer:
- Is this tool right for the audience?
- Can this tool be used for other sessions?
- Is this tool easy to update?
- Is there time to develop this tool?
- Do we have the budget for this tool?
- Do we have the equipment/resources for this tool?
- Do we have someone on staff that can develop this
tool?
- Is the training environment appropriate for this
tool?
- Is this tool right for the learning objectives?
3.) Determine which tools have the highest scores;
these you should consider.
Successful training experiences engage learners and
create positive outcomes. Linking the senses to training
through a variety of learning tools is one way to
promote retention, foster learning, improve job performance,
and make the process interesting for the learner and
the trainer.
Can
You Believe It's January Already!
The
New Year is here, and you are wondering were your
time went. You,
along with most of your peers had good intensions
at the beginning of last year, correct?
Then what happened to the plan or goal to better
yourself? Lets
see, this was the year for that better job, a raise,
a promotion, lose twenty pounds, and oh yes, start
back to school to earn that higher degree.what happened?
Did
you write out your goals or plans for the year?
Did you sign up for classes or workshops, to
make yourself more inline for a promotion?
What happened?
Bet
you had a good case of that killer of good intentions
-- procrastination or its cousin fear of rejection?
Okay,
you need something to launch you on your way and effectively
destroy, what is holding you back from that new Dream
Job or promotion, am I right?
The one of the tools I am referring to is Time
Management.
I will also bet, some of you reading this,
find yourselves (or your mind) still in your Pjs
and pink bunny slippers at 2 pm most days.
Job
search or building yourself for the next promotion
is much like a full time job.
So invest in yourself.
Did
you know one of the best means of Time Management
is writing?
What one thing makes writing such an effective
tool: writing
______? If
you think you know the answer to this question, you
can eMail me at kinimoor@hawaii.rr.com, All correct
answers will be eMailed back some resume help goodies.
Now,
here are some things to make it easier to focus on
your plan with, what I call a War Room and what
goes in it to make it effective.
1.
Have a quite space to operate out of
2.
A daily planner
3.
A desk or table with a good chair
4.
Good lighting
5.
A telephone you have control over-with voice
mail
6.
Have a computer or access to one + eMail
7.
A good laser or ink jet printer
8.
A wall or door you can post charts on
9.
A FAX or access to a FAX
10.
A large mirror
eMail
me if you will like the full article, explaining the
details to these items.
Gene
E. Moore, SPHR, is a Job Search Coarch at Blue Sky
Careers. Gene is also Ask Bro Kini at jobshawaii.com
Forun and a mentor for Ingage ingagementors.com.
Her is located on Maui, but spends most of his consulting
with clients via the internet.
Have
Resume - Will Travel
You
will find as you go through life; most of us will
not have a career path that is a straight line.
There will be unplanned detours, bumps in the
road, large rivers to cross, and tollgates to slow
you down. There
will be times we wish we had that compass.
For some, to have written down the directions,
still others who will be kicking themselves for not
asking for directions in the first place.
Even with a career road map, spelling out your
goals, one can come upon all sorts of hazards in the
career road.
Metaphors
aside, layoffs, downsizing, mergers, a new boss, or
new co-worker, unplanned transfer, or called to military
service are all disruptors.
Your spouse or other loved one transferred;
going with them removes you from your current employers
career ladder. Any
of these and more not written about here, will put
a cramp in anyones upward movement.
The
question one now needs to ask; What can I do about
it? The obvious
is to plan for it, but in reality that is easier said
than done, because more people do not plan at all.
Still others plan it all out and then put the plan
on the shelf, never to go back to it again.
Truth
be told, your career planning is an on going process,
linked in with other tools. Many are surprised to
find how similar the process of career planning is
much like running a business, where multiple disciplines
come into play.
Your
resume, or more to the fact - your resumes, are work
in progress documents.
Your resume is only good for a snapshot in
time. However,
you need to keep it up to date; this is where the
Have Resume - Will Travel comes in.
No, the word-play on the citation Have Gun
- Will Travel, in not about travel, but the ability
to be available.
The Paladin of Have Gun - Will Travel fame
was hired not because of his gun, but that he was
available as a problem solver, with many more tools
than a gun. Moreover,
in his day, his resume was his reputation and business
card, not so in our present day.
