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| Volume 9, Issue 8 |
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In This Issue:
 200 company records: What to keep, what to dump
Interviews: The legal way to ask 5 risky questions
Social media and HR: Managing the legal risks, updating your policies
10 low-cost communication tips to start 'open season' right
'I'm having health problems': 7 steps for handling the interactive conversation
 It's OK to be boss - and why
Do you know how to lead and manage your department?
The equity factor at work
Smart presentations: Remember this
 Special financial report: Employee compensation
 Independent contractor issue heats up
Wage-and-hour misclassifications
Avoiding unlawful layoffs
Ready or not, here comes...wellness
 Increase your influence tenfold
Layoff time: How [you] can manage the stress
How to excel at your job and be home for dinner
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200 company records: What to keep, what to dump
A records retention schedule ensures that an organization keeps the records it needs for operational, legal, fiscal or historical reasons, and then destroys them when they're no longer useful.
You may base your records retention schedule on your own experience and research of legal mandates or on what other companies are doing. Whatever your method, use your retention schedule as a guide, not as an executioner. Retain records longer if litigation, a government investigation or an audit seems likely. In the event that a
legal action does transpire, immediately cease all disposal activities. You have to know what you have and how long to keep it—legally and for your own business purposes—before you can establish an efficient records management system. That's why
it's important to inventory your records and draw up a company retention schedule. You must also consider...
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Interviews: The legal way to ask 5 risky questions
Employee lawsuits tend to increase during recessions and this one is no exception.
Job discrimination claims filed by U.S. employees and applicants are running at record-high levels in the past two years. Managers and supervisors are at the front lines of making decisions that often trigger those lawsuits—promotions, pay raises, terminations and job assignments. But the most legally dangerous of all those
situations is interviewing job candidates. One misguided question could cause an applicant to think he or she was rejected due to one of the federally protected categories (race, gender, disability, age (40 or older), national origin, religion or pregnancy status). Even your most well-intentioned questions (“So how did you get
that broken arm?”) could be interpreted in a discriminatory way. Managers usually land in trouble when they ask for information that’s irrelevant to a candidate’s ability to perform the job. That’s why managers should make sure every question relates to this central theme:...
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Social media and HR: Managing the legal risks, updating your policies
Whether they’re shooting off their own tweets or following others, employees using Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and personal blogs are creating liability and PR risks with their online rants, raves and company gossip.
We’ve gathered the best of HR Specialist’s recent coverage of social media’s HR implications. You’ll find sound legal advice, and maybe a laugh or two...
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10 low-cost communication tips to start 'open season' right
Most organizations don’t invest a lot of time or money in communicating employee benefits because they don’t believe it reaps a big payoff.
They’re wrong. Making sure employees have an up-front understanding of their benefits options pays off. Studies show that employees who work for companies that do a good job of communicating about their benefits are more satisfied than those at organizations with poor communication efforts—even if the benefits themselves aren’t
quite as good. You don’t want talented employees defecting to your competitors for an extra couple of dollars an hour when you could easily keep them if they understood how valuable their benefits are. Too many organizations are still plopping a benefits booklet in front of employees and telling them to figure it out.
That just doesn’t work anymore. Benefits have become too complex for them to figure them out on their own. They need your help—and lots of it. With benefits election open-enrollment season looming at organizations across the country, here are 10 ways you can do a better job of communicating with your organization’s employees. None of
them costs a fortune. All can help increase employee participation in your benefits program...
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'I'm having health problems': 7 steps for handling the interactive conversation
When faced with an employee who may have a physical or mental disability, a manager's legal antenna should go up right away.
The ADA requires employers to engage in an interactive dialog with employees to determine whether a disability can be accommodated. Do it wrong, and you're probably looking at a lawsuit. Here's how to handle the conversation...
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It's OK to be boss - and why
Since 1993, I have studied the experience of thousands of managers at all levels in a wide range of industries through workplace interviews, focus groups, polls, questionnaires, and intensive seminars. Our research confirms that across today's workplace there is a shocking and profound lack of daily guidance, direction,
feedback, and support for employees from those who are their immediate supervisors. This is what I call the "under-management epidemic."
In today's high pressure workplace, employees need a boss who sets them up for success every step of the way and helps them earn what they need. In our training programs for managers, we focus intensively on back-to-basics management. We teach managers to practice what I call, "the art of real empowerment"—through regular
guidance, direction, and support. Here are eight steps we taught to some 30,000 managers in about the last five years to help them get "back to the basics":...
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Strategically speaking: Do you know how to lead and manage your department?