Your
resume is your marketing piece or your background
statement that is backed up by several other tools.
Some of these
tools are a bio, a Blue Sky written statement, a portfolio,
your personal business plan, a skills appraisal or
list, and a 60 Second- ME!.
How
does this fit in with you?
Have Resume - Will Travel, is all about your
career, and where your career path/road travels are
leading you. Whether
your present goal is internal or external; your resume
is the key tool.
Moreover, it is the combination of the other
important career tools, which makes the resume the
key tool. Much
like Paladin you may be needed to solve problems
for a new employer or existing employer at any time,
so you need to be prepared.
Gene
E. Moore, SPHR, is a job Search Coach at Blue Sky
Careers. Gene is also, Ask Bro Kini at jobshawaii.com
Forum and a mentor for Ingage ingagementors.com.
He is located on Maui, but spends most of his consulting
time with clients via the Internet.
Many employers in the health care industry appear
to be unaware of a new law that has taken effect as
of January 1, 2007. The law requires companies
that do at least $5 million a year in Medicaid business
to educate all employees and officers on how to detect
fraud, waste and abuse. In addition, the law
protects employees who report fraud against retaliation.
Employees may also be entitled to share in any money
that is recovered as a result of their whistleblowing.
Health care providers must also establish policies
to make sure tht their contractors investigate and
report fraud. Most large health care companies
are likely to have hundreds of contractors that are
working for their organizations including some doctors,
billing agents and other related vendors.
The new law and its requirements will also apply
to many pharmacies, health maintenance organizations,
home care agencies, suppliers of medical equipment,
physician groups and drug manufacturers.
Compliance cannot be taken lightly as health care
providers will be putting all their Medicaid money
at risk if they do not comply.
Health Care companies should begin putting this education
process at the top of their list of priorities for
the new year. Having an anonymous hotline for
employees to report fraud and abuse is one critical
step towards fulfilling the requirements. Hotlines
can be put in place quickly and are the most cost
efficient means for reporting fraud.
You may wish to get more information about hotlines
at:
http://hrshopper.com/welcomemarket.php?pg=7#shifter
You may have missed our new link to HRshopper's "Law
Advisor Connection". On the right hand
side of the home page is a box where employers can
send in their legal questions about HR issues and
get fast, free answers from Epstein Becker & Green
(EBG), the well known and regarded employment law
firm. We've also added a new feature where you
can browse some of the recent questions and answers
from EBG. Try it out yourself. Usually
you will get an answer the same or next day.
I recently reported on the firestorm of criticism
over the lack of transparency and accountability by
the 401k plan sponsors and the ignorance of many HR
benefit managers (ignorance or cleverness?).
It's clear the issue is not going away. Take
a look at all of the newpapers that reported the story
of the Government Accounting Office Report on 401k
fees:
Here is just a sampling from newspapers across the
country: (As reported on "The Retirement Plan
Blog") HR managers better be doing their
homework to see if their plan is being charged reasonable
fees for the money that is being managed or remind
their CEO that it was a "tactic" to avoid
higher company sponsor fees.
- The Columbus Dispatch, Feds
Press for Better Fee Disclosure
- Honolulu Advertiser, Congress
to probe 401(k) charges
- The Motley Fool, Frightening
Fine Print
- The Buffalo News, 401(k)
fees seen taking big piece of retirement savings
- Kansas City Star, Greater
401(k) clarity is urged
- Tennessean, U.S.
says 401(k) fees hurt millions
- Florida Today, Congress
to push for improved 401(k) fee information
- The Nashua Telegraph, Sponsor
fees may be chipping away at your 401(k) savings
- San Francisco Chronicle, Dems
set to take on pension/health care industries
- Seattle Times, Participants
in 401(k) plans left mostly in the dark about fees
- Courier Post (Camden, NJ), Mystery
surrounds fees charged for 401(k) funds
Listening is any boss' most important skill, actually
the most important leadership skill.
Why? We LISTEN to employees to motivate them
and ignore them to demotivate them. It is that
simple.
We don't listen to employees to find out what the
employee's motivators are, what motivates them.
We listen because listening is the motivator.
Knowing that the boss is listening, knowing that
your opinion is being valued, knowing that your experience
counts, these are the things that make the difference
between the employee having a good day at work and
having a bad day. A bad day is when your opinion
is not sought, your experience is ignored and your
ideas disappear without a trace. Employees must
ignore the bad days and quickly forget them in order
to maintain stability and to continue to be paid.
Of course, if the boss only listens and does not
take actions appropriate to the employee's "two
cents", the employee quickly learns that it was
a waste of time to even try to put in their "two
cents" and that their opinions and knowledge
are NOT VALUED.
To learn more, take a look at Listening
the Doorway to Employee Commitment
Best regards, Ben
Author "Leading
People to be Highly Motivated and Committed"
Democrats are feeling full of themselves these days
with their recent victories. One of their first
agenda items appears to be finding ways to increase
unionization throughout the US. I guess free
elections aren't good enough to generate enough wins,
the democratic leadership (Mrs. Pelosi) is fighting
to get a bill sponsored that would accept signed cards
rather than rely solely on the traditional secret-ballot
elections to determine the outcome of a union election.
The bill would allow employees at a workplace to unionize
as soon as a majority sign cards expressing support
to join a union. Employers should contact their
Chamber of Commerces to voice their opinions as to
appropriateness of adding another method for union
recognition. Maybe there are some veteran HR
pros who can share stories about their workers who
were coerced into signing the pro-union cards, or
is that only in the movies?
Now the government has concluded that 401(k) participants
may not be getting as good a deal as they should or
could. The issue revolves around fees paid to
plan sponsers and providers. A lawsuit is commencing
against some of the largest companies in the US, alleging
they allowed employees to be overcharged. What
possible motivation do employers have to allow fees
to remain high? Plenty!
If plan sponsors get to charge employers (employees)
high fees there can be wink and nods regarding other
"processing," administrative and report
fees. These charges can be waived or reduced
in return for the largess of the HR benefit managers
who look the other way (or don't know any better)
than to bargain for lower fees. The impact is that
the plans cost less to administer, thousands of dollars,
even tens of thousands a year or more.
So what you say; what's a point here or there.
Fees can make a significant difference on a retirement
savings account. According to the Wall Street
Journal, "An additional 1% annual charge for
fees would cut investment returns by 17% over 20 years,
according to the GEO."
Employees have received plenty of information over
the years regarding education and plan investment
results and risk, but as of today federal laws don't
require plan documents to disclose fees borne by individual
participants. Isn't it time for that to change?
Good news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics!
The rate of serious injuries at work declined last
year. Yet, over one million serious injuries
were reported in the workplace. Sprains and
strains were the #1 cause of injuries forcing workers
to take time off from work with carpal tunnel syndrome
showing the largest decline.
Employers are recognizing the value of safety and
health training. For a small investment, employers
can help educate their workers and help prevent accidents,
injuries and illness. Check out online training
at www.hrtraininguniversity.com.
Students can sign up for safety and hr education.
Corporations are welcome to sign up and receive volume
discounts.
I was taken by surprise by the legal battle over
a plan in part, to offer free or low-cost health care
to all uninsured residents of San Franciso.
Thankfully, the city is being sued by a culinary trade
group over the plan that requires businesses with
20 or more employees to pay for the cost of each worker's
health care and help finance some of the cost of medical
services. The group is claiming that a portion
of the program violates federal employment law.
Whether the ordinance does or doesn't violate federal
law seems secondary to the notion that businesses
ought to help finance social programs for the uninsured.
The city assumed that businesses were an easier target
than the voters. Efforts to position this as
a "taxation" ballot issue by raising the
sales tax were rejected, since state law prohibits
establishing sales tax through voter initiatives.
Recently the state of Maryland tried a similar approach
but a federal judge struck down that state's health
insurance law citing ERISA conflicts.
Business owners should contact their local chamber's
and make sure that all members are educated on this
issue as it is likely that an ordinance (tax) is coming
soon to a town near you! Are you going to be
able to raise your prices to pay for this, and is
it business's responsiblity to help pay for the uninsured?
Almost 2 years ago I moved from my HR practitioner
role, as the SVP of HR for a reinsurance firm, to
join a vendor. I was interested in this vendor
not only because of the quality of the people there,
but because I believe the product, a workforce intelligence
solution, advances the HR profession. This is
an important objective for me.
I wanted to list my post under the category of workforce
analytics or workforce intelligence or another topic
which would describe workforce measurement.