Staff units should not be given a free pass when it comes to strategic thinking and planning.
Problem No. 7: Thinking we know how to lead and manage our unit or department.
Best Practice: A three-year business plan should be a requirement for all staff departments and line business units. Most of us began our careers as individual professionals, no matter our level of education, and then later moved into a management role. The question as to whether or not we have the skills and
competencies to manage a group of people called a department with employees is a different question than just our professional/technical knowledge. These competencies to lead and manage a group or team of employees to achieve objectives are not automatically a set of skills all of us have been trained to have. Peter
Drucker once said the only place where leadership was taught in schools was at the service academies—Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard (state-run versions as well—Virginia Military Academy, etc.). For instance,...
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The equity factor at work
Let's play a game. Here are the rules: We'll be asked to split a sum of money. I get to make the split, and you get to choose whether to accept or reject the split. And if you reject it, both of us will walk away empty-handed.
Rationally, I should realize my advantage and offer a lopsided split in my favor and you should accept the uneven split—because any amount of money is better than nothing. Right?
Wrong. If we're like everyone else who plays the game, we'll end up with an even split. Here's why...
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Smart presentations: Remember this
The greatest truths are the simplest.
Often, they touch what we know or believe, but with an economy of words and a clarity that cuts through all the B.S. and makes us realize the wisdom. Here's one that should be burned in the brain of anyone and everyone in business: Logic leads
to conclusions. Emotion leads to action. Makes sense, doesn't it? Think how much better...
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Special financial report: Employee compensation
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What should you pay employees in this crazy job market? A look at the new rules of compensation.
There hasn't been a labor market like this in years. Maybe ever. Entire industries -- financial services, real estate, auto -- are imploding. Unemployment is about 9 percent; in many parts of the country, it's well into double digits. Inflation, meanwhile, is nonexistent. It adds up to an unprecedented situation. It was only a
few years ago that the top concern for many employers was finding qualified candidates to fill open positions. Now, those same companies not only have the pick of top applicants -- they don't have to overpay to land them. Clearly, the old rules do not apply. But operating in this kind of environment is far from easy. For one
thing, businesses often find themselves in the position of simultaneously firing some workers while hiring new ones or cutting the pay of some while granting raises to others. What's more, employees who appear to be a bargain today seldom stay cheap -- especially if they prove to be good at their jobs.So what are the new rules of
compensation in this most unusual market? Meet four entrepreneurs who made bold changes in the way they think about compensation...
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Independent contractor issue heats up
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Desperate for revenue, state and federal officials are increasingly looking at the potential misclassification of employees as independent contractors. At the same time, employers may be revisiting the area as well in an effort to reduce costs. Such classifications are complex and should be reviewed carefully, experts warn.
Cash-starved governments are looking everywhere for revenue amid the economic crunch and that may be leading them to focus on a potentially lucrative source of funds: Companies that improperly classify their employees as independent contractors. At least six states -- Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Pennsylvania and
Maryland -- have recently enacted or are considering new legislation designed to halt independent-contractor misclassifications. In Maryland, the Workplace Fraud Act of 2009, recently signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley, imposes fines up to
$5,000 per employee on companies that "knowingly misclassify" workers as independent contractors. At the federal level,...
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Wage-and-hour misclassifications
The complexity of the Fair Labor Standards Act -- as well as the number of significant lawsuits and the high costs of settling them -- makes it incumbent upon HR leaders to fully understand its provisions. This month, we explore the legality
of mandatory weekend training sessions and ways to determine whether a foreman qualifies as a supervisor.
The past decade saw the explosion of wage-and-hour class actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This very technical and complex statute requires an analysis of an employer's business and employee-job requirements to ensure proper compliance. Therefore, smart employers gladly commit the necessary recourses to
wage-and-hour audits and training because failing to do so invariably leads to devastating legal consequences -- especially in light of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis's recent announcement that she is adding more investigators in the DOL's Wage-and-hour Division to seek out and prosecute noncompliance. Because
misclassification of employees for wage-and-hour purposes is a prevalent employer problem, in addition to answering the specific wage-and-hour reader questions this month, I have included (within the limited space allotted) more detailed information to help you tackle this often confusing legal issue...