The absence of this topic is telling. Until we can
communicate the value of HR practices (note I did
not say 'of HR') and the contributions of the workforce
in terms of business outcomes, we will not be recognized
as part of the business community.
This is not a new topic for HR. We have used metrics
for a long time. However, our typical metrics at best
can be used to manage the HR function and fulfill
compliance requirements. And they rarely operate
'at best'. More commonly they are used in a vacuum
with no view toward the impact on the business.
Is is really important to reduce time to fill if we
consequently reduce quality of hire? Most organizations
don't even connect the two measures. We
need to evaluate time to fill in the context of time
to productivity, performance, 1st year turnover, LOS,
and potential so that we do not chase a target that
may be detrimental to the organization. The
goal is the balance of time and quality - same for
cost per hire.
Another favorite HR metric is turnover. This metric
tells your executives very little and therefore fails
one basic test of good measurement. What will
you do differently or what decision is informed now
that you know this number? If we're honest we
know the answer is nothing. However if you monitor
the turnover of high potentials and the best performers
executives will be interested. Staffing should measure
the turnover of new hires. Learning Officers
should look at the experience / knowledge lost.
OD practitioners should focus on the turnover of Leaders.
You should also monitor poor performer turnover.
By monitoring these metrics you will identify trends
and outcomes that lead to action. You are also likely
to find leading indicators of business outcomes.
In my 25 years in HR I learned that in order to play
a vital role in the execution of strategy, HR practitioners
need to operate as business people, and not cops or
management adversaries. Our language, focus, awareness,
management of technology, and ideas must align with
our industry, our market and our organization. This
should be our goal. Workforce intelligence can help
us
How many of you earned $150,000 for each hour you
worked?
Barry Diller did. He is the CEO of a company
whose stock declined 7.7% last year. Can you
imagine what he would have made if his stock had increased
in value?
My hats off to the head of HR in his company.
Can you imagine the shame that this person feels each
night knowing they were involved in recommending such
an amount of compensation.
CEO's should find out who this person is and make
sure they recuit them ASAP. Let's see if we
can find this wonderful example of an HR professional
and invite them to explain to us how this came to
be. If you know who is involved let us know so we
can invite them to act as a "busines advisor"
for our blog. They can blog about compensation
and ethics.
Salary.com's annual survey shows some light at the
end of the tunnel for HR professionals. The
annual survey spanned 11 job functions (not including
"owner") at more than 1,800 organizations,
both privately and publicly held, employing one to
500 employees. Only one of three categories
of jobs increased at a rate greater than inflation.
HR heads were one of them. Take a look at the
survey results (HR is highlighted).
The survey also points out what small business owners
should know-you have to pay competitive wages in order
to attract them. What are some of the most successful
approaches you have seen at small companies in attracting
top talent?
According to Robert Stephens, Founder and Chief Inspector
of The Geek Squad, they hire their own employees and
conduct comprehensive 50 state criminal records search,
drug testing, and driving record checks. More
and more smart employees recognize the necessity of
doing comprehensive background checks as a regular
part of their hiring processes. Thanks
for the input Robert!
The NY Times reported today that critics accused
london transportation authorities of a security gaffe
after learning that the son of a notorious radical
imam had worked on the underground train network.
Mr Mostafa was jailed for three years in Yemen in
1999 for plotting a bombing campaign, but worked for
a subcontractor of the subway's maintenance company.
A series of attacks by four suicide bombers on three
underground trains killed 52 last July.
HR managers have to be more diligent in making sure
that companies that do sensitive sub-contracting work
have completed background checks on their employees.
I don't know if Best Buy sub-contracts its computer
repair work to the "Geek" squad or whether
they are employees of the company. But here
is an example where it would be imperative that the
sub-contractor perform comprehensive 50 state criminal
checks especially when these repair personnel are
going into the homes of Best Buy customers.
You think?
Employers can get a special "free test drive"
of 50 state background check service at:
http://hrshopper.com/Marketplace/Intellicorp/testdrive.php
Yesterday, Syracuse University honored nine players
who took a stand against racism on the football field
in the 1970's. These players boycotted practices
to protest racial discrimination and insensitivity
in the program by their longtime head coach.
The university apologized for its behavior.