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Avoiding unlawful layoffs
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Are certain groups of workers more likely to lose their jobs in these lean economic times? Statistics offer mixed findings, but HR professionals must be especially careful to avoid even the appearance of discrimination when making layoffs.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently held a public hearing to analyze recent developments under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the impact of widespread layoffs on older workers. At the July 15 hearing, a panel of leading authorities on age-discrimination law and policy testified about the effect
of age stereotyping. "Layoffs have a particularly harsh impact on older workers, as they may again be exposed to stereotyping when they try to find new jobs," testified Michael Campion, a management professor at Purdue University. "Research on reemployment after layoff show that older workers who have been laid off take longer
to find new jobs than younger workers," he said. "It also reveals that older workers are less likely to gain reemployment than younger workers, and that workers who are laid off generally do not recover the wage rates they had before being laid off." [When faced with the unpleasant task of reducing the workforce, organizations must
be careful to guard against unlawful discrimination -- or even the appearance of discrimination, Anthony says. First and foremost, HR leaders must make sure that all termination decisions are based...]
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Ready or not, here comes...wellness
Colleen Reilly is the president of Total Well-Being. She has worked within the corporate wellness industry for more than 10 years at Coors Brewing Co., Mayo Clinic and Nelnet Inc.
To reap short and long-term benefits of wellness initiatives, HR leaders must understand that assessing readiness for change is key to success. The best intentions do not always end in the best results.
If you are considering the implementation of a companywide wellness program, you most likely realize that you are embarking on a journey that requires a significant shift in thinking, attitude and values -- in short, it requires change. From an organizational perspective the need for change is supported by rising healthcare
costs that can be controlled and even reduced by implementing an integrated wellness program. From an individual's perspective, the need for change may be obvious or completely obscure, depending on the person's readiness level -- a highly subjective set of needs, desires, knowledge and motivation. Taking time to implement a
systematic approach to help set the stage for a major cultural and personal transformation is perhaps the most important and overlooked element in creating effective wellness programs...
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Increase your influence tenfold
Joseph Grenny is the co-author of three immediate New York Times bestsellers: Influencer, Crucial Conversations, and Crucial Confrontations. He is cofounder of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance, and a consultant to the Fortune 500
The key is understanding behavior. If we attribute the wrong causes to it, then attempts to change it won't be successful.
"That's it. If they're going to act like children, I'll treat them like children." I was sitting in the office of the CEO of a financial services company when he said this. He had asked his senior executive team to cooperatively develop a capital spending plan for the coming year. He had challenged his team to take off their
functional hats and propose a plan that put the enterprise's interests above their local needs. But the budget proposal he got back called for 150% of available capital and was loaded with low-value investments more suited to building fiefs than to creating shareholder value. The CEO's face flushed as he summarized his theory of
behavior: "These guys just flat out don't care about anyone's interest but their own." This lament was caused by the CEO's lack of influence over the behavior of his executive team. His hope was that a logical and sincere plea for change would evoke profoundly different behavior than the team had exhibited in previous years.
Obviously, he was wrong. But the kind of hope and subsequent disappointment he felt is extremely common. Over the past 25 years, my colleagues and I have repeatedly heard similar laments and conclusions—and not just from businesspeople. The "Fundamental Attribution Error"...
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Layoff time: How [you] can manage the stress
Burnout can be avoided. Here are the top four layoff-related stressors and the most productive ways to deal with them.
We're in the midst of a global pandemic of downsizing, which is the source of a huge amount of stress—most obviously for those laid off but also for the executives who have to let people go. If dealt with effectively, this stress can be rechanneled into personal growth and improved organizational performance. If not, it can result
in personal burnout for executives and organizational decline. Here are the top four layoff-related stressors and productive ways to deal with them...
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How to excel at your job and be home for dinner
A former Goldman Sachs executive shares her tips for balancing professional work with your personal life during a recession.
When I was a new manager at Goldman Sachs, an executive coach told me: "If you can't get your job done in 10 hours a day, there's something wrong with you—or there's something wrong with your job." I laughed. In my 16 years in finance, I found it hard not admire the 24/7 ethic and even harder to imagine that top results could be
produced without it. But this coach was an advisor to highly respected CEOs. And he forced me to open my eyes and see what really effective executives do to cut time—and stress—for both themselves and the teams they lead. Intrigued, I dug into the research. I learned how performance and judgement erode when we work too many
hours and that motivating people to spend ever-more hours at work is bad for the bottom line. I also talked to hundreds of men and women working in a wide range of executive roles—C-suite jobs, partners at big investment, law, and accounting firms, and middle managers in various industries—to learn how they manage the stress in
their lives. Today's downturn means everyone who still has a job has more work to do. Things have been so uncertain that we all have to work harder because we don't know what will pay off. While "balance" may be a term that makes executives nervous in bad times, it's merely good management to ensure that each hour gets invested in
the right things and that we cut all the waste we can. Here are five tips I've found that let executives produce world-class results and still get home for family dinner—most nights...
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