Racism and insensitivity remains a vexing issue in
2006 in the workplace. Many organizations are
run by similar people who have no clues as to how
to create an inclusive organization. While training
and education is a big part of the answer, it cannot
alone, change a culture of unfair treatment and favoritism.
Chancellor Nancy Cantor of Syracuse added "At
the core of what happened was that their willingness
to stand up and speak about what had been long and
daily slights were met with an unresponsive, some
might say deaf, institutional ear."
Tulin and Associates have an interested article that
help professionals start the dialogue in their organization:
A
Professionals Guide for the
Diversity
Perplexed
I managed people for over 30 years and came to realize
that they are far, far more capable than we give them
credit. Early on, I believed them to have a
certain maximum capability. After changing my
own management methods I learned that they were really
2 times as capable as I thought. And later,
after more changes, they turned out to be more than
4 times as capable as I had originally thought.
In my career, I successfully turned around four reasonably
large organizations including a nuclear-powered cruiser
and a 1300 person unionized group in New York City.
I will be blogging about the specific whats, whys
and how tos I developed in the process. I provided
these to my subordinate managers so that the entire
organization could allow employees to unleash their
full potential of creativity, innovation, productivity,
motivation and commitment. Only that way could
we really achieve significant and sustained performance
improvement, north of 300% per person in productivity.
The key to all this is to allow each person to develop
a strong sense of ownership.
Without that, employees will treat their work as if
it was a rental car, and that's the definition of
a real disaster. Have you ever caught anyone
washing a rental car?
Best regards, Ben Simonton
Author Leading
People to be Highly Motivated and Committed
As a consultant on workplace diversity issues, clients
come to me to address the issues that occur when an
employee decides to transition from one gender to
another. While many of the issues involved in
this diversity challenge are the same as any other
(inclusion, management support, training, legal issues),
there are distinctly different issues as well.
What do we call him or her? What can I say or
not say about this gender transition? What will
happen in customer-facing situations? What bathroom
facilities are used? What about insurance benefits?
And more. There are a number of guides in the
public domain on these issues, including one from
my company, Jillian
Todd Weiss & Associates, as well as the Human
Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org)
and one from GenderPAC (www.gpac.org)
These are a helpful place to start, though not all
of the suggestions are a fit for all organizations.
When it comes time to draft company policy, it is
important to assess your organizational culture honestly,
and to include all key organizational players, including
such unlikely suspects as security, EAPs and unions.
The training department should be ready early on to
provide training to senior managers and officers,
because if they don't understand why such policy is
necessary, it won't get the necessary support when
a situation occurs. There should also be someone
who's ready to provide training to co-workers, and
who's thought about how to handle various kinds of
questions, concerns and objections. These are
a few of the things you need to think about before
an emergency situation happens. And if you have
more questions, feel free to ask me.
Performance management is a Human Resource Process
that is about helping managers implement strategic
and organisational changes. Your organisation's
Mission Statement tells you, your people and your
clients your purpose, the reason you exist.
Your Vision of your organisation provides for its
desired future state. Your Strategies give your
people the ways and means to make it all happen.
Your values show your people what you expect of them
in their work. Behaviours specify how they will
demonstrate them.
Effective Performance Management Systems measure:
- What your people have achieved
- How they have done this
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- We are a name organisation
- Our products and services are models of
excellence
- We are market leaders
- We are a "Learning Organisation"
- Our people are accountable and self directed
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- Our organisation is values driven
- Our products and services are quality
- We are client focused and dynamic
- Leading our people, instead of managing
them
- We empower our people
|
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- We have our vision, values and action
plans
- Our products and services are evolving
- Our market share is growing
- Our systems and technology are future
proofed
- We develop our people
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- We can see our vision, sense our values
and want a plan
- Our products and services have potential
- We have a foot in the door in our present
market
- Systems seem to cope with today's needs
- We train our staff
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- We are still trying to make a name for
ourselves
- Our products and services are few &/or
unsophisticated
- We are working hard to get established
- Our systems are trying hard to keep up
- Staff are a cost, not an investment
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Congratulatons to Cindy Rockwell CEO of Customervision,
a collaboration and knowledge sharing solution for
business. Customervision's "BizWiki"
was named top training product of the year!
WOW! Well actually they were named as one of
the top five products but that's besides the point.
HR Executive Magazine hands out its annual top product
awards in October and this year Customervision was
on the list.
The prestigious award creates a short-list of solutions
- hand-picked from hundreds of Training technologies
- that combine innovation with practical business
strategies to yield workforce advancements and overall
business excellence. Interestingly, Customervision
was chosen as a top HR product. Their
solution enables Fortune 500 companies
to share knowledge and expertise quickly and easily,
and learning content can be continuously updated and
improved with the latest information and resources,
using only a Web browser. CustomerVision's unique
Ask the Expert function allows an organization to
seamlessly blend expert knowledge sharing with the
benefits of collective intelligence.
Customervision pioneered HRshopper's
"Ask the Expert" backend program and let's
us seamlessly gather questions from HR pros and route
them directly to other HR experts for answers.
We believe that informal learning
and knowledge sharing as enabled through applications
like BizWiki will become increasingly vital to the
way organization learn and adapt to today's business
environment," said Cindy Rockwell, CustomerVision's
CEO. "Being recognized by Human Resource Executive
magazine helps confirm our vision for improving the
way organizations share knowledge and collaborate
in order to improve performance."
HR professionals should take a
test drive of this great wiki collaboration tool.
If you don't know what a wiki is, you should get more
information... now.
Sign Up for Free 30 Day Trial
Courtesy of HRshopper
http://hrshopper.com/Marketplace/CustomerVision/trial.php
Get More Information about Wiki's
http://hrshopper.com/Marketplace/CustomerVision/index.php
"Ask the Expert" Program Ask Questions,
Get Answers (HR related only)
http://www.cvcust.com/hrshopper/consumer/questionsummary.asp?kbid=5866&category=1
You are invited to "Ask the Experts" your
most difficult HR question. Our HR experts are
ready to answer your question fast, and for free.
Browse our expert profiles to determine which expert
comes closest to the background and experience you
think is necessary to respond to your question.
Many experts respond within the same day, most with
72 hours. Let an expert give you a response,
or act as a sounding board for your human resource
issue. HR issues only.
Go To Expert Profiles> http://hrshopper.com/AllExperts.php
Have a Question, Send it in... browse
expert categories http://www.cvcust.com/hrshopper/consumer/questionsummary.asp?kbid=5866&category=1
Use
HRshopper.com to find and enroll in live, in-person
seminars, classes, online training, workshops, corporate
training events and conferences. Many of our
clients have easy to search tools to help you locate
the best training for you.
List
your paid or free events by clicking on this link:
http://hrshopper.com/moreevents.php
Welcome to the Law Advisor Connection. If
you are an employer you can ask any human
resource related legal question and get fast free
advice from Epstein, Becker & Green employment
law attorney Johnathan Trefimow. Just visit
the link below and ask your question. Most
questions are answered the same day.
http://hrshopper.com/lawadvisor.php
Improve
how you communicate to employees the impact of organizational
change, new management, changes in business direction
and other critical issues. Find the strategies and
tactics to help you prepare your employees with the
knowledge and skills to adapt to change. How
you connect with employees will either boost morale
and performance, or cause a loss of productivity and
employees. Whether you are undergoing a new technology,
a shift in corporate structure or culture, or a workforce
expansion, you need to understand how to communicate
more effectively.
Share
your best communication successes with us in your
organization.
Do most of the HR people you know have the responsibility
for safety within their organization?
How practical is it to outsource your HR functions
to multiple vendors?
Learn
how to align your HR compensation strategy to your
organizational objectives, and deliver the right tactics
to succeed. Your compensation policies must also be
integrated into your HR strategies. Learn how
to assess the effectiveness of your compensation plans,
programs and practices.
Health-care cost containment and HR-benefits outsourcing
have drawn considerable attention over the last
two years. Health care and HR outsourcing are
burning issues for most organizations who are seeking
ways to keep benefit costs down while remaining competitive.
Consultants are urging HR managers to hone in on best-class
solutions, consolidate vendors when possible and focus
on understanding how every benefit dollar is spent.
What
is the #1 burning health care cost containment issue
in your organization?
Please join HRshopper in sharing your human resource
comments and expert insights as a "guest author."
Guest Author info and image will appear on the home
page. It's a great way to spread the word about
your expertise and opinions. All requests for
participaton should come to:
businessadvisors@hrshopper.com
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